Danny and I have been negligent about our Resource of the Month (RoTM) posts, and since this one is coming in the middle of Janurary, it shall be our RoTNMaaH: Resource of the Next Month and a Half, despite the unfortunate phonetic coincidence that the acronym sounds “rotten.” Regardless, join us for the next 6 weeks as we write about the Church.
Growing up in New England, the start of winter meant the beginning of the snow day season. I remember the feeling of expectation and excitement that welled up in my heart when snow was in the weekday forecast. I’d wake up, look out the window, and rush to the radio, eager hear my school called. I doubt I ever listened so intently to an otherwise dull list of school names. The benefits of a snow day were twofold: (1) no school, and (2) playing in the snow. So powerful were these childhood emotions that the feeling sticks with me to this day; I’m still excited when it snows. The difference is that now I have no good reason for excitement. Snow means little more than inconvenience, perilous travel, and back pain.
We got about six inches this past Sunday in Boston. Since I was serving in the worship band (a ministry that requires me to get to church a few hours early), I checked the cancellation web-sites (my, how times have changed) before I cleaned off my car. I didn’t want to get to church only to find out that our pastor had called off our service. He hadn’t. As I drove in on the snowy roads, I wondered to myself, “When is it appropriate to cancel Sunday worship service?”
The question nagged at me, because the more I thought about it, the harder it became to answer. The reason, I believe, is that the cancellation question really asks a bigger question: How important is Sunday worship service? Indeed, why go to church in the first place? We could probably write a book here, hence our decision to explore (the C)church over the next few weeks. However, if I had just a few sentences to spend, I’d say that we go to church for (1) worship, (2) community, and (3) hearing the Word preached. Negatively, we don’t go to church to (1) throw God a bone, (2) earn our salvation, (3) feel good about ourselves (i.e., self-righteous).
The other meta-question asked by the prospect of cancellation is “Why would you cancel church in the first place?” In the case of a snow day, I propose two broad categories of answer: (1) Safety – it is unsafe to travel, (2) Pragmatism – nobody will be there anyway.
So, tackling my meta-questions in reverse order, I find more tensions than answers. The pragmatic “nobody will be there anyway” reason for cancellation is valid: Why labor for hours in travel and setup, or spend money on heat and electricity for a few (if any) congregants? Fair enough, I guess, so long as the reclaimed time and resources are better spent. Against the validity of this claim is the awesome truth that our God can be decidedly impractical. How do we resolve the tension? Ask God.
Regarding the reasoning from safety, we may ask the fair question, “Why risk injury or accident for church?” What if the governor declares a state of emergency and it’s illegal to travel? Against this, of course, is the conviction afforded us by looking to countries like China, wherein millions literally risk their lives to illegally attend a worship service in the cold darkness of a cave. I would guess that a few inches of snow would not deter these brothers and sisters of ours in the least. How do we resolve the tension? Ask God.
Working back to the first question, “how important is worship service?” we can notice that in many ways the answer is a barometer for somebody’s feelings about church. It could also serve as a barometer for a given church’s efficacy at ministering to its congregation. I submit for now that worship service is very important (more on this over the next few weeks). If you should feel otherwise, you might ask yourself why. If it’s because of your church, perhaps you’re there to be an agent for positive change (prayerfully, lovingly, and thoughtfully implemented without subversion), or, you might need to move on. Ask God about it. If it’s not because of your church, perhaps there are heart issues upon which God is placing His finger, or past wounds that need healing. Ask God about them.
We might also think outside of the proverbial box, too. “Church,” of course, is not the building we attend, and there is no hard requirement that we have to go there to worship, connect or be edified. In the case of a snow storm, perhaps people who live near one another could gather together in houses. Or, perhaps a simple phone call could be made to a brother or sister for prayer and connection over the phone. The pastor could e-mail sermon notes, record it and post it on a web site, or families could have their own worship service. Here, I think, is the key to my point above. If service is cancelled, or it is truly insane to attempt travel, we ought to put the reclaimed time to good use.
In my personal experience, the church has vascillated between being a spa and a gym. Sometimes, it’s immensely refreshing and I can’t wait to go again. Other times, I dread going, labor at participating, and feel sore days afterwards. In either case, I’m the better for having gone, and it’s been good for me. As for the snow, since God gives it to us in the first place, it only stands to reason that He’ll tell us what to do about it if we ask Him.
danny
bmarchio
I appreciate your willingness to tackle the Bride. (my, that sounds funny…)
She, with all her warts and scars and bruises and quirks, is, after all, beautiful. If one should give up on her, she always deserves a second (and third and fourth…) look. And I’m looking forward to this series!
A few years back, I earned a master’s degree from a seminary in domestic missions, which, in other words, is basically a master’s in the “American church.” My colleagues and I studied and visited all kinds of churches — traditional, emergent, house, Charismatic, liturgical, non-instrumental, etc — and then mulled for literally years over how these congregations were and weren’t reflecting God’s glory and joining Him on mission. Our research supported what many others had already figured out: Our churches are dying.
Now, the reasons for this are many, including (but not limited to): 1) the postmodern, post-Christendom shift, where the church no longer stands at the center of society; 2) ineffective methodology; 3) an unhealthy reliance on the values of the host culture (America) over and above the gospel of Jesus.
Any of these alone are reason enough to reconsider the way we operate in a culture that is every bit as much in need of the changing love of Christ but wants little to nothing to do with religion.
With that in mind, here are a few questions I’d love for you and Danny to address in this series:
- What is, at its essence, the church? If you had to describe its “DNA,” what would it be?
- Are we bound to the traditional ways of “doing church” (I hate that phrase, but you know what I mean) simply because that’s the way we’ve always done it, or might we achieve the same results in communities doing it other ways?
- How much of what we do as the church today stems from Scripture, and how much stems from culture, historical precedent, preferences of leaders, and other, extra-scriptural practices? (I’m talking mainly about the things that most American Christians consider central to faith — attending church, tithing, and preaching, to name a few — not various elements that have come into the church throughout history to edify her, such as the liturgical calendar or song books)
- Most churches spend the vast majority of their time and resources on the Sunday morning assembly, when the bulk of Scripture points to transformed lives in communities — not slick services — as the sign of favor with God. (this could even manifest itself in churches that fully support a full-time preacher) In fact, prophets like Amos are pretty adamant about God’s hatred of empty ceremonies and “worship” without the kind of transformed lives that bring justice to the hurt and oppressed. All that to say, why, in Western Christianity, do we focus primarily on the worship events over and above the spiritual transformation and community that happen the other 167 hours per week?
- Also, what are we to do when we “ask God” and He tells us to skip church and instead make breakfast in the home of a single mom and her two kids?
In full disclosure, my wife and I do not attend a traditional church, but we do meet weekly with several of our friends to break bread (eat and drink), catch up, pray, and spur each other on to better embodying Jesus in our neighborhood. (we all live within a 1 or 2 block radius of each other)
Sorry for the length of this comment … I really don’t intend to hijack the blog in any way, but instead hope you’ll reflect some on the questions I am posing. Again, thanks for your well-written and thoughtful blog. I always enjoy reading.
Peace.
David Fitch actually had a good post about the Sunday assembly a few weeks ago on which I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts.
I don’t agree with everything Fitch asserts in the piece, but I do like his point that “missional church communities require a regular practice for the shaping and forming of a people into the Life with God, the Mission of God.” That the worship gathering necessarily calls people to this kind of life.
I also like the stuff about making our worship gatherings simpler, more participatory, etc., but I’ll shut up now…
Hey Steve,
Thanks for commenting (twice), I always appreciate your thoughts. I won’t speak for Brian, but I can say that you ask good questions, but we may not get to all of that. I’m sure you understand, but it’s good to think about and address these things.
As far as defining “church,” I mentioned to Brian when he proposed this series that this would be one of the harder things to do. It’s not easy, partially because the Bible doesn’t give a clear definition, only characteristis, and even then we can’t always tell what is essential and what just happened while they met. Make sense?
So, I’m broader in my understanding than some are. If Christians gather together weekly in a home and pray together, encourage/challenge each other, serve together, etc, then I’m comfortable calling it “church.” Not everyone would agree.
Anyway, I think a lot of our posts are going to be autobiographical, rather than assessing the state of the church in America or anything like that. Thus, we may touch on some of your thoughts, but may not answer it directly, so feel free to press for more answers.
Thanks again, Steve, bless you and your wife.
Steve – thanks as well for your thoughful and provocative comments.
As Danny said, it’s unlikely we can tackle all the you mention in your first comment for this RoTNMaaH. However, I’m more than happy to dive in to anything we miss in separate posts. It may take a while, but what you bring up is too juicy to ignore :)
For me, the topic of “doing church” is often at the center of “Christ and culture” or “in, but not of” type discussions. “Doing church” is certainly no easy fish to fry, though I do feel like half the battle is just *thinking* about what we do, rather than blind conformance to the status quo.
Anyway, I agree with Danny’s response above for now. I look forward to the chance to digest your comments over the next few weeks, and maybe get a good e-conversation going.
[...] January 20, 2009 by bmarchio As I considered the local church for this RoTM (RoTNMaaH), I began to think of the ways that it has been a part of my life as a follower of Jesus. One of [...]
Read Fitch’s post; very good. Thanks for the link.
[...] given to the practical questions, such as mine above are often “it depends…” or “ask God,” (ahem), or “pray about it,” or “with [...]
[...] of what ought to be and what is. Our tidy monographs on the church (some of which I’ve written), often seem far less useful when we’re dealing with real people and real [...]