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.
The song is right on target, but the question remains, Where do we sing? If we continue to sing only within the walls of the church, no one new will hear us, much less embrace the song and sing with us. Why is the mainline church so reluctant to sing it's song on the public information highway? Do we think it's inappropriate to tell our story via television, movies, the internet? Certainly not everyone agrees that Lady GaGa is a great vocalist, but few people between the ages of 14 and 75 have not heard of her. Seems to me the church still has the opinion that if someone needs "us", they will come find us, instead of the other way around.
ReplyDelete