Culture of Experimentation

Acts 1:6-8

The Ascension of Jesus

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Whenever I speak to groups about Path of Renewal, I try to make it clear that this Pilot Project is just one of a number of experiments being supported by the church in Scotland:

In response to a changing culture, the national church is fostering a climate of permission giving, recognising that the Pilots being trialled may lead us into territory that we have long avoided exploring.

And, particularly when it is recognised at the outset that few of these experiments, if any, are likely to result in an increase in church membership, we begin to gauge something of the brave new era in which the church finds itself. Indeed, finding new ways of "being church" may, in fact, in some respects, undermine the institution.

Is it true, as some suggest, that 500 years on from the Reformation, we are on the brink of another major shake up?

Has the global, digital age of communication and the, almost universal, access to informed debate on religion and science (among other things) forced us to rethink kingdom priorities?

Has the war on terrorism and unprecedented migration provided a new urgency to live out the great commandment to love God and neighbour?

Is being welcoming, invitational or affirming simply not enough in the midst of the diversity encountered in many communities today?

So many variables demand a plethora of responses, some of which are probably still inconceivable.

But an openness to the winds of the Spirit heralding change alongside the willingness to embrace and learn from failure seems like a healthy place to be - the sort of environment in which God has space to surprise us with unfailing love and grace and draw us into the mission of God in the world.

"To the ends of the earth" may well begin right where we are!

Moving in

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and blood,

and moved into the neighborhood.

We saw the glory with our own eyes,

the one-of-a-kind glory,

like Father, like Son,

Generous inside and out,

true from start to finish.

Recently, reading Samuel Well's: A Nazareth Manifesto and The Abundant Community by John McKnight and Peter Block, I have been drawn back to St John's prologue.

Although I've been involved in many conferences and conversations with church leaders and with civic leaders about Asset Based Community Development, what I've witnessed and experienced has largely been an attitude of "doing for" rather than "doing with" in community initiatives. More about enabling than empowering. More about filling gaps than encouraging growth. Sometimes considerable resources have gone into undertaking community research and then acting on findings, ploughing in further resources. And the reality is that resource rich intervention is hard to replicate.

Even when considerable assets have been identified within the community, it seems that the temptation to enhance the gifts present is still compelling. The question is: Whose needs are being met?

It's much more difficult to simply highlight potential and allow that potential to flourish without dictating direction.

Generosity calls not just for open hands but for open hearts and minds that allow natural growth and development as well as stumbles and falls. It involves the recognition that the gifts are there waiting to be released. It involves taking risks, gambling that the odds are stacked in favour of abundance rather than scarcity.

In the gospels, we see Jesus hanging out - in kitchens, in the temple, on the beach, by the lakeside, taking time to be with those around him. Not imposing an agenda. Not introducing a programme. But making friends, forming relationships, listening and entering into the story of those around him. "Moving into the neighbourhood" as The Message translates John 1:14.

As we discern where God is at work in our neighbourhoods today, it will always be tempting to plunge in, rolling up our sleeves as we go. But God invites us to find our place in the stories of our community by offering a generous presence - a presence that listens more than speaks, a presence that receives more than gives, a presence that connects stories rather than writes them, a presence that sticks around, becoming rooted, showing commitment to weaving stories together, to making connections simply by being present and open to the communities in which we live, in whom we are invested  and by whom we are changed. Our call is to be in our neighbourhood, practising those gifts of generosity. Not an easy call for those of us who are more comfortable doing rather than being and whose default is more ministering to than ministering with.

What might it be like to move into our neighbourhoods, practising the kind of generosity that releases the God given gifts of others?

Living out of abundance

Matthew 10:8-10

Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.

"Don't think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don't need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.

A huge part of the work in Path of Renewal will involve finding and investing in local leaders in our communities.

I was reminiscing with a colleague recently about the folk who invested in me, gave me opportunities to discover and develop gifts and continually discipled me in faith. And who were disappointed when God called me to serve in another sphere from that in which I was nurtured. 

The way ahead, with God, is rarely predictable and never restrictive.

We tend to perceive the gifts of God as a limited commodity and yet our communities are filled with people with gifts, some yet to be discovered, some needing encouragement and some simply waiting to be released. 

Imagining our communities as incubators for the gifts of God helps us to appreciate God's extravagance and to live out of that abundance.

Building communities around the gifts of people was an important element in the Church Without Walls report - operating out of abundance and not scarcity. 

Changing our perception from scarcity to abundance makes a vast difference in our faith and in our hope. And operating out of abundance rather than scarcity allows us to find, to invest in and to nurture others, to move them from the confined space of an incubator, releasing them to follow God's call wherever that may take them, knowing that we have done our part and that God who is faithful will continue to raise up leaders and servants to work for the Kingdom. 

Our investment is never wasted in growing, with God, those who will live abundantly in the extravagant Kingdom of God.

In the words of Matthew 10:8 (The Message version) we who have been treated generously, live generously.

Getting it done or savouring the journey

In every crisis, there is a push to put in place strategies that will move things swiftly into safer waters. One of the luxuries in Path of Renewal is the resistance to mapping the journey in advance. Instead, space is being created to listen for the voice of God and to discern the Spirit at work. Without the pressure to deliver a solution, creativity is awakened and discovery of new ways is more than a possibility.

Reflecting on this gift I was reminded of a story Henri Nouwen told of his work with L'Arche community:

... this afternoon, I went apple picking with Janice, Carol, Adam, Rose and their assistants. MY attitude was to get the apples picked, put them in bags and go home. But I soon learned all of that was much less important than to help Rose pick one or two apples, to walk with Janice looking for apples that hang low enough so that she herself can reach them, to compliment Carol on her ability to find good apples, and just to sit beside Adam in his wheelchair under an apple tree and give him a sense of belonging to a group... Efficiency is not the most important word - care is.

(Road to Daybreak p28)

When our task is about changing a mindset and a culture, a lot of the work is intuitive, directed, not by guidelines but by gentle nudges and prompting of God. What we learn along the way, the people and the experiences we encounter take precedence over designing a route. What we discover will not be empirical but will be kingdom work.

God has led people this way in the past:

Numbers 9:22-23

Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, resting upon it, the Israelites would remain in camp and would not set out; but when it lifted they would set out. At the command of the Lord they would camp, and at the command of the Lord they would set out. They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.

The waiting on God is not a time for idleness but a time of waking and of discovery, a time in which to grow more attuned to that gentle whisper of God inviting us in this time and place to develop new kingdom awareness. While that is difficult for those who prefer more order and direction and a gift for those who are more comfortable with mess and unpredictability, for both, it is a time to respond to God given opportunity in obedience, inspired by the people of God in all ages.

The language of engagement

Ephesians 4:11-13

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

As our learning community met this week, one of the common themes we encountered was the lack of clarity and uniformity in the language we use to engage with others.

Words move in and out of fashion as culture changes and, to engage effectively, we must be conversant with the language peculiar to the group we are encountering - not so that we can emit trendy sound bytes but so that we can converse intelligently with those around.

Currently, communities are increasingly concerned with health and well being - our church halls are filled with diet and exercise groups and local authority employees speak of the health and well being of communities and seek ways to deliver programmes that contribute positively to those facets of life.

While the last thing we need in local congregations is another programme or activity that taps into this agenda, it is possible to embrace the language, promoting Spiritual health and well being as part of the holistic care for our community.

Gauging the Spiritual health of the body of Christ and encouraging faith communities to care for souls wherever their daily life and work is focussed allows us to remain conversant with our communities and to be concerned with their concerns, building up the body of Christ, heart, mind and soul, releasing all those different gifts and growing together in community.

Culture eats strategy for breakfast*

Matthew 16:21-23

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

I recently spent 5 days on a cruise ship with 50 other women clergy exploring the paradigm shifts that have changed the culture around us leaving the church scrabbling to somehow catch up and find a new place in this changing landscape.

Now, safely back on dry land, journeying through the season of Lent, I'm rediscovering the same dilemma in the disciples as they accompanied Jesus on the way to Jerusalem:

Jesus kept on speaking of his impending suffering and death but the disciples had a whole other notion of Messiah-ship, so they failed to understand. Then. They did, however, have that unequivocal teaching of Jesus echoing in their minds when they needed it most.

It's that kind of challenge that makes transitioning so difficult in many churches today. We tweak what we are doing to try and be a bit more culturally relevant. We put on more and better programmes designed to better feed those who are there and attract those who are not. But, for many, both in the church and outside the church, their notion of church, formed over years of positive and negative experiences is so ingrained that other possibilities are inconceivable. Changing the cultural imagination takes much longer than changing programmes.

But now is the time to make a start. Now, when there are enough signs of decline to make us desperate enough to act yet enough life left to make transition possible. Now, when God is calling the church into a whole new age of discovery and adventure, a whole re-imagining of what it means to be disciples. Now is the time to engage with the out of date culture that is perpetuated in the church while at the same time engaging with the vastly different culture that exists beyond th sanctuary walls. It is time to pick up the mantle and be disciples with Jesus' mandate ringing in our ears: Go into all the world and make disciples.

(*The title of the RevGalBlogPals Continuing Ed event January 2016, BE9)

What we think we know...

In order to arrive at what you do not know
You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.
In order to possess what you do not possess
You must go by the way of dispossession.

T S Elliot

As the children of God journeyed through the wilderness, they were accompanied by visible signs of God's presence, a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. These signs dictated when they should be on the move and when they should stay put.

As time went on, Moses built the Ark of the Covenant to house the Ten Commandments and to symbolise God's faithful presence accompanying the people in all their wandering.

Eventually, Solomon built a temple to house the presence of the Lord and the priests administered and interpreted the things of God.

Even today, priests and ministers are perceived to preside over the Spirit of God in our communities and in the world, operating programmes out of buildings erected for that purpose. Even when the programme involves moving out of the sanctuary, still it is regulated and controlled by the professional whose job it is to keep all things "in good order".

This phase of Path of Renewal invests in those paid staff, ministers used to operating within the confines of buildings and parishes wherein the Spirt of God is contained. The challenge and call is not to abandon those places where, despite our best efforts at containment, God's spirit is yet able to emerge and impact lives - but also to risk venturing out, seeking and acknowledging the presence of God's Spirit in all the unlikely places, not least in the children whom God calls beloved.

Acts 7:48-50

Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands; as the prophet says,

‘Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool.

What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,

or what is the place of my rest?

Did not my hand make all these things?’

God is in our sanctuaries but is not confined there.

God inhabits the street corners, the playing fields, the dog parks of our communities - and more - God inhabits the lives of those who frequent those places in our neighbourhood.

Our calling is to be faithful in serving the affairs of the Spirit manifest in our buildings but also to recognise and promote the activity of God's Spirit that roams freely in our world, changing lives without programme or plan or even expectation.

Our calling is to be awake to those signs of the Spirit at work, to celebrate lives changed and purpose rediscovered, to lay down our need to corral and control, sharing the wonder that God continues to dwell in the life of the world.

Unlearning what we think we know and learning all those new things that Christ sought to reveal and continues to unfold to us by the Spirit - those are the tasks that will take us further along a Path of Renewal.