My Small Corner

When Christians Get It Right

You are going to have to read this story for yourself because I don't think I could get through actually telling it.

The official version and the emotional version.

VBS at the Gym

I overheard a whole conversation about VBS while at the gym today.  A mother with twin 4-year-olds was telling a grandmotherly person about the things she has scheduled for the boys over the summer.  She was most excited about something called "V B S" that was happening at a church a friend knows.

The kids can go there from 9 to 12, for a whole week, for FREE!  Can you believe it?  She certainly couldn't.  Grandmotherly person asked what the kids do there.  Boy did she go on and on - crafts, games, snacks.  Then at the very end she added:  "I'm sure they do some religious things as well".  The word "things" was handled with the same disgust as moldy socks.

Having run a couple VBS programs and participated in more than I can count, it was very interesting to see how they are viewed outside of the church.

What In The World?

I was trolling the news sites this morning and found these two articles about Gospel Outreach.  It is a little flooring as I have met some of these folks.  Someone told me this morning that they had heard about this but I hadn't.

Church Tears Families Apart

Church Involved in Man's Disappearance

When God Works in a Congregational Meeting

Well, we went to what will most likely be the last congregational meeting at our church that we will attend.  Someone else might say that it was a waste of time, in fact someone has said that already.  But I disagree.  I have been fortunate enough to have actually seen God work, in a more miraculous way than normal.  Tonight was one of those nights.

We are leaving the youth ministry, and most likely leaving this church.  It has been a hard decision and there have been so many times that we have doubted our decision.  Each time the husband and I have talked about it, within a day or so, something else would be said or done that made our way so clear.  Now that the decisions are finally becoming reality, and our time in this ministry is growing short, God showed up again. 

The church has a plan, and it is a good plan, but their foundation is faulty.  Now I don't mean that where they are building is bad (sand or rock), but the people they are putting as the cornerstone.  For their sake, I pray that they will succeed.  They need to succeed, but God does not always say yes.  And they aren't really trying to go somewhere they haven't tried before.

But God used this meeting, the words of the leaders, the discussions of the members, the vote of the congregation.  We are making the right decision.  The next steps for us will not be easy, but we don't walk alone and now I am feeling some peace.  Praise God in the storm.

Still Trying To Emerge

We went to the "emergent" service again today.  (the quotes are because it really isn't an emergent service)  It started on a real down note since many of the kids in attendance were from Kinnelon, where this week a drunk driver killed two sophomores.  For some reason they kept referring to it as an accident.  I always thought that an accident was something that couldn't be prevented, but I digress.

The music was little disorganized but the sermon was good.  It was a variant on the liar, lunatic, Lord theme, with Jim Carey movie clips to illustrate each point.  Overall, we really like that service and would enjoy going on a regular basis, and would even be able to find community within that church, but....  Last time we went, we brought the kids into the service with us, which sort-of worked, but they have redone the room, and I would really rather have the kids, especially EC in sunday school. 

So we put YC in nursery, and EC in sunday school, then hopped in the car and drove cross campus, and then walked the quarter mile to the building, in the rain.  Since this is geared for youth ministry, it didn't start on time, so it didn't end on time.  Then we had to race out to the car, drive back across campus and get the kids.  Each one was the last one in the room, and the teachers/nursery attendants had arms crossed and turned the light off as we left.  Apparently, while the church has 3 main services, they change rooms for the nursery for each one, and don't have sunday school for the last one.  Since the emergent overlaps, we are stuck running late.  It doesn't work.  So again, now we don't know where we will go.

This bouncing from church to church the last few months is demoralizing.  We are leaving some friends behind, and not attending anywhere else consistently enough to start making new ones.  It is very lonely.

What Do You Mean By Church?

I had not realized that George Barna was involved in the ongoing church change movement or emergent conversation until I read this post by Tony Myles.  Barna has moved away from simply polling and interpreting church trends to publicly throwing his support behind people who leave churches in his book "Revolution".  Apparently people are leaving churches that they find irrelevant to the world today, and striking out on their own, forming small groups that meet in houses.  Barna calls these individuals "revolutionaries".  Myles links to a post by Ken Schenck which is very hostile to the conclusions and ideas put forth by Barna.

I haven't read the book, actually, I hadn't heard of it until these 2 posts, so I will not address the book, just Schenck's post.  The first thing that really jumped out at my was in the 2nd paragraph of the post. 

"It is a wholly invalid process to critique what the church is NOT until he establishes a biblical baseline for what the church IS! This effort, to be of value, must begin with a clear and precise ecclesiology; stating what the Church is, not what Mr. Barna wants it to accomplish."

I'm sorry, I thought that one of the ways to define what something is, would be to look at what it isn't.  What is a dog?  Well, it doesn't lay eggs, fly, hibernate, etc.  What is the church?  It isn't the world, a building, or pews.  I would have to disagree with Schenck on this, the church can be defined by what it is (the body of Christ) as well as by what is isn't (the specific place, time and way people meet).

He goes on to say:

"Barna describes his understanding of the church from passages in Acts 2, 4, and 5. But it is worth noting that at that point the Gospel has not even been proclaimed to the Samaritans, God-fearers, or the gentiles. The true nature of servant-hood, forgiveness, and grace has yet to be encountered."

I don't get that either.  What does he mean that servant-hood, forgiveness and grace hasn't been revealed?  What was Jesus doing all of that time?  Isn't Jesus the true nature of servant-hood, forgiveness and grace?

Lastly, this quote of his smacks of the same arrogance he attributes to the revolutionaries:

"it encourages them to seek other more exciting venues for their ministry instead of the old fashioned local church. To the laity it legitimizes dropping out of church and going golfing—just so long as they go on a mission’s trip with a Para church organization occasionally and have a neighbor Bible study with a few friends on Tuesday evenings so they can skip church and go golfing on Sunday mornings."

Why the smug golf references?  And most importantly, why is going to a traditional service on Sunday "going to church" and going to someone's house each week and studying the scriptures "skipping church"?  If so, did anyone in the book of Acts ever go to church?  Schenck does exactly what his faults Barna for - defining what something is by what it isn't.  If a house meeting doesn't meet at a church, facing a pastor, on a Sunday morning, then it isn't church.

Scheck may have some valid complaints about Barna's book, and maybe I will read the book.  At the same time, perhaps going back to house churches may give the church renewed vigor.  People may start to focus on what they can do for Christ and the kingdom, instead of what the church can do for them.

"You're a revolution I want to be ... Revolutionary"  David Crowder Band

Chat with Pat Sajak

Well, I finally was able to talk with the Sunday School person who had the idea to pay kids to bring their friends to church.  I pulled her aside, and asked if she could explain the new Junior church reward system to me.  Beaming with pride, she explained the whole thing, minus the money part.  Me:  "Oh, I thought there was a cash prize".  Her:  "Um, there might be, I don't remember".  She said that several times.  So I prompted her:  "I thought there was a reward for bringing friends to junior church?"  Her:  silence, then "Well, there might be a small prize, like 3 dollars or so."  Me:  "Oh, I was under the impression that they would get $10 for every three friends they bring".  Her:  silence, then "Well, yes that is one of the rewards".

She really didn't want to tell me about that part.  So I let her know that this is not how I raise me children, and that I wasn't sure it was appropriate, especially during a whole sermon series on money for the adults.  I told her that my children are not paid to do things that they are supposed to do, and that we don't have an allowance.  She talked about how hard it is to get kids motivated to bring friends, and I empathized with her (r: aren't you so proud?), because it is hard with the youth group as well.  I asked her about the suggestion she had about getting your grandparents to come, and that it just wasn't about getting friends, it was about bringing anyone. 

That is when she hit me with the old evangelical standby:  "Well, yes.  My father wants nothing to do with church and if my child can get him to come to church and hear about the love of Jesus then I think she should be rewarded."  Ah, so this whole plan is work out family issues for her?  (I didn't ask that).  I pointed out that my son was upset because he brought friends last year and wasn't rewarded and that it wasn't fair.  She said that she had clearly explained that this wasn't about materialism and that our real crowns were in heaven.  I pointed out that it might have been enough explanation for the older kids but 4 and 5 year olds weren't getting it.  She said that she would explain it again next week, and put it in writing for the parents.

Lastly, I asked her if the board had approved the idea.  I was firmly told that:  "Of course the board approves, the board knows everything I do.  My husband is on the board and he knows what I am doing."  I'm not sure she answered my question.  Now I am stuck, because I wanted to visit a different church next week but will have to go to ours just to get the paperwork explaining the reward system. 

I understand how hard it can be to motivate kids, but I am still not comfortable with the idea of paying them to bring people to church.  Husband and I, for fun, have worked out a whole payment scale for church stuff, from bringing a person to salvation, to baptism and a reward for getting others to volunteer.  The thing that really irritates me as well, is that the church won't help us with babysitting costs for our kids during youth group events, but we are spending money on this.

I'm Sorry, Pat Sajak is Not Available

I was unable to talk to the Sunday School Super.  We had nursery, and by the time we were done, all of the women had gone into a prayer meeting, and we went home before they were done.  It was a shame that we were in nursery, because the sermon was on communion, and I am actually working on a post that includes that topic.  Anyone sit through it who can tell me about it?  We could have listened through the speaker, but we ended up with several people who had left the service, just sitting and talking.  To be honest, I enjoyed that more.