There is this person I know. I think he's pretty obnoxious. He's also sorta high up in a well known ministry, and an "elder" of a church I attended. It's, at least partly, a personality thing. He just bugs me, but also, he's obnoxious - and I have a high tolerance for obnoxiousness, if I do say so myself.
Well this guy introduced the church to a concept called "transformational community". I so hate the term transformational community. The words send a shiver down my spine. They have all sorts of baggage that they should not.
Basically, a transformational community is a type of missional church: a church that engages in the community, and then through community individual lives are changed. It's a church that helps people find their way back to God. This, I am not opposed to.
But the buzz words "transformational community" mean a whole lot of hocus pocus to me. Cheese ball movie clips, sermons with exactly zero substance, and conflict over the whole mess of it. It's like church became a stand-up, sit-down, rah! rah! rah!, sorority pledge meets Jesus event.
Yuck!
So on the one hand you've got the Baptist Church of my early childhood. It's members KNEW the Bible. Ask anyone in attendance where Leviticus is and they'd have their Bible opened and be reading you their favorite passage in under 10 seconds. Baptists are the Michael Phelps of scripture memory. They can also be thoroughly disengaged from the real world.
And then there is Mr. Obnoxious who tried to try to make church so palatable to everyone that it lost it's flavor entirely. That and the protein. Think rice cake meets church.
So where is the balance?
I don't have an answer precisely. I'm asking the question. I think, though, that it has something to do with discipleship. Jesus said, "follow me" to his disciples, and then he walked with them, and lived with them, and taught them until they were mature enough for leadership. And then the process repeated itself. And I think that's how it should be.
Who cares if you have a bazzillion people attending your rice cake Sunday morning church service? There is no victory in that.
But
Who cares if you've got a handful of old codger Baptists who like to hang around each other and quote scripture for fun? If Christ hasn't transformed their lives enough so that they wish to engage their culture and share Christ's love, then to hell with it. And I mean that literally.
Hmm...How do we become a missional church? AND How do we grow up? Form and substance, people. Form and substance.
1 comment:
I like your new blog look - I know, you've probably had it for ages, but I haven't been doing much of the blog thing since July.
Interesting, thought-provoking post. I like my church's "just listen to and follow Jesus" perspective. No buzzwords, just genuine attempts to get the Word of God to change our hearts. And pastor/teachers/elders who aren't afraid to challenge us to do the hard things in our walks with God. No, it's not perfect, but following Jesus and "fishing" is what his disciples are called to do, right?
Gee, I didn't think I had any profound thoughts left in my head this late in the evening. See, you inspire me!
Karen
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