Subversive

Eugene Peterson, in his book The Contemplative Pastor, writes, "If the church member actually realized that the American way of life is doomed to destruction and that another kingdom is right now being formed in secret to take its place, he wouldn't be pleased at all. If he knew what I was really doing and the difference it was making, he would fire me." (1993)

Eugene Peterson is an amazing person. Not least because of his writings, which fill one's soul like a cold glass of water on a blistering summer day. Eugene Peterson is amazing primarily because he recognizes the incredible truth of the church - we are a wayward people, a community of exiles, a band of homeless wanderers seeking what does not exist in the present.

I've always felt that homesickness is a part of Christian spirituality - the deep-hearted longing for a place in which we fit. Now and again, it can be good to find that part of your being that is homesick and live there for a few days. An occasional melancholy is good for the soul; it reminds us of our present frustration and future hope.

I think that a good part of the lack of substance in contemporary American Christian spirituality has to do with our desire to avoid discomfort, pain, and sorrow. It is directly connected to our desire to connect the church - and Christianity - with meeting our needs. The church that exists to meet "needs" - to serve as a cheerleader or advisor to people's misguided attempts to find meaning through comfort - is the church that has had its prophetic voice ripped from its chest and trampled in the dirt. As Peterson so aptly notes, the church exists, not to meet "needs", but to serve as the heralds of a coming kingdom that will overthrow all present kingdoms that stand in opposition to it.

Try to find that statement in your church's sermon archives.

Needs

Lately I've been meditating on community quite a bit. Now, for anyone who knows me well, that's not a big surprise. However, recently it's really struck me how poorly we practice community in the American church. There are a number of reasons for this, but one in particular, I think, leaps to the fore - our focus on meeting peoples' "felt needs". Anyone who has been in any type of ministry has heard the term. In a nutshell, the philosophy boils down to this: meet the needs that people know they have, and you will gain credibility to speak to the needs of which they may not be aware. Sounds simple, right?

Well, here's the problem. The church, by adopting this stance, now becomes some sort of Maslovian hierarchical structure dedicated to peoples' collective self-actualization. Unfortunately, rather than meeting the needs of our local community by reaching out to the poor and the oppressed, we instead settle for reaching the needs of our comfortable middle and upper class friends and neighbors. If we're really, really honest, we'll admit that we are, in fact, most concerned about having our own "needs" met. In this sense, the church functions as the vehicle by which we convince ourselves that we aren't pathetically self-absorbed and that we have some semblance of depth and meaning to our lives. We're quietly "spiritual", and for some reason that seems to be important.

Those are some fairly strong words - but I feel justified in making them. Here are a series of questions to consider:

• What ministries receive the largest numbers of volunteers in your church, and what ministries struggle?


• How does weekly giving compare to giving for high-visibility, high-impact projects?


• How much of your church's budget is dedicated to ministries for which you will receive no tangible return (higher attendance, good press, etc.) - for example, missions?


• How many persons from outside of the Christian faith would you say the average person attending your church knows well?

In honesty, I must confess that I do not practice community well either. In no way am I attempting to point out the flaws of others which I have overcome. I am selfish. I like to be recognized when I do well. I tend to avoid opportunities for service that will require true sacrifice. I spend money foolishly. I could go on...but I merely wish to illustrate that I am not attempting to take an aggressive stance. Rather, I simply would like to consider in what ways we need to move beyond viewing the church as a vehicle for meeting our own needs and start to learn what it truly means to be the body of Christ.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog - theopraxis! I'm still unpacking, so to speak, so if the space doesn't quite feel "lived in" at this point, well, that's not surprising. At some point I'll finish off the links, update the blogroll, and set up the comments - not to mention, post something substantial. For now, I want to open the windows and let the place breathe.

So, what will theopraxis become? My hopes are for a place to share some thoughts on the intersection between faith and life. My motivation is to answer the question, "How do we live in the Story of God, the Story in which we find ourselves?" It's almost embarrassing to have to ask the question. And yet, few would argue that this is, in fact, one of the most pressing questions facing the western church at the beginning of the 21st century.

More to come...