Facing November
November is traditionally a month of stewardship in the life of many churches. We are about to launch our giving campaign at East Dallas. I am looking ahead to a sermon on Nov. 15 that addresses different "voices of giving". It's always a little tough to make such a topic, that can be a little uncomfortable for some, fresh and interesting.
But I am going to pull out my little Flip Video camera and do some interviews of a few good givers in the church. Perhaps that is one way to get around the whole "tired-of-hearing-from-the-preacher-about-money" feeling. We will hear from other people in the congregation who have interesting and unique perspectives and experiences about being good stewards.
I remember, at a previous church, being told the story about a member who got up to give a call to offering during the Sunday morning service. He said, with a straight face - "God loves a cheerful giver." Then, he paused without a smile and said - "But God will take from a grumpy one too."
That's some good news.
What a day.
Great day at church.
Awesome music.
We had three people join.
Our sanctuary was setup in a different way because of the big Lauridsen festival we had going on in the afternoon. This meant elders and deacons had to be on their toes. But it was good.
I'm just thankful to be having so much fun.
Two Great Workshops.
Looking for our Technology Workshop information from General Assembly 2007? Click here...
On Tuesday afternoon of General Assembly, I faced my all day blitz.
At 2 pm, I rushed over to room 110 to help with a discussion on the State of Young Adults in the church. It was a broad topic and a broad discussion that was had. We had Rev. Lee Sparks of REV Magazine open up the discussion with some great conversation about the different generations and the challenges the church will face incorporating them into their life. Then, an open forum followed, with a back and forth dialogue, input from Young Adult Commission members, and great questions. The energy was clearly there - there is a growing and urgent passion to reach young adults in our world today.
The consensus was complicated. On one hand, reaching young adults is about making simple connections and building relationship. Inviting someone to dinner after church -- finding out what they are interested in -- being open to who they are. On the other hand, established church will not meet everyone. We have to be willing to go where they are. We have to be willing to try new ideas. We have to create a culture that values their experience and input, which may be far different than older generational styles. We may even have to create church outside of our walls and blur the lines between who is in and who is out.
The second workshop I participated in was a Tech workshop that Jeff Champeau and I teamed up on. We had a good time, with another packed house, answering questions about computer equipment, software, security, video, newsletters, and more. The dialogue was great, with a lot of practical advice and shared suggestions for making our churches use technology as language. I even showed them some Facebook stuff in hopes of getting some folks interested in that online networking site as a way to reach out and connect with young people.
All in all, a busy, busy day... but it ended nice. I am so thankful that is over, and I look forward to seeing how the conversation continues.
From the General Assembly in Ft. Worth
I am here in Fort Worth, and yes, it's hot. It's so hot that it makes you rethink life, in a way. We stay huddled in air conditioning, like life wouldn't exist without it. I was reflecting on how when I grew up, our cars didn't always have air conditioning. And yet, we survived... but now, it's like if the air conditioning is out, life comes to a halt. We are too pampered.
The State of the Church address was tonight, and it was filled with a surprising amount of optimism and celebration for all that we have done as Disciples. Sharon Watkins declared that our death was "greatly exaggerated." She pointed to the way we have poured out through mission trips and assistance to all those areas hit by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. She pointed out the over 500 new churches we have added to our ranks and to the fact that 80% of them are ethnic. We are again sending missionaries abroad to work with communities at their critical moments. Are we slowly turning outward again?
Wow - it's good to see the positives resurfacing. There are a lot of people here, and it's good to see new and old friends. My wife is having a good time meeting the folks at NAPAD, and we are finding that the days go by too fast.
I'll have more about the emerging church stuff later.
secular vs. church
This past weekend, I had a lot of fun with a bunch of fellow young adults at our annual Young Adult Conference in the Capital Area. The questions that came up were deep and difficult, and yet we had fun too and got some sun. Still, for someone who cares deeply about our denomination and church (in a local and global sense), there were things that stick out at you... like hearing, during the welcome and introduction time, most young adults say... "Well, back when I attended church, I attended
I know, on one level, that many young people go through a period where we take a break from church in order to figure out who we are and what we believe. Sometimes, we come back and find a place to fit in... but sometimes, we don't. It could be because we may not feel welcome, but it also could be because we don't find church necessary anymore. It's simply a social network, circle of friends, and culture that loses any real value in our lives, when there are other ways to connect, learn about issues, and impact our world.
I find that sometimes, after not being at church for a few weeks in a row due to travel or whatever, it feels somewhat like I have to pause in front of the big double doors and get ready to plunge back into the "church mentality." It's not a natural thing. It's this whole other culture that requires a lot of investment to keep up with, but is it really worth all that energy?
Religious folk often label the secular world as this lifeless, shallow, deceptive entity that combines cheap thrills with great marketing. The church is the giant bulwark against it - a walled community in the midst of the enemy. (We supposedly have depth but poor marketing.) And yet... the church can be pretty lifeless and shallow too - from racism, sex abuse scandals, lack of vision, ministers living in denial of their own sexuality, poor ethics, money worship... the list can go on.
I'm just continuing to get this idea that here in the 21st century we really need to free up that word "church" again. What makes that corner congregation "church" when faithful people are asking deeper questions on a Friday night at the corner bar? Is church just when people gather in an assigned place for a linear order of devotion, or can it happen anywhere when folks gather to try to make meaning of their lives? When will church admit that it no longer has a stranglehold on what is spiritual, divine, and uplifting?
I guess I am more and more becoming ready, in some ways at least, to say goodbye to that classic church culture and embrace a different view... a view where church can happen over a cup of coffee with a fellow pilgrim in the span of a short conversation.. where church begins out in the community where people walk, talk, and curse... where participation is more than following the leader... where everything can strengthen and challenge what I set my heart on... where justice isn't a program... where churches are dependent on their communities... where we all are treated like immigrants in search of better lives... where there is no divide between the secular and the church.
It could be another chance to "die, be dissolved, and sink into the Body of Christ at large."
It might free us up for some new visions of church where our young adults don't ever have to leave anything - church will meet them and go with them wherever they are. And we will know their challenges because those are our challenges too.
At least, that is something of what I have been thinking.
emerging…
Eunice and I returned from the annual Young Adult Conference at Bethany Beach, DE, and we had a pretty good time. There were something like 50+ young adults there. The topic at hand was Marcus Borg's "Heart of Christianity". The idea was to help us young people gather some new ways to look at our faith in our changing world.
The weekend was fun, but there were challenges. The young adults gathered there were diverse in opinion and experience. Simply put, the old tools are quickly failing them. Church is already becoming something relegated to their past. Only a minority of young adults maintain a strong connection to their church home.
I went through a similar period in my life. Eventually, I found new tools to talk about God and make meaning out of my life and this world. When that happened, I found the church as a useful place to be, though I was still very much in tension with that world. It felt like I was always going in and out of separate cultures - the culture of the world labeled as bad and the culture of the church labeled as holy.
This dichotomy colors more than we realize of modern church life, and it's why emerging church leaders are tossing it out. Church should be out there, anywhere, where God's love is at work. And many theologians are easy to point out that God is already at work out there... so the question is - why aren't we at work with God? Why do we gather in little walled communities on Sundays for a few hours and complain when we are called back to that community for meetings and responsibilities? Is that really the modern faithful life? Is there more? Why is the world out there so bad, when the church is often so messed up too?
I think that is my hope for the young adults at the conference - to not be afraid to rethink church and faith into something that is holistic - mind, body, soul. We cannot be a faithful follower of Christ if our relationship with each other, with the earth, with culture is so stunted. We must be like Christ, walking in the midst of it, wading through it, making sense of it, and calling others to join us in our painful walk.
It's time for us to create new tools (and rediscover some of the old ones that our grandparents once tossed out).
19 out of 27
For 19 out of the last 27 days, I've been traveling, across the world and right around the areas I call home.
On May 10, I left for Spain to explore facets of the culture, arts, and spirituality of that old European country. It was quite an experience - from Madrid, Toledo, Leon, Salamanca, Granda, and Barcelona. I witnessed soaring cathedrals, major universities, museums full of wondrous artworks, pilgrim trails, mighty peaks, blue skies, crowded cities, waving palm trees, rolling farmland, and on and on. I had the opportunity to hear from religious leaders, followers of the mystical way, economists, local artists, friends, fellow travelers, and locals. The rich palette of what I tasted, touched, and saw remains with me, stirring about below the surface of my mind and memory.
On May 27, after a few days back from Spain, I traveled with 10 other young adults down to Houma, LA to work on homes and projects among communities hit by Hurricane Katrina and Rita. Another cultural experience that went deeper in some ways - deeper in our interaction with those who we had come to serve and connect to. Still, there were surprising connections, like walking through the French Quarter of New Orleans and into the Cathedral and feeling like I've been there before. (I guess I hadn't realized that New Orleans was once the capital of the Spanish province of Luisiana.)
As much as one experience was educational and broadening (Spain), the other was grounded in faith and beyond mere words (Gulf Coast).
I'm glad to be home though.
Twitter: nathanjhill
- Mount Righteous from Grapevine, TX is a great band.
- RT @zoecarnate It looks like Derek Webb is giving away his controversial Stockholm Syndrome album - go Derek! Go free! http://bit.ly/94ET6j
- Streaming my email and twitter with #inbox2 #desktop, don't miss out! http://bit.ly/9pHFfd
- Hey San Antonio!
- Someday, all hymnals in churches will be replaced by iPads... and you can play along with the organist like Rock Band.
Recent Posts
- Facing November
- Healing for the Nations
- Exhaustion at GA.
- A Movement for Wholeness
- Gearing up for General Assembly.
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