Open the Door but Where are the People?

Churches are closing all across American and I am beginning to understand why.

I witnessed this weekend perhaps the most manipulative political maneuvering I have ever experienced and it was at a meeting of church people. When asked why they are leaving the church, young adults say that one of the key reasons is a blatant difference between spoken values and lived values. This weekend whole sets of people were de-valued and silenced so that they could not raise questions about an issue that would shape their future.

I am not sure what is more disturbing. The fact that the political process was so shamelessly manipulated or that nobody who could speak seemed to care. In one sweeping motion ethnic ministries across the jurisdiction were marginalized and ministry was diminished to profit generating programming all in the name of expediency.

What about those of us most affected by the change. We were forced to sit in the back of the room in silence. It reminded me of Thanksgivings years ago when the kids sat at the children’s table and were told that they were to be seen but not heard. So we sat and watched people who did not fully understand what was happening wipe away two decades of progress in ethnic ministries and discipleship.

When questions were raised, they were glossed over with phrases like, “that will never really happen,” or “there is no need to duplicate ministry that is happening in other places.” One defender even spoke of a very capable and effective leader as a “token employee.”

Even a cursory look at several of the annual conferences and their free fall in membership and, more importantly, worship attendance, proves that even if ministry should be happening there, it isn’t. That national “comprehensive plans” are merely paper until a person acts as advocate and catalyst for ideas of implementation.

One friend, sitting silently in the back while watching her ministry dissolve without question from the floor said it best, “I thought this was the Church?” It wasn’t the Church; it was politics, plain and simple. Politics that manipulate the system to get a desired end without fully explaining the long-term implications of actions or providing adequate time for reflection and input. It was top-down policy making. If it was the Church, then it is no wonder that the Church is in danger.

What now? I do not know. The implications of this action have kept me awake for four nights. How many more of our churches will fall to ruin upon the altar of political manipulation? Let us save money but continue to loose souls.

Gracious God, who brings dry bones to life. Let us live again, give us hearts filled with courage to speak for those who are silenced and hands to work for those whose hands are tied. In the name of the author of resurrection, Jesus, I pray. Amen

Marty

Real; Relevant & Revolutionary

To keep young adults in our churches we must find a way to connect where they live. What they seek is not much different from what their parents sought twenty or so years ago, but of course that was when we were “anti-establishment” rather than being the establishment. It is time to find ways to be real; relevant and revolutionary and to foster those tendencies in our young adults rather than fighting against them.

This generation knows that the Christian faith is not about “happily ever after.” They are the products of single parent homes, gangs, drugs and STDs. They realize that just because you bend an knee at an altar and commit to Christ doesn’t mean that when you get up your life won’t be just as difficult. They understand what it is to be “real.” To be real is to be completely authentic and to tell the hard truth. They are the product of about 3,000 commercial messages every day and don’t appreciate infomercial Christianity.

How does this translate to the church? First, no false promises. Don’t promise their lives will magically come together or that they won’t have existential struggle once they let God in. Rather, help them understand that our power is in the power of the shared community, the mystery of the sacrament and the foundation of a faith system that will endure even when our lives are unendurable. Help them realize that this is a battle not a theme park and that it will be a struggle. Let them know that faith is a daily decision and not a mushy feeling you get at camp, that way when they go home they are ready for the fight.

Secondly, look around. This is not the world of the past, it is the world of now. Wil Wilimon once said when he teaching at Duke Divinity School that if the fifties ever come back the United Methodist Church will be ready. Amazingly (at least to me) being relevant is not about having electric guitars and fancy graphics as much as it about helping them connect the unchanging Gospel to an ever-changing world. They are saturated by the culture and only get a sprinkle of the Truth. We have to give them real tools to help them cope rather than generic platitudes and churchy clichés that fall apart when assaulted by their real lives.

Being revolutionary is even more of a struggle than being real and relevant. It is against our nature to embrace revolution. The status quo is where we have learned to live; allowing a complete turnover of all that makes us comfortable is hard to embrace. If we have done our jobs and been good mentors, allowing them to test their leadership skills and grow in their faith, we should feel fine with giving over the reigns of leadership to them. Let them create, develop and lead. Provide areas where they can stretch their revolutionary muscles. Let them fail. That’s right, helicopter parents and hovering pastors, let them fall flat on their face and flop. There is no better way to learn than to fail, as long as failure is done in a loving community that will pick you up and give you another chance.

Lastly, embrace the revolution. Support it and make way for it. Certainly, serve the congregation that is but make way for the community that is coming next. Were it not for the life-lengthening work of modern medicine most mainline churches would already have given the reigns of leadership over to this generation or have ceased to exist. Just because we are living longer does not, necessarily mean we deserve to strangle the church and mold it to our preferences. Remember, its not about you…it’s about the Gospel.

Gracious God, who created out of chaos, grant that we can embrace the chaos of revolutionary creation once again and let your Holy Spirit lead our church back to life. You who lived in a real world, allow us to be real, You who caused a revolution, let us embrace the revolution that you are bringing again. In the name of the real revolutionary, Jesus, I pray. Amen

Marty

Pile it High!

Consumerism has become the plague of our culture. We want more and more for less and less. We want it fast, instantaneous if possible. Somehow we believe that if we have more “stuff” then we will be happier. We have supersized our lives. When we run out of room for our junk in the house we fill up our garage. When that’s full be rent a storage space down the street and fill that up. Soon we can’t find anything because of the everything that we have in the way. I’m not sure we were designed to accumulate.

I understand the primitive nature of those who, due to some trauma or significant loss in their past, have a reluctance to throw anything away. These are the people who save every newspaper, magazine and grocery bag. However, many of us grew up with plenty. We never really worried that we would have dinner on the table or clothes to wear; yet still we are filling our closets to the max. We tend to accumulate for a few reasons. First, we are told we need it. We think it will make us feel better. We have culturally infused competitive natures and we find our security in what we have rather than who we are.

The average person sees more than 3,000 advertisements per year. We are inundated with the media telling us what we need. There are banner ads on our email, commercials on television, direct mail and now, the bane of my existence, cell phone telemarketing. Each ad is designed to tell us that the product or service they are providing is just what we need to fill that last remaining gap in our lives. There are choppers to smash stuff and super glues to put it all back together. There are toys that entertain and cases for those toys to keep them safe and make them even more stylish.

Not only do we need it but also if we have it we will feel better. There is a sensation that is commonly known as “buyer’s rush” which is that surge of adrenalin that you get when you make a purchase. There are even those folks who so crave to that feeling that they addicted to shopping. That feeling is fleeting, however, and is only fueled by another purchase. Before long you are watching infomercials and trying to find what will make you feel better if you purchase it next.

Competition also fuels our consumerism. We want to keep up with the Jones. Make sure that we also have the newest SUV and the biggest, flat screen television. Since we were children we have had the philosophy that “my dad is bigger than your dad.” That has grown into “my SUV is cooler than your SUV.”

Stuff also makes us feel secure. We like to be surrounded by “our stuff.” We begin this with our teddy bear or blanket as a small child. Every parent has stories about forgetting a prized stuffed animal and driving back an hour to get it fearing that their child would never get to sleep if they didn’t have it at bedtime. As we grow, we accumulate more security stuff. Before long we have closets filled with memorabilia. We fear that if we get rid of that ceramic doll painted by great aunt Sue or the journals from middle school, a part of our “selves” will be lost.

Jesus told the disciples to go and serve with only the clothes on their back. How often has my stuff held be back from doing everything God has called me to do? Have my physical possessions tied me to the past rather than freeing me to live out my call to the future.

Gracious God, who is the giver of all good gifts. Forgive me for worshipping stuff rather than You. Grant me the ability to clean out my closets and clean out my heart. In the name of the one who gives us the gift of freedom, Jesus, I pray. Amen

People Don’t Pay for Average

Each year I attend a conference that provides me with tons of material to reflect upon. Ever since I first attended, seven years ago, I have tried to boil down my key learning point for each day into one, powerful moment when I got what I needed to learn most. This year it was the central truth that “people don’t pay for average.” My friend, Tim Elmore said it to me first on Thursday morning and then I heard it again at least three more times that day.

People pay for excellence. That’s why we pay 25% more for a Toyota of the same size than we do a Kia…we trust Toyota. Everywhere boutique specialty shops are springing up, leaving the big box stores to fill their stores with average, to sell the exquisite. Their shelves are filled finest cheeses and wines and imported, organic vegetables. Somewhere along the line we have grown sick of average. Our lives are filled with average but we crave something more. Something better.

Then we go to church where average is rewarded as excellence. So often the church, as a whole, has often settled for average. We have failed to give our very best, holding that back for our personal or professional endeavors. The church has spent the last few decades doing the bare minimum to survive, mortgaging our tomorrows by making shortcuts today. We have let our facilities decay by delaying maintenance; we have cut our staff to the bone and forsaken missional commitments for short-term survival. The more average we become the more our resources dry up. People don’t pay for average.

Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe that’s how we know what’s working and what is a desperate attempt to cling to the past. I’m not saying that every church that is growing is excellent, or even Christian, but I am saying that it is time for Christ-followers to be willing to give their very best in pursuit of what God wants to do with their life. To step back and ruthlessly evaluate what is the best we have and offer that as a thanksgiving offering to God. We must stop living our faith life on leftovers and live it in radical discipleship.

Gracious God, help me to give you my first and my best and to not just give you the leftovers of my life. You who gave us Your best grant me the strength to do likewise. In the name of the divine gift, Jesus, Amen.

Consumed by the Call,
Marty