Revolution

There is a revolution taking place and we are unprepared for the next skirmish. I have spent the past 4 or 5 years wondering if my displacement from organized church was a serious flaw in my spiritual walk, or if there was a problem with the entire system. It occurred to me not long ago that while my relationship with God continues to move and is rewarding in so many ways, my relationship with organized church continues to erode.

I have a couple of observations that might help a little. One is that there is a substantial shift from organized church in general. We thought 10 years ago it was the kids (anyone younger than us) but then I began to run into a lot of contemporaries who were experiencing the same displacement. Our expectation of "community of faith" was running headlong into our experience of "organized church" This is sure cocktail for disillusionment. It is easy to feel isolated by this phenomenon until I read (scanned really) George Barna's book Revolution. He claims this shift is widespread and permanent. I tend to agree.

Most churches are a study in a church "unbalanced" This all relates back to danger of the singular voice of the pulpit guy. They have the incredible pressure to keep the numbers up (attendance and contribution) and providing the entertainment and outlets for numbers to be counted. Consequently, most senior ministers are not "deep" men or preachers. They are activists in all the right terms, but could care less about spiritual formation. They hope that service alone will create and provide the depth that is needed. I disagree with the approach, but understand the dynamics of their concern.I believe if we focus on spiritual formation, service will be the natural outgrowth of this deeper walk with God. However, this is a slow and sometimes arduous process. Churches will always be a place that will attempt keep folks busy, but it won't develop individual, deep, spiritual depth. You have to remember that the instincts and actions of any established organization is the continuity of that organization, usually at the expense of any individuals who might threaten that organization. This tendency is not even consciously articulated, but is simply the nature of the beast. We have suffered this reality in ways great and small, so the evidence is experiential, not theoretical. My "professional" ministry was subverted by church leaders who preferred to see "busy" people over "developed" people. It is not uncommon, but sad nonetheless.

What is driving me now to find an alternative are the futures of my grandkids. I am beginning to see the need for a smaller, more intimate community of faith, that will ignore the magnetic pull of organized religion and embrace the scary and exhilarating leadership of the Spirit. In my head is a vision of folks meeting in my home, your home, several homes that include a bond of friendship over the doctrinal distinctives that we have trumpeted for way too long. I am rapidly hitting the moment in my journey where making sure my grandsons and granddaughter will recall honest, deep questions about God in a loving and close community rather than some antiquated version of my childhood "church". This will provide them with the spiritual tools they will need to continue their journey. Each of my kids are eyeing ways in which they can influence the lives of their children and are rapidly losing faith in the "system" that has been established. Church leadership had better be worried about these informed, discerning young adults. These young people will find a way, and it will not be in the best interests of organized religion.

So a revolution is taking place and this revolution will shake the concepts of church and society. It is going to happen. As part of the crowd who has been voted off the island of organized church, it is now my job to help facilitate the revolution for the sake of my kids and grandkids and ultimately the kingdom.

Godspeed, there is much to do, but more importantly, there is much to pray about.
Don