Daily Radicals

Well.  We wanted dialog on this subject, and boy howdy, do we have some.  After reading comments by Earl Ruley on my previous post here, and Anna’s newest post here, I want to say that I didn’t mean to imply that people in their 20′s and 30′s were the only one struggling with the concept of Church right now.  I only mean to say this is the perspective I personally must write from, because it’s where I am and what I know.  And when I spoke of  Theological Mumbo Jumbo, perhaps I should have simply said Spirituality.  That said…

When I said I wanted to throw in the towel, I simply meant quit.  I half  joked about going to church on Ash Wednesday, and when asked what I was giving up for Lent, simply saying, “Church.”  However.  I didn’t.  I wouldn’t.  (I don’t think.)  I have friends in their 40′s and 50′s dealing with the same frustrations as me.  Our congregation has a youth room with no youth.  My 10 year old doesn’t want to go to Sunday School.  She says it’s not what she wants from church.  (following in her mama’s shoes too closely perhaps.)  Now.  If we’re all looking for IT and feel IT is not in our churches, shouldn’t we be able to define what IT is?

In the book UnChristian, on page 80 author David Kinnaman presents seven elements that should define a Christ follower:

• worshiping God intimately and passionately
• engaging in spiritual friendships with other believers
• pursuing faith in the context of family
• embracing intentional forms of spiritual growth
• serving others
• investing time and resources in spiritual pursuits
• having faith-based conversations with outsiders

I read this and found myself wondering… if these things define what a Christian should be and do (and I whole-heartedly agree with the list) then shouldn’t this also be a good outline for our faith communities and churches, as well?  For me, I think THIS would be a good place to start when defining what it is I’m looking for in a church.  No where on this list do I see:

• Must have fancy trappings.  Silver chalice, gold candelabras, expensive linens.
• Give only money to the unfortunate hoping that counts as service.
• Bad mouthing others.  (if we are doing this in the context of a church family, my kids can’t do this at home, adults shouldn’t get away with it at church)
• Counting bodies in seats instead of souls in His kingdom.

Am I making any sense?  I look at the title of Anna’s newest post, “ What will bring people to the Church?” and I find myself wondering, “does it matter?”  My first instinct is to say we should be worried about bringing people to Christ, not so much to church.  However.  What is the church if not the Body of Christ?  And, therefore, if we can lead others to church are we not then also bringing them into the body of Christ?  BUT if believers make up the body, then when two or more of us are together, (gathered in his name and all that) the Bible says he is with us.  Does that not make that gathering CHURCH?  It’s all so messy.  I say the building should be a FUNCTION of the people.  Not the whole point of going.  I’ve seen more of God on a beach on the Pacific than in some churches.  And I’ve been in churches that made me want to remove my shoes, for I knew I stood on holy ground.

When I’m in church I want to feel love.  To feel refreshed.  To feel lifted up, ready to face the coming week.

I want to feel Emanuel.  God with us.

That’s what IT is for me.

Our gospel reading this morning was from Mark 8:31-38

(If you go to a liturgical church, you probably already knew that…)

ANYWAY.  I sat there thinking about how Jesus said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”  This hit me like a brick today!

First, I can’t hear this particular scripture without having Anna come to mind (see I was paying attention when you explained the Crossway name to me…)  Second, It made me wonder how this applies to MY life.  Doesn’t this sound simple?  Just take up (c’mon pick it up) your cross and follow him already.  But what about that first part?  LET THEM DENY THEMSELVES.  Ouch.  That part’s harder.  That says ditch your agenda.  Nothing you do is gonna cut it. You gotta play by HIS rules.  Then there’s the part when he says, “follow me.”  that’s right.  FOLLOW HIM.  Never did he say follow the church, the state, the culture, your own mind.  Your life (MY life) needs to be all about following Jesus & spreading his gospel.  That’s it.  The point.  Here I keep saying I’m trying to figure “it” out and Jesus himself went ahead and told me what “it” is.  That simple.  Huh.  Go figure.  Follow him.  FOLLOW HIM!  GO!

My friend Anna and I have decided to put our heads together, hoping to use this blog as a place to share our dialogs on faith with others who might feel the same.  Welcome.

Those of us in the under 40 set seem to be suffering from a crisis of faith.  Not a LACK of faith, but a basic uncertainty of what to do with the faith we have in our everyday lives.  Many of us believe in God and Jesus Christ.  We’re trying to live good, moral lives, raise our children to be responsible, caring adults, and care for those less fortunate than ourselves.  Many of us have tried church.  A lot of us are IN church.  But it doesn’t feel right.  It’s not a good fit.  It’s not working for us.  We are a flexible generation, used to adapting our lives to fit our needs, from our jobs, to our educations, our family structures and our communities. We question, and we demand answers.  We give, and expect to also receive.  We are apt to complain to a company if a product does not meet our expectations, comparison shop rather than blindly remain brand loyal, write our congressmen on issues we feel passionate about, and exercise our right to vote.  Unfortunately, the church, as an institution, is proving to be unable to flex with us.

There’s no better way to illustrate this than with a personal example.  WE are a modern Gen X family.  My husband works a job he loves, on a really oddball weekend night shift, and I am a stay at home mom.  Neither of us chose to finish college, for we couldn’t see how it fit into our future plans.  This by no means makes us UNSKILLED.  (The man can run a nuclear reactor for Pete’s sake!) His hours and my being home allow us an enormous amount of time together.  Not only as a couple, but as a family.  This would not be the case if we didn’t homeschool too.  We homeschool not so much because of our Christian values, but more because it’s what works for our family.  It’s an extra bonus that we can use this opportunity to really share our values and our faith with our girls at the same time.  Our daily lives are anything but the typical “American Pie” existence. Often at church we find people don’t understand why my husband will come to church tired, in dirty work pants (having come straight off a 12 hr night shift position he accepted so he could still come to church.)  People question our decision to homeschool, while complementing us on our children.  And most people don’t understand what I do all day, while at the same time wondering how I “do it all” around our small farm. In short, we don’t fit in anyone’s box.

We both grew up in church.  He in the Church of the Nazarene, me in the United Church of Christ.  We went to Sunday School, summer camp, our mothers were in the choir, etc.  Despite all this, we didn’t meet because of our faith.  By our mid 20′s we’d both grown away from the church (disillusioned by the members we saw acting in a very UNchristian manner) and were doing our own thing.  I think the only real reason we’ve ended up back in the church in our 30′s (United Methodist, then Episcopal, and now Anglican) is that we wanted to raise our girls “right” and also that we moved to a very conservative small town when we first moved to TN, and to live there without a church home is to walk around with a sign just ASKING people to annoy the crap out of you about church.  I think of it as the “fresh meat” syndrome.  Besides, it seemed a good place to make some friends with small kids and similar interests & values.

HOWEVER, we’re finding church to still be full of the same attitudes we fought against as teens, and we find we’re still treated as children by many of the people in our parents’ generations.  Despite finding a denomination whose doctrine we agree with, church is still not a good fit for us.  Our faith is as dynamic and passionate as everything else in our lives.  We are not satisfied to just sit, smile nice, shake hands and leave.  Yet after 3 years in the same congregation we’re still the new couple, don’t truly feel included, and whenever we speak up with new (sometimes radical) ideas, people get uncomfortable.  I was recently told I’ve never been a joiner.  Well,  I’ve never been a quitter, either, and I’m SURE we’re not alone.

We are just one young family with a faith story similar to many others.  Our generation is out there seeking God, and the church is leaving us dissatisfied, wanting more.  Anna & I want to explore several really good books that have been written on the subject of the younger generations and our attitudes towards Christianity.  Many of these books however, are written by those who belong to one of the older generations, and are mere observers of this phenomenon.  Here we hope to offer a first hand account.  We are a part of this new generation of believers.  We are daily radicals.