Most folks that I talk to think that the church could use some improvement. Some think that we have gotten too far away from the gospel. We have been accused of focusing more on entertainment and attraction than we have been on missions and service. We have sometimes placed more focus on the maintenance of organizational structures than we have on spiritual formation or discipleship. It seems that no one is short of opinions regarding the church.
The people that offer these opinions and insights are from many different denominations and relationships involving church. Some are life long members of the same church, while others have been disenfranchised from the church. They come from varying socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. The thing that they all have in common seems to be that they perceive that the church is in need of improvement.
I spend a lot of time reflecting on these comments and insights, constantly asking myself if there is some way that I can participate in creating a better church. How can I help lead the church into real transformation? How can we lead into a place of outward focus rather than inward focus? How can we be more intentional about discipleship and missions? How can we be more like the people scripture calls us to be?
What would a better church look like?
That's my question for you...What would a better church look like?
I would love to begin a dialog regarding the ways that we can work together to radically alter the ways we do church.
As you consider the aforementioned question, share with us how or what this church would look like:
Where would it meet?
What would the experience be like?
Who would lead?
How would discipleship and missions be intentional parts of life together?
How do you prevent this new expression from becoming another version of the church that we are seeking to improve?
What does worship look like?
I hope that you will participate in this dialog by adding your comments below. As the conversation develops, we will take more time to reflect upon more specific areas within this topic.
So, let's get to it...What would a better church look like?
Comment now, comment often!
Peace,
Russell
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Russel,
I blogged a bit about some of the larger thoughts around this question for me here:
http://welikesheep.org/node/30
But let me take some time to directly address your questions, here is how I envision the CRC or what the CRC could become:
Where would it meet? In homes or third spaces, there is a huge freedom when you stop having to worry about paying for a building.
What would the experience be like? My three big words for this are: Authentic, Ritual, and Camp. A place where we are called and welcomed as we are, where ritual elements help connect us to the deeper mysteries of life, and where we are also clear that these rituals are not real at some level - something that repeatedly shows the wires and takes the piss out of the symbols when needed.
An example of this, is the person who decided we were all to serious in our CRC and missing joy and laughter, so when it was their turn to bring communion elements brought Grape Soda and cookies with clown smiley faces in icing.
Who would lead? Everyone, shared leadership, space where each person is responsible for the usefulness of the time together. Where every node can connect and sees it as their duty to connect with others and bring things in to share.
How would discipleship and missions be intentional parts of life together? Not much. Because we understand church to be inexorably tied to missionality we see the out there work of the church as something that every CRC member does. The role of the CRC is not to do these steps, but to nurture people who are already out there.
How do you prevent this new expression from becoming another version of the church that we are seeking to improve? I think this is impossible, every collective action will crystallize into an institution at some point, our goal is just to be aware of this and be ready to move on and leave when the spirit beckons.
What does worship look like? Varied, embodied, collaborative, simple.
Nate
Post a Comment