Spiritual/Community Formation

Today I covered three chapters in Pagitt's book "Church Re-Imagined". Lots of good stuff to explore. I appreciate how Pagitt organized the book so that spiritual formation could be visited through seven lens: worship, physicality, dialogue, hospitality, belief, creativity, and service. I am also loving about Pagitt's approach is the way he weaves the stories/experiences/reflections of six participants throughout each chapter. It really makes Pagitt's point that spiritual formation occurs most effectively in community! What I most connected with was Pagitt's conviction that spiritual formation ought to be involved in the very DNA of the faith community. He writes that early on participants of Solomon's Porch (their faith community) "asked a key question of one another: "What in your past that was life-giving could we incorporate into our lives together?" Even more important than that formative question was the spirit in which the answers were received. He noted, "We didn't have a pre-determined picture of how we wanted this experiment to unfold" (47). He summed up the birthing process by stating a key value: "we want the dreams of Solomon's Porch to reflect the dreams of the people in our community" (47). You can see within the way participants in the commnity forged ahead with this process the seeds for their long-term health. This would be a good model to drive any intentional faith community. Another things I loved was the image Doug used to capture their approach toward the experiential and participatory worship for which they strive: "I like to think of [our worship gatherings] as having dinner at a friend's house where it is expected that you will help pass the serving dishes and clear the table at the end of the meal" (63). What a terrific way to capture the spirit we can all strive for in creating an engaged and involved community. I also resonnated with the way Pagitt talked about the nature of the spontaneous elements of their gatherings. He wrote, "Even the pieces of our community life that are spontaneous and improvisational are outgrowths of deep consideration of who we are and the people we are seeking to become" (65). This is a nice way of reassuring those new to emergent values that their should always a ryhme and reason for what we are doing. It also keeps a community from adopting worship modes that are merely trendy instead of spirit led. There were a couple of things in the book that raised red flags for me. In one of the participant's reflections, the participant reflected on the community's insistence on using the "right language". The participant playfully commented, "Getting the right name to everything at church is an art form. And mistakes only bring swift vengeance" (52). While I understand Doug's passion to get the community to understand that words often construct the reality we experience, such a rabid approach to language in the community almost made it sound cultish. The other red flag for me had to do with how the members of the community talked about those times when Doug, their pastor, was gone. The participant wrote: "Church without Doug is a lot like when Valerie left on that old sitcom Valerie's Family. Once Shelly Duncan took off, the show became The Hogan Family and went straight downhill. Doug is our Valerie. Each week he is gone brings us one step closer to syndication" (62). My fervent belief is that a healthy community should not be dependent upon a pastor for its identity and sense of vitality - it should be dependent upon the Spirit. As a pastor who has been away from the congregation he serves for 7 weeks, it is my fervent hope and prayer that they are doing just fine without me as they have their own first run experiences - and that the thought of syndication is the last thing on their minds! Tomorrow I'll chew on the second half of Doug's book. Til next time...