April 27, 2011 Newsletter Article

…According to John The Lenten Season and Easter Sunday are past and what a glorious time it was. Thank you to all the people who rehearsed and performed music, who decorated the church, who led us through the “Journey to the Cross”, who participated in the All-Church Picnic and Easter Egg Hunt, and who participated in our Lenten Morning Prayers. I truly believe the Holy Spirit was experienced here. I have been reflecting on my Lenten Journey and have written about it on my blog. You can access it there if you are interested. On a personal note, I want you to know this has been one of the most spiritually moving Lenten seasons of my adult life. Now where do I go? Where do we go? A few months ago I sent Don Johnson and David Eck to a workshop sponsored by the Oklahoma Disciples Foundation entitled “Creating a Congregational Culture of Generosity”. The basic premise of the workshop was the more connected congregants become, and the more involved they become, then the more generous they are with their talent, time, and treasure. To me the connectedness and participation comes as a result of increased spiritual depth. Everything changes when we grow in our relationship with God through the Risen Lord. As we, collectively and individually, focus on our Walk, then old concerns pass. Members are passionate and eager to serve. Participants intentionally invite and welcome others into our community. There is a joy and hope that is palpable, so much so that others want to experience it. Negativity and criticism are abated. There is a profound desire to serve God through participation in the faith community. How are we fed? First, it is individual initiative and action. Jesus stands at the door and knocks. No one else can open it, but you. The discipline of daily prayer and Bible reading is a priority only you can establish. I send out daily emails and scripture readings. Perhaps that is a start, but the “still small voice” speaking is always a personal experience. Second, we participate in corporate worship…regardless of the “style”. In corporate worship we stand before God with our praise and thanksgiving. The efficacy of worship is not determined about how we feel about it or “if our needs were met”. The power of worship is that one chooses to praise and worship God, regardless of life circumstances. Third, we are fed when we seek to feed others, to teach children, sponsor youth, call on the sick and homebound, make evangelistic calls, pray for our neighbors, work for the poor, seek justice, etc. Too often we equate depth of spirituality with busyness. Numerous meetings, obligations, and scurrying do not lead to a more profound relationship with God. Increased spiritual depth leads to increased involvement. Can one see that on the outside, which it is? Yes. Our involvement is an expression of our devotion to God. We do our “work” joyfully, not complaining or commenting on others “lack of commitment”, their “lack of participation”, or “the way they did or didn’t do their job”. We serve, not out of obligation, but out of love. Grace and peace, John McLemore

Personal Reflections on Lent 2011

For the last two Lenten seasons I have initiated a discipline that has benefited me and hopefully others. In 2010 I began a morning email to interested parishioners that included a prayer along with a few joys, concerns and announcements. The prayers were not original, but they were meaningful. While not a major undertaking, it did require about thirty minutes each morning. This practice added depth to my personal journey and the response from the recipients was very affirming, so much so that I continue the practice to this day. The email list expanded to over 200 email addresses which included between 225 and 250 members of the church. I am told that some also forward these emails to other family and friends. On June 25, 2010 I decided to also post the emails to a blog which can be accessed through the church website . Later in the summer of 2010 I decided to write my own prayers. Such an endeavor has challenged me to be more appreciative of God’s “still, small voice” within me, a voice that directs, when I am receptive, my thoughts and actions. As of this writing I have posted over 300 days of prayers, joys and concerns. The blog has had over 3,300 “hits”, averaging a little over ten a day. A few months ago I added another feature. In the back of the Chalice Hymnal there is a suggested reading list of scripture passages that will take the disciplined reader through the entire New Testament and through most of the major events and personalities of the Old Testament in three years. Beginning with Advent in 2010, I have included these readings in my emails and blog posts, yet another activity that undergirds spiritual journeys, mine and others. Today we are on week 22 of year “A”. Of course, I have no idea how many recipients actually read these emails and blog posts, but the practice has made a huge impact in my life, one that words are inadequate to express. Now to Lent 2011, a few months ago I talked to a family member who was engulfed in despair and spiritually bereft. My church and most protestant churches offer opportunities for holy encounters in chapels and sanctuaries, but not daily, not contemplatively, and not anonymously. At the same time, I remembered major public figures, namely the judge killed in the Arizona shooting and Sargent Shriver, when he was able, who lived their Roman Catholic faith by attending Mass on a daily basis. Almost reluctantly I considered a daily practice at Central Christian Church during each day of Lent 2011. What would it look like? Would anyone attend? I finally decided to offer daily Lenten Prayers at 7:00 a.m. each of the forty days of Lent, Monday through Saturday. I would use our Chapel, have subdued lighting, lots of candles, play Taize music and print a daily bulletin which included scripture readings for the day to be read in silence, an opening responsive prayer, brief meditation, prayers of intercession and a closing prayer. The whole experience would conclude by 7:15 a.m. I found a Roman Catholic website and used much of their material, editing and changing certain parts. I announced to the congregation that this would be a part of my personal Lenten discipline. If others wanted to join me, they were welcome. As it turned out there would be as few as four and as many as thirteen each day. Some came daily, others once a week, some only once or twice. Over thirty different people participated, and that was good. The real impact, however, was personal. Getting up at 5:30 a.m. is not my usual practice, but I did it. Spending time preparing the bulletin, the candles, even the music, was in addition to my normal routine, but I did it. Sitting in the Chapel each morning of Lent in silence, listening to the contemplative Taize music, reflecting on the scripture readings, clearing my mind of the clutter that normally lives there, reading the responsive prayers and focusing on Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem and the cross moved me to a spiritual place that I have seldom visited. Certainly I can pray and reflect of the Mystery of the Divine in my office, in my study at home or while driving, but this was a different and much more profound experience. Others responded similarly. I am changed. Will I do this again? Yes, absolutely. Will I find other opportunities to provide this experience for congregants and myself? Definitely. Will I continue the daily emails? Certainly. Will others continue to be impacted by these practices? I don’t know. Have these practices impacted my spiritual journey and will they continue to do so? Without question!

Enhancing the Spiritual Journey

According to John . . .

    In the book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink the author says: "The paradox of prosperity is that while living standards have risen steadily decade after decade, personal, family, and life satisfaction haven't budged. That's why more people—liberated by prosperity but not fulfilled by it—are resolving the paradox by searching for meaning. As Columbia University's Andrew Delbanco puts it, "The most striking feature of contemporary culture is the unslaked craving for transcendence."

    This is the book I am currently reading (on the Kindle the congregation gave me. Thanks again.) I am impressed by the above quote, so much so that I posted it on my Facebook page. Naturally I believe that an experience of the transcendent and ultimate meaning are found in the community of faith, but a growing part of our culture isn't looking there, particularly the younger generations. Issues of worship style and practice are thought to bridge part of this gap, but I am convinced neither old hymns nor upbeat praise songs attract or impact a large number of unchurched "seekers". Somehow coming into a building for an organized service, regardless of the potential "experience" one might have, is not an option. Now don't get me wrong. I strongly support all of our current worship experiences: traditional and contemporary. They are providing opportunities to encounter the Holy and are meeting many needs, but I wonder if we shouldn't consider other options.

    Lately I have been considering an outdoor "meditation garden" or something to that effect. It could be a place where anyone could come at any time, either in groups or as individuals, to meditate, pray and seek an encounter with God. I have been motivated by the Lenten Devotional material which we received from the Regional Church, based on the concept of a labyrinth, which is a vehicle to enhance one's spiritual journey. What if we were to develop a "garden" on our property on the north side of Broadway (my preference) or on the lot to the south of the offices? It might include a labyrinth, places to sit, Christian symbols, maybe even a water feature. One could hear and see the traffic of Van Buren and Broadway (or Maine), but it could be developed as a spiritual oasis where one could mediate, pray and make a spiritual walk. There would be materials and instructions available. Certainly it would be open to anyone in the neighborhood or the larger community. The church could have outdoor "services" there from time to time. It could be another vehicle to nurture, support and possibly invite others into a life changing, life transforming relationship with God. Think about it. I would appreciate your response.

    Grace and peace,

"Christian" vs. "Disciple"

"We might say that Christians are people who have entered a certain sedentary membership or arrived at a status validated by some group or institution, while disciples are learners (and unlearners) who have started on a rigorous and unending journey or quest in relation to Jesus Christ. It’s worth noting in this regard that the word “Christian” occurs in the New Testament exactly three times and the word “Christianity” exactly zero. The word “disciple,” however, is found 263 times."

A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith (Brian D. Mclaren)

The Wall Street Journal

AUGUST 13, 2010

The Perils of 'Wannabe Cool' Christianity

 

By BRETT MCCRACKEN

'How can we stop the oil gusher?" may have been the question of the summer for most Americans. Yet for many evangelical pastors and leaders, the leaking well is nothing compared to the threat posed by an ongoing gusher of a different sort: Young people pouring out of their churches, never to return.

As a 27-year-old evangelical myself, I understand the concern. My peers, many of whom grew up in the church, are losing interest in the Christian establishment.

Recent statistics have shown an increasing exodus of young people from churches, especially after they leave home and live on their own. In a 2007 study, Lifeway Research determined that 70% of young Protestant adults between 18-22 stop attending church regularly.

Statistics like these have created something of a mania in recent years, as baby-boomer evangelical leaders frantically assess what they have done wrong (why didn't megachurches work to attract youth in the long term?) and scramble to figure out a plan to keep young members engaged in the life of the church.

Increasingly, the "plan" has taken the form of a total image overhaul, where efforts are made to rebrand Christianity as hip, countercultural, relevant. As a result, in the early 2000s, we got something called "the emerging church"—a sort of postmodern stab at an evangelical reform movement. Perhaps because it was too "let's rethink everything" radical, it fizzled quickly. But the impulse behind it—to rehabilitate Christianity's image and make it "cool"—remains.

There are various ways that churches attempt to be cool. For some, it means trying to seem more culturally savvy. The pastor quotes Stephen Colbert or references Lady Gaga during his sermon, or a church sponsors a screening of the R-rated "No Country For Old Men." For others, the emphasis is on looking cool, perhaps by giving the pastor a metrosexual makeover, with skinny jeans and an $80 haircut, or by insisting on trendy eco-friendly paper and helvetica-only fonts on all printed materials. Then there is the option of holding a worship service in a bar or nightclub (as is the case for L.A.'s Mosaic church, whose downtown location meets at a nightspot called Club Mayan).

"Wannabe cool" Christianity also manifests itself as an obsession with being on the technological cutting edge. Churches like Central Christian in Las Vegas and Liquid Church in New Brunswick, N.J., for example, have online church services where people can have a worship experience at an "iCampus." Many other churches now encourage texting, Twitter and iPhone interaction with the pastor during their services.

But one of the most popular—and arguably most unseemly—methods of making Christianity hip is to make it shocking. What better way to appeal to younger generations than to push the envelope and go where no fundamentalist has gone before?

Sex is a popular shock tactic. Evangelical-authored books like "Sex God" (by Rob Bell) and "Real Sex" (by Lauren Winner) are par for the course these days. At the same time, many churches are finding creative ways to use sex-themed marketing gimmicks to lure people into church.

Oak Leaf Church in Cartersville, Georgia, created a website called yourgreatsexlife.com to pique the interest of young seekers. Flamingo Road Church in Florida created an online, anonymous confessional (IveScrewedUp.com), and had a web series called MyNakedPastor.com, which featured a 24/7 webcam showing five weeks in the life of the pastor, Troy Gramling. Then there is Mark Driscoll at Seattle's Mars Hill Church—who posts Q&A videos online, from services where he answers questions from people in church, on topics such as "Biblical Oral Sex" and "Pleasuring Your Spouse."

But are these gimmicks really going to bring young people back to church? Is this what people really come to church for? Maybe sex sermons and indie- rock worship music do help in getting people in the door, and maybe even in winning new converts. But what sort of Christianity are they being converted to?

In his book, "The Courage to Be Protestant," David Wells writes:"The born-again, marketing church has calculated that unless it makes deep, serious cultural adaptations, it will go out of business, especially with the younger generations. What it has not considered carefully enough is that it may well be putting itself out of business with God.

"And the further irony," he adds, "is that the younger generations who are less impressed by whiz-bang technology, who often see through what is slick and glitzy, and who have been on the receiving end of enough marketing to nauseate them, are as likely to walk away from these oh-so-relevant churches as to walk into them."

If the evangelical Christian leadership thinks that "cool Christianity" is a sustainable path forward, they are severely mistaken. As a twentysomething, I can say with confidence that when it comes to church, we don't want cool as much as we want real.

If we are interested in Christianity in any sort of serious way, it is not because it's easy or trendy or popular. It's because Jesus himself is appealing, and what he says rings true. It's because the world we inhabit is utterly phony, ephemeral, narcissistic, image-obsessed and sex-drenched—and we want an alternative. It's not because we want more of the same.

Mr. McCracken's book, "Hipster Christianity: Where Church and Cool Collide" (Baker Books) was published this month.

Sing Our Song

Charles Bayer, in his book The Babylonian Captivity of the Mainline Church, suggests that there are two forces at work in our culture that are squeezing the mainline church, a category that includes the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). One is a burgeoning secularism. The other is growing fundamentalism. Bayer suggests that as we are ageing and dwindling we are also being caught between these two forces. In the midst of concern for this situation he asserts that a "mainline Christian" position will eventually return to dominance. But that return is in the future, perhaps decades away. In the mean time we are called to "sing our song in a strange land".

Certainly we can understand Bayer's analogy. The Israelites were taken into captivity in Babylon. In the midst of a strange, pagan culture they continued to sing their songs, pray their prayers and worship God so that they might remain faithful and so that future generations might learn faithfulness.

The question becomes, "What is our song?" How do we critique a secularism that gives ultimate value to appearance, possession, "experience" and pleasure? How do we critique a fundamentalism that is narrow, exclusive, isolationist and judgmental?

The main themes of our "song" are these:

1. Our God is a loving God who loved the world so much that He sent His Son. . .not to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him.

    2. Our only requirements for "membership" are Confession and baptism. That's it!

3. All are welcome. We are called to be inclusive, not exclusive.

4. Love is the message. They will know we are Christians by our love. We live the story of God's love for all humanity.

5. Everyone has equal opportunity to work and serve.

6. The ministry of Jesus turned the normal view of things "upside down". Cultural views of power, success and "wealth" are now suspect.

    7. Jesus' ministry was "to the least of these"; therefore ours must be as well.

 

I am sure you have refrains to add to this song. Let's talk about it and let us sing with full voice.

    

Pilgrimage

 

    If you have been coming to church or reading my articles for the last few weeks you will know that I have been preaching on the theme, 'Faith is a Journey". I have just finished reading Fragile Hope by Thomas Bandy. The following quote is on page 115:

 

    Everybody is on a journey. The pilgrim is on a journey with a holy purpose. It is not a form of spiritual tourism to revisit the sentimental roots of grandparent or explore the curiosities of other faiths. It is not a form of militant crusade to conquer ignorant or evil people to force them to adopt a particular dogmatic or ideological agenda. It is a pilgrimage. The pilgrim may detour to discover and learn, but soon returns to the holy purpose. The pilgrim may aggressively confront robbers or right wrongs along the way, but returns consistently to the holy purpose. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales gives a humorous, but accurate description of pilgrimage. It can be merry, somber, innovative, traditional, and is a great leveler of class-consciousness. Above all, the pilgrim's progress is companionable as people travel on their holy purpose in good company. Above this, the pilgrim's progress accompanies Jesus, because his companionship is what, in fact, makes the journey holy. Jesus is traveling on the road to Emmaus (or Cleveland or Sydney or Taipei [or Enid]) for a holy purpose, and his companions are with him.

    The holy purpose to make and multiply disciples of Jesus is the point of the church. Tactics vary, but the purpose remains the same. It implies change in faith, change in lifestyle, change in relationship, change in attitude, and change of expectation, change of life itself. It would be a mistake to associate the great purpose with residence in any one location or embodiment in any specific cultural form. Discipleship will be expressed in infinite nuances, and the church in Ephesus will undoubtedly and legitimately behave differently from the church in Rome or Athens or Alexandria or Cleveland [or Enid]. The purpose is not to protect a heritage, or create harmonious fellowship, or win victories for sociopolitical causes, but to make and multiply disciples of Jesus. That may imply appreciation for certain aspects of the past, it may lead to harmonious fellowship, and it may cause social change, but the point of the pilgrimage is none of this. The point is to make and multiply disciples.

 

The point of the journey is to make and multiply disciples.

 

    Grace and peace,