I am really enjoying Carol Howard Merritt's book: Tribal Church. Not only does it describe most of the churches I have served over these past 27 years, but it also describes what I sense are the blessings of an intergenerational, broadly inclusive congregation in these high tech days of specialization and isolation. (check it out: http://tribalchurch.org/)
She notes that "tribes form around a common cause and belief... so we gather to connect with God... Second, tribes tend to the basic needs of one another... understanding that some need more care than others... Third, tribes celebrate and remember traditions... and appreciate the deep spiritual practices that form our communities... And fourth, a tribal church is relational in nature. It is less concerned with denominational labels and hierarchy."
In Tucson, for example, we began encouraging young people and their families to connect with us because "we had cool old people who would LOVE to cherish your babies - and you - as well as young families who are aching to connect with others trying to live Christ's values in this materialist culture." Over time we discovered that not only gay and straight couples with children began to find a spiritual home among us, but so did recent retirees who had left the Midwest for the warmth of the Southwest and middle age folk who were tired of the SOS they found in age segregated congregations. It seems that everybody is missing somebody: grandparents their extended families living halfway across the US, young adults alienated from their past, professionals and military personnel alone in a new city and on and on it goes.
And that is part of the mystery we are discovering here in the Berkshires where the demographics make church growth damn hard: in a high tech world, everyone is searching for a high touch community. Not just a church in the institutional sense, but a place where everybody knows your name... kinda like "CHEERS!"
Think about it: gay and straight, young and old, male and female, Democrat and Republican together in community. Not perfect peace, but bathed in compassion and hope with a good amount of humbling humor around the edges. Last week, for example, I baptized both a mom and her infant son. Earlier in the month a group of 50-something women had knit the mom a lap blanket and the baby a comforter and they made the presentation after the baptism. Nothing revolutionary, but man were the connections happening all over the place. It was electric and joyful.
Carol Howard Merritt notes that there are a few key commitments needed for the tribal church:
+ Fostering intergenerational relationships so that everyone has a place at the table
+ Encouraging economic understanding because the chaos of this moment is very different for young families and adults than those of us with established careers.
+ Cultivating unambiguous inclusion so that artificial and mean-spirited divisions find a gentle and healing way to answer Christ's question: who IS my neighbor?
+ Discovering affirming traditions that bring joy, depth and spiritual authenticity back into the mix - not all traditions are affirming so discernment matters, too.
+ Promoting shared leadership so that the cost and joy of discipleship becomes an antitdote to spectator religion and passive spirituality.
+ Nurturing spiritual community - address that ache in every one's heart by reclaiming the spiritual wisdom of the past for contemporary lives.
And so the discovery becomes a little clearer: First, we found out that God is calling us to connect at a deep level with some of the creative/artistic folk in this area because as we explore beauty together, we are all enriched and healed. Then it became clear that we needed to practice and embody a real community of faith and trust in our leadership team; so we are studying and praying and eating together - sharing and building relationships - and like the community in Acts, "awe came upon everyone because of the many wonders and signs being done..."
And now we are finding our calling into a "tribal church" - a gentle place of unambigous inclusion, humility, tradition and creativity - committed to advancing beauty and patient prayer.
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