"Jesus Christ himself proposed a still more frightening question..."

"Yet there is a sense in which a focus on today's obedience makes a long view possible: it does not yield a map, but it does yield a confidence that he who has called us is faithful, and will conduct the whole Church to her journey's end. About a dozen years ago, Pope John Paul II agreed to answer some questions posed to him by an Italian journalist named Vittorio Messori. (His answers ultimately became the book Crossing the Threshold of Hope.) One of those questions concerned demographic predictions that Muslims would outnumber Catholics by the year 2000: "How do you feel when faced with this reality, after twenty centuries of evangelization?" 

To this inquiry - with its freight of implicit worry - the pope replied placidly. After all, Jesus Christ himself proposed a still more frightening question: "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8) - will there be any faithful believers at all?" 

Alan Jacobs. Wayfaring: Essays Pleasant and Unpleasant, "Choose Life.

More Love to Thee

I discovered Elizabeth Prentiss a couple of years ago. I acquired a copy of Stepping Heavenward after my grandmother died. Grandma Maude said it was her favorite book.

Reading a fictional, girl's diary was not something I was initially drawn to, but after picking up the book and reading it, I was struck by the sweetness of the story and the reality and honesty of the main character. I ended up reading it the day I started it. I've often thought of juxtaposing Stepping Heavenward with Bridget Jones's Diary.

I was taken with Mrs. Prentiss' and later discovered that she had wrote hymns. A couple of years ago, I retuned this one for the congregation I pastor. Here is a recording I did for some friends.

 More Love To Thee by Randamir

To Sea Like Lucy

Today is the feast day of Saint Lucy or Santa Lucia. Her feast day is celebrated by many denominations and traditions. Lucy's martyrdom was most likely during the Diocletian persecution. Tradition tells us that she was blinded prior to her execution and so St. Lucy is the patron of the blind.

Of course, I think of a certain Lucy Pevensie who is a literary heroine of mine. No doubt C.S. Lewis knew her name was derived from the Latin lux (light). In the Narniad, Lucy is more often than not the one who sees things first. In fact, in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Edmund while talking about Aslan with Eustace, has this to say:

“Well, don’t tell me about it, then,” said Eustace. “But who is Aslan? Do you know him?” “Well—he knows me,” said Edmund. “He is the great Lion, the son of the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea, who saved me and saved Narnia. We’ve all seen him. Lucy sees him most often.
Lewis, C. S. (2008-10-29). The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: The Chronicles of Narnia (pp. 117-118). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition. 

"Lucy sees him most often." I love that.

In honor of all the heroines who bear the name "Lucy", here's a children's choir singing, "Santa Lucia".

The sovereign Stick up Artist

A quote sent from a friend...

"The evangelical church, or at least a good slice of it, is nervous, twitchy, and touchy about consumer desire, ready to change in a nanosecond at the slightest hint that tastes and interests have changed. Why? Because consumer appetite reigns. And consumer appetite and consumer rights go hand in hand. These rights and appetites are very much alive in what used to be called the pew. Those who attend churches are now like any other customers you might meet in the mall. Displease them in any way and they will take their business elsewhere. That is the fear that lurks in many a church leader's soul because they know that is how the marketplace works.

Like customers everywhere, those who show up in these churches are sovereign. Let us make no mistake about that. They rule. Accepting this fact has become the key to becoming cutting-edge in cultural terms. A mailer from a church in Mesa, Arizona, in 2006, for example, read: "Is your life everything you want it to be? You hear all kinds of offers of ways to improve your life, but do they work? God is offering you a way to make your life everything you truly want it to be." So, there it is! The difference between this offer and the others is that this one works. Here the customer can match self-perceived need with a product. And bingo! Success!

With this kind of thinking in the air, we in the church today are leery of speaking of a Christian faith that is too demanding because of the prospect of offending our market(s). We take care not to cross these lines when speaking from our barstools, or from behind our Plexiglas stands if they have not yet been replaced.

This is a curious thing, is it not? It brings to mind the haplessness of parents in a home where the children have, amidst sullen moods and a creeping sense of the cruel injustice that has been inflicted on them, decided they will take it no longer. It begins with thoughts, the rebellious mists that shroud the mind and hold off the sun's light and warmth. But soon the thoughts become seeds, and the seeds, finding fertile soil in the internal wounds suffered during the journey to adulthood, begin to germinate. The parents, sensing something is amiss, scour their minds to think of what they have done wrong and, understanding little of the labyrinthine coils of the adolescent psyche, decide to back off and take the path that inflicts the least pain. Poor things. They are only trying to do the best they can, but unfortunately they do not quite understand that they are staring down the gun barrel of a stickup artist. They are about to be robbed. Out of their good intentions, space is enlarged around the child, latitude is allowed, rules are rescinded, rebukes are stifled except in rare cases, and expectations are lifted. However, parents being parents, they are never entirely out of the woods with these children because, try as they might, they are never fully successful in setting their children free.

What is interesting about this painful tango of parent and child is that the more the demands and expectations of the parents are moderated, the more onerous and intolerable do the children find those that remain! In fact, the few that remain become more objectionable than the many, taken together, that once were there. Parental moderation only excites fresh cries of outrage and pain. Even more disaffection follows. Murderous glances, defiant behavior, black moods follow each other like clouds shifting across a stormy front. The parents, baffled at this unreasonable behavior, retreat even more. But the further they retreat, the more intense becomes the resentment! Nothing less than their total, abject surrender is acceptable. And when they do yield and hold aloft their white flag of surrender, they are despised even more deeply!

Am I being unreasonable in thinking that there are some parallels to the contemporary church here? Not, of course, that the pastors are the parents and the congregations are the children. That is a Catholic idea. The parallel, though, does seem to hold at the point of who has the psychological edge.

It would be quite wrong to suggest that pastors and other leaders in a local church have an authority that operates with near certain infallibility, or that what they think should be beyond question, or that their teaching, if they still offer such in church, cannot be questioned. All should be held to account before the same standard that is the Word of God.

By the same token, no congregation can take to itself this authority, and that is what is happening implicitly as consumer impulses take root in the evangelical psyche. All consumers, we need to remember, are sovereign, and the consuming impulse, once it enters a church, makes individual preferences the deciding factor, the driving factor in what that church becomes. These preferences become the standard by which the church is measured.

The moment disaffection with the church's music, message, style, ethos, amenities, programs, or parking lot(s) begins to take root in a congregation, these new market-savvy pastors fear, they can anticipate dark glances directed toward the front of the church signaling consumer dissatisfaction. The glances will then mature into displeasure, the displeasure will become a seed, the seed will germinate in the internal soil that is ready to receive it, and the decision to walk away will be made. That is the (post)modern version of damnation, at least from a pastor's point of view!

Market-savvy pastors, sensing this, back off. They lift demands and expectations, making Christianity light and easy. They hire new staff who specialize in knowing how to make worship fun, not to mention funny. Polls and soundings are taken each week, just as they are by the major retailers, to see if things are "on target:' Poor things. If only they knew that their congregations, too, have become stickup artists! Or, to change the picture, what is happening here is that the individual has invested his or her desires with a kind of sovereign authority that runs roughshod over everything else, including the Word of God.

Never mind. Is it not better to have these people in the church on their own terms than not at all? Is it not possible that they will hear something there that might "click" with them? Why offend them, then, and guarantee that their weekends will be spent away from church? So, make it all as simple as an advertisement, as pleasing as an ice cream in the heat of summer. Make it as easy on the mind as a relaxing show on television. Only give something that works. Do not talk doctrine. Do not hold forth about anything that takes serious effort to follow. Do not sound churchy."

David F. Wells. The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World (Kindle Locations 528-535). Kindle Edition.

To Lady Kenmure on the Occasion of the death of her infant daughter

“You have lost a child: nay she is lost to you who is found in Christ. She is not sent away, but only sent before, like unto a star, which going out of our sight doth not die and vanish, but shineth in another hemisphere. We see her not, yet she doth shine in another country. If her glass was but a short hour, what she wanteth of time that she hath gotten of eternity; and ye have to rejoice that ye have now some plenishing up in heaven. Build your nest upon no tree here; for ye see God hath sold the forest to death; and every tree whereupon we would rest is ready to be cut down, to the end we may fly and mount up, and build upon the Rock, and dwell in the holes of the Rock.”

Samuel Rutherford

Is the Church Reaching Generation OMG?

Kenda Creasy Dean's lecture begins at about the 7:20 minute mark. If you have youth or are working with them in the church, pay attention.

Why is Christmas December 25?

Today is Annunciation Day. You can read the account of Gabriel's announcement to Mary in Luke 1:26 and following.

Additionally, Biblical Archeology Review posted a helpful explanation as to why the birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated on December 25. Many have, sadly, bought into the quasi DaVinci Codesque conspiracy theories that Christians were trying to co-opt, ruin, or take over Saturnalia or Sol Invictus. Neither is true. Rather, the birth of Christ is remembered and/or calculated because of Annunciation Day, March 25. For those who ask why Annunciation Day? Their question is answered when they count nine months from March 25th.

Here's a portion of the article on why December 25.

The December 25 feast seems to have existed before 312—before Constantine and his conversion, at least. As we have seen, the Donatist Christians in North Africa seem to have know it from before that time. Furthermore, in the mid- to late fourth century, church leaders in the eastern Empire concerned themselves not with introducing a celebration of Jesus’ birthday, but with the addition of the December date to their traditional celebration on January 6. 

There is another way to account for the origins of Christmas on December 25: Strange as it may seem, the key to dating Jesus’ birth may lie in the dating of Jesus’ death at Passover. This view was first suggested to the modern world by French scholar Louis Duchesne in the early 20th century and fully developed by American Thomas Talley in more recent years. But they were certainly not the first to note a connection between the traditional date of Jesus’ death and his birth. 

Around 200 C.E. Tertullian of Carthage reported the calculation that the 14th of Nisan (the day of the crucifixion according to the Gospel of John) in the year Jesus died was equivalent to March 25 in the Roman (solar) calendar. March 25 is, of course, nine months before December 25; it was later recognized as the Feast of the Annunciation—the commemoration of Jesus’ conception.Thus, Jesus was believed to have been conceived and crucified on the same day of the year. Exactly nine months later, Jesus was born, on December 25. 

This idea appears in an anonymous Christian treatise titled On Solstices and Equinoxes, which appears to come from fourth-century North Africa. The treatise states: “Therefore our Lord was conceived on the eighth of the kalends of April in the month of March [March 25], which is the day of the passion of the Lord and of his conception. For on that day he was conceived on the same he suffered.” Based on this, the treatise dates Jesus’ birth to the winter solstice.

On Lent

You may have let Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday pass by unnoticed, but Wednesday marked a new season in the church calendar: Lent. The season itself is meant to commemorate Jesus’ fast in the Wilderness after his baptism and before the beginning of his public ministry when, as you recall, Jesus was tempted by Satan (Matt 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13). Because Lent honors Jesus’ fast, the traditional church has observed Lent by fasting too. You may have heard a friend mention that they were giving something up for Lent which is a fast of that which they are denying themselves. Fasting is not meant to win more favor with God, as if it were a payment — we have the Spirit of sonship (Galatians 4:6) we cannot get closer to his love. Rather, the discipline of the fast is intended to help us focus more intently on his mercy and goodness, and in so doing to open ourselves up to the examination of the Holy Spirit who knows and searches our hearts (Psalm 139).

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday because ashes and dust are always symbols of humility and mourning. The Bible says that we are made of dust and to dust we will return. Our bodies are made of weak stuff, and they will return to that weak stuff when we die.

Through the Bible, when one mourned a death, sorrowed over sin, or grieved broken promises, they would often cover their heads with ashes and lie in the dust. One example of this occurs in the book of Job. At the end of the book, after Job had complained to the Lord for his seeming disregard of Job, the Lord questioned Job and revealed himself to Job. Job’s response to God’s revelation of himself is recorded in Job 42:1-6 which flows out of a righted understanding of the Lord and his character—one who is both holy and righteous, and patient and merciful. As we celebrate Lent, we ask that the Lord would reveal himself to us, that we would come to know him better and that our lives would reflect his character as we turn to Him.

During Lent, we seek a heart transformation—a healing from within that works itself out in our life. And so the fast of Lent is a hungering and thirsting for righteousness. In ancient Israel, as with us today, outward duties or behaviors can become disconnected from the inward realities. We can perform duties without loving the one we are serving. This was the case during the days of Isaiah. At that time, the people of Israel thought that their works of religious devotion would move God to show them compassion. However, they weren’t moving towards God; they weren’t loving him rather they were using him. For Israel, God was a means to get what they really loved: prosperity, security, respect, a trouble-free existence…. Sound familiar? God asked, if you are devoted to me, why do you not devote yourselves to the things I do? Why do you not love the weak? the oppressed? the downtrodden? Why do you not live justly? (Isaiah 58). As we celebrate Lent, we want to be careful that we seek God and not only behave as if we are seeking him. We want to be about those things he loves: mercy and justice, and we do it for his glory and not our own.

Lastly, we lean into the season of Lent with the promise and expectation that God will strengthen our hearts with confidence and love and joy. Because of what Jesus has already accomplished, we need not fear that submitting ourselves and our lives to his scrutiny will end in our destruction. God promises that for those who confess their sins and repent, for those who seek him, for those who hunger for him and his righteousness, they will find their strength renewed, they will have their joy restored, and they will delight in the richest of fare.

Now, there are many ways a person may observe Lent, here are a few ways for you to consider: Firstly, work your repentance: fast and pray. Consider fasting. If you’ve never fasted before, there are plenty of resources out there to help you think about how to do that. Consider setting apart regular times each day to pray and ask God to show you your sin and the greatness of his provision in Jesus Christ. Secondly, work your heart and mind: read and study. Consider focusing in on a topic, theme, or book of the Bible. Follow the theme through scripture or meditate on a passage. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you God’s greatness and glory. The imagery of feeding is powerful because it captures so well the activity of setting your heart on something, of absorbing it. In fact, the Hebrew word for “meditate” means “to chew”. Thirdly, work your compassion and mercy: service and justice. Consider giving up time during your day to serve. Look for the needs which other’s have which you can address. Seek to right wrongs by overcoming evil with good. There are lots of opportunities. Ask God to show you. And lastly, open your heart to God. Pray as the Psalmist prayed in Psalm 139:23 when he prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Fatherly Influence

"In short, if a father does not go to church, no matter how faithful his wife’s devotions, only one child in 50 will become a regular worshipper. If a father does go regularly, regardless of the practice of the mother, between two-thirds and three-quarters of their children will become churchgoers (regular and irregular). If a father goes but irregularly to church, regardless of his wife’s devotion, between a half and two-thirds of their offspring will find themselves coming to church regularly or occasionally."


(H.T. Gene Edward Veith, Cranach)

Congregational Singing

Bifrost Arts from josh franer on Vimeo.

Over the past year I have grown in my appreciation for the music of Bifrost Arts. This video is an example why.

Blessed are the Peacemakers

This article will be posted in Thursday's Kernersville News under the Words to Live By Column.

Recently, I’ve been attending a weekly seminar on conflict resolution and mediation or as the Bible would call it, peacemaking. I know you’re thinking, “Why would a pastor need training on that? The church is full of peace-loving congregants and wholesome marriages.” Indeed, study after study show that the church fares no better than the world in scandal, conflict, and divorce. For many this is confirming evidence that Christianity is no different than any other religion and that being a Christian doesn’t work. I know it looks discouraging, but in reality we shouldn’t be surprised. We know full well that the church is full of sinners—the same may be said of most of her pulpits. As I’ve sat through this class there are three things that have jumped out at me which I’d like to share.

Firstly, conflict offers us an opportunity. Relational conflict provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate the power of the gospel and to glorify God. As the offended and injured forgive and as the offender and sinner repents the categorical distinction between those who believe and those who don’t is delineated. In the humility of obedience as we engage with those with whom we have conflict or as we step in to mediate, we exemplify the ministry of Jesus Christ who has given us this ministry of reconciliation and peacemaking. Jesus himself says that peacemakers will be called the sons of God. In making peace, not in avoiding conflict, do we show ourselves to be His children.

Secondly, our ability to forgive is directly proportional to our apprehension of the forgiveness we have received. Jesus himself taught us this when he said to Simon the Pharisee, “He who has been forgiven much loves much”. The conclusion we may draw from this is that unforgiving people do not believe they have been forgiven. And that may be in two ways: either the unforgiving person is proud and self-righteous or the unforgiving person is ashamed and self-contemptuous. In both cases contempt is present. As one pastor has said, “Either it’s I hate thee, or I hate me”. The presence of contempt in any relationship is the most common indicator that the relationship will not last. Surprising enough, we don’t stick it out with people we perceive hate us. However, when a person who has offended sees love and compassion in the face of the person they have offended, a wall of hardness and fear crumbles and a breakthrough happens. Regardless of what situation you face, do you have full-confidence that if you look to Jesus, you will see compassion, love, and forgiveness? Sadly many of us don’t, and many of us profess to be Christian.

Lastly, if we bear the grudge and or allow the bitter root to grow in our hearts, it will destroy us. Ken Sande, in his book The Peacemaker, notes, that “unforgiveness is the poison we drink in hope that others die”. Sadly, too many people are in bondage to the compounded effects of shame, contempt, resentment, and regret. Though the road to reconciliation and restitution may be a long journey, the way out of the maze of despair begins first with looking to and trusting the One who paid our debt – who stood in our place before the judge and bore the condemnation we should have received. In His face, we see mercy and love, and the wealth of that resource is sufficient for every need.

The Agenda of Seminary

Dr. Richard Pratt was asked to comment on what he would change about seminary by the Gospel Coalition. You can read the whole article here. Incidentally, I had another friend who was told by his mentor who, upon hearing that he was going to seminary warned: You'll loose all your courage, and It takes ten years to get over seminary. Here's what Richard had to say...

If I were king and could wave my magical scepter, I would radically change the basic agenda of seminary.

After 22 years of teaching in a seminary, I slowly began to realize something. We were not preparing the kinds of leaders that evangelical churches in North America need. Let’s face it; evangelicalism has seen better days. God is at work in many places and in many ways, but on the whole, the news is not good. Our numbers are dwindling; our theology is unraveling; our zeal for Christ is dissipating. Now more than ever, we need seminaries to give the church leaders who are empowered by the Spirit for radical, sacrificial devotion to Christ and his kingdom. And they’d better do it quickly.

I was recently in China, talking with the president of a house church network of more than 1 million people. He asked me for advice on preparing the next generation of pastors. I looked at him and said, “The only thing I know is what you should not do.” He smiled and asked, “What’s that?” My reply surprised him. “You should not do what we have done in the West. The results of that approach have become clear.”

The agenda of evangelical seminaries is set primarily by scholars. Professors decide how students will spend their time; they determine students’ priorities; they set the pace. And guess what. Scholars’ agenda seldom match the needs of the church.

Can you imagine what kind of soldiers our nation would have if basic training amounted to reading books, listening to lectures, writing papers, and taking exams? We’d have dead soldiers. The first time a bullet wizzed past their heads on the battlefield, they’d panic. The first explosion they saw would send them running. So, what is basic training for the military? Recruits learn the information they need to know, but this is a relatively small part of their preparation. Most of basic training is devoted to supervised battle simulation. Recruits are put through harrowing emotional and physical stress. They crawl under live bullet fire. They practice hand to hand combat.

If I could wave a magic scepter and change seminary today, I’d turn it into a grueling physical and spiritual experience. I’d find ways to reach academic goals more quickly and effectively and then devote most of the curriculum to supervised battle simulation. I’d put students through endless hours of hands-on service to the sick and dying, physically dangerous evangelism, frequent preaching and teaching the Scriptures, and days on end of fasting and prayer. Seminary would either make them or break them.

Do you know what would happen? Very few young men would want to attend. Only those who had been called by God would subject themselves to this kind of seminary. Yet they would be recruits for kingdom service, not mere students. They would be ready for the battle of gospel ministry.

A Shrinking Condundrum

An Associated Press article which came out this week entitled, 

Methodist survey aims to stop membership decline

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It's the conundrum Protestant denominations with declining memberships and shrinking budgets are desperate to solve: How to stem the decades-long losses and attract new worshippers.
The United Methodist Church, the third largest denomination in the country, thinks it could be closer to finding the answer. It commissioned an ambitious survey of nearly all its 33,000 U.S. churches to find out what its growing memberships are doing to keep congregations thriving.
Of those churches, the four key factors of vitality stood out as "crystal clear findings that are actionable," according to the survey:
_ Small groups and programs, such as Bible study and activities geared toward youth.
_ An active lay leadership.
_ Inspirational pastors who have served lengthy tenures at churches.
_ A mix of traditional and contemporary worship services.

American Teenage Mutant Christians

 Thanks Nathan G for pointing to this.

( via CNN) -- If you're the parent of a Christian teenager, Kenda Creasy Dean has this warning:

Your child is following a "mutant" form of Christianity, and you may be responsible.

Dean says more American teenagers are embracing what she calls "moralistic therapeutic deism." Translation: It's a watered-down faith that portrays God as a "divine therapist" whose chief goal is to boost people's self-esteem.

Dean is a minister, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of "Almost Christian," a new book that argues that many parents and pastors are unwittingly passing on this self-serving strain of Christianity.

She says this "imposter'' faith is one reason teenagers abandon churches.

Are You Hip?

Article in the Wall Street Journal by Brett McCracken earlier this week on hipster Christianity here. He concludes,

"If the evangelical Christian leadership thinks that "cool Christianity" is a sustainable path forward, they are severely mistaken. As a twentysomething, I can say with confidence that when it comes to church, we don't want cool as much as we want real.

If we are interested in Christianity in any sort of serious way, it is not because it's easy or trendy or popular. It's because Jesus himself is appealing, and what he says rings true. It's because the world we inhabit is utterly phony, ephemeral, narcissistic, image-obsessed and sex-drenched—and we want an alternative. It's not because we want more of the same."

Camping and Community

The first time I went to Carolina Hemlock Recreation Area was when I was the age of my 13 year old son -- that was over 30 years ago. What is impressive is the significance of place for the establishment and longevity of community. I am connected to a network of people experienced the same place and consequently have an emotional connection to that place and buy default - -one another. The weekend was wonderful, and I am grateful for the comarderie and fellowship we enjoyed. I am especially grateful that a place dear to me was received and enjoyed by others. The gents in the first photo are sitting around and in what was called: The King's Throne -- a curious outcropping in the S.Toe River at a place called, The Rocks. It was named by others before me, but it became a part of the folklore of the community by which I had been adopted.

Further down the river is another formation which is called: the Toilet Bowl. Here is where we took baths during our annual summer camping trip. Community is linked to location. I am hoping this will be an annual event which these young men will hand down to another generation.

What places are important to you? What places have cultivated community in your life?

I couldn't resist this picture of a water snake which we found sunning himself at The Rocks. Apparently, there were two water snakes -- a mated pair. And in N.C. they are a protected species.

Cataracts of Nonsense

In his sermon, "Learning in Wartime", C.S. Lewis said the following:

Most of all, perhaps we need intimate knowledge of the
past. Not that the past has any magic about it, but because
we cannot study the future, and yet need something to set
against the present, to remind us that periods and that
much which seems certain to the uneducated is merely
temporary fashion. A man who has lived in many place is not
likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village:
the scholar has lived in many times and is therefore in some
degree immune form the great cataract of nonsense that
pours from the press and the microphone of his own age.

And there is much that we in the PCA need to learn about our past. Two important events have begun, what I believe, will be very helpful discussions concerning our own blindness and provide great opportunity for repentance and revival.

Firstly, Anthony Bradley, in a post at The Institute, speaks to "Peter Slade's book Open Friendship in a Closed Society: Mission Mississippi and A Theology of Friendship (Oxford University Press, 2009) [which] reveals difficult information about the racist and pro-segregationist formation of the Reformed Theological Seminary, the Presbyterian Church in America, and the role of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS." In an encouraging response to the post, current pastor of First Pres-Jackson, Ligon Duncan responds to the current situation at First Church here.

Secondly, Joel Belz speaks to contemporary circumstance within the PCA here. And he links to a news article/blog on current struggles within Western Carolina Presbytery here.

(H.T. Rae Whitlock, Andy Jones)

Tim Keller on Morning Joe

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A System Story Case Study

Every organization has a story about how things began, who was there, why they did what they did, and what the desired outcome or ethos of the organization was. When Grace Church moved into its facility in 1999, the church story changed. I don't believe this was an intended outcome, but I think that the story of what the congregation said they wanted in a church was hijacked by the unspoken conveniences and unthinking habits of its members.

If you look at the building, you in fact see a story. Granted it's not an ethos, but you see values. Here are a few themes:

1. The facade. Grace Church was designed by an architect who did not have any previous church building experience. Rather they designed retail spaces. You can see the influence in the alcove's front door. It is very inviting and welcoming. The six front doors open to a large foyer. Hopefully, this communicates a welcoming to outsiders.
2. The worship center or sanctuary. The sanctuary is located below the copula, and it is the center of building. Every other classroom or space is located around the room in which we gather for worship. Worship is central to how we understand discipleship.
3. We are a family. Both youth and children are not relegated to a space away from where the adults are doing the important stuff. Everyone is close. There is a problem, though.
4. The Insider Entry. You can't actually see it, but there is a door to the right beyond the first gabled end you see. This door is the door. During the week most people enter and leave through his door. In fact if you are a regular attender or member, you probably only enter through that door. This presents a problem. For one thing, during the early years of occupancy, no one opened the front doors. There were some good reasons for this, but it continued to work on the congregation that those were faux doors -- the side doors were the real entrance. Though we desire to be a welcoming church, all those who are "in the know" are actually trafficked away from the newcomer who's looking for a way to be known. Because no insider uses the foyer doors, no one is there to receive a newcomer. Because the door is a faux door, no one even thinks to be in the foyer. Sadly, newcomers are not greeted when they first arrive, and they have a sense that some gnostic higher knowledge is at work -- there is a secret entrance. In effect there is -- the side door.
   

Now, we want to be a welcoming church, but no amount of talking about it could change the system, until we could identify and speak to the incongruity of our front door image and our side door lifestyle. Once we began to think consciously about outsiders and the opportunity the foyer space presents, the system began to change and come in line with who we wanted to be and not with the story we had inherited because of convenience or habit.

On Systems and Story

"Every organization is built upon 'an underlying systems story.' He points out that 'this is not a belief system. It is the continually repeated life story that determines how an organization feels, thinks, and thus acts. This systems story determines the way an organization behaves, no matter how the organizational chart is drawn. It's the primary template that shapes all other things. Restructure the organization and leave the system story in place, and nothing changes within the organization. It's futile trying to revitalize the church, or a denomination, without first changing the system.' Drilling down into this systems story -- the paradigm, or mode of church -- is, Easum suggests, one of the keys to change and constant innovation."

Bill Easum as quoted by Alan Hirsch in The Forgotten Ways

Much of the struggle in corporate and personal life is in simply trying to understand, "Where is this story going?"