Learning from Europe

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)

This familiar passage is a favorite of mine and one that I believe reminds all Christians of our responsibility towards God must be and the imagination that will guide us back to the faithful ministry we have seemingly lost in our world today.

As we walk around Edinburgh, one cannot help but notice the number of old, old churches that have been closed and are now cafes, cultural centers, museums, or shuttered closed, falling down upon their foundation. As we travel throughout Scotland, we have taken pictures of beautiful chapels in such places as Stirling Castle or the royal palace in the Scottish region of Fife, in the royal regent of Falkland. Long ago, the battles between State and religion took their toll on the churches of Scotland and throughout Europe and now the ancient, beautiful churches and chapels of the early times are but a skeleton of themselves. I feel the sadness, the emptiness, and the checkered history of a once powerful presence in our world and amid the ruins and the ashes, I look for the phoenix that can rise out of the dust of its history and be a witness to the purer, more loving image of God. As I visit such sacred places, I wonder what does this say for America's churches? Are our churches on a similar path? How long will it be before our churches are but rubble and ruins? Could we learn from the churches of Europe that have long ago lost their focus and now sell churches to museums and cafes? Could Europe's churches be an omen for our American churches or is their a silver lining, a phoenix that will rise from the dust of time?

In my time in Scotland, I have talked to many people of all ages who are passionate about social justice, Eco-justice, sustainable living, and caring for the world and its people. Those whom I have talked to will not call themselves Christians. They believe they are spiritual and are looking for ways to practice what they believe. How this will happen and what shape it will take is part of the mystery in this moment when Christianity as we have known it is at a critical crossroad that the European churches found themselves a generation ago.

Having built beautiful and glorious churches, cathedrals, abbeys and other relics of Christianity, Europe is finding itself in the unfortunate position of seeing their buildings collapse and with it, new believers who have found the back door more appealing than practicing a faith that has lost its vision to be a lighthouse for the marginal and the least of these, to be a practicing community of hospitality and grace, and to be a ministry that chooses to put their wealth in people rather than buildings. It is in this context that share my thoughts in this blog today.

In 1910, the Scottish Church convened the first World Missionary Conference to talk about mission, unity, and the possibility of churches working together in common efforts of serving the needs of the world. What was different about this conference was that the focus was not so much on the politics, policy, doctrine, and theology that separated the churches of the world, but it was a conference that sought ways to work together beginning the Ecumenical Movement. At that time, every church of every persuasion was present at this conference in Glasgow – 4000 members of Christian churches were present. This was a time of hope and optimism, a time of unity and possibility. What does the Lord require of us? The Lord requires us to walk humbly with God.

We arrived in Edinburgh at the end of a gay pride parade. There were lots of rainbow flags, pink sweaters, shirts, hats, and scarves throughout the city. Besides the excitement of World Cup tournaments being played in South Africa, the bars and restaurants were filled with happy people just enjoying the day and one another. There was an international feel around the city as groups of people, speaking their own languages, shared their excitement about football and great parade celebrating humanity and all of its diversity. As for me it felt like a day filled with human goodness, kindness and possibility. What does the Lord require of us? The Lord requires us to do justice.

Carly and I worshiped last Sunday at the St. Giles Cathedral, the mother church of Presbyterianism. It wasn't what we expected, but it was beautiful nonetheless. It seems that the service at St. Giles Cathedral was an ecumenical and community celebration of the Centennial of the Pleasance Life-house, a shelter for homeless men started and begun by the Salvation Army. What was so amazing about this celebration is that Catholics and Presbyterians, Lutherans and Civic leaders had come together with the Salvation Army to celebrate this ministry -- an important reminder that ministry to the marginal and least is not the duty or responsibility of particular denominations, but the duty and responsibility of all who claim the Christian faith. What does the Lord require of us? The Lord requires us to love mercy.

And so I babble on looking at the decline of our American churches through the eyes of the European churches and the international people I have talked to about the Christian faith. In so many ways the American churches have followed in the ways of Europe. For a generation now, European churches are a skeleton of what they once were and what they are learning is that their work is not done. Yes, their bloody history, their magnificent buildings, their control over the lives of thousands, perhaps millions of people is no longer, but they are beginning to see new possibilities in common mission and ecumenism that is no longer limited just to Christian denominations, but also to other religions that also have a vested interest in healthy communities, healthy people, and healthy spirituality. Micah reminds us of our responsibilities of being a follower of a creative and evolving God that calls us back to the foundational values of a mono-theistic and charitable God. The question we must answer is how can Europe help us to be the people Jesus would want us to be? I wonder.

Nature's Wisdom to a Pilgrim

An anxious pilgrim on an unfamiliar road winds his way to a spiritual world
What spiritual world am I seeking? I wonder as I walk the unfamiliar road
To where? I do not know. I walk. I listen. I wonder.

In the distance I hear the anxious waves crashing against the rocky shore
The anxious waves keep rolling along until each drop of water finds a place to rest
To where? I do not know. I walk. I listen. I wonder.

All around me I look and see the craggy, rocky shorelines with mystery and wisdom
The face of the hills seems lonely, cold and dark just waiting for a pilgrim to pass by
To where? I do not know. I walk. I listen. I wonder.

Across the bay a seal barks, calling, calling through the gathering darkness
There, there she is, her tiny head breaking through the rolling waves. Trust, trust my friend
Just "be" my friend, just be. Trust the water. It will hold you up.

A colony of puffins fly over the roaring sea, landing gently on the rocky cliffs
With their curious, droopy eyes and colorful beaks, they seem to say, rest, rest my friend
Just "be" my friend, just be. The cliffs will give you rest.

The cloak of darkness surrounds the wandering, wondering pilgrim. All is still.
Not far, but still not seen is the quiet cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo of a Cuckoo bird.
Just "be' my friend, just be. We'll be here watching over you tonight. Just be.

A mother lamb bleats frantically, listening for the familiar bleating of her lost lambs
There is rejoicing, the lost are found. The lambs know the mother's voice and they are safe
Just "be" my friend, just be. Take care of one another, know that I am with you. Just be.

The road I've been traveling is more familiar today.
The water on the bay is quiet, still, and inviting.
The craggy, rocky cliffs look different today as I take in nature's wisdom.
Just "be" my friend. Just be, be in the presence of your Creator.
It is good!

Ancient Stones and Tomorrow's Promise

We would be building; temples still undone O'er crumbling walls their crosses scarcely lift, Waiting till love can raise the broken stone, And hearts creative bridge the human rift. We would be building; Master, let thy plan Reveal the life that God would give to man.

Iona is a place of mystery, intrigue and grounded in the life of countless monks and pilgrims who have passed through these ancient walls. As I stand on the shore of the Iona Sound between this ancient island and the mainland of the United Kingdom, my meditation and my presence in Iona is part of the great memory and history of the Christian faith. Like millions of pilgrims before me, I come to Iona to touch the ancient stones of a religion and a faith that ebbs and flows through time and history, reminding us again and again of the ancient voices that have shaped our faith today.

On more than one occasion the words from the hymn, "We would be Building" have passed through my meditation as I view the ocean from the Island and look across to Fionnphort, the melody and the tune lifts my spirit and reminds me of the ancient traditions upon which our faith is built. I am moved to silence and stand in awe of the beauty around me. The earliest recorded history of the Island of Iona shows up in the mid fifth century when a monk by the name of Columba came to the island on pilgrimage.

In 563, a monk by the name of Columba came to Iona from Ireland with twelve companions and founded a monastery which later became known as the Abbey on the Island of Iona. This monastery grew and became an influential center for the spread of Christianity among the Picts and Scots. Kings were crowned and later buried on this island and monks were consecrated and pilgrims by thousands have come to this place of mystery and intrigue.

Pilgrimage as we think of pilgrimage is not what pilgrimage was to Celtic monks, specifically to Columba. The concept peregrinatiao (the Latin word as used by Columba) reflects a pilgrimage of penitential overtones. The object of pilgrimage for Celtic monks such as Columba is the act of purging the individual peregrinus of worldly attachments and affections. So as one of thousands, perhaps millions of pilgrims, I come to Iona in search of the cleansing and renewal in such a place as Iona, void of the conveniences of home and an opportunity to reflect upon my relationship to my Creator -- the one whose name has been invoked for centuries in this place, each one seeking to find God's revelation in the ancient stones of Iona and the intrigue and mystery of this place.

As I follow the ancient trails from place to place on this Island, I am reminded that I am but one of many pilgrims who have found peace, solace, and inspiration on the Isle of Iona. As I worship several times a day in the sanctuary of the abbey, the ancient stones that surround my worship space have heard the prayers of million who come with their burdens and their sins and leave them at the stone altar of this magnificent sanctuary. The strong, simply ornate pillars that rise up to the ceiling remind us of the millions of petitions for peace and justice that have passed through our lips on their way to God, the world and we know that we must keep building, building temples still undone until the heavenly kingdom comes on earth.

O keep us building, Master; may our hands Ne'er falter when the dream is in our hearts, When in our ears there come divine commands And all the pride of sinful will departs. We build with thee, O grant enduring worth Until the heavenly kingdom comes one earth.

And so I babble on. I babble on about an experience as old as St. Columba and as fresh and new as my own personal experience with the oneness and the nearness one feels to the ancient prophets, priests and saints who have made this pilgrimage. I come, not so much to touch the ancient stones of Iona, but to touch the generations of the faithful who remind us that we're still building, building the realm of God which comes as a misty, quiet night falls over the ancient stones. As a day of work comes to the end and we hear the sweet sound of the sheep on a nearby hill, we are reminded that our work is not yet done, but even the ancient stones must rest for tomorrow.

Book Review: Tribal Church

Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation
By Carol Howard Merritt
Alban Institute, Herdon, VA., 2007

In her book, Tribal Church, Merritt gives a hopeful and powerful statement to mainline churches large, small and in between. She writes, "The mainline denomination has everything it needs to minister to the younger generation." It is this statement that compels me to read her book and to reflect upon its content. In a congregation that has a substantial number of younger people between the ages of 25 and 35, but so few are involved in a meaningful way, this book has allowed me to explore what some of the reasons young people may not be involved. By in large our young people population is not unlike many mainline churches. Each one struggles with an aging membership and each one of our churches are struggling to find that balance and that space in which younger people would consider our individual congregation. As a way to review this book, I would like to lift up some themes that seem consistent among younger people throughout the United States. With the help of the Alban Institute, Merritt has looked into this population with some intentionality and identifies ways in which the mainline denomination is in fact well suited for reaching younger people because younger people are looking for sacred space that is inter-generational, inclusive and has some traditions that provide grounding and destiny for younger people.

As a way to begin this review, I would like to reflect upon one of the more exciting and hopeful things that Merritt lifts up in her book. Merritt grew up in a mega-church with a strong youth program, mission program, and a clear delineation of right belief and wrong belief. She was moved and excited by this experience as a youth and participated in many of the activities including a youth mission trip to China to witness to the Chinese who didn't know Christ. As she moved from High School to college, she found herself questioning everything that shaped her personal Christian commitment. Everything she found herself believing in, feeling about, and wondering why, her church had an answer that felt repressive, limiting, judgmental, and contrary to everything she believed. Sensing a call into the ministry, Merritt found herself drifting away from her conservative and evangelical roots and found more space and tolerance in the mainline churches. As she completed her Seminary training, she found that her call was not to ministry in evangelical, mega-churches, but in small to mid-size Presbyterian Churches. In her ministry she observed the missing generation in such churches and so she began to explore the reasons why this was the case since she, herself, found so much peace and fulfillment in them. Merrit observes in Chapter eight, "The 'mega-churches' with its rock concert setting appeals to those in their 40s and 50s, but not so much with the younger generations. Younger people are looking for churches where the ministers knows their names, where people notice when you missed Sunday morning. They are looking for a church where they can serve God and connect with one another. Where the young and old gather together and a place where progressive theology is taught and practiced." (Merritt, Page 136) She observes that the backdoor to the 'mega-churches' are as wide open as their front door. This is a hopeful sign for those of us serving local, mainline churches.

Tribal Church is a book written not so much for young people, but for those of us who are would like to be that sacred place for young people to worship. In her book, Merritt suggest several things that will be helpful for those of us who want to be a safe, sacred place for young people to worship and grow. Let me share a few ideas with you. Young people want the generations to worship and play together. There is strength for young families to see 'church grandmas and grandpas' interact with their children. They want the wisdom of age and the vitality of youthfulness to be the grounding for their children. They want to be able to sing songs of praise with children, youth, middle-agers, empty-nesters, retired folks, and the wisdom of aging folks to be the spirit that surrounds them and gives them a reason to study and worship together. Young people are looking for ways to foster inter-generational relationships.

Young people also want church members to be less critical of their economic and spending habits. Young people have extraordinary expenses today and no longer is a woman's income considered additional income -- no, Merritt points out that both parents need to be working today if they are to make it in a world where money is often the only way to relate to one another. All of their lives, young people have been told that they must make money and if they don't they are a failure. Young people have been accused by church people of being lazy, foolish with their money, and should save just like their parent's and grandparents did. Time is money and time lost is money lost. Each day the young people have to deal with this kind of prejudice in the day to day world and they don't want to hear about it in their church. Young people need older people to understand their situation or at least be open to the reality that life is not as easy as it once was and young people are under an extraordinary amount of pressure just to make it to the end of the day. Encouragement and understanding is what young people are looking for older people and in the church they will call their spiritual home.

Young people are also looking for a safe and inclusive space to worship. Young people today do not look at sexual orientation, religion, culture, and race as wrong or even different. Young people are radically inclusive and they expect that of their church. They are not a generation that judges these differences, instead they see similarities rather than differences. Many young people have left their churches of their childhood because they have perceived that the community is often more exclusive then they are. They see diversity as a gift and are eager to learn more about their culture, their traditions, their likes and dislikes, and they want their faith community to reflect that same openness -- an unambiguous openness.

Affirming traditions is also something that young people look forward to experience. They like the special services like Christmas Eve, Easter Sunrise, or Good Friday. These special services and others like them, open up a deep spirituality that they long for and wish to be a part. They enjoy the Sunday School picnics, the youth fellowship, and the traditions that sustain the community of faith. One thing that young people resist are church supper expectations, or special events that are planned by older people who don't have financial and family responsibilities. For older churches with long traditions, it is easy to criticize young people who aren't helping with the extraneous activities such as fund-raisers and that relates back to the notion that young people don't have extraordinary amount of free time or funds to participate. It is better to let young people begin their own traditions and sometimes that means ending others. There is nothing wrong with this. Younger people are more willing to participate in the new traditions they establish. When they are given this kind of invitation rather than being scolded or criticized because they do not appear committed to old traditions is a better way to nurture a commitment from our young people.

Finally, it is important to younger people that they feel they can share in the leadership of the church on their ever changing life situation. Young people want to lead, but they do not want to participate in the leadership if they feel like they've not been given the authority. Merritt makes this observation which is so apt for young people who are seeking to lead. She says this about young adults in leadership. "I [young people] want to enjoy their youth while they are still living it. [Young People] don't want to spend time yearning for someone else's glory day and [they] certainly are not interested in going through an institutional mid-life crisis in [their] twenties." This pretty much sums up the attitudes and feelings of young people and leadership. If we're going to ask them to lead we need to share this leadership and not yearn for the 'good ole days', or participate in institutional therapy at every committee or board meeting. Extra time is not a luxury for young people and being conscientious of young children at home may require that we shift our 'regularly scheduled' meetings to a time more accommodating to young people, and yes, we need to consider the possibility of childcare if we want our young people to serve.

As Merritt draws her book to a close, she uses a hopeful illustration from our Native American brothers and sisters of the Sioux tribe. She writes, "The Sioux nation of Nebraska uses a circle in their walking meditation. It's big, a bit like a labyrinth, but this one has only two simple paths intersecting in the middle of it. One runs from west to east, symbolizing our lives, the other from south to north representing our hardships. And in the center, where the path of being and adversity meet a tree of life grows up, strong and beautiful." [Merritt, Page 150-151] Here in the center where our lives intersect with adversity is the tree of life -- a safe and sacred place where the our lives intersect and we experience a place of healing and growth and it is here, in the center of our world that our communal life intersects and where ministry with young people begins.

The Power to Heal

Oreo is an elderly woman who lives in Findhorn. Oreo is an ordinary person whose inner light and spirituality runs deep and wide. She shared her life story that was not unlike many that we've heard from family and friends, but for Oreo she saw her life's journey as not so much a romantic tragedy as an opportunity to discover her inner light -- a light that is always present within us, but not always realized. She shared her story of a childhood raised in the wilderness of Zimbabwe and how the animals of the African Safari were not to be feared, but respected. She learned how to move away carefully from dangerous situations and learned where to play, where to watch and when to interact. She struggled with depression due to a feeling of abandonment when her parents sent her away to boarding school which was a terribly negative experience for her. She learned in this experience that she would never do this to her children. She shared her pain of 23 years of an alcoholic husband that later ended in divorce. She talked about the death of her husband and hoped that he had found the peace he sought in Whiskey and beer. She talked about raising her five children and the struggle with a son whose patterns were similar to her late husband, but found his opiate in drugs and careless living that landed him in prison for a time. She talked about all these struggles as an opportunity to be in touch with the spirit within her and how each of these experiences deepened her spiritual life and she found her release in poetry, meditation, and a change of life.

Oreo realized that she was a part of the problem for both her husband and her son and she knew that she needed to look within her spirit and see where the darkness of her heart lay so she could be fully human in the midst of life's dark and empty moments. In this time of searching she found her peace, her inner light in seeking and searching for the inner-light of every person, every tree, every plant, and tiny animal. She said to us that it was only when she could see the inner light in nature and within the hearts of each person could she begin to heal herself. Oreo learned that in order to change she needed to look at at the world differently and her spiritual disciplines began to see the world and its people as connected into an intricate web of life that includes all living things. She believed that

"How we view the world on the outside, is how we view ourselves."

This philosophy of spiritual living is enough to call us out and take an honest look at our life's perspective. If we find so much wrong with the world around us; If we are afraid of new experiences or if we find ourselves withdrawing from the world, we are likely to view ourselves in negative light and unwilling to risk changing ourselves and instead we withdraw into our own repressive self and quickly lose the spark of light that is within each of us. Likewise, if we are secure with the world, we'll be secure with ourselves. If we see the soul of the sun each morning and each night, we'll see our own light as a light for others. If we can feel the wet grass in the morning under our feet, the evening breeze, and the good smells of nature, we'll begin to see that the soul of nature is not so tarnished and it then stands to reason that my soul, our soul is not as tarnished. When we see the light of nature and in others, we reflect the light within us.

We have the power within us to heal ourselves. Healing begins with attitude and presence. When we can approach life as a sacred dance within this intricate and fragile web we call the earth, healing can happen. When we can begin to personalize God's presence as the spirit within us and around us, healing can happen. When we can look at people of different races, customs, and cultures as our brothers and sisters who are seeking similar light and understanding, healing can happen. When we can approach the world as sacred and good, healing can happen. The power of healing begins with our view of the world around us. The power of healing is within each one of us.

As I babble on, I begin to put into perspective this wonderful gift of life -- and not just my life or the lives of family, my children, or my friends. No, life is much more connected than that. Living is never a celebration of the life "I" has been given, it is is a celebration of life given to all living things, and the earth with its rocks, its dirt, its trees and animals is living too and so when the life of the world in compromised around us, our life is compromised too. And so I babble on as one who needs healing, healing that is more than physical healing of the self, but the healing of the whole creation. It begins with the words of Oreo, "How we view the world on the outside is how we view ourselves on the inside." When we begin to see the world with the eyes of the Spirit, then healing will begin. So how does the world look to you?

A Celebration of Green

As I sit out on the porch of the Bed and Breakfast that has been my home for the night, I am surrounded by green. The flowers in Scotland are at their peak right now, they are so beautiful, fresh and glorious. The porch that I am writing from is surrounded in glass and gives me the opportunity to see the trees, the plants, the vegetables that are an integral part of Findhorn Community. In Findhorn there is no such thing as a weed, everything has value. In Findhorn each yard is not a selling point for the real estate agent, a middle-class playground for which the children must have cut grass and a swing-set, no the yards in Findhorn are more than that,each yard is a pharmacy of plants, a meal for the night, an experiment in ecologically friendly technology, and quiet place amid the hills and buttes of Northern Scotland and nestled along the Findhorn Bay. At Findhorn, earth day is every day and each day is a celebration of green.

As I find my cadence in a community such as Findhorn, I am reminded of the often forgotten creation account in Genesis 2. "In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up -- for Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground...then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it." (Genesis 2:4b-7, 15) The men and women who make up the community of Findhorn are committed to living a life in unity with nature and with one another. Each person of the community takes seriously the invitation by God to "till and keep it". The men and women of Findhorn have chosen to live in this kind of community that lives not for themselves, but in community with all people. They believe the earth contains all that is necessary for humanity to live an environmentally and ecologically friendly life style. Although people can choose to build their own homes, they must meet strict ecological, environmental, and community regulations and standards. Although the homes are owned by the private owners, the land upon which they are built belong to the community of Findhorn.

The residents of Findhorn share common meals together and they care for one another. Their religious life is integrated with their daily life in the context of a fragile earth that in many places the earth cries out in pain, but in Findhorn a great amount of human energy is used to maintain the earth's resources and to leave as little a carbon imprint as possible -- allowing the earth to regenerate and to live in harmony with the families that choose Findhorn to be their home. Here the earth rests from the abuse of human greed and progress for in this community the earth and its resources is paramount and takes priority over the greed of humanity. Each day in Findhorn is a celebration of green, a legacy and a living witness to Genesis 2, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it." (Genesis 2:15)

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars tht you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them mortals that you care for them." (Psalm 8:3-5) As I anticipate this week to come, I will anticipate more to write, more ideas to share, and reflections on this time at Findhorn. As for today, as I babble on, I'll enjoy the celebration, the celebration of green. Each breath I breathe will be a gift from God that reminds me again that God does not want us to live without, but he has shown us that the land is sufficient. Today, in this place, celebrating green is as ordinary as breathing the fresh, morning air on the shores of Findhorn Bay.

Book Review: A Primer on Postmodernism

A Primer on Postmodernism
By Stanley J. Grenz
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Grand Rapids, MI. 1996

We are living in a time when there are more and more resources available to us as we try to wrap our heads around postmodernism and how this relatively recent school of philosophy is impacting our churches today. In his small, but compact primer on postmodernism, Grenz attempts to put postmodernism into the context of modernism. In his book, he appropriately reflects upon the leading postmodern philosophers, Foucault, Derrida, and Rorty. Grenz gives us a thumb-nail sketch of the evolving characteristics of postmodernism and ends with a careful reflection on postmodernism in the context of evangelicalism. Grenz's primer is not exhaustive by any means, but he is liberal with his footnoting and provides substantial referencing to those who wish to explore further the philosophy of postmodernism. Since I am more of a practitioner than a thinker, I intend to reflect on the evolving characteristics of postmodernism and how these characteristics are impacting the church today.

Grenz book, A Primer on Postmodernism, is the result of a paper he presented at the Southeastern Regional meeting of the Evangelical Society in 1994. Grenz, is himself, more evangelical than I and tends to be more skeptical of postmodernism than I have found myself to be. In his interpretation of the church's doctrine and dogma through the lens of a postmodern philosopher, Grenz seems more reserved and falls a little short of dismantling and deconstructing the acceptable interpretations of church's belief as a postmodernist is inclined to do. He does, however, caution the evangelical gate-keepers to reconsider the radical individualism of modernism. In addition, evangelicals will need to be less dualistic and more holistic in their understanding and presentation of the gospel if our evangelical beliefs are going to be attractive to the coming generations.

Grenz identifies three themes that define the bulk of postmodernism. He identifies "rejection of self" and a greater awareness of "otherness". Second, he identifies logocentricism as destructive to the human community and believes that human beings create their own reality and their own understanding of truth with words and postmodern thinkers understand words as extraordinarily subjective. Finally, Grenz suggests that Richard Rorty's pragmatic utopia is also a hallmark of postmodernism. Rorty suggests that postmodernism understands truth as what works rather that what is theoretically correct. Each of these characteristics of postmodernism are a foundation for a system of thought that in the context of the gospel can be summarized in four areas of interpretation, post-individualism, post-dualistic, post-noeticentric, and post-rationalistic. Following, I will attempt to summarize each of these four themes and how it applies to church today as we move into this time we call post-modernism.

Let's begin with post-individualism. Individualism was the hallmark of the modern era. The post-modernist is less interested in the "I" of modernism and more interested in the "we" of today. Post-modernist believe that truth is not based upon hard science or data, truth is what the community believes is important and truthful. Post-modernist believe that it "takes a village to raise a child" and that truth and personal identity develops through the telling of a personal narrative that is embedded in the experience of the significant community, tribe, or family. The goal of post-modernism is the establishment of community in the highest sense. Post-modern people are unimpressed by a verbal presentation of the gospel. Instead, the post-modern generation wants to see wholesome, authentic, and healing relationships. Post-modernism is about "we" and not "I".

Second, the post-modernist struggles with the dualism of the modern era. The post-modern thinker is skeptical of the split between the physical and the spiritual. Soul and body is confusing and meaningless to a generation of people are reacting against individualism. The next generation of Christians is more interested in the human person as a unified being. The post-modern thinker integrates the emotional-affective as well as the bodily-sensual with the intellectual-rational person. One only need to think of the original Star Trek series where Dr. Spock struggled with balancing the perceived weakness of humanity with the more superior nature of knowledge and intellect to begin to see how modernism and post-modernism works itself out in popular culture. Then think about Star Trek: The Next Generation when we meet people like Troi and Data and we begin to see how Gene Rodenberry and the writers of Start Trek made their shift from modern to post-modern thinking.

A third characteristic of post-modernism is post-rationalistic. Post-modernism are not anti-knowledge as much as they believe that Christianity needs to be more than "right thinking" or correct doctrine. Post-modernist find truth validated in in the context of the transformative moments that move us from one dimension of truth to another. A post modern Christian understand religious truth as a personal experience of the faith that clarifies personal meaning and truth.

Finally, let me reflect upon the fourth characteristic of post modernism which Grenz identifies as post-noeticentric. First let me define noeticentric, noeticentric is the attainment of knowledge and wisdom. Post-modernist object to spirituality as the attainment of wisdom. They believe that knowledge is good only when it facilitates a good result. The post-modernist believes that one is not finished when they reach heaven, nirvana or some other state of intelligence. Consistent with post-modern thinking, spirituality must move us from passive reflection about goodness and heavenly things to activism and justice that facilitates goodness for the earth and all humanity.

Each of these characteristics reflect something of the Christian faith, but also all faiths. Although I would fully embrace many of these post-modern characteristics, I would caution post-modern Christians that the ministry we do is because of our Christian convictions and not because of our altruism or idealism. The gospel of Jesus Christ has gone forth in every era. While modernist believed in the superiority of humanity and intelligence, the post-modern believer seeks to be more relational with less emphasis on "right doctrine" or right faith. For me, I am empowered by the post-modern thinking and believe that the Christian faith was always about what the post-modernist believed, but somewhere in the transition from superstition to the modern era we began to believe that knowledge and wisdom had become a nomenclature for God and our theology and our understanding of faith began to migrate from the heart to the head. What post-modernism does for us is to give us the foundation to build a more holistic, and consequently more holy union between the heart and the head.

Connoisseurs of Vending Machine Faith

In the recent issue The Christian Century, Suzanne Guthrie reflects upon how consumerism has crept into our faith communities. Since the 70's or perhaps earlier, individuals have been looking for churches and congregations that meet their personal needs. Those of us who have been in the ministry for awhile are not surprised by this phenomenon. People have been telling us for a long time that they are leaving because we are not meeting their personal needs. Point in fact, is that we are living in a culture of vending machines and quitters. When individuals are asked to sacrifice "I" for the community of "we", they quit or move on to another vending machine. Perhaps the more distressing reality is that we've forgotten what it means to be a community of faithful followers of Jesus Christ. Guthrie is shocked when she learns that by simply changing one word in the Lord's Prayer -- the word ' trespasses' to 'sinners'-- precipitated an angry response from a distraught member who complained that in making this simple, seemingly insignificant change, she had taken away the Lord's Prayer.

Guthrie's experience is not unlike my own. She made a small change in the Lord's prayer and in doing so, she learns that she ruined someone's worship experience. We hear such reactions when we try to introduce new music to a congregation, change a Sunday School curriculum, pull the altar away from the wall and serve communion from a table. Today, we hear statements like, "I came to the service today so that I can get my ashes for the year, or receive my Sunday School pin" We hear statements like, "I need to make contact with my Jesus today" or "I have to get my 'church fix' so I can make it through the week." The sad truth in all of this is that prayer and worship, like soda and candy bars, have become a choice from the vending machine of life. And so, if one machine doesn't have what I want, then I'll go to the one down the street and eventually, I'll find what I want.

So what is a church if it isn't a place to come and change? What is a church if it isn't a place to grow and to become a community of "we" rather than a fragile collection of I's? What is the meaning of Christian community in our world today? Murphy Davis, co-founder of Open Door Community in Atlanta, Georgia has this to say about the meaning of Christian community. "Life in Christian community reminds us again and again that we do not belong only to ourselves. We belong to God and to each other." Davis and Guthrie remind us that the church as a Christian community is counter-cultural to the modern way of thinking and experiencing the spiritual in our world today. Davis and Guthrie reflect, in part, a departure from a modern understanding of the church to a post-modern understanding of the church.

The modern era elevated the individual to the center of the universe. Modernist characterize the human being as an autonomous, rational substance, encountering Newton's mechanistic world. Modernist believe in managing information, knowledge and technology so that it can improve our human existence. The modernist place more stock in the scientific and rational than they do in feelings, emotions and spirituality. In this context it is easy to understand why "church people" have become connoisseurs of vending machine faith. The modernists believe in the importance and the centrality of the "I", the individual rather than in the sacrifice of the 'we'.

The physical and spiritual significance of "we" is paramount in the post-modern time. Post-modern people believe that we are not the center of the world with the physical laws of earth acting upon us. Post-modern people understand that the earth and the human community is fragile and that the future of our existence is dependent upon a new attitude of cooperation rather than conquest. The post-modern person believes that neither the earth nor the human being is either mechanistic nor dualistic. Rather the earth and the people of this world are historical, relational and personal. The believe that knowledge is always incomplete and that our future together must operate with a community-based understanding of ourselves and what is truth. "..Christian community reminds us again and again that we do not belong only to ourselves.."

And so it is a starting point for the church today. So I babble on and I struggle with this new and compelling vision of the church. If the church, as we have known it, is to survive into this century we must examine and dismantle our tendency to see church and faith as a vending machine of choices. The spirit of the Christian faith is not about us, it is about how God is using us to build a safe and sacred space in the midst of a culture that is consumed by selfish ambitions that rape the earth of its resources, bullies the world's people into thinking, believing, and acting like middle class Christians, and we sit around our sanctuary, clinging to our dollar so that we'll be ready for the vendor when she/he comes to bring us to our heavenly reward. And if we believe we've been forgotten, we'll find another machine and maybe, just maybe the heavenly vendor will remember us this time. If not, I'll still have my dollar.

Book Review: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
By Donald Miller
Thomas Nelson Publishing, Nashville, TN., 2009

In his thought provoking and light hearted writing style, Donald Miller reflects on his life when he is invited by a producer and a camera-man to create a movie about his life. As he begins to reflect upon his life, he soon realizes how so many of his memories have slipped into the recesses of our mind how difficult it is to access the memories. He begins to wonder if his life is just too boring, too ordinary for a movie -- a movie that moves quickly and is completed in in a little over two hours long. In his book, he reflects upon the characteristics of what makes a good story and in the process he discovers that his story does have meaning and purpose.

Miller begins his life's reflections with the question: "Is life and love and death anything more than random happenings?" In his book this question compels him to find an answer to this driving question and in doing so he is writing a new story. He soon discovers that sometimes we have to choose a different story to write than the one we're in and sometimes we need to let God and the circumstances of life shape our story. In his growing frustration in creating a compelling life story, Miller attends a writing seminar with a friend where he learns that life and good movies requires a few essential and memorable events that change your life and your expectations.

In his book, Miller reflects upon weddings and funerals. This becomes a significant analogy for Miller because it is the motivation that changes his life. In chapter six, Miller writes about how much he enjoys weddings and how dreadfully sad and disappointing funerals are because they end good lives. Here is Miller's observation of funerals and weddings: "I heard that a lot of playwrights used to end their stories with a funeral if it was a tragedy and a wedding if it was comedy. I think that's why we make such a big deal out of weddings, because a wedding means life, and because the bride and groom are old enough to write a thank-you note for the serving spoons you gave them. And perhaps because you get to drink and dance, no matter how old you are. I only dance at weddings. I practically only drink at weddings, too, mostly because that's where I do my dancing. One of the things that gives me hope is that, even with all the tragedy that happens in the world, the Bible says that when we get to heaven, there will be a wedding and there will be drinking and there will be dancing." [Miller, Page 32]

In this context Donald Miller reflects upon the death of his Uncle who he believed wrote a beautiful story about his life. It is his reflection upon his uncle's life and the boy's camp he founded in Florida. Miller's uncle took juvenile delinquents, brought them to the camp and he would teach them how to work and how to solve conflicts and get along with one another. Miller admired his uncle's story -- the one that told a good story with his life. The sad part for Miller is that the story of his uncle's life ended too soon, he wasn't finished with his story. It is his uncle's story that shapes his choices in the book and helps him complete the movie script that he and his friends are working on throughout the book.

The unfinished story of his Uncle Art was the motivation he needed to explore his own story. He didn't want to wait until he was older to create the story. Instead, while he is young and still able to make a difference in his life and the lives of others, he was going to write a different story than the current story he was living. Miller reflects upon the importance of taking risks and not to be afraid. Miller observes fear as something that can guide us and keep us safe, but it's also an emotion that that can trick us into living a boring life. He observes that "...fear causes an inciting incident that when the protagonist passes through this doorway, he cannot return." [Miller, Page 108]

Through humor, changes in choices made, conversations with an array of interesting people, Miller finds himself participating in stories that others are writing and soon discovers that he too is writing an interesting story about his life. As Miller continues to reflect upon his life and live into his story that he and God are writing together, he is happy with his story. In the beginning, Miller reflected upon a life that was totally random and events and circumstances just happen to him without cause or concern. He lives for his television, barely getting up in the morning to take Lucy, his dog, for a walk. Through the hard work of producing a movie, Miller loses himself in the story he and God are writing. Miller writes, "I take my dog to Westmoreland Park, where she plays in the creek. She runs up and down through the creek bed, diving headlong into the water, chasing ducks. Sometimes when I watch her I think about how good life can be, if we only lose ourselves in our stories. Lucy doesn't read self-help books about how to be a dog; she just is a dog. All she wants to do is chase ducks and sticks and do other things that make her and me happy." [Miller, Page 246]

Life is about getting lost in the story that you and God are writing. Miller's concluding reflection about his wedding day in heaven has this to share with all who are seeking meaning and purpose in life. He writes, "I don't wonder anymore what I'll tell God when I go to heaven, when we sit in the chairs under the tree, outside the city. I'll tell [my story] to God, and he'll laugh, I'll think, and he'll remind me of the parts I forgot, the parts that were his [sic] favorite. We'll sit and remember my story together, and then he'll stand and put his arms around me and say, "Well done," and that he liked my story. And my soul won't be thirsty anymore." He goes onto to write, "Finally, he'll turn, and we'll walk toward the city, a city he will have spoken into existence, a city built in a place where once there had been nothing." [Miller, Page 249-250]