I think we had a really strong discussion for our last session with a lot of group presentation. We started off the night be discussing the Emerging Church movement, the principles of which seem very much behind our study book, Christianity for the Rest of Us. About half of our group was familiar with this movement.
The consensus of many of our group -- after having read and discussed the definition of emerging church -- was that we've been doing many of these things in our church already. One useful thing I think we discussed about emerging churches was the need to put the "mystery" back into Christianity. To illustrate the distinction between theological mystery vs. absolute truth, we discussed the anecdote in Bass's book of the young man who said that the Virgin birth is so beautiful that it has to be true, whether it happened or not (page 209 in the book).
One article that helped me to better understand the emerging church movement comes from Christianity Today: "Five Streams of the Emerging Church," from the February 2007 issue. This article, by an evangelical professor (Scot McKnight), is skeptical of some of the hallmarks of the emerging church movement, but it's also complimentary as well. It provides a short, basic overview of the movement.
Brian McLaren, one of the central people connected with the emerging church movement, was in Kansas City last week, and Bill Tammeus, who was part of our study group, has an entry on McLaren's visit in his Faith Matters blog. Bill will also be on the panel at the Diana Butler Bass event on May 3, and his May 1 weblog entry summarizes his personal reaction to her book as well as presenting readers with a brief preview of the focus of the panel on Saturday.
In addition to discussing the emerging church movement, we also discussed some of the highlights from the last three chapters in Christianity for the Rest of Us. Specifically, we discussed our reaction to the Bernard and Catherine story that opened Chapter 15. As Christians we need to be open to all people as Jesus was in the New Testament. But we also discussed how it is important to maintain the principles of our faith as we accept other people who may not have the same values, belief system, etc. that our church as a body might have. Bass's book mentions a few times how becoming a more secular church is not the answer to appealing to more people. In fact, some of the vibrant church examples have very involved new member classes, some lasting up to a year. These member classes are not hoops for people to jump through; rather they help a person grow in the church. Stories in the book describe how people were transformed through these classes.
We concluded our discussion on Wednesday by discussing which "signposts of renewal" we as a congregation might work on some more. The testimony signpost was one that was mentioned by a few people as something that could be a larger part of worship than it is now.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Study Guide for Session 3
Study Guide for Session 3 – April 30, 2008
Part III: From Tourists to Pilgrims
Chapter 15: Transforming Lives
The chapter opens with the story of Bernard and Catherine, an unmarried couple who begin looking for a church after the birth of their son. Bernard could be classified as a spiritual nomad. Though he was born into a Catholic family, he no longer attended church. Catherine and he chose First Presbyterian simply because it was close to their house. Through the new member process, which included “scripture study, prayer, discernment, and reflection,” they “became more than members.” They married and Bernard felt called to pursue a new career, to change from a profession that had “’only negative impacts on the world’” to one that would be a benefit to the world.” Bernard’s story serves as an example of the conversion experience or metanoia that can result from an hospitable church. Bass emphasizes that a conversion like Bernard’s (or the biblical parallel of Paul that she mentions) is not a “split-second decision at a revival meeting” but a “process of transformation” (222).
Bass emphasizes that churches that have a transforming effect on people’s lives do so by finding that “third way.” They don’t resist change or separate as a fundamentalist church does. However, they don’t just accept all changes and “remake religion.” Instead “[t]hey were selectively adapting to the cultural changes that are pressuring the practice of Christian faith” (224). The remainder of the chapter focuses on specific stories from
Chapter 16: Transforming Congregations
Churches should not resist change. Instead they need to embrace change and trust that the Holy Spirit is working through the change. By concentrating on Redeemer Episcopal Church at the beginning of the chapter, Bass is able to show a congregation that views change as “a spiritual practice,” a church where nothing “is a finished product” (241). Bass emphasize that change for churches needs to be more than “market tinkering,” such as adding guitars to worship or opening a food court. Some examples of transformation:
- Saint Mark Lutheran Church regularized the liturgy, began a process of “prayer formation,” and developed Montessori methods of “hands-on” Sunday school programs for children that emphasize the Bible and “Lutheran theology, history, and identity.”
- Holy Communion Episcopal Church transformed itself into a “spiritual center” for
- Calvin Presbyterian church shunned “externally derived order” in the service for “improvisational and internal harmonies of the Holy Spirit’s jazz” (248).
Chapter 17: Transforming the World
How political should churches be? In her study, Bass observes that churches have dropped the politics of protest, systematic change, and policy platforms in favor of “communal practices of service,” a “social transformation that works ‘up’ toward larger change” (259). These churches do not have the secular political tradition of the “old-style” mainline Protestant churches, but instead they put their “theological vision” first and work in the public arena with a “distinctly Christian sense of identity” (259). This is the chapter that uses Saint Andrew Christian Church in Olathe as an example of a church that is committed to social justice through “joyful worship and serious Christian practices” (268). Bass emphasizes that even though these churches never ignore their Christian identity in their public work, they do not use that identity to create “us vs. them” or “right vs. wrong” divisions.
Some questions to consider:
- After reading this book and our discussions, what are some things that churches should not do to become vital congregations? Instead, what should churches do?
- After reading this book, has your attitude toward the function of a church changed at all? Why is church important?
- Is denomination still important?
- What is meant by transforming people from tourists to pilgrims? How can our church do that?
- What opportunities for transformation exist at Second? What signposts of renewal might be emphasized here more than they are already?
What is the emerging church?
Emerging churches are communities that practice the way of Jesus within postmodern cultures. This definition encompasses nine practices. Emerging churches (1) identify with the life of Jesus, (2) transform the secular realm, and (3) live highly communal lives. Because of these three activities, they (4) welcome the stranger, (5) serve with generosity, (6) participate as producers, (7) create as created beings, (8) lead as a body, and (9) take part in spiritual activities. (from Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures qtd in McKnight, Scot. “Five Streams of the Emerging Church.” Christianity Today. February 2007)
Summary of Session 2
During our second meeting we discussed the ten signposts of renewal. Specifically, we spent much our time with the following: contemplation, discernment, and beauty.
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