Church

The current generation is trying out old and new. 

Lectio Divina is tried out in youth groups and worship services.  The usual format is a quiet atmosphere, a continuous reading of a short passage (usually scripture), and focused meditation on that passage.  This is an ancient practice newly revived.

For a generation who has worked with short bursts of information constantly repeated, this is a way that is familiar.  To those used to linear logic that builds on previous statements and assumptions, this is hard to accept  —  to just take one thought and dwell on it smacks of mantras and eastern religion.

Right and wrong! 

Right?  Christianity is not without content and context.  Lectio divina needs a full teaching component, otherwise you form your own revelation of truth.  Your meditation becomes unrelated to the full orb of Christian truth, and becomes at worst self-centered and perverted.  What you may hear in your meditation (and I do not dispute that God talks to us in our contemporary situations) can be from other than the Holy Spirit.  Without external revelation there is no way to anchor or test your visions/dreams/hearing!

Wrong?  I think we have squelched hearing from God and his word.  I love the practice of the Anglicans — upon completion of Scripture reading you hear, “This is the word of the Lord, Thanks be to God.”  When I hear a Scripture passage read and repeated, can God not speak through that to my contemporary situation?  Can there not be a transference of the intent of the passage into my life stiuation?  Can I not trust God to insert into my life His thoughts, dreams, visions?

The old made new seems often seems to collide with present practice.  I wonder if we can’t learn from the past’s mistakes and yet accept the future’s opportunities?

A new person has just come to town.

Needed a phone.  Needed a ride.  Saw the church!

Maybe needs a community, a church, a support?

Every decade has a new approach to church.  There are name changes and new delivery systems that upset previous generations.  The latest is the debate over a term called “the emerging church” [there is no really good definition of this term – suffice to say it is a younger generation attempting to deal with a church that seems to have gone stale!]. 

We tend to think this new approach has to be a confrontation, a war of the generations!  But I ask – “Why are old people (the 60/70’s generation people) helping to lead this new approach?”  Because they still have a flame of youthful idealism burning — a flame that has been snuffed out too easily in friends and fellow church attenders.  Because they have never left their first love.  Because they have a desire to break from old traditions while at the same time impacting our world for Christ.

This current culture is more visual (look at the proliferation of computer games, cameras, graphics programs), more open to questions (because there is a broader scope of information shared we need to ask more questions about reliability and sensibility of what we hear, read and see), more desirous of participation (you can even find sermons being “co-written” by pastor and parishioners!).  

We need to find a better way to deliver good news to our current culture.  40 years makes a difference!!  In other words, we need to put things in a way that this culture understands:  contextualize, become cross-cultural (for us baby boomers this is a bit hard), go to people who aren’t like us!

Is the “emerging church” a new church, or a new face to an ancient faith?

Next Sunday is Thanksgiving.

I’ve chosen the passage in Psalm 107 to preach on.  You can find the passage through BibleGateway.com.    I’d love to have your comments, stories, thoughts as I go through preparation.

Here is a possible outline:

–  Declaration – (1)

–  Who should be thankful (2-32)

• –  helpless and homeless (2-9)
• –  despairing and despising (10-16)
• –  sick and sinful (17-22)
• –  discouraged and defeated (27-32)

The last part of the Psalm (33-43) is interesting.  I can talk about how God loves us physically, spiritually, emotionally and provides justice for us.  I’m not sure I need to do the whole thing – I try to limit myself to 30 minutes.

Thanks