SimpleChurch Journal aka House Church Blog

Leaders Carry Too Much Responsibility

Prodigal Kiwi quotes from Parker Palmer who was, apparently, peaking into my past life and telling my story...

A third shadow common among leaders is “functional atheism,” the belief that ultimate responsibility for everything rests with us. This is the unconscious, unexamined conviction that if anything decent is going to happen here, we are the ones who must make it happen – a conviction held even by people who talk a good game about God.

This shadow causes pathology on every level of our lives. It leads us to impose our will on others, [to get resentful and frustrated], stressing our relationships, sometime to the point of breaking. It often eventuates in burnout, depression, and despair...

The gift we receive on the inner journey is the knowledge that ours is not the only act in town. Not only are there other acts out there, but some of them are even better than ours, at least occasionally! We learn that we need not carry the whole load but can share it with others, liberating us and empowering them.

This has been such a significant "inner journey" in my own life... to look at my own burnout and recognize that I am carrying ministry in a god-like fashion by taking on responsibility as though the salvation of the world depends on me.

God is God, I am just called to take part in community with others and let the Holy Spirit carry both the lead and the responsibility.  What a freedom this is! 

And how desparately today's church fights against this freedom!

Many want to to carry undue responsibility. This feeds their need to be needed.  This feeds their unconscious need to be "at the top."  And... many others want to let others carry the load!  This allows them to remain comfortably coddled in their spiritual life.

The inner journey and solitude frees us to just be his children and to discover the joy in relating to God freely and worshipfully as the Sovereign that He is.  We can begin to peel off our unconscious needs and masks, and simply be human, enjoy community, and let God be God.

Criticism of the "Emerging Church"

Kevin Miller brings some excellent and constructive thoughtfulness (critique) to the emerging church.  In this interview, Miller is asked the question:

Is there any baby that you are concerned is being thrown out with bathwater?

Evangelical conviction. In order to avoid the hubris that often comes from the evangelical church, many folks are now getting squishy on things they should not be squishy about, including the authority of Scripture, the uniqueness of Christ, and the value of the Bible’s sexual ethic. If we lose those, we lose the Gospel.

This is a good challenge.  On the other hand, Miller also squarely challenges the larger Evangelical community with his answer to this question:

What do the Emergers have to teach the larger Evangelical Community?

1. “The world is changing.”

2. “Listen to people. Really.”

3. “You’re on the cutting edge of irrelevance to many.”

4. “Be a little more humble. Okay, be a lot more humble.”

The entire interview is at Next-Wave.

Tony Campolo Speaks Up on the Emerging Church / House Church

I consider Tony to be one of the great evangelical voices of our day.  So, naturally, I'm excited to see this article that was referred to me by TallSkinnyKiwi.  Here is an excerpt:

As we enter the 21st century, a vital new expression of Christianity is growing in the United States and worldwide. This movement even has a name. It is called "the Emergent Church."

This movement expresses what I call "progressive evangelicalism," because it emphasizes traditional evangelical beliefs - affirming the doctrines of the Apostle's Creed, a high view of Scripture and the importance of a personal transforming relationship with a resurrected Christ - yet rejects the structures and styles of institutionalized Christianity.

The Emergent Church turns away from spending money on buildings. Instead, most congregations meet as "house churches" or gather in makeshift storefronts and warehouses.

Tony goes on to offer a great synopsis of the heart of what God is doing in this movement:

Emergent churches espouse a decentralized grassroots form of Christianity that rejects the hierarchal systems of denominational churches. Each emergent congregation makes its own decisions by consensus.

Leadership is fluid, with all members sharing authority and participating in the mission of the church. Task forces are assembled to undertake such specific programs as feeding the homeless, establishing a partnership with a Third World church, developing an after-school tutoring program for disadvantaged children or organizing people in a poor neighborhood to solve pressing social problems.

The missionary programs of such congregations are committed to direct involvement with those they decide to serve. These churches want little to do with bureaucratic organizations with professional administrators. Members of these congregations want to be involved personally with those in need. They want to know the names and faces of the people they serve.

Emergent congregations must not be confused with those nondenominational mega-churches that seem to be popping up increasingly in communities across the nation. In fact, the two are markedly different. Emergent churches often express a disdain for the "contemporary-worship music" heard in many mega-churches.

The worship in emergent churches often includes classical music, and such congregations often follow a more formal liturgical style that may even incorporate such ancient forms of praying as that of monastic orders. The people who join emergent congregations are often folks who have tired of what goes on in churches that have "contemporary services."

Tony goes on to describe a "postmodern mindset" that includes some agendas that are not necessarily shared by all... But, nevertheless, his article is excellent and you can read the entire article here.

On Being Radical: Francis of Assisi

From John Michael Talbot's book on Francis of Assisi:

He Was Radical

For many people, being "Christian is roughly equivalent in time and emotional commitment to being a member of a neighborhood bridge club, having a regular seat at the local Elks lodge, or getting the familly car serviced every three thousand miles.  Unfortunately, this type of Christianity is often viewed as just another civic affiliation, acquired habit, or social ritual.

Not for Francis.  In him, the spark of divine love ignited a bonfire that burned away all his indifference and sparked a radical, uncompromising faith.  His was not Christianity Lite.  He worshiped at the altar of not watered-down deity.

Francis's minute-by-minute desire was to follow God ever closer, as he wrote in this prayer to members of his movement: "Almighty, eternal, just and merciful God, grant us in our misery that we may do for your sake alone what we know you want us to do, and always want what pleases you; so that, cleansed and enlightened interiorly and fired with the ardor of the Holy Spirit, we may be able to follow in the footsteps of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and so make our way to you."

I suppose all of our church gatherings and "goings" will be just fine, regardless of how they look, if we are fired up by a radical love and uncompromising faith.  Amen to Francis.

The Ant and Leadership

From Andrew (TallSkinnyKiwi):

Did you know that the ants do not have a leader calling all the shots, but instead leave pheromone trails for each other to communicate? Of course you knew that - its in the Bible. No professional leadership, but emergence to higher level complexity regardless. Sometimes when i look at the emergent properties of bloggers, I see our hypertext links performing the suame function as pheromones - telling us where to go, where not to go, whats going on.

His whole post is here.

Finding Your Place in the Body of Christ

Robert Fitts sent out an article entitled "I Am Not An Eye."  In it he says that in finding our identity within the Body of Christ we must:

1.  Seek not a place of prominence or influence.  If it comes, do not run from it. Take your place as an eye if God has gifted and called you to be an eye.
2.   Seek not  a "ministry" but  rather  seek to minister. The world is full of people who need help. The spirit of a true servant does not clamor for recognition. A servant does not need a stage or a spotlight to do his work.  He only needs to love God and be willing to spend and be spent serving others...

So  the very first step in discovering our place and function within the Body of Christ is to renounce all self will and self determination and trust God to produce in us the divine motivation to function according to His predetermined purposes that He has ordained for us.

You can download the entire article here: Download i_am_not_an_eyefitts.doc .

Community Out Of Mission Or Mission Out Of Community?

Van S, over at MissionThink, raises this question that came out of a previous post here entitled "Too Much Focus On The Gatherings."  He says:

Chris raised a good point in response to a previous post, that it is foolish to assume that if we all just do outreach together, real community will form.  The opposite is also true; outreach doesn't naturally flow out of community.  All that we are called to as the church has to be done with varying degrees of intention.

However, it is very difficult to instantly start doing all that the church ought.  It takes time and energy to build towards being an authentic body of believers.  Therefore, I would like to make the case that it is better to start with a sense of mission than it is to start with a sense of community.  In other words, I believe community flows out of mission.  Otherwise, all you are left with is affinity.  This idea, that community is formed out of a common mission, is what sociologists call the principle of the "superordinate goal."  A shared overarching goal requires cooperative effort.  And this cooperative effort begins to override people's differences and creates a new sort of affinity--one shaped by the superordinate goal...

I have to confess to being doubleminded.  I have experienced much of my Christian life going around and around, it seems, from mission to community and then from community back to mission.  I wholeheartedly agree that there needs to be intentionality about both.  But on the question of which one to start with, I have seen both "work" and also "not work."

I have seen (and been involved with) a church that started with authentic community as the superordinate goal and then, out of frustration and desire, transition to effective mission.  This is not easy, but it can be done.  Obviously, there are also many examples of groups that never make this transition.

On the other hand, there is no question that a group with a missional thrust can transition to authentic community.  However, this is not a given either.  In fact, I find that the type of community that forms around a goal often develops into pseudo-community that lacks the true depth of authenticity and vulnerability.  Again, intentionality is required to transition a "mission group" into "community."

In a sense, I'm saying there is no right way to start.  The struggle to do both mission and community is at the heart of every living Kingdom group.  I believe that if we are effectively pursuing both there will be a pendulum swing from one side to another.  As long as the pendulum continues to swing, this may be as healthy as we can expect.

When I wrote the post, "Too Much Focus On the Gatherings," I was, in part, reacting to the frustration of myself and others in our churches that the pendulum has swung to the side of community and our hearts are now crying out for more mission.

Thanks to Van S for his thoughts.

Moving From Solitude To Community To Ministry

Henri Nouwen has an awesome article entitled "Moving From Solitude To Community To Ministry."  The point is, no matter how we fashion church, ministry, or life, we need first and foremost... to be with God... alone with God.  Here is an excerpt:

Solitude is being with God and God alone. Is there any space for that in your life?

Why is it so important that you are with God and God alone on the mountain top? It's important because it's the place in which you can listen to the voice of the One who calls you the beloved. To pray is to listen to the One who calls you "my beloved daughter," "my beloved son," "my beloved child." To pray is to let that voice speak to the center of your being, to your guts, and let that voice resound in your whole being...

Solitude is where spiritual ministry begins. That's where Jesus listened to God. That's where we listen to God.

Sometimes I think of life as a big wagon wheel with many spokes. In the middle is the hub. Often in ministry, it looks like we are running around the rim trying to reach everybody. But God says, "Start in the hub; live in the hub. Then you will be connected with all the spokes, and you won't have to run so fast.

Upside Down Ministry

John's comments on the "Church Planting" post:

I like what you are saying here Roger. If I can just focus on where others are at spiritually and really care enough to (attempt to) make a difference in their lives, through relationship, prayer, charity or some type of help, then I have begun the work of sowing, investing. If I continue to build in relationship, I will meet with them. If I meet with them, I can hope to "gather" them to God, perhaps disciple them or nurture God in their lives. This is personal. All the building and the externals are really not all as necessary as we've made it. Yes, in fact we've made all that the focus. As Dallas Willard might say, "we're flying upside down". It is the "My ministry" mantra. We don't have a ministry, we minister in Jesus name! It's His ministry we are to carry on.

Yeah... that's what I'm trying to say here!

Not Enough Value On Relationships

Thanks to Kevin for his comments on "More on Church Planting":

Breaking free from our "isolated cultures" requires a lot of work and personal cost. It has been much easier to invest our time and money into a once-a-week gathering and then claim "over commitment" as an excuse to bow out of relationships that are outside the Sunday Service. Jesus principle of "where your treasure is there your heart will be also" could be applied here. We don't place enough value on relationships outside of the once-a-week gathering, therefore our heart is not in cultivating and tending to those relationships.

As I said this is not only a failing of the institutional way, but also my own personal shortcoming that I need to break free from.

Kevin has more to say at his website here.