Last evening we discussed “texts”—messages and meanings from the “world” as well as those from Scripture.  One of the characteristics of emerging church is intertextuality—using texts from church and world to interpret each other, rather than privileging one set of texts completely over the other (for us that latter phrase would mean scripture always interprets world and never vice versa).  Frambach offers this thought.  “Emerging church communities take cultural texts as seriously as they take sacred texts, though cultural texts do not norm their belief and proclamation the way Judeo-Christian Scriptures do” (page 64).

 

Thanks go to Ben for sharing the song (text) with us recording by the “Wailing Jennies.”  Holding this song beside the words of 1 Corinthians 12 led to a fruitful discussion of how to use and benefit from intertexting.

 

Now to build on that.  The next item on Frambach’s descriptive list is “The Understanding of Suffering” (page 65).  “In emerging church communities,” he writes, “suffering simply is, and it is personal, social and environmental.”  The contrast is made with church as we typically know it—a place where suffering is suppressed, not discussed and usually glossed over.  Thus suffering people are often made, subtly, to feel unwelcome and are often instructed, once again subtly, to keep quiet about their struggles.  May it not be so among us.

 

Using intertextuality, we can perhaps hold cultural texts on suffering alongside our scriptural and theological texts.  I think of the recent movie, Million Dollar Baby.  It is a profound meditation on the necessity of suffering in a relationship rooted in love.  I wonder how that cultural text stands alongside a Christian text—for example, Romans 5:1-11.  I suggest this as a possibility for reflection this week.

 

Frambach offers a few more lines to guide this meditation.

--“Suffering is viewed as something to be joined, even befriended, rather than conquered or fixed” (at least in emerging churches).

--“To use a Lutheran theological category, sharing in the suffering of others is living the theology of the cross in community” (page 65, last lines).

 

Emerging Church is weary of the fraudulent triumphalism of western Christianity and seeks for the real substance of a cross-shaped church (Hennigs).

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wonder if a local coffee house would partner with us in our emerging ministry.  I imagine a Sunday evening in a relaxed setting.  Coffee, tea and other soft drinks are available (Fairly Traded good, of course).  Perhaps some healthful snacks are available and/or for sale as well.  It might be that a small book store has been set up in one part of the shop--a store that specializes in Christian topics of growth and depth.  It might be that this could be a book exchange as well.

 

In another corner, a local artist shares music, poetry, painting, sculpture, dance, etc., for our spiritual edification.  In a back part of the shop, a space is set aside for listening ears--people trained to hear the stories of others in appreciative, healing and life-giving ways.  There might be a time set aside for a speaker, a meditation, a discussion, an audio or video talk, or some other spark for discussion and dialogue.  Some nights could be movie nights where a film is viewed and then discussed afterward.

 

The space would also need coloring books, blocks, children's reading materials, etc.  It would be ideal if the shop were near a local park or school playground so that families with children might have an additional outlet during at least part of the year.

 

Perhaps we need to explore creating our own shop in order to incorporate all these features. I am reluctant, however, to create competition for existing local operations that struggle to offer a quality product and humane environment in the midst of McWorld, WalMartians and Starbuckets.

 

It is right that a potential partner would wonder about the benefits of such an operation.  I imagine that folks who would come to such an experience would be far more likely to patronize that shop at other times during the week.  They would also be far more likely to tell their friends and neighbors about that shop and encourage them to come as well.  I can imagine that an emerging church might pay for the use of the space--at least enough to make payroll and utilities and thus insure that the proprieter would not suffer any losses through this venture.  So it would be free advertising and an expanded customer base for the shop.

 

Well, it's not a particularly original idea.  So, what's wrong with this idea?  What's right with it?

 

When could we start, and where?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In concrete terms, what would it mean to be a church for others?

 

I wonder what it would mean, for example, to make a commitment in terms of dollars for others.  Assume that in such a church the community commits to spend one dollar beyond the congregation for every dollar spent on the ministry of the congregation.  Now, I'm thinking that these dollars would be beyond any gifts to a larger organization like a denomination or association (for the most part).  After all, those dollars "come back" in a sense through services to the local congregation or issues of interest to the congregation through the larger church.

 

When we look at a congregational budget in a traditional church, it is usually the case that seventy to eighty percent of the budget is spent on the congregation and its members--buildings, staff, programs, etc.  I'm not suggesting that this is a bad thing.  But in many congregations, this is a symptom of the complete inward turn of the congregation (especially in those places where the percentage approaches one hundred percent).  Now, can a congregation be faithful and also starve its own efforts at worship, ministry development, education, etc.?  Well, that's the question, isn't it?

 

I wonder what it would mean, for example, if a congregation required itself to spend one dollar on local affordable housing for every dollar the congregation spent on church buildings.  What would it mean for a congregation to spend one dollar on local music and arts in the community for every dollar spent on worship and music in the congregation?  If we want to step away from money, we can think about time.  Imagine a congregation that commits one hour of volunteer service to the larger community for every hour of volunteer work that benefits the congregation.  Every hour spent by greeters, ushers, choir members, etc., is matched by an hour in a soup kitchen, on a Habitat house, etc.

 

I understand that these are in many ways false dichotomies.  Many things we do as a local congregation have immediate payoffs in the larger community.  That is, however, not true in lots of Christian congregations.  And the question still remains.  What does a congregation for others look like in concrete, physical, organizational and administrative terms?

 

At another time I'd like to explore the importance of faith community for all of this ministry.  True or false--It takes a community for me to know myself.

Great discussion of play at speakingoffaith.org.  "Stuart Brown, a physician and director of the National Institute for Play, says that pleasurable, purposeless activity prevents violence and promotes trust, empathy, and adaptability to life's complication. He promotes cutting-edge science on human play, and draws on a rich universe of study of intelligent social animals."  I wonder what this has to do with our discussions of worship in the coming decades.

A copy of my weekend message, called "Let Me Be a Potato" is now available in my public files below.

 

Last evening, our Emerging Ministry group met.  We asked one another, what would the church look like outside our walls and for the sake of others.  We discussed a roving "comfort booth" or "compassion kiosk" that could be offered in public and business places in our community.  While we didn't make any specific, concrete plans, it does present a kind of thought or imagination experiment.  And who knows, you may see a compassion kiosk on a corner near you in the future!

 

This experiment could take a variety of possible forms.  Where would people love to find a listening ear?

 

Perhaps we could create a "warm line."  This might be a telephone service offered to callers who simply need someone to listen to them for fifteen minutes at a time.  Listeners would need to be trained for the task.  This would not be a crisis help line (but referrals could be made).  This would not be about solutions but about caring, processing and offering time while asking nothing in return.

 

We could put together a portable compassion kiosk.  It might be that we would set up a little trailer in outdoor public places.  A listening ear could be available for anyone who needed it.  This would present all sorts of logistical complications, but then--that's true of every ministry worth doing.

 

Where do people go to talk in our times?  They go to coffee shops, bars, sandwich shops and restaurants.  How about a coffee shop or coffee house that specializes in listening?  Maybe a small used book store could be part of the operation.  Perhaps we could combine the above ideas and have a traveling coffee stand where we listen as well.

 

Out of the building, out of the box, out of our comfort zones, out of our power places, out of control--is this what it will take to reach those who could never imagine themselves setting a foot in our worship spaces?

 

I look forward to your thoughts.

In fact, my weekly messages seem to be at the bottom of this page in the "Public Folders" section.  Sorry for the confusion (especially on my part).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I read Nate Frambach's book, I am struck by the frequency of the word "authentic."  We seek authentic experiences of God in the faith community.  We long for authentic worship, authentic community, authentic stories, authentic service.  For those attracted to emerging ministry, the church as it is seems to be insufficient.  Let me say at the outset that I agree.

 

I'm reminded of the scene from Oliver Twist (especially in the musical version).  Oliver asks the master of the orphanage for a bit more food: "Please, sir, may I have some more?"  The master comes unglued.  He predicts that Oliver will go to prison and then to hell--all because he wants "more."  I suspect that this is the reaction of some Christians to the desire for emerging ministry.

 

For some folks, church as weekly pageant is enough.  They even find it meaningful and spiritually nurturing.  So we continue that mode of being church.    But some of us want ever so much more than a regular calendar of playing church.  Please, sir, may we have some more?

 

What, however, is the content of that "more"?  I remember words from Dr. Patrick Kiefert back in the 1980's.  One of the advantages of getting old in ministry is having an ongoing context for new information.  By the way, I hate the fashionable word "seasoned."  I'd prefer to be old rather than seeing myself as sprinkled with salt and pepper and ready to be grilled.  Kiefert described the then-new attempts at contemporary worship as "pickles and sauce for bored baby boomers." 

 

He was right.  If what we're up to is simply a new way to stimulate self-absorbed and over-stimulated consumers, then we are wasting our time.  That is an unworthy activity for followers of Jesus.

 

On the other hand, if the "more" is about deeper spiritual life, greater service, larger generosity, and broader community, that seems to be worth the bother.  That also seems to be what Frambach and others describe.  This is the harder road, the narrow way, the cost of discipleship.

 

This emerging ministry thing seems like something that could be interesting, not just entertaining.

I keep looking at books and web sites on this whole emerging church thing.  It's not news to people who have been paying attention since the mid-80's--at least if one has been able to read Loren Mead's work on the Once and Future Church.  But what is going on here--something new?  No, something deeper.  There are so many people who now say to themselves, "I should have been a pastor, minister, worked in the church, etc."

 

Well, now's the time.  The state doesn't offer a limited number of annual licenses to study biblical Hebrew and New Testament Greek.  We can do this together.  Team worship planning, one of the emerging ministry hallmarks, can happen right now.  What do you want to do in the "worship service of your dreams"?  You can get excellent theology at B&N.  NT Wright, Tony Campolo, and a host of others don't mind selling books to you.  And then let's talk.

 

What is this "emerging church"?  Not something new, I think.  Something deeper, more real, AND FAR MORE DEMANDING.  This is church where following Jesus is a vocation, not a hobby; where Jesus-talk is the primary language, not a secret code, where the world is our parish (John Wesley) and we are all priests (Martin Luther).  This is the church as town hall meeting rather than a spot in the Tonight Show audience.

 

If this is all true, then what an awesome time to be the church!

We're going to read and discuss Nate Frambach's book, Emerging Ministry, at Our Saviour's.  Early in his book, he identifies a number of changes to which the Church (at least in North America) is called to respond.

 

I'm still thinking abut some of Paul's words from Romans 6.  Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ.  The implication is that we should see ourselves as God in Christ sees us.

 

I think about that moment when our Stephan saw his bride for the first time in her beautiful wedding dress.  It was a transcendant moment.  He is deliriously happy in his new marriage, and that has been true from the moment he proposed to Brooke.  I was struck, however, by the way he saw his new bride in that dress.  I think he will never look at her the same way again.

 

God has chosen, as an act of sheer grace, to see us clothed in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Over and over Paul will talk in his letters about what it means to "put on Christ."  God chooses to see us in our new clothing--that of justification for the sake of Christ.  A large part of our faith response is to see ourselves in that way.

 

Brooke's dress necessitated certain behaviors.  Her train required her to walk in a certain way.  It had to be bustled up for her to dance.  It also said volumes about her modesty, her beauty, and her appreciation of the seriousness of the marriage moment.  In the same way, our "clothing" in Christ necessitates certain behaviors.  We don't act as followers of Christ in order to buy the dress.  We act as followers of Christ because of the clothing we have already received.

 

I wonder how my faith and life will change if I look in the mirror each morning and choose to see myself as clothed with Christ, if I choose to consider myself dead to sin and alive to Christ.  I don't have to wonder.  Everything will change.

"What we have called Christianity for 1,500 years in the West turns out to be a Greco-Roman version of Christianity. There’s been a lot of talk already about the Greek influence on Christianity. But I think we’ve underestimated the Roman captivity of Christianity from those early centuries when Greco-Roman philosophy was becoming the tool of Roman domination of the empire...The problem is that this process led to a connection between Christianity and systems of power and domination throughout Christianity that sure look antithetical to the way of Jesus." 

Brian McLaren, http://www.readthespirit.com/explore/2008/06/187-conversatio.html?gclid=CJXRtK6f8pMCFQRksgodH1C3bw

 

More McLaren--“I am convinced that Jesus didn’t come to start a new religion; he came to proclaim a new kingdom.”

And a bit more--"Any of the helpful ideas I’ve shared with people in my work have come to me as conversations among friends. And this is especially important to say here: I think the conversations that need to happen right now are global conversations -– conversations between the colonial North and the post-colonial South, between Americans and Africans, between people in the North and people in Latin America, between people in the majorities and people with minority voices."

 

I wonder how we can use our relationship with Tanzanian Lutherans to shape and inform our emerging church stirrings in Lincoln?

 

From Tom Wright--'Part of the difficulty in Western Christianity for both Protestants and Catholics for the last 1,000 years has been this emphasis on Christianity as being all about how we can get saved. We’ve taught people that what really matters in Christianity is how we get to heaven. The focus becomes all about “me” and “my salvation.” People get stuck there in this self-centered focus.'

 

From Phyllis Tickle--Young men and women of faith, especially, are crying everywhere, “Give us a faith that costs us something! ... Teach us the things that will mark us as children of God! ...”  Their demands swell out with heat and vision, and what they foretell is that Christianity must be a way of living life as much as it is a system of belief. What they envision are Christians who  belong to each other in common cause, regardless of place and circumstance, a tribe of people marked by how they are and live as a nation peculiar unto God, regardless of where they may exist on this earth.

 

What is dis-satisfying about Church as we "do it" now?  For what does your spirit long?

 

Let's do it!

Well, friends, the wedding is over.  The kids are by the pool in Aruba.  We've caught up on the lawn mowing and survived multiple severe storm warnings.  Our Tanzanian friends are back in Kimangaro, reading their diaries, looking at photos and catching up on sleep and work.

 

Now, perhaps I can move into more of a post-wedding, post-Tanzania, post-craziness mode.

 

What a great conversation we had at our church council meeting last night.  The Holy Spirit continues to move us toward a new congregational start of some kind--but who, other than the Lord, knows what kind?  That just sends tingles up my spine.

 

So we're going to get under way with more conversation.  Starting Sunday, July 13, we're going to meet at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, 1200 South 40th Street in Lincoln, Nebraska, and discuss Nate Frambach's book, Emerging Ministry, as a way to help us get our heads and hearts and spirits wrapped around this thing.  Of course, other things might happen as well--who knows?

 

We hope to get Dr. Frambach here to Lincoln after the first of the year for more conversation, planning, consulting--whatever we might need at the time.

 

If you want to get started on some more thinking, here's a brief article from Frambach with a series of 21 descriptions of this emerging church thing: http://www.spselca.org/documents/CharacteristicsofPostmodernWorshippingCommunities.pdf

 

And here's a networking site that has interesting connections and conversations.

 

Spread the word!

Thanks, Jodi, for pointing this out!

 

 

See Lutherans known and unknown (sort of like the sins we confess).

Selected wedding photos now available.  In addition, my message at the service and my rehearsal dinner remarks are available in the folder below.