Yesterday I suggested that the #1 thing you need to DO DIFFERENTLY than Bishop Claude Payne did them in Texas, as he describes it in his helpful book called "Reclaiming The Great Commission," is to use processes that are more participative. Include everybody in the adventure of listening for God's voice and setting the course for your congregation or judicatory. Here is the #2 thing to do differently, if you're really serious about the transformation of your church in the 21st century.
The #2 Thing To Do Differently Than Bishop Payne Did Them In Texas:
Get out of the building!
Even though the explicit goal of the transformational effort in the Texas diocese has been to reach "the lost" (Bishop Payne's language), once you look under the hood to see how the thing actually "works," the implicit objectives seem much more inwardly focused.
To Bishop Payne's credit, he DOES make outreach the explicit goal. That's why he describes the role of the laity in terms of "the apostolate," meaning that it is their responsibility to carry out the work of evangelism.
"An apostolate manifests the dialectic of the church - internal community and external mission - in a tangible way that has meaning and substance for the unchurched."
OK so far, I guess. But then he lists the characteristics of "the apostolate." And although the first thing he says about the laity is that it is their responsbility to "make disciples" within their social networks, the whole rest of the list is about stuff they're supposed to do within the congregation:
participate in education and training programs
support the vision of the Church
participate in at least one lay ministry within the congregation
welcome seekers into the congregation and at worship
participate in small groups
fulfill pastoral care roles within the congregation
and so on
As an "insider," Bishop Payne is most likely unaware of how inwardly focused his approach remains. It is really hard for those of us who spend all of our time "in here" to break out of old, Christendom habits. And I believe Reclaiming the Great Commission hasn't quite done it. One might conclude, from reading the last chapters of this book, that the biggest reason to "reach the unchurched" is for the sake of filling up the programs, the pews, and the offering plate of the institutional church. The most uncharitable evaluation might conclude this is evangelism for the sake of propping up the institution. I don't believe that is what Bishop Payne has in mind at all. But I do believe that, in spite of the missional rhetoric, the primary direction of this model is centripetal - pulling people IN - rather than sending people OUT.
And that is something the 21st century church simply cannot afford to do.
First of all, the people we are trying to "reach" will see right through us if our goal is building up ourselves and our institutions. Often, they will see it even before we do. They want their lives to matter. They want to be part of something bigger and more important than themselves. I think they will be open to a call to follow a God who is on a loving mission to save, reconcile, heal, bless, and set free the whole creation. But save our churches? Pay our bills? Warm our seats? Serve on our committees? They couldn't be less interested. And who can blame them.
Second, I believe we have an opportunity in this new century - as Christendom crumbles - to re-examine and re-evaluate what it really means to BE the church and to recover some things that were lost once Christianity became the official religion of "the empire." We have a chance, in this new day, to identify and eliminate our ecclesio-centric, institutionally focused bias wherever it shows up. In this 21st century, we can begin to recover a definition of 'church' that starts with PEOPLE. We can remember that WE are church...whenever we gather, to be sure...but, also, wherever we go. And we can commit to making sure that every single thing we do "in here" must be for the sake of equipping us to be the church "out there" for the sake of God's loving mission to bless, save, and set free the world.
So, what are the characteristics of a lay apostolate?
Well, for starters, members of the apostolate:
1. are equipped to recognize God wherever in the world God is at work
2. bodly name God when they see God, wherever in the world they are
3. jump in and participate in what God is doing, wherever in the world they see it happening
In other words, they are BEING the church "out there" in their homes, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, and everywhere they go.
And any church renewal effort that doesn't have THAT as a primary goal isn't worth the time.
Kelly Fryer
Tomorrow: The #3 Thing You Need To Do Differently Than Bishop Payne Did Them If You're Serious About Transformation
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