Boxing Day, Etc.

In the midst of a busy week, here's the MacHouse update:

A couple of days before Christmas, our beloved family dog, Zorro, had to be put down. She had lived a long and happy doggie life, but became sick a few weeks ago and it became obvious that "it was time" to take her for one last trip to the vet. Zorro was 13 years old, and I hope that it's a minimum of another 13 years before I have to do that again.

Christmas day was spent with just our family, opening presents after breakfast, attending our local church's Christmas Day service, the turkey meal, playing games and watching the newest VeggieTales "Lord of the Beans". All of us remarked later that it was a great day as a family.

On Boxing Day, Jo and I went downtown with the Hjalmarson's and assorted other church-less faith friends, and put on a pancake breakfast for a group of homeless people. It was also a great time; Len's daughter Elise brought a number of her hippy friends to help out, and they were really cool people to meet, and hopefully in the days and weeks to come, we can continue to build relationships with them as well.

My parents arrived later on Boxing Day, and we're enjoying a few days with them before New Year's. Last night, the Hjalmarson's came over, and we had a great time talking about church, emerging culture, and I suspect Len now has several blog post's worth of thoughts that we'll see in the next few days!

And now, I have to head to St. Arbucks -- work beckons.

Joyeux Noel (a la pied)

Book of James

Interesting things happen when you Google "Book of James", looking for images to add some colour to your post. For some, that means the biblical Epistle of St. James, and there's some pretty creative introductory study guides and series based on it. For others, apparently, it means a James of a different kind. Let me say this: I'm a big fan of the Epistle of St. James, and for the record, Sir Sean Connery ("Bond. James Bond.") was the best 007 (imho).

During one of our online forum discussions at Resonate.ca, it occurred to me that perhaps the impetus behind much of the emerging church conversation is The Epistle of St. James, Chapter 2.

All talk of Detoxing from Church aside, is it possible that what we're seeing is a healthy reconsideration of the practical dynamics of James 2: not favouring the rich over the poor, mercy triumphing over judgment, and the interplay of faith and works?

If you listen to a lot of the reasons behind why people are disillusioned with their former church experiences (or dissatisfied with their current church), how much of that centres around faith not being in action? Bigger buildings and bigger budgets and bigger numbers, but nobody actually getting around to "doin' the stuff" of ministry to/with/among the poor, and actually living out their faith in their actions?

Let's forget about postmodernism and foundationalism and logo-centrism for a second, and just ponder: is it possible that all of this conversation is really just about re-discovering James 2, and trying to find like-minded individuals and small groups that just want to simplify things to the point where James 2 can be part of a church gathering's "blueprint" or "DNA"?

Thoughts?

Message Received

Some time ago, I wrote In Honour of a Brother and a Mentor, as a way of expressing my gratitude for the impact that George Mercado has had on my life. In the closing paragraph, I had written:

"George, if you get a chance to read this, know that the respect, admiration, and gratitude that Wendy and I feel for you knows no bounds, and let me say to you, as you have said to me many times (just imagine a Bronx accent, okay?): 'Hey, I love you, man.'"

Since our visit to George in the summer of 2003, the Mercado's had moved, and we had no forwarding contact information for them, and none of our mutual friends had that information, either.

During Jules & Chris' visit last weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to get an email from George's daughter, who had Google'd her dad's name one day, and found my post about George. She wrote to tell me, in part:

"I printed out the article that you wrote, and brought it home to read to Dad at lunch. He was very touched."

I love how God ties up loose threads, don't you?

Parachurch as Church: Addendum

A few thoughts arising from questions or insights that were shared in the comments to the Parachurch as Church post a few days ago, that I thought I'd respond to with this addendum.

Kyle Martin pointed out:

...I guess what I'm thinking is that I agree with a lot of the sentiment, but I fail to see the longevity of the para-church as "church". It almost appears as church "for a time". But perhaps that's okay? But it might not be if when they get home there is no "para-church" for them to plug into. It kind of reminds me of the gap between those in youth groups who, when they graduate, don't connect with adult church.

I really resonate with the last bit of your comment, Kyle; I've noticed many times that former parachurch people have a difficult time re-integrating into church. Blame gets shifted both ways on that one; parachurch is uncharitably portrayed as a hot-house spiritual high that doesn't reflect "normal" life, or the church gets diss-ed as being so dead that totally-alive parachurch ministry only reveals the deadness of the church, etc. That kind of blame-game doesn't do anybody any good (imo).

I don't have a problem with the "season" idea of parachurch ministry; although perhaps we should note that it's not a 'season' for the staff of the parachurch. But even for those with short-term participation, it's their church for that season. And if it creates a greater hunger for authenticity, expectation of the work of the Spirit, and a desire for deep community with like-minded others -- even if that means that they're "ruined" for ordinary church -- I say, "bring it on!"

Chuck had this excellent input:

You didn't include the appointing of pastors, baptism or observing the Lord's Supper in your comparison between a church and a parachurch ministry... perhaps you could comment on the reasons why, and how that fits in with what you're arguing here.

Thanks for pointing out that side of it, Chuck. As Jamie Arpin-Ricci mentioned in the comments to the original post, there are a number of parachurch ministries that do practice baptism and celebrate the Eucharist together. Biblically, I can't find any reason why someone couldn't be baptized in a local pond by their Aunt Suzie and Uncle Jim-Bob, so I'd also extend that understanding to the parachurch's "right" to practice baptism as well.

Remembering the Lord's death, burial and resurrection isn't something that I find that the Scriptures prohibit happening outside of some sort of "official" meeting. Again, it can be (and is) observed in house churches, liturgical churches, seeker-sensitive churches, etc., so I can't see any reason that parachurches couldn't also.

"Appointing of pastors" is an interesting one. The first question that pops to mind is what makes a pastor "properly appointed"? I've been an ordained pastor (yes, I was "Reverend" Robbymac once upon a time), and I know that some denominations make a big deal of that in ways that make me, frankly, really uncomfortable (nay, weirded-out, freaked even). It was all about "the prestige of the pastoral position, and the reverence for those who had attained the office, etc., etc., etc". I had a hard time reconciling that kind of pomposity with Christ-following, self-denying, cross-carrying servanthood. (Although I have friends who are all of those positive things, and who wear robes in their Reverend positions in their liturgical churches. More power to 'em!)

Like Jamie, I tend to see "pastor" as more about spiritual giftedness and function in a local gathering of the Body. Some with pastoral gifting get paid and are "clergy" according to Revenue Canada, and there's nothing wrong with that, of course, but I'm not comfortable with only financially-renumerated pastors being seen as "real" pastors. I've been a pastor for 21 years, and I got paid for it for seven (non-consecutive) years out of that time span. The rest of the time I've worked in detention centres, as an outreach counselor for a school district, a shipper-receiver in a factory, a graphic designer, a bass player in a Celtic Rock band, and most recently as a barista at St. Arbucks -- but I've never ceased pastoring.

All that to say, parachurches "appoint" pastors, but it probably looks a little different than a more traditionally-understood clergy position.

Thanks, Mike, for reminding us:

I think, as Christians in the post-western world, we ought to embrace various forms of expression and and worship; the parachurches are doing just that, living for Christ in a place that isn't all too friendly to an exclusive claim to deity.

Emerging Grace, thanks for the Barna stats. 2025 isn't really all that far off! And judging by the many conversations I've had in the analog world, as well as the blogosphere, we may be closer to Barna's projection right now.

"But by 2025, Barna writes, just one third will have their primary attachment in a traditional congregation, and a like number will be connected with alternative forms of church. He notes that these forms are still emerging, but already include house churches, informal worship gatherings, small/accountability groups, and service ministries and parachurch organizations."

I look forward hearing your input on these, as well. Thanks for helping to sharpen my thinking!

Road Trip (oops...)

Two of the regular commenters here, Jules (left) and Chris (right), came to visit us in Kelowna this past weekend. As you can see from their smiling faces, they are a lot of fun and would definitely qualify as people of the spark. We've known them since 1990, when I was their youth pastor, and they were a part of our worship band for GodRock and also the regular church services at Eastgate Vineyard up until we left for Winnipeg in 1997. Jules and Chris ended up staying with us a wee bit longer than first anticipated, and the 2nd picture is the evidence of why. Thank you, God, that nobody was injured, not even the "multi-poo" puppy that Jules brought with her (I kid you not, the dog's breed is officially "multi-poo somthing-or-other").

We'd been joking about creating new memories together, instead of just living on the nostalgia of the old skewl days of the 1990's, but an accident on the Coquihalla (BC's famous freeway through the Canadian Rockies) was not quite the "memory" that we had in mind. Still, no-one was hurt (although the vehicle is a write-off -- that tire was actually horizontal just after the accident), so we're all just thankful to God for that.

Happy birthday (tomorrow) Jules! Perhaps next time, we'll pop down to the Island to visit you guys there?

Parachurch as Church

In the previous post, I mentioned in passing that I have come to view the old "church versus parachurch" paradigm as a false dichotomy. And I promised to post more about that. So, here goes. It all gets back to the question that most of us are wrestling with. No, not "what is the Matrix?"; wrong scenario. I mean, "what is church?"

Len Hjalmarson (the "j" is silent in Len's last name, I've learned since moving here) has often asked "why does 'church-planting' seem to revolve around 'church service-planting?" Many people are looking at what we call "church" and wondering where the "mission" got to -- besides bigger buildings, more staff, and flashier programs, that is.

Many churches have -- and I've been guilty of this too, when I was a pastor -- had a love/hate relationship with para-church organizations. We love what they do, but wish they would quit raiding us for people. And there has often been an arrogance in many parachurch people that, somehow, they're doing it right while all churches have missed the boat (NOTE: this attitude doesn't endear you to churches, nor do you hide it very well).

At the same time, I've often found myself (including when I was pastoring) defending parachurch ministries and saying things like, "well, maybe if we'd start doing what the church is supposed to be doing, the parachurches wouldn't be attracting people who really want to be doin' the stuff!"

But what was clear to everyone, back then, was that church and parachurch were not the same thing. Church was church, and parachurch was not. Everybody knew that. It was self-evident.

But wait a minute... Where did we get that idea? Is there really that much difference between church and parachurch? I'm not convinced anymore that this is true.

Let's just use a typical evangelical understanding of what church looks like, and compare the two:

Church	Parachurch
Worship	Worship
Teaching (focused on spiritual growth and meeting felt needs of congregants)	Teaching (focused on equipping the saints for doin' the stuff)
Fellowship (hanging out, usually around coffee and pastries)	Fellowship (community meals)
Evangelism (events or classes for those who can be convinced that it's important)	Evangelism (one of the main reasons that parachurch groups like YWAM, Young Life, etc. exist)
Small groups	Small groups
Missions (budget line item, something only a small percentage actually do)	Missions (a way of life; the primary focus in groups like YWAM)
Ministry to/with/among the poor (maybe, but usually a donation to a local street ministry will suffice)	Ministry to/with/among the poor (often hand-in-hand with mission and evangelism)

A frequent objection to the idea that the parachurch is the church, revolves around sustainability and permanence. Because, in groups like YWAM, people come and go with clocklike frequency, they are viewed as not "the church".

How many people do you know haven't changed churches? Graduated from high school/college and moved away? Changed jobs and therefore cities? You will likely find, in most churches, a "core" group that is fairly stable and a majority that changes fairly frequently. Same tends to be true in the majority of house churches that I've been privileged to visit. In a group such as YWAM (and other parachurches, of course), you have a core group (base staff) who are fairly stable, and a majority that changes frequently. How is that any different?

In some cases, you could actually argue that the parachurch is more "the church", than the church. But I don't want to continue the old paradigm of "church versus parachurch", only with the parachurch being seen as better. I'd rather see us choosing to humble ourselves and learn from the parachurch, and perhaps make our missional communities of faith truly missional, and not just gatherings of disillusioned former church attenders.

Doin' the Stuff

I've just invested a wee bit o' time in recreating some of my links on the right. It all started because of Pernell Goodyear, my friend and planting pastor of The Freeway, which is an emerging Salvation Army church plant in downtown Hamilton ON (nicknamed "The Hammer" by its inhabitants, and "that smelly place that peels the paint off your car -- while you watch" by the masses of unwashed heathen in the Centre of the Universe).

Pernell has been one of the Journeymates listed on this blog, but he's been so busy with the launching of the Freeway Cafe, that his blog has been left all alone and neglected. So, I was going to simply change his blog link to the Freeway Cafe link (and I'm really happy with the link image I created for him), when it suddenly occurred to me that I should add a few other links to emerging church plants that I'm aware of (there's certainly many more than the ones I've listed here), so that people who visit here can have a look at some emerging church plants who are, to use John Wimber's famous phrase, "doin' the stuff"

In short:

1. Basin & Towel is the missional community that Brother Maynard is a part of. I've visited this fairly new group just last August while in Winnipeg, and they're a great bunch of solid, intentionally missional people.
   
   
2. Soul Sanctuary is the church plant headed up by Gerry Michalski, whom I've known since the early 90's, and who blogs at SoulPastor. Soul Sanctuary is an emerging church plant out of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.
   
   
3. Jamie Arpin-Ricci, who blogs at Emergent Voyageurs, is the co-director, along with his gifted and lovely wife Kim, of YWAM Winnipeg. Wendy & I met Jamie & Kim several years ago, shortly after they first arrived in Winnipeg, and they're a very refreshing couple to spend time with -- people of the spark, definitely.
   
   I'm pretty much settled on the idea that the old "church versus parachurch" idea is a false dichotomy, so I have every confidence on including an emerging YWAM base in a list of churches who are doin' the stuff. (I'll blog more on that whole topic in a couple of days.)
   
   
4. Frank Emmanuel, the planting pastor of the Freedom Vineyard in Ottawa (our nation's capital), will be the first to loudly confirm that his church needs a new website, big time!
   
   I "met" Frank via the Resonate.ca discussion forum, and besides really liking the guy, he's leading a church plant out of Sarnia ON (where I did most of my growing up), plus along with Brother Maynard, Jamie Arpin-Ricci, and Soul Pastor Gerry Michalski, he's trying to work out what it means to be post-charismatic as his church develops its own unique DNA.
   
   
5. On a similar note, but on the other side of The Pond, Vineyard Sutton (U.K.) is on a similar journey. Jason Clark, one of the Journeymates, is involved in Emergent UK, as well as being the lead pastor of this Vineyard church plant. While I've never met Jason, his blog has always impressed me for its depth and character, so I thought including a link to where Jason leads a church would be helpful.
   
   
6. I have met Dan Kimball before, although only for one conference -- he was the speaker, I was one of the three people in the front row saying "amen" while the rest of the pastors present were forming a lynch mob (this was about five years ago). It was the first time I'd ever heard or heard of Dan, and he was basically putting into words (much better than I could) all of the stuff that Wendy & I had been wrestling with for most of the 90's. Dan leads Vintage Faith Church, as well as being a Journeymate here.
   
   
7. Mike Morrell's Sites Unseen, which is perhaps the largest weblink portal of its kind, is not exactly a church plant, but if there's any other emerging church practitioners out there, you'll find them here.

A little levity works through the whole body...

Or am I misquoting a verse somewhere in the title?

As my lovely wife Wendy sits at the other computer, burning a CD of her photographs while singing Bruce Cockburn's "Burn, Baby, Burn", I read a number of blog entries about the whole emerging church thang that were really creative and funny.

Earlier this week, the Purgatorio blog published You might be emerging if..., which was intended as a somewhat sarcastic mock of the ec. The biggest problem they ran into, as Justin Baeder points out, is that anti-ec people read it and went "yeah, that's them, alright -- how heretical", while pro-ec people read the same thing and went "yeah, that's us, alright -- pour me another Guinness and crank up the U2!"

I just found it really funny! Although I can't afford the cars they're showing as "typical" for ec people.

Not to be outdone, Justin published an equally funny (because I was raised around many fundies and have seen this stuff from the inside) list of Signs the ec isn't for you. In it, Justin also credits the original author of the other post, and the author dropped by to leave a positive comment (way cool of him to do that, methinks).

Last but certainly not least, there was a blog post written about a month ago that I found really, really funny, but just hadn't linked to before (Brother Maynard was the one who originally pointed me to this one). I read it to Wendy as she was waiting for her CD to burn (she had finished singing the Cockburn song, so I wasn't interupting), and she laughed so hard she almost fell out of her chair, and pronounced Why I am not Emergent as one of the funniest blogs she'd ever heard.

So, please enjoy. A little laughter is good for the soul. Guinness is also good for the soul, but laughter is cheaper and you can indulge it at any time in the day without raising any eyebrows (others' eyebrows, I mean, not your own).