A Christmas present to start a new fad...

This hand crotched picture was given to me for Christmas. Not sure if it will be as popular as WWJD... maybe with some subversive Xns ;)

Making church more attractive?

A friend of mine recently put it like this...

Trying to make church more attractive to a non-Xn is very much like trying to make going to a nudist colony more attractive. Usually we do things like serve good coffee or have great music. But I think it's fair to say that that has as much chance of getting someone to church as a having good coffee or great music at a nudist colony. For most people the idea is not even on their radar.

To often I think we worry about getting the wrapping right and forgetting to explain what the present is all about. No matter how good the packaging is if the person isn't interested in the gift they are not going to like it.

In fact, this will be my new test if any one suggests doing xxx in order to get more people to church I will think would that get me to a nudist colony? If the answer is no then, then I'll advise them against doing xxx if the sole reason is to get more people to church.

Church surf 2: Christmas Eve Midnight Mass

Now this was good. Not contemporary in form, but done in a way that meant something particularly to those in the service. Perhaps this is what makes a church good - when it is a meaningful expression of the congregation's faith. Perhaps this is really all I am looking for a meaningful way of expressing my faith. Although this was good I can't see myself making the long trek to the city every week, and this service was more a spectacle to watch rather than a community to be a part of. Although perhaps combined with a home group I could trek in for major festivals - Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and perhaps a 3 or 4 more. mmmm...

Church surf 1

In a word frustrating. A church which obviosuly had obviosusly been quite traditional in it's recent past but is now trying to be new and contemporary. Alas the service I attended tried to walk a middle ground and failed at being either traditional or contemporary. Like non alcoholic wine and sugar free soft drink before it the result was worse than the sum of its parts. I was a little concerened at how I could walk out of the service and not be spoken to by anyone.

5 weeks of slackness

Sunday 1: moved house
Sunday 2&3: in Sydney for sisters wedding
Sunday 4: diving home after playing at a Xn festival on Saturday night
Sunday 5: couldn't get up because had just got back from being up to 3am each night for the preceding week cleaning vomit out the hair of drunk school leavers

I have been in my new house for 5 sundays and failed to go to church every sunday morning. Wondering if I'm just not cut out for this regular sunday morning worship thing.

Don't look in the yellow pages for a church

This is cool...

How to find a church by Gordon Atkinson.

Live Simply, Love Deeply: What does it mean. Pt 1

Okay here's a quick diversion back into reality and away from church surfing or thought of.

My wife and have a motto a life, mission statement if you will, "live simply, love deeply"

Whilst in Sydney visiting family I thought about how this motto and how it and indeed my Xn faith shapes every area of my life. To start with I broke up my life into the following areas (with some sub areas)

1. Spiritual (Individual, Couple, Small group, Congregation, Networks)
2. Mental
3. Artistic / Creative
4. Physical (Exercise, Eating)
5. Relationships (Marriage, Family, Friends)
6. Social Action (Politics, Environment)
7. Financial

Define church...

For those of you interested in me defining church...

Firstly have a look at the first and last posts for August.

Secondly I am keen to do 4 church type things as a Xn (1) individual devotions (2) something with my wife (3) some kind of small group thing (4) some kind of large congregation gathering. The first 3 are usually easy to organise the 4th one (what people typically call church - and what I struggle with - hence the blog title) is what I am looking to be a part of. Sadly although I am in my new suburb for nearly a month with day of moving, a trip to Sydney (2 weekends) and a trip down south to play at a festival (this weekend) I am still more than a week away from surfing my first church.

The number 4 type church is important to me because I like the idea of a more established larger organistaion being part of my faith. It is important for my radical ideas to influence the wider Xn community and for their ideas to temper mine or perhaps push me in new directions. I think that we would have a lot to offer each other. I don't want to lament the death of (or decreasing importance of church in our society) with out having been a real part of trying to turn that around. Also I don't want to lose all the tradition and knowledge that comes from established faiths just because it is easier to go off and do something new.

As for a definition... I'll leave that up to you.

Am I looking from the outside in, instead of from the inside out?

Today I received an email that made me think again about how I am evaluating churches. Part of the challenge (that I'll address here) was to look at a church in terms of what can I do as a member of that church rather than what's this church going to do for me. And this is a very valid point, in fact the heart of the matter and what makes church surfing so difficult and what makes evaluating a church so intangible.

It is true that we can only really get to know what it is like to be part of a church community once we are part of a church community. Unfortunately I have just moved into an area with heaps of churches of heaps of different flavours, most of which I think I could give something too and could learn something and be a part of that faith community. However the problem is that if I "test out" each church community by being there for say four months, I could spend 2 years just "testing out" only 6 churches. So to some extent there is the dilemma of judging what it would like to be part of a church (on the inside) by just observing it (from the outside). Hence, the appeal for suggestions on how to judge a church. Perhaps the appeal should be more specific...

What are some things someone should look for in a church to find out what that church might be like to be a part of, without actually being a part of that church?

My surfing will start in earnest next week - I don't intend to post critical reviews of different churches rather I'll chart my journey in trying to find a spiritual home in a new community.

(re)turn to ritual

Recently I got to go to a friendly Baptist Church. Even before the service started I had an urge to be part of a traditional Anglican communion (there was no communion at the service). I’m thinking that ritual will need to be an important part of a churchless faith. Those with a church less faith do not have a homogenous set of beliefs, and unlike say more fundamentalist churches, so we need something in common. I am wondering what a Sabbath ritual might look like contain. Here are my first thoughts...

Lighting of a Candle
Opening prayer
Journal by ourselves for an extended period (thinking about what God has taught me this week?) then discuss
Read from Lectionary readings and discuss
Listen to read a contemporary Xn thinker (group takes it in turns to provide)
Prayer of Confession
Communion
Prayer for others (intersession)
Foot washing
Prayer to end
Blow out candle

Things Jesus lived without: (2) the mobile phone

Come on, seriously does anyone really like having one of these things? Does anyone like to say to someone who has taken the time to see you in person that the effort they have made to see you in person is not as worthy as someone who has just called you on your mobile phone? I think the reality is that we like other people having them. We all the love the ability to contact someone at any time and make ourselves the most important thing in their life. How many times have you heard someone complain “I don’t know why xxx even bothers having a mobile phone if they won’t answer it!” Well, I bet that (a) the caller is the one to benefit from the call (b) and the reason they were calling is not really that important, and is something that should have been organised a few days ago or could be organised in a few days time.

Goal 1 for 2005: Don’t own a mobile phone.

Enjoying sitting out the back

Xns often talk about church surfing. Where, I guess the Church’s are waves and we try and surf them. Well like many people I’ve been out the back waiting to find a good wave to catch. And, after sitting out the back for quite sometime I’ve decided I like it. I’m still on my board and still in the water and love it. A Xn who doesn’t go to church, a surfer who doesn’t catch waves…

Church surfing… What’s a good wave?

Well I’m due to move into my new house in a month so this means some serious church surfing coming up.

In my experience church recommendations have always been along the lines of…
Why don’t you check out xxx they’ve got a really good music ministry
Or
Why don’t you check out xxx they’ve got a really big youth population
Or
Why don’t you check out xxx the pastor is interested in getting involved in the wider community.

Unfortunately a church with all these 3 qualities could be banal, self serving waste of time. It could be lots of young people sitting around singing songs with no intention of reaching out to others with a pastor thinking that would be a nice thing to do.

Oh… and the other one is when people say “the first time I walked into xxx I felt so welcomed” Well I felt pretty welcomed the last time I walked into a furniture store but I wouldn’t want to do that every Sunday.

So how should one judge a church? I’m not sure. I’d love to hear any suggestions.

The one question that has always been my first question, which I have never had a positive answer for, is “How would a deeply spiritual non-Xn person looking to explore Xn spirituality and Faith fit in to this church?”

The Station Agent

Mmm what a beautiful movie, definitely in my top 5 for 2004 (Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind is going to be hard to beat). Unlike 99% of movies instead of taking you for a ride that makes you feel like you need a break afterward, The Station Agent left me feeling relaxed, like a burdened had been lifted and left me believing that no matter how different we are or how screwed up our pasts have made us we can still enjoy being with each other.

Things Jesus lived without: (1) the clock

This is first on my list of things Jesus lived without that I would also like to live without.

The clock, I think this invention has had a greater impact on our lives than anything else in the last 2000 years. The clock currently determines what time you get up, go to bed, how long you work and how little you see the people you love. We are slaves to the clock. We can get by in our every day lives without a car, computer, mobile phone, probably everything but the clock? No way.

Another one of those Coffees

Well last Sunday night I had another one of those coffee with a couple of committed Xns between the three of us we could probably think of at least twenty other committed Xns who weren’t going to church or if they were, were only going because they were paid to. All of us have a churchless faith and I can’t see any of us going back as we get older. I was struck once again that if we cannot work out how to have a churchless faith then our faiths may slip through our fingers. We may not lose our faith put if it slips through our fingers we may not be able to pass our faith on to our friends or our children.

Promises – a reflection on Matt 5:37

I hate broken promises. This week I was promised something by last Friday (which I needed by this Thursday) It was put off until Tuesday and then it got done last thing on Thursday was rushed, looked bad and needs to be done again. Hence what I needed to be isn’t and now I have to put others out because I didn’t organize the item to be ready. (And I am no better, last week I promised a friend that I would go on a camp which I didn’t go on. – which I feel bad about even though I had a great reason / excuse not to go)

Now, general wisdom and the advice I always get is that I need to start treating people like crap if I want to get things done. That’s right my problem is that I am too nice. Well Frig off if you think that’s good advice. There is something seriously wrong with a world where 95% of the advice that I get to this dilemma is that I need to start treating people like crap. Well I’m proud to say that generally I don’t do this well and I have no intention of trying.

Jesus said “Let your yes be yes and your no be know” and I know that other things can get in the way so I propose we factor in margins to all our promises. So instead of saying “I’ll be there at 8pm” and trying to get there then. Say “I’ll be and there at 8:10pm” and aim to be at the destination at 8:00pm

Or, instead of “I’ll have this done by 8pm”. Say “If nothing else comes up today I’ll have this done by 8pm which there is a 90% chance of happening but, if something does come up I won’t be able to do it until 10pm. I’ll call you as soon as something does come up.”

This is not a simple yes or no but I think, it keeps the principle of being completely honest. So with the last dude I know that I’ll get my thing done by 10pm but most likely by 8pm. I can then plan around this.

Too much we tell be what we think they want to hear and then don’t follow through. “Let your yes be yes and your no be know” If you probably meet someone at 8pm and can definitely meet them at 8:30pm then please meet then.

Church is too easy

I think a lot of people have friends who say the reason they don't go to church is because they are too busy. But according to the last Australian church life survey the real reasons are that church is boring and that people just don't believe what Christian’s believe.

My contention is that church isn't to hard but rather it is too easy. Stick me in a world were there are only kids books and I'll tell you that I don't like reading. Seriously I think to be warmly embraced as got it together Xn in a typical western church you only need two things (1) to only have sex with the person you are legally married to (2) to turn up every week to church.

Compare this to a person who reads the Bible, prays and has given everything to the poor (unlike the rich young ruler), visits people in prison, gives money to world vision, (like the sheep in Matt 25) and doesn't criticize the immorality of others (take the speck out of your own eye first) (I could go on but you get the point). But, yet is living with their long term girlfriend and doesn't regularly go to church. Mmmm?

Churches often majors on the minors. To me church seems to consist of communal singing (where we sing to God lots of stuff that we don't actually do eg: praising God no stop, trusting only in God, giving everything to God, etc...) listening to sermons where instead of working out how to apply the Bible to our lives a preacher applies it to their life and we secondarily apply it to ours. Then someone prays for things that they think we might all want to pray for, we have announcements (encouraging people to be part various teams to make this all happen next week).

Apart from turning up on Sunday to do the above we have no spiritual disciplines and church is too easy to get into, anyone can join! Which actually limits how intimate we can actually be with each other, so we have no idea how each other are actually going.

Church numbers falling? I think the solution is not to make church easier but to make it harder.

TV: Just say no

Blogging is looking at myself

I have started to enjoy blogging, and not because thousands of people are reading what I am saying. But because it is possible that they might. I have lots of crazy theological, political and artistic thoughts that tend just to whirl around in my head. And I guess this is my way of putting them up for me to see and others perhaps to see, once they are aired in a public place it means I have to actually do something with them, act on them, form them into something meaningful and live by them. Not just let them whirr around in my head.

Thank God for the Blog :)

Politics... Right game Wrong rules?

As a Xn I feel the need to change the world and make it a better place, a more Eden like place. Praying "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is on heaven", is surely matched by taking action to make the world a more just and loving place.

One of the greatest instruments of change is politics and for a long time I have felt both fiercely drawn to getting involved in politics and fiercely repelled by it.

I am drawn because I can see the social change that can be brought about by change in government policy. I have felt repelled because I can see how any new policy must appeal to 51% of the nations selfishness, particularly over money. Everyone wants to know not what parties are going to do but how much is going to be spent and in particular how much is going to be spent on themselves.

For example the argument over education is not about making sure every child gets a decent education and what strategies are going to be put in place to make sure that happens. It is all about whether more money goes to the private sector or the public sector.

What I want is for every child to be able to get a decent education. Whether that is by every single child going to a state school or every single child going to a private school (with say each parent given a certain amount of money for each child) and there are regulations on teaching standards / facilities and the spread of types of children that attend each school (social and academic - relative to the surrounding area). But alas no one is even talking like this it's all about who is going to get what money and yes that does effect the quality of education but that is secondary. Money is not the solution it funds the solution.

I would love to join a political party but until there is one brave enough to talk solutions first and funding second I don't think I will.

A vision statement: Live Simply, Love Deeply

After reading Tom and Christine Sine’s “Living on Purpose” I have realised that we already have a vision statement. To Live simply and love deeply. (it appeared on our wedding invites if anyone noticed) this wasn’t a conscious let’s have a vision statement kind of thing, it just happened. What we need now is some mission statements and action plans.

For me a Vision statement is the big idea.
The mission statement is how you wish to achieve that vision in a particular context. So we’ll have a action plan for work, our relationship with each other and our relationship with others etc…
Then the action plan is how that mission will be achieved for each area.

These ideas are my own and not straight out of a purpose driven life. I can how ever thoroughly recommend the book particularly for anyone who likes the idea of doing 40 days of purpose but has a sneaking suspicion that the main purpose at the end of the 40 days will involve spending a heck of a lot more time a church.

white male hetrosexual Xn and no direction

So what does it mean to be a white male heterosexual Xn in a western country in the 21st Century.

My problem is two fold. Firstly I personally have nothing to fight for. What position of power would it be difficult for me to obtain due to my race, religion, sex or sexuality? Secondly I don’t want to take the positions of power that are on offer.

I don’t want to be a Pastor who controls a church or be part of a political party (or any other organisation) with the honorable goal of changing the party (organisation) from within. Apart from being a near impossible task do, it means that I have to believe that the organisation (or even the world) would be a whole lot better if they thought and acted more like me. Not only do I think that I am not that clever, but I want to work collectively with others.

Alas, at the moment I am one lone blogging voice, that nearly no one reads.

People who ask questions you can't answer so they can keep talking.

Well this will be a rant plain and simple so jump off the bus if you don't like where it's heading.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone when they have suddenly asked you a question that you can't answer and both of you know that you can't answer? And in any event before you even have time to answer the question they have started answering it for themselves anyway.

Some examples might be.
A politician in an interview saying “and do you know why the opposition have chosen to release there environment policy now? (small pause) It’s a cynical ploy to capitalize on blah blah blah”
It may be a preacher “and do you know why Jesus refused to answer the Pharisees? (small pause) It was because he could see into their hearts and blah blah blah”
It may be a Xn evangelist “and do you know what God is wanting to say to you right now? (small pause) He’s wanting to say ‘I love you more than blah blah blah’.”

All of these people are basically on a very long winded rant, which subconsciously they feel bad about it and hence need to interject the rant with a question, giving the illusion that they are actually having a conversation. But don’t be fooled it’s not a real question because they know we cannot answer it, it’s just a way for them to pause catch their breath and keep on talking. And THIS ERKS ME NO END!

My proposal is that when anyone does this we start responding with stupid answers:

For example…
If a politician in an interview says “and do you know why the opposition have chosen to release there environment policy now?” We could respond “Because they didn’t want to release all their policies at once and then they alphabetized them and since yesterday was education that meant today would be environment?”

If a preacher says “and do you know why Jesus refused to answer the Pharisees?” We could respond “Because Jesus wasn’t as smart as the Pharisees”

If a Xn evangelist says “and do you know what God is wanting to say to you right now? We could respond “Stop listening to this guy he sounds like a fundamentalist who wouldn’t listen you half as much as what your listening to him right now”

If the other person protests. We can say “I’m sorry, I thought you were asking me a question, but it seems like all you want me to do is not answer the question so that you can keep on talking as if my not answering has some how given you permission to just keep on talking.

Calm Blue Ocean, Calm Blue Ocean, Calm Blue Ocean, Calm Blue Ocean…

New research: Jesus is cool, church isn't

The bible society of NSW has just done Jesus all about life is to "directly confront the perceived hypocrisy of the Church one hand, and the shortcomings of humanist ideal of self-actualisation on the other." (Quote from their prospectus)

I think this is the church burying it's head in the sand about it's own hypocrisy.

Other organisations don't have the this same problem
People who think Human rights is cool, also think Amnesty International is cool.
People who think the Environment is cool, also think Green Peace is cool.
People who think feeding the 3rd world is cool, also think World Vision is cool.

Even if we were able to convince people of the shortcomings of humanist ideal of self-actualisation there is no way we can convince people that we are not hypocrites. I think it is rather like a political party trying to convince someone they are honest.

We need to look at ourselves first surely???.

"eats, shoots and leaves" style rules?

Style over substance

"Eats, shoots and leaves. A zero tolerance approach to punctuation" is such a cool name for a book on punctuation and most of us so little about it that it's easy to believe that the author is therefore the expert. (The new-yorker had some fun pointing out all the grammatical errors in the book. http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/?040628crbo_books1)

My thought though is not how could a zero tolerance approach to punctuation get published with punctuation mistakes. Rather my thought is do people care? Is it just the thought or the style that counts

In the same way that I think most Australians who don't supported Howard's Government over the children overboard affair probably don't care if it didn't really happen. Because it's the thought or the style that counts.

The question for me is that what do Xns care about in a church is it the style and the thought or the reality. Is a cool looking church (whether that's cool as in rock band up the front and flashing lights or cool as in lots of interactive multimedia things hanging around with participants wearing retro clothing) more important than what it does or what it is about theologically.

I have a feeling that perhaps some of the greatest criticisms of church are more to do with style that substance...

Mmm what to do.

What makes a church

Mmm so what makes a church? Here are my initial thoughts.

1) Learning from the Bible, other Xns (through their books, talks, music etc…), and each other. By both quietly listening and wrestling with each other over their meanings for our lives
2) Praying together for each other and for others
3) Doing acts of love and justice together
4) Sharing our lives, dreams and hopes for the future with each otherWhat makes a church
5) Meeting together regularly / frequently

Dave Andrews: Words of wisdom

It's a little off topic but as I read this I felt compelled to post it.

Spiritual Principals for Personal Survival

Be continually converted to Christ.
Constantly relate to reality through Christ.

Be accountable to one another.
Answer the hard questions as honestly as you possibly can.

Don't be responsible for everything, But be responsive to everyone.

Never react; always respond; As constructively as you can.

Don't try to do big things; Try to do little things with a lot of love.

Extend love unconditionally,But trust only conditionally.

Don't have high expectations; Have high hopes with low expectations.

Cultivate seeds of hope in the grounds of despair.

Never forget-There's no salvation without grace, and no grace without suffering.

Always remember -That strength is made perfect in weakness.

Dave Andrews

Church and structures and am I serious about this churchless thing?

Well, a big thanks to Hamo for posting the first comment for this blog! And as a way of saying thanks I thought I’d blog about his question about structures and church, partly to say thanks but mostly because I think his question gets to the heart of this blog.

Firstly two observations. (1) Structures in churches / groups is what frustrates us about churches / groups. (2) Structures in churches / groups are what makes or defines a group.
All churches have some kind of structure.

A) To be part of the early church in Acts you had to give all your possessions to a collective pool.

B) My home church (currently consisting of me and my wife and another couple) meet every Sunday morning. And although this is perhaps the only spoken rule we have, there are lots of unspoken rules. Like, none of us would just invite someone else to the group, and we usually read a Xn writer or look at the Bible in some way.

C) Some Anglican churches who have a very structured liturgy have a theology far more flexible than a lot of alternate churches.

So, does your church (or dream church) have a structure?
My little test is this, will these 4 people be welcome and have an equal part to play in your church?
1. A conservative Xn who thinks the left behind series is great theology
2. A Gay Xn
3. A militant Xn who wants to kill all Islamic people
4. Me
In short if your church (or dream church) does not allow for equal participation by these four people then it has some structure, and that’s not a bad thing.

The title of this blog basically comes from the idea that we all have, at some point, a line where we say that’s not church and this is. Church is more than just meeting with Xns. If I met with some Xn friends at a coffee shop and talked about the latest bjork album is that really church? For me it would be a great and valuable thing to do but it is not church. Church has a structure. The big question is what is that structure or more simply what is church?

There will be no "deux ex machina!"

Just got an article sent to me today by Andrew Strom. A follow up to his article on nine lies. One of the great things about the article is it gets people thinking about things we normally associate with being Xn and then gets us to look at the Bible. So we learn things like "asking Jesus into our hearts" is not in the Bible and Jesus doesn't talk about "prosperity" (I better not start writing on the prayer of Jabez). All good stuff.

However, A. Strom talks a lot (as do many others) about the need for revival. Which after doing a quick word search in the NRSV, CEV, message, RSV and King James bibles and found no hits.

This got me thinking about Bonhoffer and his detesting of the idea of "deux ex machina" An ancient Greek idea often used in their plays where God comes in at the last minute and fixes everything up.

Revivals are quick and spectacular things, were God comes in and fixes everything up. I would argue that God is not like that. Jesus was born in a stable and died with a bunch of criminals, and when he did do miracles asked people not to tell others. Hardly spectacular, and futhermore part of being Xns (the church) is that we are God's ambassadors on earth (eph 6:20). And, because it is us doing the work it's not going to be as spectacular as a revival might be. To quote Charlie Kaufmann's movie Adaptation "there will be no deux ex machina!".

So, maybe it's time to stop praying for a revival to change the world and start asking God to change us so that we can change the world. Just a thought.

P.S Adaptation has a great example of deux ex machina, when Laroche is killed by an alligator at the end of the movie.

Introduction to this Blog

A Churchless Faith is not something that I have active sort after but rather something that I have fallen into. Like many others I know I have found my self churchless but with a very strong Christian faith.

This Blog is a diary of my journey, trying to work out if I can and how I can be a Xn without being part of a regular Sunday morning or evening church. I know people who are part of home churches, alternative worship services, and more besides. Yet for me and many others I talk to there is something about these new ways of doing church that just doesn't seem to sit right.

I think much Alternate church can fall into 3 traps

1. The Smorgasboard Faith: This is where we pick and chose which bits of Christianity or Church we want how much we have and how hard we want that to be for ourselves. The potential problems of this include leaving of difficult and import bits. An easy Faith tends to have little impact on our lives and a faith that doesn't impact us and change who we are is surely meaningless.

2. The Eternal Youth Group: This is where we end up starting a church with only those within a couple of years of each other. Where we loose the wisdom and traditions of older people and lose the challenges of making church so accepting that even a child feels comfortable.

3. The Pre Constantine Paradise: This is where we sit around (as I have done) and complain that things would be so much easier if we lived in first centurary Palestine before Constantine had come along. Constantine wasn't all bad, infact mostly good. He unified a splintering church, and combining church and state was just what you did back then, every other religion did it and know one in that time had any notion that this could be anything but positive. Besides a church with heirachies and beuracracy is what necessarily what happens when it becomes really big, which it is. We cannot have a small church structure for a church that is as big as it is now.

So what now?

I don't know. I know I don’t like communal singing, I find learning from sermons difficult and Rituals have never been a part of my life. So when I goto church that leaves me enjoying the Bible reading and the cup of tea afterwards. Oh, announcements are knid of neutral for me.
I do know I want to want respect what has gone before me build on what God has been doing for the last 2000 years. I also know I want to do something new, something fits with me, but challenges and streches me and something that is attractive to other people Christian and non-Christian

Now, I've got to work out where to start...