Thought I would share an excerpt from a paper I recently wrote for class. This section deals with community formation within seeker-sensitive churches.
Does a missional perspective have anything to offer in terms of the way communities are formed?
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One of the key criticisms leveled against seeker-sensitive churches is that they foster an environment where consumerism takes precedence over community. Many of these churches are upfront about their goal of reaching a consumeristic society by marketing the church in ways that are attractive to a capitalistic impulse. The mentality is that because consumerism is the modus operand of American culture, the church needs to tailor its ministry towards that predisposition in order to be relevant to its needs. Consumerism, as the thinking goes, is a given within church life because either the church markets itself toward the believer or the unchurched. This approach ultimately leads the church towards being a dispenser of religious goods and the gospel as its commodity to be sold in the public forum. The problem with this line of thinking is that it fails to examine whether or not consumerism, by its very nature, is antithetical to the gospel. If it is, then the church, as part of its faithfulness to the gospel and witness to the world, should be seeking out ways to subvert consumerism as an intrinsic value of our culture, not reinforce it.
This may be the reason why many seeker churches find themselves in a situation where they see the very real need of the congregation to be in authentic, transformational relationships, yet have difficulty fostering such relationships. Sunday morning remains the focal point of congregational life, outreach, service, and energy whereby the service is designed to identify the needs of seekers and attempt to convince them that the gospel is the commodity to address those felt needs. Carlson, the pastor of a seeker-sensitive church, explains the irony this way: “Christian leaders have to admit this is the system we have put together. We can’t build churches that advertise ‘tons of ministries to meet your needs,’ then be surprised when people expect us to continually meet their needs.” The community of the church as seen in the New Testament is vastly distinct from the American propensity towards commoditization that is so prevalent in our culture.
In light of the postmodern shift and the permeation of technology into daily life, the need for genuine connection is greater than ever. In particular, people have become disillusioned with the distance Americans have placed between one another and are actively looking for expressions of community that not only meet their needs, but address greater problems in the world. This may be a significant factor in why so many are rushing to such causes as racial equality, environmental conservation, famine and AIDS relief. It is no longer an option for the church to remain inactive on such issues for the sake of winning souls. For in our changing context, it will be incredibly difficult to win souls without inviting people to take part in a cause larger than themselves. We may in fact find along the way that dealing with issues such as these is not a distraction from the gospel, but part of what it means to live as a community which bears witness to the coming kingdom of God.
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2 comments:
"...people have become disillusioned with the distance Americans have placed between one another and are actively looking for expressions of community that not only meet their needs, but address greater problems in the world."
Man's greatest problem is SIN. Their only need, the only solution, is salvation. The Gospel is the means God has ordained to save men, not "community".
"This may be a significant factor in why so many are rushing to such causes as racial equality, environmental conservation, famine and AIDS relief. It is no longer an option for the church to remain inactive on such issues for the sake of winning souls."
Why not? Where in the Bible are we to make any political, social, or environmental cause the basis for "winning souls"? Men are saved through the preaching of the Word of God. Social activism is the consequence of the Holy Spirit working in the life of a regenerate person. Social activism is not the means for bringing people to Christ.
"For in our changing context, it will be incredibly difficult to win souls without inviting people to take part in a cause larger than themselves."
What an incredibly low view of God. So God, the Almighty, Sovereign Creator of the Universe, is no longer able to save with the simple message of the cross, Christ and Him crucified? He needs to utilize shemes and methods devised by sinful humanity (methods not sanctioned by Scripture - no matter how loosely one interprets it) to bring about His purposes. I refuse to believe in such a god (little 'g' is intentional). Besides, what larger cause is there than the cause of Christ (redeeming the souls of men)? Isn't this a cause larger than myself?
Thanks.
"This may be the reason why many seeker churches find themselves in a situation where they see the very real need of the congregation to be in authentic, transformational relationships, yet have difficulty fostering such relationships."
...its not the relationships with other people that should be doing the transforming, its the relationship with God that should be rising up out of salvation--from a daily surrendering of our lives, talents, jobs, time etc, ad nauseum to God that should be transforming current and building up new Godly relationships.
Relationships fall short and aren't fulfilling whenever God is not at the center of them.
If are churches are making God the center of what they do, all the rest will fall into place, community will form out of the common bond of being a part of the family of Christ despite the distance the postmodern world has created by design.
The Gospel paired with true Christian love flowing from a genuine and deep relationship with God is all the advertisement you should (emphasis on should) need. If its not doing the trick, then its us, as parishioners, pastors, and at the end of it all, missionaries and ambassadors of Christ, that need to take a deeper look at our own relationship with our redeemer. It might be an unrealistic ideal to some, but the Gospel and the proof of its transforming power as evidenced by our lives, should be more than effective to overcome any obstacle in drawing people to Christ. If its not, let's agree to get on our knees until it is.
Get the vertical relationship right, and the horizontal ones will all do just fine. Everything we do has to go back to God...all of it. If you want to be successful in something, change something...GO TO GOD FIRST. Start with God, don't end with Him after meandering your way through your own strategies.
And, frankly if people are in need of some greater cause to satisfy them, what greater cause to enter into than being the tools God uses in snatching souls from impending eternal spiritual death in the pits of hell? Really? Is social activism important--YES! Will they fulfill us, truly mean anything without first building a relationship with God-NO!
I don't know, just some thoughts, and maybe I'm missing the mark and the point of this post, but at the base of all of mans problems, is SIN and the only way to get past that is through Christ. Everything else is just frosting.
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