Encouraging Start

One of the things I've been somewhat critical of the emerging movement is the near hero-worship of some of the leaders of the movement. After getting 2/3 through Brian McLaren's "A Generous Orthodoxy", however, I can see where the excitement and enthusiasm for leaders like McLaren come from. Brian is able to articulate things in ways that I truly haven't heard before - especially in the mainlines). He definitely is naming and addressing needs that have been unmet for the last couple of decades. While I wouldn't necessarily elevate McLaren to hero status, I will take a moment and share some things that have greatly helped me in my conceptualization of aspects of the emergent movement. McLaren's christology is far more accessible to folks from a variety of positions than I earlier realized. In his first chapter titled "The Seven Jesuses I Have Know", McLaren begins by spelling out the various modern approaches to Jesus he has encountered during his lifetime: (1) the Conservative Protestant Jesus, (2) the Pentecostal/Charismatic Jesus, (3) the Roman Catholic Jesus, (4) the Eastern Orthodox Jesus, (5) the Liberal Protestant Jesus, (6) the Anabaptist Jesus, and (7) the Jesus of the Oppressed. Instead of forging a christology based primarily upon one of these approaches, however, McLaren invites us to consider what it might mean to forge a christology that weaves the approaches together. While such an endeavor might seem an overwhelming task, it's not. You'll have to read the book for yourself to see why I say that. After exploring the christological task before him - before US - he concluded: "I'm finding a new simplicity on the far side of complexity". I love that phrase "on the far side of complexity". We in the mainlines have done a wonderful job revealing the complexities, and a substandard job at pointing toward the simplicity. I believe it is the role of the worshipping communities - to help worshippers connect with that life-giving, life-affirming sense of simplicity. I also loved McLaren's radical take on the challenge of living as a Christian these days. He writes that in many worshipping communities, "Our domesticated, romanticized, and spiritualized Jesus has become ... the orthodox Jesus". I have seen this domestication happen in faith communities of all theological and political stripes. it's certainly NOT the purview of just conservative communities! In progressive communities we have all too often treated Jesus' life and mission simply as a set of propositions to CONSIDER and been all to satisfied to leave things there. The sense of immediacy and urgency in resonse to God's grace and mercy has largely been lost. The task of the worshipping community then is to be honest with itself (individually and collectively) in our assessment of what we have done with (and TO) the God of Jesus. McLaren proved remarkably adept at addressing issues that I thought I would strongly disagree with him. In addressing the challenge of living in an interfaith world, for instance, McLaren framed his response by citing the words of one of his mentors: "Remember, in a pluralistic world, a religion is valued based on the benefit it brings to its non-adherents". In addressing questions about the after-life, he wrote: "I'm more interested in a gospel that is universally efficacious for the whole earth before death in history". At nearly every juncture of his spiritual journey, McLaren intentionally chose a "both/and" approach (an approach more in line with the Orthodox tradition of the East) rather than an "either/or" approach (most notably associated with the Catholic and Protestant traditions of the West). I LOVE this! Having had a New Testament professor in seminary from the Greek Orthodox tradition, this is very much in keeping with my theological approach. I find it revealing, however, that now this approach has been "discovered" by the West, we are sticking new labels on in (i.e. "post-modern") rather than acknowledge its ancient roots within a branch of our own Christian tradition. "Guess new labels tend to sell more books and generate more speaking opportunities," says the cynic in me. I'll stop todays ramblings with a sentence that McLaren used to capture the goal of all worship opportunities. He writes on page 122: "We must rejoice that God cares for the whole world and set our hearts to join God in caring." Ain't that the truth!!! Til next time...

Theological Musings

As I continue deeper into my exploration of emerging worship, I thought it was time to dive into Brian McLaren's "A Generous Orthodoxy" - a book that some in the movement treat as a manifesto. I just purchased the book and have only read the forewards and introduction before I'm off to the first of smy daily meeting. There was enough material there, however, for me to throw out a couple of thoughts I'm wrestling with. Since the emergent movement found its roots in evangelical communities, I've wondered how my non-creedal identity as a congregationalist would fit with the creedal commitments of many in the evangelical commuties (Please note: I say evangelical communities in the plural because I passionately believe it would be wrong to present the false notion - that the media is obsessed with portraying - that there is only one evangelical community). Needless to say, when McLaren wrote the generous orthodoxy of his book "upholds and affirms the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds" I wondered how well I could relate to McLaren. While I was please to see his stated awareness of the political and cultural influences that shaped the formation of the creeds in the 4th century and beyond, he simply dismissed these awarenesses with a rather causal statement ("not a pleasant thought). I would have like to see him wrestle with this more (maybe he'll do that later in the book). Nevertheless, the non-creedalist in me is compelled to read on because McLaren does seem to embody the spirit of generosity in the book's title. For the readers of this blog who may not know much about me, one thing I will say is that I view the creeds as a sort of conversation partner in my spiritual journey as a Christian. They challenge, stretch, and engage me by inviting me to explore my spirituality in relation to my spiritual ancestors across the millenium. While I love the relational nature of the understanding of God spelled out in Trinitarian doctrine, for instance, I will say that I am a STRONGLY commited monotheist that emphasizes the essential oneness of God (the threeness for me simply represents three aspects of the ONE God). I have really celebrated my exploration of post-modernism because I'm starting to understand why I have such a difficult time fitting in the boxes created by the modernists. Parts of me are very evangelical - a strong belief that our faith ought to be transformative and ought to compell us to live out that faith in every aspect of our lives. The only problem with me claiming an identity as a 21st Century evangelical is that I don't believe in things like the inerrancy of Scripture and take a creedal approach to religion. There are other parts of me that are very mystical in nature. I feel, for instance, that a personal, first-hand EXPERIENCE of God is essential in one's spiritual growth. I am bothered, however, by some mystics propensity to get lost in self and self exploration of God. I believe very strongly that your first-hand experience of God ought to take you out of self by compelling you to then respond to God and God's creation through acts of service and devotion. Maybe you can see why people have such a hard time labelling me. I still get a kick out of those times when - as a person committed to the all-inclusive reign of God - I stand up for a person or a group and others assume I'm standing up for their inclusion because I agree with that individual or group. I'm getting more patient with people's attempts to label me, however. I just wish they would put the energy they devote in trying to label me back into their personal relationship with God. I should have a good portion of McLaren's book digested by tomorrow so check back and see where the Spirit has led me in my theological explorations. Til next time...

Initial Conversations (First & Second Hand)

Today was a great exploration of the emerging communities through two conversations. I was simply an observer in the first conversation (a Podcast interview conducted by Tony Jones with Karen Ward) and an active participant in the second conversation (with Isaac Bubna - a co-ordinator with one of the emerging communities in Spokane). Let me take a moment and pull out a couple of things of interest from each conversation. There were three things that most caught my attention in the interview with Karen Ward. First, I was interested by the organic nature of her church building process. She began the Church of the Apostles without official authorization from her denomination (she found a call on her own in Seattle that allowed her to start the community building process on her own time). The community started with just 4 participants, and the community began in one place (an internet cafe across the street from their current site) and evolved into its current setting. All of this confirms my conviction that you don't have to be ready by conventional standards (i.e. "x" number of dollars in the bank and "x" numbers of committed members) to embark on an emergent endeavor; you simply have to be passionately faithful and follow the Spirit's leading. The rest will take care of itself. The second thing that caught my attention was the way Karen integrated her individual social location (i.e. as an African-American woman) into her vision. She was somewhat non-chalant in discussion her social location and didn't let it define the entire scope in of her ministry. As a gay male clergy, I could strongly relate to Karen's approach since my own social location does not define my call; rather, it informs it. The third and final thing that caught my attention was the way the community organized itself around the principle of radical hospitality. They especially claimed the wisdom of two parables: (1) the prodigal son, and (2) the wedding banquet. I loved how the community had such a clear sense of scope and purpose for its ministry. There were two things that I walked away from my time with Isaac this morning as well. First, I was impressed by the scope of Isaac's resources and the connections/relationships that have been built over the past few years. Isaac was incredibly gracious in his sharing of resources. I feel like I've got much food for thought to chew on for the coming weeks. The second thing that struck me in our time together was how the emerging communities have brought together folks whose paths would otherwise never have crossed. Isaac was located solidly in the evangelical community; I have been solidly located in the mainline community. Isaac is a heterosexual man; I'm a gay man. Isaac's in a demographic (20-somethings) that has largely been absent from the communities I have served; I'm in a demographic (30/40-somethings - I turned 40 in 2 weeks) that has largely been underserved in his ministry settings. The amazing things is that our common interest in emerging ministries reach across all of these lines and created an instant rapport in a way that nothing else I've been involved in during the past 5 years of ministry has. This really helped reinforce the notion that (with the Spirit's help) I'm heading in the right direction. Til next time...

Diving In Headfirst

I'm having a great time integrating some of the initial sources I have sought out. This spring, the group of worship facilitators at Mountain View United explore Dan Kimball's book "Emerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations". I did a quick cursory reading of it this Spring and have had a chance to revisit the book the past few days. My initial reaction was (and still is) mixed. I appreciated the book's practical approach to the issues involved in starting a worship gathering. There were many helpful tips peppered throughout. My concerns, however, were two-fold. First, the book presented emergent worship (EW) in such a way that EW appeared to be another model of worship that needed to be replicated. While I know Dan included sample orders for worship to be helpful, these models increased the levels of anxiety in our worship facilitators since they models made it seem as if we needed to replicate elements of the services. My second response to the book is that it had a very particular Christology (high) attached to its approach to worship. While I appreciate that this is where Dan is at personally, it made the book a lot less accessible for faith communities with a lower Christology. In the first few days of my forray into EW, it's interesting to compare individuals like McLaren (more expansive Christological formation) with Dan. Overall, however, I found Kimball's book a useful first step in my explorations. I also had a chance to finish Diana Butler-Bass' book "Christianity for the Rest of Us". As a mainline pastor, I REALLY appreciated her optimistic observations about where some of the mainlines are heading. I also liked the way Butler-Bass went to great lengths to document the life of communities that took radically different approaches to the issues at hand (i.e. high-churches/low churches; episcopally-based communities/congregational-based communities, etc). Her book gave me a much greater sense of the diversities contained with emerging communities than did Kimball's work. Butler-Bass really made the point that thriving communities are communities that embrace authenticity and are communities that are missionally oriented. This confirms my own convications so it's not a suprise that I loved her work. I also knocked down about 2/3 of Diana Butler-Bass' book "The Practicing Congregation". Part of me almost wishes I had read this book before "Christianity for the Rest of Us" as it does a beautiful job of laying out Diana's theological approach/orientation. I particularly appreciated the third chapter of the book titled "Tradition! Tradition!". The chapter goes into great lengths to tease out the fact that when conflict occurs around worship issues, the conflicts revolve not between a clash between traditional and contemporary values but rather between competing streams of tradition. In my first five years of parish ministry, I've realized how disconnected most lay persons from the historical and cultural roots of the Christian tradition. This disconnect has allowed many mainline Protestant church to drift from historic practices and commitments into a place of "feel good" assimilation where the worship like is shaped primairly by the likes/dislikes of members. This is a tremendously dangerous place to go as it reinforces a consumerist approach to our faith. The tensions Diana addressed reminded me of the tensions within the emerging communities that Brian McLaren addressed in the address I listened to yesterday between mainline emergent communities and evangelical emergent communities. McLaren had a beautiful way of reframing this potential conflict by creating room for both ends of the spectrum when he rejected language that suggested a singular emergent community in favor of the plural form of emergent communities. This awareness is crucial if we ever had hope of truly living together as the body of Christ - arms, fingers, goes, elbows, and all! I'm sorry if my postings seem to ramble. I'm taking somewhat of a "stream of consciousness" approach. I thank you for hanging in there with me. Hopefully you'll find some nuggets worth considering. Til next time...

Letting Go

What an amazing start to my sabbatical experience. If you read my post yesterday, you'll know that my plans were to spend today chewing on two of Diana Butler Bass' works: "The Practicing Congregation" & "Christianity for the Rest of Us". The bulk of my attention, however, went into two different resources. This start to the study aspect of my sabbatical was the perfect embodiment of the principles in the emerging churches - follow God's agenda Craig, not yours!! The first resource I explored was the May/June edition of the United Methodist Church's magazine "Interpreter". I had been referred to it by one of our worship facilitators (Gwynne). The edition caught her eye since the cover was titled "In Spirit: Authentic Worship? Spirit, Not Style, Makes the Difference". The thing that caught my attention in the article was the simple mission statement of the emerging experience: "The goal: 'being real' with God and each other." What a great way to capture the essence of the worship experience. I was also touched by Marcia McFee's article "Where 2 or 3 Are Gathered". As someone who has devoted her life to worship planning, she captured the greatest challenge many worship leaders face - bringing the values we PROFESS into both the worship experience AND the worship planning. As Marcia wrote: "In worship we must truly embody what we proclaim. Don't just talk about hope, peace, reconciliation and right relationship; come together in worship to 'try it on for size'". How many churches, I wonder, spend their time railing about acts of war and violence around the globe, and then send their worship leaders into committee meetings that are ultimately dominated by spiritual war and spiritual violence (i.e. those who like traditional hymns pitted against those who like contemporary music; those who want visual elements on the walls of the church such as banners versus those who want a bare sanctuary, etc). I wonder what would happen to our faith communities if we started living the principles Marcia named in our worhsip planning processes. The rest of my morning was spent listening to a podcast of Brian McLaren's address from last January at Columbia University titled "Hope & Obstacles". There was so much in the address that I could comment on. I'm trying to keep a focus in these regular sabbatical notes, however, so I'll pick just two things. The first was a statement he made in passing: "What you focus on determines what you miss." The challenge Brian lifted for me was to not become so focused on a particular expression or experience of the emerging movements (i.e. my agenda) that I completely miss broader, more compelling elements of the emerging movements (i.e. God's agenda). Stay tuned to see how I do in living out this professed concern. The second element that stayed with me was an analogy Brian used. He compared the various arms of our Christian tradition (i.e. social action arm, charismatic arm, liturgical arm) to the life of a tree. He noted that as trees grow taller, they also grow wider by adding rings. The inner rings denote the past of an entity or movement; the outer ring reflects its current circumstance. The reality is that folks who are focused on the inner rings (the past) often share more in common with one another than folks who are focused on the outer ring (the present). This can make for odd alliances (i.e. inner ring focused persons from the charasmatic and liturgical traditions can see eye to eye more often than individuals both from a liturical tradition, one of who is inwardly focused and one of whom is outwardly focused). This explains some of my personal experiences around worship when I have often connected with folks who do not share a similar tradition yet share a similar focus (the outward ring). I look forward to seeing where my study experiences take me later today and tomorrow. Til next time...

First Visit to Another Worship Site

After arriving in Spokane late last night, I had the chance to worship at the church I was baptised and raised in (Deer Park United Methodist Church). It was interesting to experience a service whose liturgy had not changed during my lifetime. The structure and elements of the service had not changed during my 40 years! While I could take some degree of comfort in the familiarity of the service, the service reminded me of the the many elements of worship that I have come to embrace over the years that were entirely absent in my formative worshipping years (i.e. inclusive language, variety in music/music styles, participatory worship elements, etc). I enjoyed the opportunity to play the piano for the service since their organist was gone. This was special to me since that very same keyboard set me on the path to ministry when I began to play for services there at the age of 12. Tomorrow I'll start exploring the work of Dianne Butler-Bass through her work "Practicing Congregations" & "Christianity for the Rest of Us". These books don't deal specifically with worship issues. They do deal with larger church culture issues that inform the worship life of a community. Look for my initial thoughts on her books here tomorrow. Til next time...