Lost in Christendom

Lost in Christendom

My one friend says we are an “out of the box” church. My other friend recently read a book, “Messy Spirituality”  and says it describes us. Here I am a pastor of a church with a couple hundred people, with very grass roots community ministry and yet it leaves me feeling, (trying to have feelings!) like an alien in Christendom.

Here we are trying to grow and build the structures to enable growth but we have no pattern. Modern church offers us patterns that fit the 20^th century church, but not the church that I know, love and serve. Most of our faith community have no previous church experience. Some consider us their church but still have not made a commitment to Christ. Some consider me their pastor but have attended a worship service with us, yet make use and attend other venues we offer!

One similar example I remember, is this story. There was a church that funded a young couple who produced a ministry they had a vision for. It was to reach the youth culture with the message of Christ. This culture of youth to be reached  could be thought of as homeless but were not. They were a strong sub culture that few understood. The vision for ministry to those kids was exactly what God wanted. The place was packed with all the university age kids who weren’t in university, but looked like vampires, gothic’s etc. However when this ministry didn’t get them into the model of church, the church pulled the funds. The ministry closed. Leaving all these kids without their “church.”

The funding church measured success by getting these kids into their church. Never realizing that the church the youth called home was nothing like the middle class suburban church. The mistake was, if you accept Christ you will leave your “things”  (sub culture distinctiveness) and become like us.

In my search for how to minister better to our faith community I have questioned other pastors. They give to me what direction they can that has worked for them. The books I  read, the other pastors I can hear from etc. all leave me thinking, that their ways just won’t work with us. I yearn for the blueprints and instruction manuals, that tell me the way. But what I find is written in the language of Christianise.  Some of those patterns and blueprints I am sure are still used because the other churches are using them. Sort of like cowherd mentality. One cow wonders towards the fence so they all wonder towards the fence. Or in modern  expression, “zombie land.” The aimless wondering and following in the direction of everyone else. It must be good cause others are using that concept, pattern, program etc.. Going in that direction cause we do, cause others are, not measuring the results accurately.

But when I am told about these great programs etc. I think about how well will these concepts and programs  work with a church were the greatest percent of them have never been to another church and have no church experience.

For example, our membership class. We definitely need to revamp it again. It is a greatly modified version of what came out of Willow Creek movement.

It’s design is to find out what peoples talents and gifts and personality are and what category they fit into and then plug them into the church in a slot that suits their gifting. The people with some church experience do ok with it, but the people with no or limited church experience are just struggling and feeling like they don’t qualify. The questionnaire manual was written for Christians! And though some may have made a decision for Christ they still don’t fit the regular Christian normative experience. Their decision is probably too recent. And they don’t understand the language and the culture.

So I pray and bump around in the fog of faith. Knowing what is there and I know it is there but not seeing clearly. Trusting it is the voice of Christ I hear. However there is a cost! When you follow the less regular beaten path of your faith community, you are perceived as not successful and not on board.  Sorry we don’t fit the pattern but we are following Jesus. Just wish there was a book on church planting in subcultures that are more like pre Christian era?! Now there is another discussion, the era we are in is more like pre first century Christendom.