The Candles Aren't the Point

I just read a critique of the emergent church by Raw Faith. This post really aggravated me and I'm trying to calm down a bit as I try to form my thoughts. I'm not angry at the person who wrote it, mind you, I'm annoyed because what she has critiqued is not what I think of as characterizing the Emergent Church. I'm hoping other people aren't thinking the same things she's thinking. All of the following quotes are from her post.

Stop trying to be relevant in an effort to attract the “unchurched” and just be yourselves. If your church is full of a bunch of jerks, it doesn’t matter how cool your music, or your artwork, or your clothes, or your hair (or lack thereof) are. Do you even know any “unchurched” people? Stop putting people in boxes. How arrogant can you be?

What has intrigued me about at least two of the emerging leaders I've been exposed to is that they didn't start out by trying to reach "seekers." I don't want to say that they are not "seeker-sensitive," to use the cliché, but they are not driven by trying to reach outsiders. They are driven by a desire to be a community that worships God in an authentic way. That authenticity is derived from a number of factors:

1. They are refusing to be bound by traditionalism.
2. They are refusing to be bound by fundamentalism, which has ignored tradition.
3. They desire to worship God from their own cultural standpoint.

Number 3 does not mean that they are borrowing someone else's culture. They are not trying to find out what is hip or cool and then do it. They are hip and cool! Why do I say that? Because they are trying to be themselves. They are expressing what God has made them to be. They are, hopefully, not just stopping at what they've made themselves to be, but pressing onward, upward toward a relationship with God that is transforming their lives.

A huge part of this transformation process is growing in our love for others. I'm not talking about just loving their souls. I'm talking about loving the whole person—body, soul, and spirit. Not to put them on a pedestal, but Solomon's Porch, is a good case in point. They started out as a bunch of artistic types from a "hip" community, but moved their gathering to a different community in order to reach out. Do they reach out by changing who they are or what they do? No, I don't think so. This is why I think Raw Faith's comment is unwarranted.

Stop packaging your tired old conservative theology in hip new wrappers in the hopes that no one will notice that you only let the women teach Sunday School or lead worship. We notice.

The whole repression of women thing really sucks. I have to agree with people who are saying that something must be done on this front. It reminds me of the days when slavery was defended by a careful exegesis of the Bible. It is a scandal. I have no quarrel with Raw Faith on this one.

Stop using things like the Book of Common Prayer and candles and incense because you think they’re cool. At least go to an Episcopal service, or an Orthodox service, or a Roman Catholic service and actually learn a little bit about their liturgy before you start saying things like, “and now for an old Anglican prayer.” It’s not just an old prayer! It’s the liturgy practiced by thousands of people all over the world – right now! The candles and incense? They mean something. It’s not just an aesthetic.

Raw Faith is right here. Things shouldn't be used just because they are cool. It's especially easy to do this when working with teenagers, which I do. But why does Raw Faith assume no one understands her heritage? Tim Keel, pastor of Jacob's Well, is an example of someone who truly appreciates not only the traditional, but the monastic heritage that our Christian family has. He regularly retreats to a nearby monastery and has a spiritual director there. Let's not assume people don't understand what they're doing.

I hope that people don't think that the candles are the point. Candles aren't even technically legal in a lot of places. If people like to use them, great. That's not what the emergent church is all about. Don't get distracted by outward trappings.

Learn what the Eucharist really is and then go find a priest who can teach you how to serve it properly. Better yet, go to mass. When you do, reflect on what your life would be like if you actually had the spiritual fortitude to just sit there in the pew every Sunday like all of the other nameless schmoes in the sanctuary.

Learn what the Eucharist really is? Please explain to your eager readers. We'd really like to know what the Eucharist really is because I know I, for one, would like to be educated. I have to take issue with the idea that spiritual fortitude has any relationship to just sitting there in a pew every Sunday. I understand that these comments are coming from Raw Faith's own frustration, but this is exactly the problem with the liturgical church in my book. It's not about some religious ritual. It's not about being a nameless schmoe (is that the correct singular form?).

Stop claiming that you don’t need any special qualifications to be a pastor. Seminary isn’t something you do because you think it will be fun to hang out with people who like to pontificate about the decline of the church as much as you do and how you will single-handedly save it with your brilliant new ideas. It’s meant to be a time of discernment and spiritual formation. You’re going to be caring for people’s souls. You don’t think you need some training in that?

I disagree, along with Raw Faith, with anyone who thinks you don't need any special qualifications to be a pastor. The woman or man who seeks to play that role in the kingdom needs any training they can get. But I am an example of someone who has steadfastly avoided the traditional seminary route. Is seminary meant to be a "time of discernment and spiritual formation?" Oh, good! Now as soon as that's what seminary becomes, I'll be the first one to sign up! The reason why people are criticizing seminaries is because they agree with Raw Faith. We do want training in caring for peoples; souls. And yes, I do want to hear people's brilliant new ideas. I do care about academic things. God gave me a brain and I don't want to check it at the door when I go into church. Part of the problem with the evangelical tradition is that despite its academia, thinking has been limited to thinking the way "we" teach you to think.

Stop trying to be cool. Church isn’t supposed to be cool. OK? Christianity is not cool. Jesus wasn’t cool. He was a big old radical freak and when he told people that they needed to stop focusing so much on their stupid laws and learn how to love God and love their neighbor they thought he was so uncool that they killed him in a very uncool way.

I agree and I disagree. I guess it depends on what your definition of cool is. To me, cool entails going against the grain. To be cool is to not conform to the pattern of the world. I think it was and is very cool to follow Jesus. I think he radiated coolness. I think he was hip precisely because he wasn't trying to be.

Now let me say this: The church is uncool when it says, "We hate you, culture." The church is uncool when it has no time to try to understand and learn about what is happening in film or art or fashion or whatever. It is uncool because God is in these things. I know that might invite some criticism, but that's my opinion. There is so much beauty to be missed when we shun the world itself. We are meant to shun the "sin pattern" in the world. If we can do that, maybe can see where God is at work. He's not just in the church or in the pages of an NIV study Bible. So I do not believe that it's wrong to want to be a part of my culture. Actually, I want to understand it better so I can truly love it. It is a product of a whole bunch of people with that wonderful imago Dei we all share.

Okay, I feel much calmer now that I got all of that out. My apologies to anyone who actually forced themselves to read all of that. And my apologies in advance to Raw Faith. I don't think you're criticisms are really the problem. The problem, it seems to me, is that you are looking at the wrong people/things when you think "Emergent Church." I see a whole bunch of fresh, exciting things. I see struggles I'm half afraid to engage in. This is important, but scary stuff. Change can really hurt. If people want to stick with what they know, fine. I can't stop them. But I've got to move forward.

Comments

[Steve K.]

Bill, Thanks for responding so thoughtfully to the post on "Raw Faith."

[will]

Great, thoughtful analysis.

[Lisa]

To suffer through church the way it's always been means that no one is using their creativity as a means of worship. And that makes me feel sad.

[Karen H.]

Hi Bill,
As you state, my post on Raw Faith was not so much a critique of the Emerging Church as a whole, but was an expression of my experience and my perception of what went on in one small corner - well intentioned though it was.

I don't take your post as a personal attack, but it seems that we do have areas where we agree.

I don't know how familiar you are with my blog. It would be difficult to analyze my recent rant without also understanding where it fits into my journey as a whole. Thanks for engaging me in discussion.
Peace,
Karen

[Paula]

I read raw faith and then came immediately to yours. :o) Interesting timing. I attend an "emergent" church. My husband and I had been "detoxing" from church, only we didn't know that was what God was doing with us, we just though we couldn't find a church that fit.

The first week there we knew we wanted to return--but it did make me nervous, I mean where were the structured ministries? Where was the programed youth group? Our previous church, that we left 4 years ago was a "willow church" It had some good stuff going, but we were about to suffocate in the performance oriented, perfectionist, do it this way attitude.

I heard a friend's church helped finance the beginning of our new church. I called her to get the scoop. Now she's in one of those programed churches and her explanation made me want to run the other way. In her mind it was a church plant targeted to the 20 something crowd, yada, yada, yada. The emergent hype packaged by a seeker-sensitive thinker. I panicked! The last think I wanted was to get hooked up with another church that had a pre-determined agenda to reach a "target" group. I just wanted a place where people wanted Jesus and wanted community!!

We've been at this new church since January. Yes, we have the candles and other centers and our pastor does seek to explore some of the traditions of our more liturgical friends, but we haven't found a "system" or a new box with just a new set of rules. We've found authentic people who are seeking to stretch, to offer grace, to know God, and build community. It feels good.

In a way I agree with raw faith in that I get nervous when I hear all the emergent mumbojumbo. I want a church where others seek to be led by the Spirit and not a new system. But, whatever publishing houses are making money on emergent books and whatever seminars are teaching a system, the people I've found who are really passionate about this stuff are genuine, tired of rules and hungry for grace. Tired of programs and hungry for commnity. The heart of this movement is a cry for authenticity. Sometimes the packaging scares me though. Leave it to the good ole USA christian community to box it up in tapes, seminars, and books, and wrap it in buzz words.

Oh, and BTW, my husband isn't the only one at our church with the grey hair . . .

[Bill]

Karen,
Thanks for the read and the further insight. The comment by Paula above is really helpful for me. Some people are obviously missing what this whole thing is about. Her friend didn't get it and scared her with her explanation. The church up the hill from me is a Willow clone and I heard a rumor that they were going to have an "emergent" service. It's almost like some churches are becoming the Baskin Robbins of Christianity. I hesitate, but only for a millisecond, to assume that they're missing the point!

Anyway, hope to meet you again in the blogosphere!

[Bill]

Paula,
I particularly appreciate this sentence in your comment:

"The heart of this movement is a cry for authenticity."

When I think about that I do wonder about all of the "packaging" that's going on. Then again, I want other Christians to know about this movement and they're not just going to hear about it through the blogosphere. Then I thinkabout the people who are publishing books and teaching those seminars and some of them could probably use the money, so I don't exactly want to demand that they start giving everything away for free, you know what I mean?

Nonetheless, I hope that representatives in this thing called EC will be particularly careful about such issues. And may there be many more churches like yours!

[deb]

I really appreciate your post. I've been trying to sort through my thoughts on Raw Faith's rant. You helped tremendously!

[sammy]

very thoughtful responses, bill. i posted about karen's "rant," and i'll be including a link to your comment asap. i suppose i'd be counted among those who are urging the e.c. to go slowly; deliberately and prayerfully ask whether the holy spirit is leading the e.c. to abandon the traditional church and the believers (if any remain) in it; etc. thank you for your thoughts and the spirit in which they were delivered. you've helped me get my mind around the e.c. issue a little bit better.
~ sam

[Paula]

I know. I struggle with the whole thing, too. I want those writing and speaking to earn their deserved pay. I mean, I aspire to write books and speak myself! It's just that the promo hype and packaging of ideas is sometimes threatening to me. I KNOW God uses books and marketing. I just don't want to buy into a new method because it is hot. I want to buy into Jesus.

[Bill]

I can say amen to that!