I have had the privilege of being parts of many vibrant communities of faith. From formation to expression..from functioning in a very naïve, pre-cognitive, and instinctual kind of way...to strategically implementing well thought out ideas and plans. Ideally, in every situation we were setting out to build a community that was radically open and engaged with all kinds of people on the edges and fringes of society. And invariably things happened. It was exciting— we were focused and sharpened by a sense of destiny and mission and as a result we grew in a strange and wonderful kind of ways. We were missional, even though at the time this was as yet largely unarticulated, and as a result we experienced a remarkable form of community.
But, in each situation, something seemed to change as we grew and self-consciously became a more trendy. We moved from the dangerous vision of changing the world to desire for stability, notoriety and effective use of resources...something significant was inadvertently lost as our culture changed.
There is something about our middle-class culture that seems to be contrary to authentic gospel values. And this is not a statement about middleclass people per se; I myself am one...but rather to isolate some of the values and assumptions that that seem to just come along as part of the deal.
I remember reading a chapter in a book by Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost, where they noted that much of what goes by the name middle class involves a preoccupation with safety and security developed mostly in pursuit of what seems to best for our children.
And this is understandable as long as it does not become obsessive.
But when these impulses of middle class culture fuse with consumerism, as they most often do, we can add the obsession with comfort and convenience to the list. And this is not a good mix. At least as far as the Gospel and missional church is concerned.
Operating under the influence of these ‘bugs’ in our middleclass software, our communities of faith become marketer of particularly zesty religious goods and services vying for the attention of discerning spiritual consumers. AND too often, flattered by numerical growth, and driven by our own middle-class agendas, we thoughtlessly follow the ‘gather and amuse’ impulse implicit in church growth theory. But could it be that something primal and indispensable is lost in the bargain? We get more transfers from other churches, but the flow of conversion slows down to a trickle and then runs completely dry. Paradoxically, we become busier than ever before, but with less and less real missional impact. We move from the missional idea of ‘me for the community and the community for the world’ to the more consumptive ‘the community for me’ and it eventually destroys us. Its ends up being about ‘me’ and the fruit of such selfishness is loneliness and sorrow.
Recovery is only found in recalibrating our communities along fundamentally missional lines – this is about ‘me’ finding a way to love all the way to the margins! This is never achieved without pain and numerical loss, which by themselves seem scary, but they are accompanied by joy only known by those who are truly living out the Cross.
But maybe that is why it rarely happens...the cost is too high.
No more fearing price tags.
J
