Sally hasn't gone to church much since she started university. Away from home, Sunday morning is more about sleeping than attending a church near campus. She still attends when she goes home-maybe once a month-but doesn't find the service "upstairs" very engaging. She is a veteran of every aspect of children's programming: nursery, church school, junior youth, youth group and even a year or two as one of the youth leaders. The one thing she has little experience with is worship: particularly everything after "Children's Time."
We began Advent last Sunday with a focus on hope. As you and I have prayerfully prepared for the United Nations Climate Change talks over the days since, I've found it inspiring to see so many examples of people choosing hope over despair.
I’ve been out of the country this week fulfilling a leadership commitment to the North American Ecumenical Stewardship Center, made long before becoming Moderator. It sometimes seems easier to get a perspective on Canada from a distance, and at table with those of other nations.
I recently applied for a continuing education and training program. It asked the usual questions about education and experience, and I answered several of them truthfully, having fun with only a couple.
(But surely they wouldn't believe that I once caddied for the Salvador Dali - the time seemed to go and on - or that I was featured in the 1993 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition - the world premier of the Mankini?)
The final request was for a thoughtful paragraph describing a significant challenge facing the church.
Wow!
"Significant Challenge."
"Thoughtful" (that can be challenge enough for me some days).
And...ONE paragraph!
I was being asked to limit my thoughtfulness to one paragraph. I considered employing pictures, pictographs, subliminal messaging (daed ton si lauP), using Latin ad absurdum, footnotes, endnotes, post it notes, and I even thought about using run-on sentence as I did to my advantage as an undergrad at Trent University, on the beautiful Ottonabee River, when I wrote a paper on the Taoist influences in Oscar Wilde - "The Importance of Being and Not Being Earnest" - as well as just ignoring the instructions.
But, as always, I refuse to rebel...and, typically, followed the instructions to the letter.
The following was my submission. (Yes, I realize that this goes beyond the single paragraph limit. Arrest me, I'm a giver!)
I wonder, as our congregations "emerge" - that is become more "emergent" and spirituality becomes more personal and authority more democratized - will there be a place for classically educated, former seminary students now ordained ministers?
I wonder about this a lot.
Not just because my pension depends on it.
In my congregation all manner of folk sit side by side, not disturbed by the fact that the woman sitting next to them does not have a developed Christology, the guy behind feels more comfortable with an "Eastern" expression of the Trinity, the woman taking up the offering doesn't believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ and the fellow pouring coffee considers the day that he was "born again" to be the most important day of his life.
I was recently at a meeting and it was, as has been the case over the last two years, a meeting in which there was a lot of energy. This particular group of men and women have been meeting to review where the congregation has been, discussing where it currently is, and imaging where the Spirit might be guiding. In times of such intentional reflection there is always richness. This group, as with most that engage with leadership, modelled self-challenge, as well as comfort in listening to ideas that were either new or difficult. I suspect that many who are in leadership, either Ordered or Lay, have been in this place. And, as my own experience has evidenced, there are moments of profound insight, perhaps even revelation ...
All of this talk about the changing church,the emerging church, new styles of worshipping, new ways of being community makes some of us "Preachers" nervous. For most of our professional lives we have focused on preaching. It's not just that we like to stand up there on Sunday (some of us in big dresses) making people and the heavens, shake and listen to our take on the Word of God, it's also that the church has liked, applauded and rewarded us for doing it. To this day, when searching for a new minister most churches will send delegations to hear the candidate preach. They don't send folks to sit in hospital waiting rooms or church board rooms to see how the potential incumbent handles grief, administration, annoyance and day to day to workings of a church - they want to hear the good Reverend "Preach for a Call."
As we move to a time when the expressed desire is more for a "guide on the side" than a "sage on the stage," what are all us stage savvy sages supposed to do? Is there no place for us in an emergent congregation?
How many of you have heard of Lumby, British Columbia. Few, I am sure. We are a small village of about 1800 people on highway 6, just south of Vernon in the North Okanagan. Close you Cherryville? Whitevale? Does that help?
And so we gathered to watch ListenUpTV on Sunday. Well, actually, I was getting ready for Sunday Service, and talking a few minutes to watch on line... my parents were watching at home, a couple of friends were PVRing... and Emerging Spirit, I imagine, was looking forward to getting some of our point of view included in public discussion.
