There’s so much excitement going on in the Church right now. Too bad, just like in the media, that the stories that often get passed along have to do with the negatives–”society is degrading”; “homosexuals are taking over the church”; “we’ve got to save our children from this corrupt generation”. I live in Florida, which is a generous mix of cultures, politics, social stratospheres and the like. If you can think up some name for a church, we probably have it within a stone’s throw. What is easy to see is that there are many things that divide us, but as a Presbyterian, I’m always looking for ways that we are connected. Doing some community work to bring folks together has not been easy, especially when a few want to highlight the divides.
Unchristian: What a new generation really thinks
I just finished reading David Kinnaman’s Unchristian: What a new generation really thinks about Christianity. It’s an insightful window into the perceptions of the Mosiac and Buster generations, both those in and outside the church, on Christianity, Christians, morality, and behavioral norms. The data is drawn from extensive surveys conducted by the Barna Group, and the analysis is laced with pertinent stories and narrative.
While I found myself a little prideful that we Presbyterians aren’t subject to a lot of the perceptual problems that our more evangelical brethren are tagged with, the book nonetheless has some things to say to us as we try to reach these generations.
I’m wondering if anyone else has read the book and what you took away from it.
Richard Dawkins: Good Scientist, Bad Philosopher
Foxholes are unnecessary. There are no atheists in the dentist’s chair. That’s my theory at least.
After getting four teeth drilled on the other day in Charlotte, I had the only slightly greater pleasure of driving my Novocain-paralyzed face down to Columbia, South Carolina to see the infamous Richard Dawkins, the world’s most famous atheist. Dawkins, a British biologist, is part of the controversial neo-atheist movement. Neo-atheism itself is a highly vocal, if not outright shrill, atheist philosophy that seeks to argue, insult, and humiliate believers of all stripes into abandoning their faith—or at least ostracizing and ejecting them out of having any cultural influence. Dawkins’ last book and a key intellectual bulwark of this view, was politely named The God Delusion in honor of anyone moronic enough to have any belief of the divine.
I waited among thousands of students in Columbia with baited breath, for the neo-atheist circus ringleader to shock the crowd with resounding statements of intellectual superiority from his new science-oriented book, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. I anticipated enough fire and brimstone to replace a Bunsen burner. I was instead stunned to hear a soft-spoken English gentleman request that ministers, priests, and pastors live up to their responsibility as community leaders by educating their flocks about the reality of evolutionary truth.
Race and Emergence
Anyone who attended the first gathering/convening/clumping together of Presbymergent earlier this year in Louisville would have noticed something striking. It wasn’t just that an almost cultish number of the circle of laptops had little glowing apples on the back. It was that the group, for a significant portion of the gathering, was pretty much a monoculture. It was mostly men, and almost entirely Caucasian or Anglo or Honky-American or whatever it is we’re calling whitish-pinkish people these days.
This is, unfortunately, fairly reflective of our denomination as a whole.
It is also reflective of the emergent movement, which for all of our talk of relational faith and embracing the other, tends to be whiter than a polar bear drinking milk in a blizzard.
There’s an interesting pair of blog posts exploring the relationship between the emergent movement and the African American religious tradition put up by Rev. Byron Wade, the current vice moderator of the PC(USA) General Assembly.
He writes:
What would be the attraction/pull for African-Americans to worship in these places [emergent communities] knowing that most of us have grown up in a culture and heritage of strong black churches? Even those who are youth/young adults tend to gravitate towards congregations that are similar to what they are used to.
It’s a good question, and one he endeavors to answer in part one and part two of his post.
A Second Life for Presbyterians
**This is the first of a planned 4 part series I’ll be doing this summer on Presbyterians, Emergents, and Presbymergents in the popular virtual reality world, Second Life.***
If the birth of a real Presbyterian ministry in a virtual world isn’t evidence of the church emerging, I don’t know what is. And as strange, foreign, (or even silly) as the concept may sound to some, the more I explore the world of Second Life, the more convinced I become that this is a new context in which God is already at work, and God’s people across the world are already engaged in a diversity of ministry. I think we should join God, and join them.
For those not already familiar with Second Life from various news reports, magazine articles, and other usual sources of hype, to explain would take up more space than would be wise in this blog post. Instead, I recommend starting here. It’s eye opening reading, I promise.
When I first started exploring Second Life, I found plenty of evidence of minstry — from a United Methodist Chapel, to a Lutheran Pavillion, to a Taize Sanctuary 500 meters in the sky! I found the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life, started two years ago by Rev. Mark Brown, which now has 800+ members and conducts five virtual services each week. I also found a community — Koinonia Congregational Church – that can best be described as “emergent” and meets weekly in a beautiful sanctuary without walls or doors.
I searched for Presbyterians. It was pretty bleak…but I did find one person — in real life she’s an elder at a Presbyterian Church in California — who has been keeping the proverbial light on, and started a group called (no surprise here) 1st Presbyterian Church of Second Life. She reserved the name with the hope and a prayer that someday more Presbyterians would come along. And now, that’s started to happen…
After several weeks of talking to people, dreaming and visioning, the number of Presbyterians in Second Life is growing — most of us are new, and probably feeling a culture shock not unlike what immigrants to the US feel (SL has a steeper learning curve than FB or twitter). But we’re starting to connect, have conversations, explore opportunities for ministry that is uniquely Presbyterian, but also uniquely Second Life. Just yesterday, our esteemed moderator, Bruce Reyes-Chow, jumped in (his SL name is Esteban Radikal), as did Philip Lotspeich (SL: Philip Lionheart) from the office of Evangelism and Growth.
So, in true Presbyterian fashion (maybe a bad thing, mabye not?) we’ve acquired some land, threw up a building (both were WAY easier and cheaper than in real life) and will be gathering on Saturday nights 9pm CST / 7pm SLT for fellowship, conversation, and perhaps eventually something like worship, too. Tomorrow night will be our very first gathering of Presbyterians in Second Life, and anyone is welcome to drop in. May God’s Spirit breathe through the bits and the bytes into a new context (for us, at least)!
- To find our meeting place in Second Life, click here. If you don’t have an account yet, you’ll have to create one.
- If you’d like to get involved with what we’re doing in Second Life, contact Neal Locke via twitter, facebook, or email neal at mrlocke dot net.
- If you created an account in Second Life but are utterly confused and lost, use the search engine to find me: I’m Neill Loxingly in Second Life. Add me as a friend, and I’ll come to your rescue, or send another SL Presbyterian to help
Rebuilding the Presbyterian Establishment: A Comment
I finally got around to a careful read through of Beau Weston’s essay Rebuilding the Presbyterian Establishment which has received quite a bit of criticism from Presbymergent folks with whom I regularly interact. I started posting a couple of quick blog posts here and here, but they turned into a far bigger critical analysis. I post this here with the hope that it will 1) help the various conversations, and 2) save others some time in their analyses as I quite frankly do not perceive this discussion to be of the greatest importance to the life of the church in this hour of our life together. My reasoning for this judgment is, I think, clear enough in this document. Freely distribute to other discussion groups and presbyteries in the church as is useful and helpful.
Peace.
On Rebuilding the Presbyterian Establishment: A Comment – Andrew Tatusko
An Open Letter to My Congregation
The following is a letter that I sent to my “existing” PC(USA) congregation this week. My church—like many within the PC(USA) is filled with people who often do not share the same politics or social worldview. Because it so often succumbs to the whims of a culture that tries to divide and create dichotomies the Existing Church has struggled when it comes to understanding how to deal with deep divisions. I believe the Emerging Church represents a Third Way. Hopefully this letter helped to demonstrate that.
Grace and Peace to You All,
Election 2008 has finally come to an end. For those of us who have been suffering from election fatigue these past few weeks, it’s a welcome relief, to tell you the truth.
But now, after months and months of being made aware of all the ways Americans seem to be divided, we will begin to hear (and quite rightly) that we must come together. In president-elect Obama’s victory speech last night he spoke directly to this when he quoted Abraham Lincoln, who also presided over a divided nation. “We are not enemies but friends,” Lincoln said after the Civil War, “though passion may have strained…it must not break our bonds of affection.” These are fine words. We can’t escape the sense of history in that they were spoken by an African-American who has been elected President of the United States in Lincoln’s home state, and in Chicago, the very city where Lincoln won the nomination for President. They are fine words, and historic. But the road to unity is going to be difficult, and there are many among us who are anxious and fearful of what lies ahead.
As the Church, the Body of Christ, we need to lead the way in the healing that must begin after such a long and contentious political season. How can we do this? We can first recognize that as the Church we are called to “unity in diversity,” through the power of the Spirit of Christ in us and all around us. The Body of Christ is diverse. There are people in our own church—the First Presbyterian Church of Eustis—who probably voted for different candidates. There are members and friends of our congregation who gather together each Sunday for worship, sing together in the choir and serve side by side in mission and ministry, who may not agree at all when it comes to politics. I know that today I am the pastor of a church where some of my flock are rejoicing over the victory of president-elect Barack Obama, and some are not.
The Offering: An Emergent Theology Tale
I have had more than my fair share of days when I have questioned my call to be a pastor. I read somewhere how a young man, who was thinking about becoming a pastor, asked his mentor—a pastor of many years—”When did you feel the call to go into ministry?” The older man didn’t bat an eyelash and replied, “This morning.”
I completely get that. There are days when I feel like I need to hear the call every five minutes just to assure me that I am doing what I am supposed to do with my life. Even when people tell me things that should reassure me, I struggle to believe that God would actually want to use someone like me for such an important task. I once heard that the great reformer, Martin Luther, used to feel as though the earth was going to open up and swallow him whole each time he rose to say the Mass. That comforts me a bit, really. If Martin Luther felt himself to be unworthy of his call, then at least I am in good company. Martin Luther also swore like a sailor and loved beer, which is also pretty comforting.
For the past few years I have felt a longing in me that has been difficult to define and impossible to quench. You see, God, in God’s infinite wisdom and mercy, has seen fit for me to serve in the Presbyterian Church (USA)–a Christian denomination that has been (like most mainline Protestant denominations) in decline for decades. My more conservative colleagues from not-mainline denominations gleefully point this out at every available opportunity—God love ‘em. Once I had a fellow pastor from a conservative, evangelical church inform me over lunch that in his opinion the real moment when the PC(USA) fell into ruin was when it began ordaining women.
“That’s where it all started,” he told me in sage-like fashion. “And now look what’s happening… you’re ordaining them.” I asked what he meant by “them” and he replied, “You know…homosexuals.”
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Millenials and the PC(USA)
Rhett Smith has an excellent post on his blog today entitled What Is the Millennial Generation About? He summarizes some key points of an interview with the authors of a recent book on the Millennial Generation, and then offers some analysis of how these trends might pertain to the PC(USA). He makes some good points, and I started to respond in a comment, but then it become one of those long blog-post length comments, and I saw an opportunity to draw a few more people into the discussion.
So first, before you read my response, head on over to his blog and read his original post.
Back already? Ok, here are my thoughts: While I think Rhett’s points are all spot on, I walk away from them with a little more hope for the PC(USA).
I did my undergraduate work at Oral Roberts University, a mecca of Evangelical Christianity. And as top-down-hierarchical as mainline denominations are, I know firsthand that non-denoms are often far worse. Usually there’s a pastor, and he IS the unquestioned authority. The heirarchy then flows down from him (and yes, I did intentionally say “him”). Contrast that with the PC(USA) which, as Rhett points out, so often functions as a top-down hierarchy. But within that hierarchy is a framework that is also surprisingly peer to peer, bottom up self organizing. Think of the autonomy of local churches and sessions, and the democratic values inherent in the Presbyterian system. That will have appeal to millenials also, especially those raised in Evangelical churches looking for an expression of faith that more closely reflects their own values.
The gay issue is certainly dividing our church, but at least we’re talking about it — millennials made up their minds long ago on this issue, but so did Evangelical conservatives, and their decision was to exclude. Period. End of discussion. Because there is still a discussion in our denomination, I believe there is still hope that we will emerge on the inclusive side of this one.
Rhett points out that there is no gender divide among millennials — so I think those millennial women who feel called to ministry are going to be far more likely to find a home in a denomination that has embraced and empowered them for a long time now. And finding a home, or a tribe, a “brand” or a community — these are things that are also important for millennials of either gender. And since they’re two to one more liberal than gen X’ers or boomers, some might argue that the PC(USA) is the obvious home for them anyhow. Certainly for a generation focused on social justice, our denomination has a rich history and tradition of to offer them. True, sometimes we forget about it and focus on other things, but our church has often in the past stood up for issues of equality, justice, and globalism.
And speaking of rich history and tradition, Rhett notes that “Millenials do not like to desert their elders — even when they do crazy things” Or when they live by crazy books of order, perhaps? Where non-denom and Evangelical mega-churches often have little history and tradition, the PC(USA) does, and I think that’s something millennials are finding their way back to.
I think the greater danger with this generation is them leaving “the church” altogether, especially in its less-tolerant, ultra-conservative incarnations. But that’s why I think it’s such an important time for those denominations (like the PCUSA) who have something to offer to this generation. Remember that the church, at the end of the day, is people. I have hope and faith that a Presbyterian church of millenial people will look a lot different than a Presbyterian church of boomers. And if we hang on to our crazy elders for a little while longer (and maybe even learn from them and work alongside of them), I think we can bridge that divide and bring the PC(USA) into the next generation, if not the next era. Maybe that’s what presbymergent is all about anyhow.
So…that’s my response. Would love to hear yours, but I’m going to turn off comments on this post, and direct you back to Rhett’s post to carry on the conversation there.
UPDATE: Tyler and Drew have joined the conversation with posts of their own, plus some interesting conversation back on Rhett’s original post. And now Bruce Reyes-Chow has also responded on his Moderator Blog.
Buddhimergent, anyone?
A friend passed on this link from Salon ,and I just couldn’t help but smile in recognition as I read about the struggles that aging Buddhist teachers are facing to keep their practices relevant in a changing culture…
But we’re a small group, and off and on we wonder what the American Buddhist future will look like. What’s going to happen when our teachers — part of the generation that launched the spiritual tradition in the ’60s and ’70s — grow too old to teach and we don’t yet have a new crop ready to take their place? And while I eventually felt more comfortable with Buddhism — now, the rituals and the chanting in my practice seem necessary, not foreign — what if some people who might connect with the teachings feel too intimidated by the window dressing to walk through the door?
Ah yes…the seeker-sensitive Buddhist movement 
And then the Emerging Buddhists quickly follow…
Walk into many American Buddhist meditation centers, and you’ll see a majority of white, middle-aged faces. That’s not the case with a Dharma Punx gathering. On a Tuesday night meeting last fall, Korda sported a trucker’s cap, long plaid shorts, a bowling shirt and massive Buddhist tattoos. After a 20-minute guided meditation, many in the audience — arty hipster types in their 20s, 30s and early 40s — sprawled casually across the cushions while Korda and his co-teacher, Craig Swogger, gave a classic Buddhist teaching on the origin of suffering (using the word “stress” instead of “suffering,” though, and punctuating their points with a few expletives).
Wow. They even cuss. And did I mention they’re really into social justice, too? Anyhow, it’s a neat article, and a good reminder that we’re pretty connected as human beings in our struggles to find deeper meaning and spirituality in a post-modern, hyper-consumer age. The full text is here.
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