This Sunday is Father's Day, and our worship will feature a special tribute to fathers. We will also highlight several of our key projects this summer. A team of Eastgate people will leave on the annual mission Sunday afternoon for their work projects in Joplin, MO and Fayetteville, AR; we will have a special commissioning for them on Sunday. In addition, we will begin signing up volunteers to help deliver lunches to children through the Raytown Summer Lunch Ministry in July and August. Sunday also marks the beginning of registration for Vacation Bible School, which begins on July 29 -- and there will be a signup sheet available for adult volunteers too.
We'll also continue our sermon series about things that Christians today can learn from the early church described in the Acts of the Apostles. This week we'll move into chapter 3, where the apostles Peter and John are going to pray in the Temple and they meet a crippled man begging for money. Instead of money, they heal him, in the name of Jesus, which is a reminder that frequently God uses other Christians to give people what they need, rather than simply what they think they need. In "Not What You Asked For," we'll consider how this is both a challenge and an opportunity for Christians today.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Book Review: "The Church on the Other Side"
The Church on the Other Side: Doing Ministry in the Postmodern Matrix by Brian D. McLaren (Zondervan, 2003), paperback, 224 pages
Whatever their disagreements on a multitude of other issues, almost all Christians active in congregations can agree on one thing: the practices of Christian faith have changed dramatically in recent years. A regular church-goer from the 1950s dropped into a modern congregation would probably be shocked by, among other things, much more casual dress, more audio-visual technology, and new music (sometimes accompanied by new instruments), not to mention the much more public role of women.
Some of the most dramatic change is not quite so visible on the surface, but quickly becomes obvious. Worship attendance patterns have changed: often regular attenders only appear at services about once a month, owing to weekend work hours, various children's activities, traveling, or just wanting to take it easy on Sunday mornings. It is also increasingly difficult to get volunteers for various activities or responsibilities in the congregation -- in general, there are fewer members and much busier members than before. Such changes are creating financial hardship for many congregations, making the contemporary differences painfully obvious all too often.
To be sure, sometimes Americans become enamored with talk of new things, whether they are "new and improved" products or new challenges in their lives. As a student of history, it seems to me that there have been significant changes in Christianity in the United States at least every generation for at least 250 years (a quarter of a millennium), so the current period of change and challenge should not be all that surprising.
Still, the new context for Christian congregations in the past several years demands some understanding of what has changed -- both inside and outside of the church -- and how congregations can respond to the opportunities and challenges created by these changes. Popular Christian author Brian D. McLaren's 2003 book, The Church on the Other Side: Doing Ministry in the Postmodern Matrix, offers a prescient overview of the current situation for congregations, whose component parts -- in various forms and combinations -- have come to be adopted and advocated by other church leaders who have explored 'modern ministry' in the past decade.
McLaren grabs attention at the opening of the introduction with a succinct assessment, "If you have a new world, you need a new church. You have a new world." From there, in a conversational style that is engaging and concise, he suggests twelve positive ways that congregations can respond to the 'new world' in which they now find themselves. Overall, he offers new language, new approaches to mission, new organizational flexibility, and a renewed appreciation of tradition as ways the congregations can meet the challenges of this era and still live out the Christian calling faithfully and in ways that attract others to do the same. The book culminates in an extensive section where McLaren attempts to tackle the issue of "post-modernism," which he does fairly well (though, as with most explorations of post-modernism, the ultimate description is hazy, at best).
While McLaren presents many ideas, most of them can be classified in two main areas: structure and language. Like many, McLaren suggests that churches have outlasted the organizational structures that served them well during the '50s and '60s. This is most obvious for congregations that are much smaller now than they used to be, but still try to operate in the same way; however, McLaren emphasizes that current church participants are different from those of 40 years ago. Sometimes this is due to the changing demographics of the location of the church building, but it is also due to the cultural shifts over the past two generations. In a couple of chapters, McLaren explains how these changes require a different leadership model (in particular, one that recognizes that no leader can do everything well) and a renewed focus on outreach and mission in congregational ministry.
McLaren also argues that contemporary Christians need to adjust the ways that we speak about ministry and faith. Repeatedly, he insists that the emphasis on rational certainty about different aspects of Christian teaching needs to be abandoned and replaced by an approach to the Gospel and essential beliefs that is more open to questions and even mystery. Interestingly, McLaren suggests that such openness should allow Christians to reclaim certain parts of the tradition, including large swaths of theological and spiritual writings, that had been cast aside as part of previous doctrinal debates or overly critical historical narratives.
More than anything, it is apparent that McLaren is trying to encourage and support a conversation about the ways Christians need to adapt to the changing context of recent years. The book itself models this: it is a revision and expansion of a previous book, Reinventing Your Church, based on additional research and conversation. It also has an extensive appendix filled with thoughtful questions designed to stimulate discussion, especially among congregational leaders.
This is an ongoing discussion in which active Christians need to participate. While the Gospel remains unchanged, the lives of those who desperately need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ are significantly different at the dawn of the 21st Century than in the middle of the 20th Century and before. McLaren succinctly offers the broad outlines of how an old church might effectively minister to this new world.
Whatever their disagreements on a multitude of other issues, almost all Christians active in congregations can agree on one thing: the practices of Christian faith have changed dramatically in recent years. A regular church-goer from the 1950s dropped into a modern congregation would probably be shocked by, among other things, much more casual dress, more audio-visual technology, and new music (sometimes accompanied by new instruments), not to mention the much more public role of women.
Some of the most dramatic change is not quite so visible on the surface, but quickly becomes obvious. Worship attendance patterns have changed: often regular attenders only appear at services about once a month, owing to weekend work hours, various children's activities, traveling, or just wanting to take it easy on Sunday mornings. It is also increasingly difficult to get volunteers for various activities or responsibilities in the congregation -- in general, there are fewer members and much busier members than before. Such changes are creating financial hardship for many congregations, making the contemporary differences painfully obvious all too often.
To be sure, sometimes Americans become enamored with talk of new things, whether they are "new and improved" products or new challenges in their lives. As a student of history, it seems to me that there have been significant changes in Christianity in the United States at least every generation for at least 250 years (a quarter of a millennium), so the current period of change and challenge should not be all that surprising.
Still, the new context for Christian congregations in the past several years demands some understanding of what has changed -- both inside and outside of the church -- and how congregations can respond to the opportunities and challenges created by these changes. Popular Christian author Brian D. McLaren's 2003 book, The Church on the Other Side: Doing Ministry in the Postmodern Matrix, offers a prescient overview of the current situation for congregations, whose component parts -- in various forms and combinations -- have come to be adopted and advocated by other church leaders who have explored 'modern ministry' in the past decade.
McLaren grabs attention at the opening of the introduction with a succinct assessment, "If you have a new world, you need a new church. You have a new world." From there, in a conversational style that is engaging and concise, he suggests twelve positive ways that congregations can respond to the 'new world' in which they now find themselves. Overall, he offers new language, new approaches to mission, new organizational flexibility, and a renewed appreciation of tradition as ways the congregations can meet the challenges of this era and still live out the Christian calling faithfully and in ways that attract others to do the same. The book culminates in an extensive section where McLaren attempts to tackle the issue of "post-modernism," which he does fairly well (though, as with most explorations of post-modernism, the ultimate description is hazy, at best).
While McLaren presents many ideas, most of them can be classified in two main areas: structure and language. Like many, McLaren suggests that churches have outlasted the organizational structures that served them well during the '50s and '60s. This is most obvious for congregations that are much smaller now than they used to be, but still try to operate in the same way; however, McLaren emphasizes that current church participants are different from those of 40 years ago. Sometimes this is due to the changing demographics of the location of the church building, but it is also due to the cultural shifts over the past two generations. In a couple of chapters, McLaren explains how these changes require a different leadership model (in particular, one that recognizes that no leader can do everything well) and a renewed focus on outreach and mission in congregational ministry.
McLaren also argues that contemporary Christians need to adjust the ways that we speak about ministry and faith. Repeatedly, he insists that the emphasis on rational certainty about different aspects of Christian teaching needs to be abandoned and replaced by an approach to the Gospel and essential beliefs that is more open to questions and even mystery. Interestingly, McLaren suggests that such openness should allow Christians to reclaim certain parts of the tradition, including large swaths of theological and spiritual writings, that had been cast aside as part of previous doctrinal debates or overly critical historical narratives.
More than anything, it is apparent that McLaren is trying to encourage and support a conversation about the ways Christians need to adapt to the changing context of recent years. The book itself models this: it is a revision and expansion of a previous book, Reinventing Your Church, based on additional research and conversation. It also has an extensive appendix filled with thoughtful questions designed to stimulate discussion, especially among congregational leaders.
This is an ongoing discussion in which active Christians need to participate. While the Gospel remains unchanged, the lives of those who desperately need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ are significantly different at the dawn of the 21st Century than in the middle of the 20th Century and before. McLaren succinctly offers the broad outlines of how an old church might effectively minister to this new world.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
June 9 Worship: "Shared Resources for Ministry"
Summer worship began in earnest on Sunday, as our usual crowd was noticeably smaller -- probably owing to various summer travel and activities. (It is good to hold these people in our prayers as they travel to visit family and enjoy some good old fashioned R & R.) Still, we were a rambunctious group on Sunday morning, clearly happy to see each other and to worship together.
The sermon continued our study of the beginning chapters of Acts of the Apostles, describing the early church. This week, we touched the slightly uncomfortable section at the end of the recounting of Pentecost, which says that the disciples pooled all of their resources and shared with those who had needs. While I recognized that such utopianism (or Communism in other contexts) have been shown not to work in our world, I believe that we should claim the faith was behind this mutual sharing of resources. The early disciples believed that God had provided them with more than they needed to live -- enough to meet their needs with some left over to help others outside of the church. Compare this to how we normally live, assuming scarcity -- that there is not enough money, or time, energy, etc.
While I did not mention it in the sermon, I think that many African-American churches modeled this faith in the early 1900s. With significant social obstacles that limited what jobs they could hold, where they could live, what schools they could attend, where they could shop, how they could travel, and much more, the churches frequently served as a place where resources were collected together to start banks, schools, and support organizations that would benefit and improve the lives of the wider African-American community. Even with fewer resources and advantages than most other Americans at the time, they believed that they had enough to meet their immediate needs and build a stronger future.
How might our approach to money -- or time -- or energy -- be different if we lived out such faith?
If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you'd like to share it with others, you can find an audio recording here.
The sermon continued our study of the beginning chapters of Acts of the Apostles, describing the early church. This week, we touched the slightly uncomfortable section at the end of the recounting of Pentecost, which says that the disciples pooled all of their resources and shared with those who had needs. While I recognized that such utopianism (or Communism in other contexts) have been shown not to work in our world, I believe that we should claim the faith was behind this mutual sharing of resources. The early disciples believed that God had provided them with more than they needed to live -- enough to meet their needs with some left over to help others outside of the church. Compare this to how we normally live, assuming scarcity -- that there is not enough money, or time, energy, etc.
While I did not mention it in the sermon, I think that many African-American churches modeled this faith in the early 1900s. With significant social obstacles that limited what jobs they could hold, where they could live, what schools they could attend, where they could shop, how they could travel, and much more, the churches frequently served as a place where resources were collected together to start banks, schools, and support organizations that would benefit and improve the lives of the wider African-American community. Even with fewer resources and advantages than most other Americans at the time, they believed that they had enough to meet their immediate needs and build a stronger future.
How might our approach to money -- or time -- or energy -- be different if we lived out such faith?
If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you'd like to share it with others, you can find an audio recording here.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Prayer for Mission in Botswana
This week we pray for Jayanthi and James Wilson, missionaries to Botswana, who serve at the Kgolagano Theological College, the only ecumenical education institution in Botswana.
You can read more about the mission to Botswana here, including examples of how the people face the uncertainty of the future with faith and hope.
There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in many countries around the world. Each week, Global Missions highlights the work in one of these countries and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.
You can read more about the mission to Botswana here, including examples of how the people face the uncertainty of the future with faith and hope.
There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in many countries around the world. Each week, Global Missions highlights the work in one of these countries and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Coming Up Sunday, June 9
This Sunday, we'll continue our exploration of the early church as described in the Acts of the Apostles. Last Sunday, we explored what a church should look like -- not a description of any building, but of a faith community and how they live, gathering together to eat and pray and then going out to live their faith openly (but not always together). This week, we'll consider how they pooled their resources to do both of these things.
In the final verses of Acts 2, we see a Utopian description of the church as a community where everything was equally shared, with no individual possessions. Today, at best, this seems like a fantasy; at worst, it reminds us of Communism. Rest assured, while I think we can learn from this example of the early Christians, I have no interest in the church taking control of everyone's bank accounts, real estate, or anything else. Still, if we can shift our minds away from the parallel with Communism, which limits our thinking, I believe there is something we can learn from this example about how we should share resources -- money, yes, but also time, talents, attention, presence -- for ministry, which is to say, to reach out to serve others.
In the final verses of Acts 2, we see a Utopian description of the church as a community where everything was equally shared, with no individual possessions. Today, at best, this seems like a fantasy; at worst, it reminds us of Communism. Rest assured, while I think we can learn from this example of the early Christians, I have no interest in the church taking control of everyone's bank accounts, real estate, or anything else. Still, if we can shift our minds away from the parallel with Communism, which limits our thinking, I believe there is something we can learn from this example about how we should share resources -- money, yes, but also time, talents, attention, presence -- for ministry, which is to say, to reach out to serve others.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
June 2 Worship: "Church Buildings"
On Sunday, we gathered for a rather emotional worship service. There were many prayer requests for healing and other serious needs among our extended families, in addition to other larger needs in the wake of recent tornadoes and flooding.
We also began our sermon series for June and July, "Faith and Devotion: Lessons from the Church in Acts." Drawing on the first two chapters, especially the period immediately leading up to the day of Pentecost where the disciples were together and then were touched by the Holy Spirit and went out to share the Gospel, we considered the question: What does a church look like? In "Church Buildings" we focused on these two lessons as key aspects of the church -- at times coming together in one place and at other times going out in smaller groups to reach out, serve others, and share the good news about Jesus Christ.
If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you would like to share it with others, you can find an audio recording here.
We also began our sermon series for June and July, "Faith and Devotion: Lessons from the Church in Acts." Drawing on the first two chapters, especially the period immediately leading up to the day of Pentecost where the disciples were together and then were touched by the Holy Spirit and went out to share the Gospel, we considered the question: What does a church look like? In "Church Buildings" we focused on these two lessons as key aspects of the church -- at times coming together in one place and at other times going out in smaller groups to reach out, serve others, and share the good news about Jesus Christ.
If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you would like to share it with others, you can find an audio recording here.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Prayer for Mission in Hong Kong
This week we pray for Judy Chan, missionary to Hong Kong, who jointly serves the Presbyterian Church and Global Missions. She serves as a communications specialist for radio and publication ministries.
You can read more about the mission to Hong Kong here, including a description of some of the programs of the Hong Kong Christian Council.
There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in many countries around the world. Each week, Global Missions highlights the work in one of these countries and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.
You can read more about the mission to Hong Kong here, including a description of some of the programs of the Hong Kong Christian Council.
There are Christian missionaries serving on our behalf in many countries around the world. Each week, Global Missions highlights the work in one of these countries and asks the wider church to pray for its continued vitality in spreading the Gospel.
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