Extract of Rick McKinley's book "A Kingdom Called Desire". Click here to visit original post at Imago Dei blog.
In the West, Christians have leaned too heavily on the pragmatics of how. When we assume the answer we most deeply need is an answer outside of us that only an expert can give, we become a paralyzed people waiting to be told what to do next:
Go to church on Sunday? Check.
Belong to small group? Check.
Read Bible and pray daily? Check.
Wear appropriate Christian apparel, listen to Christian radio, home school, work in the soup kitchen, write letters to missionaries, take casserole to church potluck, drink fair-trade coffee, work to alleviate extreme poverty, eat vegetarian, recycle, sign human rights petition? Check, check, check, and check.
When we turn following Jesus into a product instead of a relationship, the only question we end up asking is, how do we do that? And we look for clues in what everyone else is doing and do that too. Pretty soon we are doing all sorts of things but we don’t know why anymore.
I realize this is a tremendous oversimplification, but time and time again it comes back to haunt us. Truthfully a lot of the books we buy in regards to following Jesus are couched in this how-to language as well: Will someone out there tell me how to follow Jesus?
Jesus didn’t spend a lot of time answering that question.
I find that to be really hopeful. When he did answer the how question, he did so in a way that was very personal to the one he was talking to. For example, a rich young ruler came and asked Jesus how to gain eternal life (Luke 18:18 – 27). Jesus told him to keep the commandments, to which the man basically replied, “Been there. Done that!” He had a checklist for salvation, licking his pencil as he marked off each step.
So Jesus masterfully tapped into the deeper question of desire in the rich young man’s life. The question is: What are you really putting your security in? What do you really think is going to save you? For that rich young man, the answer was his own personal wealth and his ability to do the right things. That’s where his security was. And when Jesus pointed out one area where the young man couldn’t do the right thing, the man gave up.
In other places Jesus simply asked people, “What do you want?” or “Do you want to get well?” — questions that pushed right past the how-to questions and went directly to the issues most important to the person, the issues of desire.
“Do you really want to follow me or do you need your money to make you feel secure?”
“Do you want to be healed or do you need to be sick because you don’t believe anyone will care about you if you are made well?”
The questions are deep, involved, not simple or reduced, and they cannot be packaged into a one-size-fits-all container. What do you desire most? Do you really want Jesus, or do you want beauty, a career, success, and happy relation- ships? Do you really want Jesus, or do you just want to fill in some boxes to prove that you are saved?
To the rich young ruler, Jesus said, primarily, “Come, follow me” (Luke 18:22). Get rid of the checklists. Stop thinking you can buy your way into heaven. Follow me. Quit asking how and starting asking who!
Rick McKinley will be speaking at the "At the Corner of..." conference 2011. Click here to register.
"The conviction is that God is on mission, we haven't joined Him yet. When you throw yourself into that posture I think the Holy Spirit is really excited to use your gifts in a creative ways to reach the world."
For most of Christian history congregations have served as gathering places where geographically approximate adherents could practice their faith. It was not always this way.
For most of its first three centuries Christianity was mainly a street movement, a marketplace phenomenon that spread through slave populations and social guilds of free laborers. Gatherings of adherents took place primarily in homes and some suitable public places, convening primarily for fellow- ship, teaching, and worship. However, the gatherings were not the point or focus of Jesus-follower spirituality. Christianity was primarily a practice, a way of life.
Love of God and love of neighbor meant adopting a life of sacrificial service that distinguished followers of Jesus as a counter-cultural force, differentiated from those around them by the character of their lives. Early believers rescued babies (especially girls) abandoned by Roman households. They stayed behind to tend to the sick people when plagues drove the population out of the cities. In other words, Jesus followers demonstrated allegiance to Jesus primarily when they were away from their gatherings, engaged in lives that typically and routinely intersected with and included non- Jesus followers. The church represented a lifestyle that was radically different from its cultural surroundings but radically committed to the well-being of the people in the culture.
Along the way, though, this orientation changed. The church movement became domesticated. The imperial edict by Constantine is usually blamed but a shift was already under way with the rise of a clergy class. These two forces— the need to create a state religion and a clergy eager to comply—combined to centralize and institutionalize the Christian movement. The church congregationalized. This move profoundly altered its way of being in the world.
The idea of adherents gathering together as the central practice of the faith gained ascendancy when the church settled down into a religion dominated by clergy. Church as congregation developed the expectation that people would demonstrate their devotion to the faith by participating in congregational activity, which centrally involved the worship service. Rather than a lifestyle of counter-cultural sacrificial love of neighbor, adherence to ‘‘the faith’’ became centered on assenting to a set of doctrinal beliefs. Christianity became defined as a set of theological propositions rather than a way of life.
The ensuing schism between belief and practice promoted a sacred-secular dichotomy that greatly influenced the nature of congregational life as something distinct from the rest of life. Church became a ‘‘sacred place’’ where specific religious acts were performed. The congregation served as home base for Jesus followers, a sort of refuge, effectively pulling the church off the streets. Loyalty to Christ was measured by one’s participation in congregational activity. In exchange for this support the church provided religious goods and services to its ‘‘members.’’ The ‘‘member culture’’ would eventually give rise to a culture of competition, as congregations vied for the affection and financial support of existing and potential customers.
The most enduring legacy of the congregational church is its worldview. Church as congregation became something other than the people who were its constituency. The church became an ‘‘it.’’ It stood outside people. This notion is in contradiction to the New Testament understanding of church as a ‘‘who.’’ Biblical teaching on the church sees the church as the ongoing incarnation of Jesus in the world, an organic life form vitally connected to him, even married to him, depending on the metaphor chosen by the writer. Church as an ‘‘it’’ followed the inevitable path that all institutions travel. Institutional goals eventually became separated from and supplanted spiritual mission. The clergy, who initially served as spiritual leaders because they were spiritual leaders, over centuries became increasingly captured by organizational concerns at best or political agendas in the worst cases.
Although the Reformation adjusted some of the theological categories, it did little to alter the notion of church as a congregational expression. In fact, Reformation ecclesiology remained centered on the congregation. Church vocations still referred to clergy roles. Orders and practices guided and focused on what the church did in its corporate gatherings, worship, and activities. In many denominations the idea of church itself became inextricably tied to the proper administration and functioning of gatherings, worship, and activities, especially if it was a way of distinguishing one denominational tribe from another.
The post-Reformation modern era did not move to alter the congregational understanding of church. Though several developments affected its practices, nothing challenged the ruling paradigm of church as congregation. Twentieth-century developments in transportation and the corresponding infrastructure such as freeways allowed people to travel greater distances more quickly with relative ease. People could choose among congregations to select their spiritual ‘‘home.’’ This, in turn, fueled congregational competition, giving rise to the customer-service orientation of the contemporary program church (and spawned a church growth industry that promoted the idea of building even bigger and better ‘‘churches’’ — meaning congregational organizations). The assumption was that community and individual transformation would result from having great congregations with well-trained clergy and lots of programs.
The rise of the megachurch in the second half of the twentieth century paralleled what was going on in the retail world as the center of gravity shifted from the ‘‘mom-and- pop parish’’ to the large ‘‘big box retail centers.’’ These megachurches have maintained their core sense of identity as a congregation—that is, for those who attend, church is something outside of me that I belong to, that I attend or ‘‘go to,’’ an institution that I support.
This sweeping and admittedly broad-brush treatment of church development over the centuries might sound as if church as congregation is and was bad. I do not mean to imply or even to suggest this. To the contrary, many congregations do a lot of good. Some pack hundreds of backpacks of food every week to send home with school children who are food insecure. Others conduct mentoring and tutoring programs for underperforming students. Some churches are building wells in overseas villages so people can have access to clean water while at the same time creating microeconomic development opportunities for the villagers. Still others work to liberate women and children from sex traf- ficking and slavery. Certainly without congregational effort, the clean-up efforts after Hurricane Katrina would have been far less extensive and effective. In fact, the faith community saved the day for many—and is still working to rebuild that part of our country. Disaster relief abroad as well would be much diminished without the altruism expressed through American congregations. Added to all this is the spiritual teaching and nurturing of millions of Americans each week! All of this should be honored and celebrated.
Nor do I mean to seem to be predicting the end of the congregational expression of Christianity. Millions are served in their spiritual journeys through its efforts and millions more are helped to enjoy a better life through its ministry. The congregation is here to stay!
I am simply trying to point out that this one view of church has been so predominant in Western culture that it has made it seem as if it is the only legitimate expression. Anything that takes place outside of ‘‘church as congregation’’ has seemed suspicious to some. Even terms like para-church—a word that makes no sense biblically (one is either in the church or not)—is an organizational term invented to affirm the supremacy of church as congregation. It has taken years for the house church movement to gain respect, even though it was the predominant form of church expression in the first three centuries of the Christian movement and is a potent life form in countries where the church is growing virally.
What I am after here is opening up the discussion of missional communities so that we can begin to see that God is up to something new. I am suggesting that we expand the bandwidth of how we think church can express itself in our culture. We need to or else we are in real trouble.
Even with the rise of megacongregations, decades of emphasis on church growth, and large infusions of money and people resources, the congregational approach to ‘‘doing church’’ has entered its declining period. Church attendance is holding up as well as it is only because Americans are living longer. Even so, participation is slipping. The prognostication is not good. A variety of indicators all point to the same conclusion: we have entered an era that is ripe for and needs a post-congregational church.
Reggie McNeal will be speaking on October 14th, 2011 at the "At the Corner of..." conference.
To view original post at Leadership Network click here.
We got to address and answer a different question: How can we be church where people already are? A different trajectory of a different set of questions and a different set of issues if we are going to be salt, light, and fulfill the great commission.
You know the spots we get into where we are sure that God is calling us somewhere and huge obstacles stand in our way? The places where what stands between you and God’s dream for you seems insurmountable?
I have been thinking about those places a lot lately. Personally it may be a battle with an addiction, it may be a child with a disability that you can’t change or fix, it may be trying to climb out of debt. The list could keep growing.
As a church it seems that there are always huge gaps between what God is calling us to and the resources to get there.
I don’t know what they are for you but I know that you have them because the more I read in the scripture that more I realize that these places are normal places to be in when you are following God.
God is the God of the impossible. The insurmountable moment of the people of Israel standing between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, The Giant and the kid with the slingshot, The walls of Jericho and a Jewish marching band, The Roman Empire and a homeless King hanging on the cross breathing his last breath.
I am thinking now that if we are not in these places we may need to ask ourselves how closely we are following in God. Time and again this is where the people of God end up. God takes us to these places for a reason. It is here that he does some of the deepest transformational work in our lives.
Here are some of the things that I am learning about God in the midst of insurmountable odds.
Awareness
The first thing that I notice is that God has my attention. I am no longer resting in the ease of things. I am God attentive. Aware of the obstacle before me I come face to face with my own limitations. I don’t have the resources to overcome it. I am in great need. God alone has the ability to take me through this place he has lead me. He is the only one that can make it happen or bring about the change.
Faith
All of my doubt is coming to the surface here. My quickness to blame the situation on others bubbles up to the top. I think of the Israelites asking Moses why he led them to this place. “Were there not enough graves in Egypt?” EX 14 I am quick to look for who is at fault for me being in this place. I may be asking a different question than they did but it is this really the same doubtful question in the midst of my fears. “Were there not enough failed pastors that you needed another one?”, “Did I not have enough pain in my life already that you wanted me to have more?”, “Did I do something wrong that you brought me here to ruin me?”
Waiting
It is in the in-between that we are called to stand. Nothing more than that, just stand. We can try to avoid the waiting by working hard to find our own way out of the situation but it wont work. We know it won’t work because we have tried it over and over yet we still end up here. It is in the waiting that I am learning about God and myself and the school of discipleship is taking root and growing Christ in me by his Spirit. So I wait. God allows me to wait. It is in the waiting that my emotional doubt starts to subside. I have to get them out of my system and give voice to them so that the deeper voice can begin to be heard. The voice of God. There is a lot for me to learn in the waiting but I wont catch it until my soul gets quite and begins to be still and know that he is God.
These three things seem to be the starting point of moving into and through the insurmountable places that God leads us to. I wouldn’t call any of them very fun. There is more going on here than fun. God is doing something with us and in us and through us and he is taking it very seriously. For God more is at stake than quick passage through hard times. He is shaping a people for himself that will be salt and light in the world. That comes through deep and profound change. God is making that change in these in-between moments where we stand between our Promised Land dreams and the obstacle of large seas and oppressive armies.
What has God taught you in the in-between places when you are facing things that are too big for you and promises that you are called to stand in?
To read the original blog post click here.
Rick McKinley will be in Houston for the conference "At the Corner of..." 2011. To register click here.
Bill and Sandy Byrd tell the story of how God used At The Corner Of… Conference 2010 to inspire them into a journey of pouring themselves into the lives of orphans in Bogota, Colombia and jump-starting Orphan Hope International.
What corner have you been called to? Is God merely asking you to cross the street or are you looking at a whole new intersection? We asked these questions and more, and explored in relational storytelling at the 2010 At the Corner of conference gathering more about the living out of our faith.
Several storytellers talked about their journey, their discoveries, challenges, successes, and even “what’s next” thoughts. Something had stirred in them over time, bringing transformation to various intersections in their lives. Their stories brought tears, laughter, conviction, and inspiration to conference participants to pursue a life lived missionally toward bringing transformation to Greater Houston. Though the stories were different, underlying them all was the clear sense that we aren’t being called to the same old faith, full of “programs” and “10 steps to…”
Even the act of telling the stories brought new insight and hope that our corporate and individual faithwalks can indeed be categorically different from what we’ve lived in in the past.
Let's have this conversation again! Join us for ATCO 2011 on October 14th and get a glimpse of new stories of faith and radical obedience that are happening just around the corner.
Like some of you, I’ve served in many roles and places over the years. When I think back, though, my limited memory tends to visit familiar stories and settings while other experiences seem to fade away. I recently walked into a group of people assembling for an event. A familiar face elicited fond feelings but initially I couldn’t remember which “world” he represented. If we’d not crossed paths that afternoon, I may never have reconnected with him but there he was, smiling broadly with an outstretched hand. After we visited, what was nearly lost became fresh again with a spirit of renewed gratitude for the past and anticipation of the future. Please consider the October ATCO gathering an offer from the Lord and the body of Christ in Houston to re-engage where God has worked in your life so you may embrace new insights, hope and support for the journey ahead.
The event promises to be informative and inspiring. The theme and format of the afternoon assume that we are called to discern God’s calling on our lives. Whether our current sense of direction is clear or cluttered, the time together should help us in at least two ways. First, we’ll hear stories of how God is transforming individuals, families, congregations, and communities around us. Reggie McNeal and Rick McKinley are national leaders in articulating and incarnating the missional church. We can become more aware to how God is moving among us. Second, we’ll have the encouragement of old and new friends to discern what God is saying about our own vocations. Our hearts can become more ready to follow God’s pathway for us.
What exciting possibilities for one afternoon! See you there.
Dr. Furr is President of the Houston Graduate School of Theology.
This is a hard week in my neighborhood. Father’s Day is not a holiday that brings good feelings for a lot of people growing up in the city. There are a large number of families where dad is missing, so Father’s Day becomes a source of pain rather than a celebration.
I can relate to this feeling as most of my teenage years were without my dad in the home. Father’s Day was usually spent watching other families and listening to stories of dads that were present in the lives of their children. That was a joy that I longed for as a teen, and if I get a little more transparent, it is the relationship I wish I could have even now. My children didn’t grow up with granddad. Absent dads don’t just take joy from their children; it even reaches to their children’s children. Absentee fathering harms generations.
There is another side to this story. There were many dads around when I was a teen that showed interest in my life – men who took time to take me to ball games and make sure I had a male role model in my life. Many of them had children of their own and included my brothers and me in their family times. There were spiritual dads who took time to teach and disciple me along the way. Thank God for great men who thought it was important to teach and train young men who were not their biological sons but in every other way took seriously the role of dad.
“Dad” is not a role you play just for your own child – it is a role that any man can take on as a gift to children who need to be loved by a father. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. I believe God himself steps in the lives of children forsaken by fathers, and I believe the hands and feet of this scripture is people taking time to love and mentor seemingly fatherless children.
I have been honored to be a father, a part of my life that brings me overwhelming joy. I am trying with all my heart not to repeat the sins of my father by staying married to Donna and being a dad that is present in the lives of my children. I have been given the grace by God to stop the nasty pattern set by my dad by remaining present, and it has been a wonderful journey. The road trips, ballgames, water fights, bedtime renditions of Green Eggs and Ham, homework, acne, proms, and graduations – what a joy!
Thank you so much, God, for letting me be a Dad, not just to my kids but to every child I have had the opportunity to know, teach, love, and nurture.
