I just finished reading a wonderful re-constructive book by Reggie McNeal titled, The Present Future, Six Tough Questions for the Church (2003). I found a bit of hope in this book, because McNeal lists many possible strategies that could help the church adapt to the changing culture.
But first he assures us that "...it's later than you think. The missional renewal of the North American church is essential to its future. I am convinced that most expressions of the institutional church in America will not survive the emerging world. If that sounds threatening to you, then you may be more in love with the church than you are with Jesus. You need to take this up with him."
He continues, "I believe Jesus is the hope of the world. I believe God has called out a people to make sure the world knows this. These people are the church. Jesus has promised that hell will not be able to stand against it.
"I just wish hell were the problem."
Here are the six New Realities that McNeal cites:
1. The Collapse of the Church Culture
2. The Shift from Church Growth to Kingdom Growth
3. A New Reformation: Releasing God's People
4. The Return to Spiritual Formation
5. The Shift from Planning to Preparation
6. The Rise of Apostolic Leadership
In his chapter on Releasing God's People the author beautifully describes the postmodern world and the New Reformation that is engaging the emerging realities in this world. McNeal says, "The first Reformation was about freeing the church. The new Reformation is about freeing God's people from the church (the institution)."
I'm ready for that. I think I'll help with that. I think that's what my blog is for.
The Present Future is a keeper; I think I'll be referencing it a lot, because sure enough, Reggie McNeal speaks for me.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
The 10% Tithe = 100% Fleecing
All right, first my disclaimer: Don't get me wrong, I believe Christians should be the most generous people in the world, and they usually are (except when they are tipping the restaurant waiter after their Sunday dinner). The poor are fed, hospitals built, orphans rescued all around the world, out of the generosity of Christians and non-Christians alike. But the bilking of believers through the teaching of the Old Testament ten percent tithe is just wrong. No, it's more than wrong-- it's dishonest, it's, it's super-wrong.
There is no evidence that New Testament believers were tithing. Oh, they were giving all right, giving to take care of each other's needs and the needs of the poor, and occasionally supporting their missionaries like Paul and Timothy. But nowhere in the Scriptures is there any indication that any of the believers after Pentecost were giving ten percent to the church, nor were their leaders telling them to. Their charitable behaviors were as far from the Old Testament as they are from the practices of most believers today.
But then, they didn't have to support the construction and maintenance of church buildings and properties and the salaries of paid staff. They didn't fund the air conditioning of the local meeting place or buy the buses and vans for the various departments of the ministry. If preachers stopped teaching the tithe doctrine today, the religious empire would be in big trouble. And I suppose that's one reason why they still do it. That's why they harangue the faithful into a guilty compulsion to tithe-- in direct disregard for the teachings of the Apostle Paul who said that no one should give out of compulsion (2 Corin.9:7)
A few years ago the stewardship director of my denomination spoke on tithing at our district camp meeting. He asked the crowd of 2,000+ attendees-- keeping in mind the fate of Ananias and Sapphira-- to stand up if they were practicing the ten percent tithe. I looked around as at least 95% of the people stood.
"Hmm, that's interesting", I thought to myself, "this man's intimidation just helped make liars of about 90% of the folks here" (George Barna says that only about 3% of American Christians tithe). A few weeks later the same speaker visited my local congregation and again, spoke on tithing. At one point he asserted, "some folks claim that tithing is not a New Testament principle, but I tell you it is." Immediately my ears perked up, because I had never heard anyone cite a New Testament proof for tithing. After a short hesitation he continued, "Malachi 3 says...." Dang! I rather lost interest in what he said after that.
The theme of giving in the New Testament is characterized by freedom (2 Cor. 9:7). Followers of Christ have complete freedom, with guidance from the Holy Spirit and their own hearts, to give whatever they want to whomever they want, keeping in mind that they are really only managers of all that God has blessed them with-- in reality, they don't own any of it.
One more thing-- and it's pretty radical. In one speech, Jesus told his disciples to "sell your possessions and give to the poor." (Luke 12:33) Now this is a New Testament truth, but I have never heard a pastor preach that this practice should be observed by all believers today. Perhaps it's because they might be expected to practice what they preach, and where would that leave them? (This is an example of selective literalism, which I'll post more about later.)
After Pentecost, the believers remembered the words of Christ, and they were actually doing this. They were living in common, and when there was a need, selling their belongings and giving the money to the Apostles, who were then using it to take care of everybody in the community. They were practicing a sort of a sanctified socialism, I would say.
I view the modern adherence to the ancient tithe as one small ingredient in the greater legalistic recipe that comprises the bulk of the institutional church today-- one of the many little pieces of poop in the mix. It reveals that many institutionalists today just don't get it. They don't understand grace-- or, acknowledging that salvation comes through grace, they preach a Christian life that is sustained not by grace but by works-- legalistic compliance with a set of rules.
The work of Christ is freedom, but very often the work of the established church is legalism, and thus it is anti-Christ. I'll say more on legalism later.
A few years ago the stewardship director of my denomination spoke on tithing at our district camp meeting. He asked the crowd of 2,000+ attendees-- keeping in mind the fate of Ananias and Sapphira-- to stand up if they were practicing the ten percent tithe. I looked around as at least 95% of the people stood.
"Hmm, that's interesting", I thought to myself, "this man's intimidation just helped make liars of about 90% of the folks here" (George Barna says that only about 3% of American Christians tithe). A few weeks later the same speaker visited my local congregation and again, spoke on tithing. At one point he asserted, "some folks claim that tithing is not a New Testament principle, but I tell you it is." Immediately my ears perked up, because I had never heard anyone cite a New Testament proof for tithing. After a short hesitation he continued, "Malachi 3 says...." Dang! I rather lost interest in what he said after that.
The theme of giving in the New Testament is characterized by freedom (2 Cor. 9:7). Followers of Christ have complete freedom, with guidance from the Holy Spirit and their own hearts, to give whatever they want to whomever they want, keeping in mind that they are really only managers of all that God has blessed them with-- in reality, they don't own any of it.
One more thing-- and it's pretty radical. In one speech, Jesus told his disciples to "sell your possessions and give to the poor." (Luke 12:33) Now this is a New Testament truth, but I have never heard a pastor preach that this practice should be observed by all believers today. Perhaps it's because they might be expected to practice what they preach, and where would that leave them? (This is an example of selective literalism, which I'll post more about later.)
After Pentecost, the believers remembered the words of Christ, and they were actually doing this. They were living in common, and when there was a need, selling their belongings and giving the money to the Apostles, who were then using it to take care of everybody in the community. They were practicing a sort of a sanctified socialism, I would say.
I view the modern adherence to the ancient tithe as one small ingredient in the greater legalistic recipe that comprises the bulk of the institutional church today-- one of the many little pieces of poop in the mix. It reveals that many institutionalists today just don't get it. They don't understand grace-- or, acknowledging that salvation comes through grace, they preach a Christian life that is sustained not by grace but by works-- legalistic compliance with a set of rules.
The work of Christ is freedom, but very often the work of the established church is legalism, and thus it is anti-Christ. I'll say more on legalism later.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Christianity Devoured by Christendom
The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard spoke for me when, about 150 years ago he said, "Christendom has done away with Christianity without quite being aware of it."
If Christianity is this belief system that has at its core the basic truth of salvation through faith in Jesus, then Christendom is the huge empire of religion that has grown up around it. The empire includes churches, denominations, the politics of Christianity, the business of Christianity, and everything else that has attached itself to the gospel.
I also see a similar analogy in the confusing relationship between the Church as the Body of Believers or the Bride of Christ, and the church as the religious institution. Most Christians, I would say, are thinking of the two as one-and-the-same. Yet, it is possible for the Body of Christ to function completely outside the institution, and in fact, David Barrett, author of the World Christian Encyclopedia, predicts that the number of Christians who are not associated with any church or denomination will double in the next twenty years.
One of the deadly by-products of this confusion is that people are born and raised believing that they are saved by the church rather than by faith in Christ. And this is not an exclusively Catholic phenomenon.
I said more about this dynamic between the "Church" and the "church" in a previous blog, "Harmful Hierarchy Part 2".
If Christianity is this belief system that has at its core the basic truth of salvation through faith in Jesus, then Christendom is the huge empire of religion that has grown up around it. The empire includes churches, denominations, the politics of Christianity, the business of Christianity, and everything else that has attached itself to the gospel.
I also see a similar analogy in the confusing relationship between the Church as the Body of Believers or the Bride of Christ, and the church as the religious institution. Most Christians, I would say, are thinking of the two as one-and-the-same. Yet, it is possible for the Body of Christ to function completely outside the institution, and in fact, David Barrett, author of the World Christian Encyclopedia, predicts that the number of Christians who are not associated with any church or denomination will double in the next twenty years.
One of the deadly by-products of this confusion is that people are born and raised believing that they are saved by the church rather than by faith in Christ. And this is not an exclusively Catholic phenomenon.
I said more about this dynamic between the "Church" and the "church" in a previous blog, "Harmful Hierarchy Part 2".
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Deconstructing Poop
Okay, here's the big picture about the two main phases of any revolution: De-construction and re-construction. Major components of old regimes are torn down and replaced by new stuff.
We have been watching it happen in Egypt lately as thousands of dissidents are demonstrating in Tahrir Square, shouting their demands for political reform. The first response from President Mubarak was to announce that he would not run for re-election at the end of his present term. This commenced the de-construction of his 30-year old regime. Then He quickly named a new vice president and cabinet, and so the re-construction had begun (not enough for most of the protesters).
In the Protestant Reformation (1517) Martin Luther began the attempted de-construction of the reigning religious regime, the Catholic Church, by posting his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenburg Chapel. Unfortunately, the old regime refused to allow de-construction of its oppressive orthodoxies, and the reformers were forced outside the walls, to re-construct their own institution, the Protestant Church.
In the present-day movement, many would-be reformers are likewise attempting to bring reforms by challenging the oppressive institutions of the reigning powers that be, and again, like 500 years ago, they are mostly having to move outside the walls.
Frank Viola and George Barna have published a de-constructionist book, Pagan Christianity, which mainly tears down the old obsolete religious structures. Viola's next book, Re-imagining Church, is a re-constructionist book that attempts to build a new way, often called the organic church. He says, "An organic church, as I use the term, is a living, breathing, dynamic, mutually participatory, every-member functioning, Christ-centered, communal expression of the body of Christ that gathers under the Lordship and Headship of Jesus Christ.
This is what I argue to be the proper habitat for the believer in which to live, move, and have our being. It’s also the reason (I believe) that 1 million Christians leave the institutional form of church per year. And 1700 pastors leave the clergy system per month in the U.S.* Many of them aren’t leaving Jesus Christ or the body, they are seeking what their spiritual instincts are crying out for."
We have been watching it happen in Egypt lately as thousands of dissidents are demonstrating in Tahrir Square, shouting their demands for political reform. The first response from President Mubarak was to announce that he would not run for re-election at the end of his present term. This commenced the de-construction of his 30-year old regime. Then He quickly named a new vice president and cabinet, and so the re-construction had begun (not enough for most of the protesters).
In the Protestant Reformation (1517) Martin Luther began the attempted de-construction of the reigning religious regime, the Catholic Church, by posting his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenburg Chapel. Unfortunately, the old regime refused to allow de-construction of its oppressive orthodoxies, and the reformers were forced outside the walls, to re-construct their own institution, the Protestant Church.
In the present-day movement, many would-be reformers are likewise attempting to bring reforms by challenging the oppressive institutions of the reigning powers that be, and again, like 500 years ago, they are mostly having to move outside the walls.
Frank Viola and George Barna have published a de-constructionist book, Pagan Christianity, which mainly tears down the old obsolete religious structures. Viola's next book, Re-imagining Church, is a re-constructionist book that attempts to build a new way, often called the organic church. He says, "An organic church, as I use the term, is a living, breathing, dynamic, mutually participatory, every-member functioning, Christ-centered, communal expression of the body of Christ that gathers under the Lordship and Headship of Jesus Christ.
This is what I argue to be the proper habitat for the believer in which to live, move, and have our being. It’s also the reason (I believe) that 1 million Christians leave the institutional form of church per year. And 1700 pastors leave the clergy system per month in the U.S.* Many of them aren’t leaving Jesus Christ or the body, they are seeking what their spiritual instincts are crying out for."
This mass exodus that Viola cites, is an example of the de-construction that I've seen taking place all around the western religious world. And the organic church that he subsequently describes, is a manifestation of the re-constructed forms that are emerging.
It is fascinating to watch a revolution unfold, and even more exhilarating to be in the middle of the throngs in the city square, if you will, shouting out for freedom and reform (even though there are casualties in the struggle), and then working shoulder to shoulder with the visionaries who help to reconstruct relevant, appropriate reforms.
Reggie McNeal speaks for me when he says, "A growing number of people are leaving the institutional church for a new reason.... They are leaving the church to preserve their faith."
Yeah, good stuff, man!
*See: pastorburnout.com
It is fascinating to watch a revolution unfold, and even more exhilarating to be in the middle of the throngs in the city square, if you will, shouting out for freedom and reform (even though there are casualties in the struggle), and then working shoulder to shoulder with the visionaries who help to reconstruct relevant, appropriate reforms.
Reggie McNeal speaks for me when he says, "A growing number of people are leaving the institutional church for a new reason.... They are leaving the church to preserve their faith."
Yeah, good stuff, man!
*See: pastorburnout.com
Friday, February 4, 2011
Poop in the Brownies Part 2 or... Protestant Reformation Part 2
I believe we are in a time of Reformation in the church right now. It's either a second wave of the original Protestant Reformation that started in 1517 A.D.-- an attempt to continue and to finish the work of Martin Luther, or it is a brand New Reformation. Author and church historian, Phyllis Tickle recently observed that there seems to have been a major mid-course correction in the religious system every 500 years, and that-- sure enough, right on time, we are in one right now. She says, "The only way to understand what is currently happening to us as twenty-first-century Christians in North America is first to understand that about every five hundred years the Church feels compelled to hold a giant rummage sale. About every five hundred years the empowered structures of institutionalized Christianity, whatever they may be at the time, become an intolerable carapace that must be shattered in order that renewal and new growth may occur."
I can see many indications that this is happening. And I see many characteristics of the current movement that seem to be repetitions of earlier movements:
1. One of the major similarities is that, because the old system violently resists change, the reformers eventually find themselves ejected from the system, either willingly or not. Look at the Protestant Reformation as an example. Though Martin Luther posted his theses in the hopes of introducing needed change to the Catholic Church, he and his fellow reformers could not be accommodated by the church and were subsequently excommunicated. The new movement could not function within the old system-- the new wine needed a new wineskin. Yet the old wineskin, the Catholic Church continued on with little change.
Look even further back to the time of Christ. The Lord came and created an entirely new Way to replace the old, but the old system didn't cease to exist and continued to persecute His followers, who were dispersed across the known world.
And so it is in this present struggle. The existing church paradigms will continue, though weakened and irrelevant, into the centuries to come, while rejecting any new reformation.
2. A second trait of new revolutions is the return to authenticity. Again, reviewing the Protestant Reformation, we see that Martin Luther's first insubordinate acts against the church were attempts to return the church to accurate interpretations of scripture and to orthodoxies that would be true to God's original plan. They had gotten way off-track.
And so it is with the current revolution. Present day reformers have identified inconsistencies and indiscretions in the church today, are confronting the hypocrisies, and are discovering truer, more honest ways of manifesting the original intentions of God.
3. Another modern similarity with the old revolutions is the violence that results when very solid institutions are challenged by new reformers. When people question the validity of well-established traditions, there is an inevitable backlash from those in leadership who see their authority being threatened. It's happened many times in the past, and it's happening now. Authority attempts to re-assert itself and quash the "rebellion" in no uncertain terms, and things get ugly, and there is abuse and there are casualties. It's not surprising though, really. JFK once said that "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable."
So would-be reformers will do well to count the costs before signing up for a revolution. Along with thousands of others, I found this to be true in my own recent attempt to bring about change within my own local church and denomination. After a lifetime of service within those institutions, I did not expect to be shown the door, but it happened.
It's okay. My efforts to bring healthy change from within the system were always frustrated by the powers that be. Not so now. I am free to glory in the new wine and partner with my fellow revolutionaries on a quest to discover the new Way. And it's fun!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Poop in the Brownies
"When there's poop in the brownies, you throw out the brownies", stated my young friend who had recently left the institutional church in favor of a house group that was meeting in the neighborhood. I think he was referring to the hypocrisy, the harmful hierarchy, and over-bearing controllers who had caused him a lot of pain while he was working as a youth pastor there.
He is skeptical of hopefuls who try to point out all the good that the church is doing in the world, supposedly off-setting all the evil that the church is doing in the world. Their mantra seems to be the quip, "The church is a whore, but she is my mother" attributed to Saint Augustine, which implies that there should be some loyalty to the church despite her habitual spiritual prostitution (the poop in the brownies). My friend would agree with only half of Augustine's statement, saying yes, the church is a whore, but no, she is not my mother! He sees nothing good to be credited to her.
My view is a little less sweeping but no more hopeful. While I do acknowledge, with my friend, that there is a lot of bad in the system, I also have experienced a lot of good that has been accomplished within the system, so I would not be so eager to throw out the whole thing. That said, I don't see any solution for the bad that is entrenched in the institution; I don't think, for example, that over-bearing controllers can ever be successfully removed from the system, and with that in mind, the only solution is exile for those who can't tolerate the abuses of those ungodly bullies. Further, there are destructive doctrines and orthodoxies that I don't see changing any time soon.
On the other hand, I have seen great things accomplished in spite of the poop. I have been a part of neighborhood outreaches, humanitarian initiatives, and global missions that have had tremendous redeeming value in the world.
So is there a lot of poop in the system? Yes, but some of those problems can be found wherever you go. Shoot, even in small house meetings you can find domineering personalities and questionable theologies. So I'm not ready to throw out the brownies. However, whenever and wherever there are realities that render the system either useless or harmful, we each have a choice as to how much of our energy and life force we will continue to invest in the program, whether it's small or large.
In my case, having become hopeless that there will ever be significant improvement in the systems, I have pretty much thrown out my local assembly and my denomination. The poop has become so pervasive that there is little redeeming value in either, other than the sanctuary they provide for a homogeneous group of faithful followers. But I am not ready to say that there aren't many many good congregations and possibly a few evangelical denominations that maintain a viable presence in the spiritual world. So I'm not throwing out all the brownies-- just certain ones.
I guess I would say that Saint Augustine does not speak for me-- or for my young friend and a million other disenchanteds-- when he suggests any sort of loyalty to a sinful mother church.
One more important observation should be mentioned before ending this blog: My young disenfranchised friend and I represent a growing multitude of believers who are exiled from the religious institution for an assortment of reasons. It would not be wise for leaders of churches and denominations to dismiss this movement as rebellious and insignificant. They do so to their own eventual self-destruction. To shore up the walls of the fortress by re-asserting traditional doctrines and orthodoxies is to accelerate the eventual but certain fall of the empire.
The best way to maintain the viability of the establishment is to listen to the people, especially the dissidents, and make appropriate changes, no matter how drastic, to keep it relevant (get rid of the poop).
Good luck with that.
Philosopher, Stephen Law, speaks for me when he says (however crudely), "we should be cultivating an alertness for bullshit... My guess is that it is bullshit that will ultimately bring about the end of civilization."
And so it may well be with the religious empire.
I guess I would say that Saint Augustine does not speak for me-- or for my young friend and a million other disenchanteds-- when he suggests any sort of loyalty to a sinful mother church.
One more important observation should be mentioned before ending this blog: My young disenfranchised friend and I represent a growing multitude of believers who are exiled from the religious institution for an assortment of reasons. It would not be wise for leaders of churches and denominations to dismiss this movement as rebellious and insignificant. They do so to their own eventual self-destruction. To shore up the walls of the fortress by re-asserting traditional doctrines and orthodoxies is to accelerate the eventual but certain fall of the empire.
The best way to maintain the viability of the establishment is to listen to the people, especially the dissidents, and make appropriate changes, no matter how drastic, to keep it relevant (get rid of the poop).
Good luck with that.
Philosopher, Stephen Law, speaks for me when he says (however crudely), "we should be cultivating an alertness for bullshit... My guess is that it is bullshit that will ultimately bring about the end of civilization."
And so it may well be with the religious empire.
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