Here's a blog post I put together for my Theology and Culture class. I thought I'd toss it out there in case anyone might be interested.
Prompt:
How do you define "church" and what informs your perspective?
… If a theology is, in a basic form, how one talks about God (or the divine), how does your perspective on God affect your thoughts on church? Discuss how your theologies inform your interactions with "church”.
_______________________________
I suppose I should start, as suggested, with my conception of church. For me, at the most basic level, church is about relationship. To quote Kurt Vonnegut quoting his son, Mark: “We are here to help each other get though this thing, whatever it is.” In this instance “this thing” refers to a life of faith.
I grew up in a small, rather conservative (and, I think, typical) Midwestern evangelical congregation. It was the same congregation that my mother grew up in, and her father actually helped to physically construct the church building. My parents still attend the same church today. Obviously it is a community of faith where I have deep roots. For all of my criticisms of it (and I have many; so very many), I can never doubt that there are people there who know me intimately and care very deeply for my wife and me, and I am convinced that my experiences there were formative for my faith. I think that this level of grounding in a faith community is an increasingly rare experience for a 20-something Christian in America, and this is going to be to the church’s detriment in the years to come.
Several years ago I found myself fed up with evangelicalism in general for a variety of reasons and began examining alternative methods in the expression of Christianity. I found myself drawn to the Anabaptist tradition for its emphasis on social justice, celebration of togetherness in community life, and uncompromising commitment to taking seriously the ethics expressed in the life and teachings of Jesus. My wife and I found a home in a Mennonite church that felt right for us at that point in our faith journey and we became members several years ago. Being a member of this particular faith community in this particular denomination has helped my faith immensely as I struggle to determine how I can live meaningfully as a Christian in my current context.
Phyllis Tickle, in The Great Emergence, argues that the emergence will involve a “gathering center” where elements of the liturgical tradition, social justice movement, conservative Christianity, and the renewalist/charismatic movement will meet and exchange methods and ideas, with the apparent result being something of a patchwork of Christianity that will exist for the foreseeable future until a more coherent model can be found. I think that this can be seen in the trend toward non-denominationalism in which Christian tradition is treated as a buffet where one can take whatever one feels like when it comes to doctrines and practices and no real denominational commitment can be expected.
In the first chapter of A Matrix of Meanings, Craig Detweiler and Barry Taylor describe contemporary culture as Post-institutional. I think this is an especially apt description. For evidence one needs only to look at the rise in popularity of television programming such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, especially among the young. These shows are predicated on exposing and ridiculing the absurdities that exist in venerated institutions; specifically our government and the journalistic arm of the media. It is true that political satire has existed in this country since colonial times, but I would estimate that more people under the age of 30 get their news from Stewart (and others like him) than from traditional sources – an unprecedented development suggesting a deep mistrust of these institutions that did not exist a generation ago. While no real correlate to The Daily Show has emerged for religion, we would be foolish to think that this is automatically indicative of a greater degree of trust for institutionalized religion.
My first reaction to these developments is to lament the decline of denominationalism since I have found a wealth of beauty in the specific Anabaptist tradition that I have chosen for myself. But when I look at the way I approach my denomination and compare it to people in my congregation who have been Mennonites for generations I see that I am not as different from the Nondenominational “Let’s dabble in Calvinism with a touch of the Wesleyan tradition, and what the hell let's dip our toe in the Catholic pool while we’re at it” types as I would like to believe. The truth is that I walked away from the Christian worldview that I grew up with as soon as it ceased to be a meaningful narrative for me. While I feel committed to my congregation and denomination at this time, if I move away from Pasadena and the local Mennonite congregation wherever I end up doesn’t have the attributes that initially drew me in, I know I won’t hesitate to change my affiliation. When I get down to it I don’t find my meaning in religious institutions, but rather in community. Relationships are key for me, and they transcend structures and institutions.
Prompt:
How do you define "church" and what informs your perspective?
… If a theology is, in a basic form, how one talks about God (or the divine), how does your perspective on God affect your thoughts on church? Discuss how your theologies inform your interactions with "church”.
_______________________________
I suppose I should start, as suggested, with my conception of church. For me, at the most basic level, church is about relationship. To quote Kurt Vonnegut quoting his son, Mark: “We are here to help each other get though this thing, whatever it is.” In this instance “this thing” refers to a life of faith.
I grew up in a small, rather conservative (and, I think, typical) Midwestern evangelical congregation. It was the same congregation that my mother grew up in, and her father actually helped to physically construct the church building. My parents still attend the same church today. Obviously it is a community of faith where I have deep roots. For all of my criticisms of it (and I have many; so very many), I can never doubt that there are people there who know me intimately and care very deeply for my wife and me, and I am convinced that my experiences there were formative for my faith. I think that this level of grounding in a faith community is an increasingly rare experience for a 20-something Christian in America, and this is going to be to the church’s detriment in the years to come.
Several years ago I found myself fed up with evangelicalism in general for a variety of reasons and began examining alternative methods in the expression of Christianity. I found myself drawn to the Anabaptist tradition for its emphasis on social justice, celebration of togetherness in community life, and uncompromising commitment to taking seriously the ethics expressed in the life and teachings of Jesus. My wife and I found a home in a Mennonite church that felt right for us at that point in our faith journey and we became members several years ago. Being a member of this particular faith community in this particular denomination has helped my faith immensely as I struggle to determine how I can live meaningfully as a Christian in my current context.
Phyllis Tickle, in The Great Emergence, argues that the emergence will involve a “gathering center” where elements of the liturgical tradition, social justice movement, conservative Christianity, and the renewalist/charismatic movement will meet and exchange methods and ideas, with the apparent result being something of a patchwork of Christianity that will exist for the foreseeable future until a more coherent model can be found. I think that this can be seen in the trend toward non-denominationalism in which Christian tradition is treated as a buffet where one can take whatever one feels like when it comes to doctrines and practices and no real denominational commitment can be expected.
In the first chapter of A Matrix of Meanings, Craig Detweiler and Barry Taylor describe contemporary culture as Post-institutional. I think this is an especially apt description. For evidence one needs only to look at the rise in popularity of television programming such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, especially among the young. These shows are predicated on exposing and ridiculing the absurdities that exist in venerated institutions; specifically our government and the journalistic arm of the media. It is true that political satire has existed in this country since colonial times, but I would estimate that more people under the age of 30 get their news from Stewart (and others like him) than from traditional sources – an unprecedented development suggesting a deep mistrust of these institutions that did not exist a generation ago. While no real correlate to The Daily Show has emerged for religion, we would be foolish to think that this is automatically indicative of a greater degree of trust for institutionalized religion.
My first reaction to these developments is to lament the decline of denominationalism since I have found a wealth of beauty in the specific Anabaptist tradition that I have chosen for myself. But when I look at the way I approach my denomination and compare it to people in my congregation who have been Mennonites for generations I see that I am not as different from the Nondenominational “Let’s dabble in Calvinism with a touch of the Wesleyan tradition, and what the hell let's dip our toe in the Catholic pool while we’re at it” types as I would like to believe. The truth is that I walked away from the Christian worldview that I grew up with as soon as it ceased to be a meaningful narrative for me. While I feel committed to my congregation and denomination at this time, if I move away from Pasadena and the local Mennonite congregation wherever I end up doesn’t have the attributes that initially drew me in, I know I won’t hesitate to change my affiliation. When I get down to it I don’t find my meaning in religious institutions, but rather in community. Relationships are key for me, and they transcend structures and institutions.
2 comments:
Adam, this is great writing. Thank you for sharing. One day you will write a book, and I will read it.
Thanks so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Although I'm not so sure I've got a books worth of stuff in there.
I miss you two a lot.
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