r-conversations with folks after my "Thinking different - redux" posting yesterday. Thank you all! I've been challenged and encouraged, questioned and prayed for by readers who are DEEPLY committed to fashioning a church that is truly of Christ's spirit in the 21st century but who also have very different needs and experiences. Two insights are particularly important:
+ Everyone agrees that depth and compassionate support is essential for a vibrant faith community; the questions arise as to where and how this takes place? Dan's posting - http://theophiliacs.com/- begins the process in public worship. Now while I basically believe everything that matters in church must be modeled in worship - liturgia et al - I also have come to believe that worship is almost NEVER the place to RATTLE people. It is a place to teach and encourage and practice doing the work of God but it is also a place of real peace and comfort because EVERYONE lives more in LOST than Gilligan's Island, yes?
QUESTION NUMBER ONE: What are your experiences of depth and healing in worship? What are you looking for in worship? What works for you? And what leaves you feeling like the whole thing is fake?
+ A majority of people who responded to me also believe that the real sharing and depth takes place in small groups: there are lots of names for this but small groups built upon trust and respect move many of us into greater depth and integrity.
QUESTION NUMBER TWO: Where does the real sharing and compassion take place in your church? What is your experience with small groups? What has worked for 
you and what has failed?
you and what has failed?Like U2, many of us still haven't found what we're looking for when it comes to church. Some of us have been doing it all our lives, too and still we are searching. I would value your experience and wisdom as this new year begins to take shape. Thank you so much for the care and concern you have shared with me. Blessings to you all.
5 comments:
so, i think what you're saying is small groups are for the questions, worship is for the answers... or at least the social articulation of where we're at in the process OF answering the question?
is that a fair interp?
I think that is part of it, Luke. I have also experienced small groups as the place where I can be totally honest and still experience trust and love... and a measure of acceptance, too. That is not something that often happens in large public worship beyond 20 people, yes? Now, I have seen large groups break up and share prayer for one another and that is powerful. But it seems as if there are some very clear clues here re: how to get what is needed in both settings. But what do you think?
i think you're right on. thanks for the clarification.
just wanted to make sure we were operating with similar definitions of worship and what "doing church" entails.
like i keep copy'n this really rawk'n guy's quote of "THIS tradition asks the hard questions and feels the hard feelings". this same dude also stated that "worship is never the place to RATTLE people" and now i understand how these two things fit together.
i hope to RATTLE them into a new understanding or at least waking up to where they are now in their present context. but truth without love is abuse as they say... or as Morpheus stated "I can only show you the door, you have to walk through it."
that's exactly it for me, Luke. When I am preaching or teaching in worship, there are times to be challenging, but never in a way that beats people up. I used to be a real theological bully back 100 years ago - a progressive Chuck Colson/run over my grandmother in a tank for my perspective kinda guy - and I hate that... in me, in others. So, I still come up against that from time to time and know how to be a warrior when it is needed. (The Celts have a saying: before any man can be a pick up a sword, he has to learn how to dance - which says to me we have to know what is really worth fighting for before we turn out all that wildass male energy in ways that can be hurtful. As an almost poppa I know you'll get that one!) So I think we ARE about rattle and hum but in the right places where it is fair and not one sided - and certainly NOT in those public worship spaces where we all gather for grace and hope. Blessings to you, my brother and keep on rawking. Be safe in Egypt, man. You'll be in my prayers every day.
And then there is the mysterious way that God works, sometimes unpredictably bringing intimacy to a large gathering and transcendance to a small one. We will never "nail it down", and that is a good thing.
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