why i'd settle for just being a kind kinda christian...

Ok I confess I am in bit of a jaded mood with the emerging church at the moment, maybe it is part of the cycle of romance=> disillusionment=>joy that is part of life.  The wonders of the early day of a relationship where the other person is perfect or a job that is brilliant or a church where we are welcomed with open arms and are lavished with love…  and then we realise that that the other person isn’t perfect, the job has its crappy moments and church expects me to start embracing others instead of the one being embraced…

Modern church – bad dog!

I wonder when we in the emerging church conversation, which talks a great game of embracing conversation, listening, enjoying different points of view will extend that to the modern church, rather than us waving our fingers at, metaphorically yelling bad dog! And sending it back off to the dog house?  Is everything that is bad about Christianity today really the fault of this bad dog… it’s always piddling all over the place, barking loudly at strangers, raising its hackles whenever it senses a challenge to its territory, deliberately lying in places to trip up helpless passers by, humping your leg in public and digging up and gnawing on the same old bones – bad dog!  (well ok maybe not humping legs in public, that’s always politely ignored ;)

Now we seem to have conveniently forgotten that this old hound, who many of us in the emerging church conversation, have at one time or other applauded it for its loyalty and companionship, scratched behind its ears, received comfort from hugging it, enjoyed watching it chase its tail and firmly declared it to be good dog.

Ok I can’t do much more of a shaggy dog analogy - but what turned us on our loyal pet.  Were we bitten a few times?  Did we discover the joys of not being able to herd intelligent cats, unlike those dumb ol obedient dogs? I don’t know your story – me I just got tired of all the demanding flaws of the dog and thought fish in a tank would be so much more relaxing instead.  Hmmm how long til I’m saying bad fish?!

I'm nothing but a hound dog, crying all the time???

So to return to my original jaded feelings – the emerging church conversation is highly romantic to begin with, it’s highly therapeutic – so many hurt people, with our churches left behind, who didn’t understand us and here we are in a world where everyone embraces us, validates us, agrees with us and we have a dizzying freedom to think, feel, explore, question be gloriously imprecise, messy and deconstructive.  It is a great, beautiful, healing but very publicly conducted romance/therapy/future…

Is it no wonder that we sound so incomprehensible to anyone else looking in?  But worse, it seems to me that we are incredibly reluctant to let anyone else in – our own deep interaction creates its own natural barrier to the conversation but having sent the modern church to the doghouse we seem most reluctant to let it back into our lives.  Maybe it’s fear, maybe it’s plausible denialability, maybe we are really no different in attitude on being right and do not want any challenge to our newly marked out territory, we’re dogs in cool cat clothing??

I wanna be a kind kinda Christian…

What is getting my goat in particular – well it’s mainly some of the responses to emerging grace’s wonderful poster series which reminds me of the best of what the emerging conversation can be about – I find them uplifting, encouraging and motivating.  Thank you Grace and your wonderful word association.  But I also feel that we who associate with the emerging church should also say a big thank you to the pyro’s for their versions which inspired Grace .  Rather than suspecting ungracious and loving motives on their part I wonder whether we should take a look at ourselves – perhaps if Grace reflects the ideal of the conversation these are the flip side of the coin on how we can also sound – the worst parts and the best parts of our conversational nature side by side? 

I’m finding myself coming back to the line of the prayer attributed to St Francis:  Lord, help me to understand more than I am understood… With all due respect to McLaren et al (and that's a lotta respect!) I don’t just want to be a new kind of Christian – I want to be more of a kind kinda Christian!

[I'm not knocking Brian,  to give him a fraction of the huge respect he deserves, rather than jus riffing on his trilogy title, the sentance in NKOC that christians should concentrate on being good rather than being right was massively inspiring and at the heat of what i am saying here - the hard thing is being good to all, whether i think they deserve it or not - because God is good to all of us].

Can I be less defensive, suspicious and more generous/thinking the best of others?  Why do I so often think that the emerging kind is THE new kind or the ONLY kind???  Can I get past the bad dog/muzzle the dog/get a cat instead syndrome and instead just love the dawg (church) fleas n all?  Maybe I should just go out and hang in the doghouse rather than consigning the parts of the church I don't like to it...

That’s me done, how are you doing?

Well at least after the romance and the disillusionment comes the joy… which sounds fun!

So am I barking up the wrong tree here?  How are you feeling romanced, disillusioned, joyful?

Comments

[Helen]

Paul, I'm reassured to read this because I was wishing I could have seen some different reactions to the pyro posters - didn't anyone shrug? Or laugh? Did everyone get offended and bent out of shape and rush to defend themselves?

For what it's worth I think Brian wants to be a kind kinda Christian too and as best I can tell from my limited experience of him he is pretty good at that.

Last year at Off The Map's conference he said "If you're not kind, you're not right." Indicating that kindness is central and essential to Christianity.

[Paul]

thanks helen, for what it's worth, i still find the v similar sentance from a new kind of christian that we need to be good not right one of the most powerful and inspiring i have ever read - i even try and practice it now and then :)

i thought if i was riffing on brian's book title i should at least hold my hand up and acknowledge him and pay my respectful dues :)

[Makeesha]

I don't see too many people getting offended and MANY MANY emerging types applauded pyro for creativity and acknowledged there was some valid points made.

In fact, I found the reactions to those posters the most gracious I have ever experienced from Christians.

And I have also found emerging types to constantly try to engage the "modern church" in a brotherly way. Naked Pastor (David) has done it, Brian McLaren has done it, Tony Jones has done it, Doug Paggitt has done it...I could go on.

And many of us spent a lot of time biting our tongues, loving and being gracious in "modern" churches who consistently branded us as heretics...years in fact.

so I don't really identify with anything you're saying.

While it might give us warm fuzzies to sit around the camp fire and sing Amazing Grace with each other, I'd rather shake hands, say God bless you on your journey and all of us get about the business of advancing the Kingdom.

[sonja]

hehehe ... I absolutely loved Grace's posters. BUT ... I have to say I spent a good deal of time giggling at the me (and emerging church) I saw reflected in the Team Pyro posters. I think it's very healthy to be able to laugh at your own foibles. Laughter and humour are also a good way to begin to examine ourselves and see our faults and our places where we need to grow in grace.

Though it may be a long time before I find a place in a faith community again, I do feel that we need to extend grace to those for whom modernity has spoken clearly. Though the modern church does not hold answers for me, that does not mean that she doesn't hold them for others.

[Paul]

thanks Mak, great points well made - you're right there is a lot of graciousness from a lotta fine folk and there has been a lotta tongue biting too, i just like to remind myself to keep on being gracious :)

I'm also glad we can disagree and not always see things the same, i appreciate having my pov tweaked, so thank you :)

[Paul]

thanks sonja, yes i agree, laughing at ourselves in a, so thats how i sound sometimes kinda way is a very good thang :)

[Paul]

oh and Mak, one Q, do we get marshmellows to toast whilst we're sitting round the campfire singing amazing grace - cos that could be the clincher for me??? ;)

[glenn]

Paul…

Like most dogs, this ole fella, can be really annoying at times, but he still is rather lovable, after all he used to our family pet.

My reaction to Pyro’s artistry: It was a cheap shot, though not without some element of truth. O.K. Mak, they were clever… and I understand why he would say such things.

The best thing that could happen might be a lively, but friendly exchange between “Pyro” and some of us weird postmodern freaks. It would be kind of like family reunion, complete with “unique” relatives.

[Paul]

thanks Glenn, sounds like my kinda family reunion :)

[Helen]

Makeesha, I must not have seen the blogs you saw/hear the comments you heard.

Admittedly I only saw a few and maybe I was too quick to generalize from those about the emerging Christian reaction in general.

[Paul]

Helen, as always i think the reactions were mixed, some incredible gracious ones and some more critical suspcious ones...

[Helen]

Hi Paul, that does seem likely.

So what are you saying - emerging Christians react like human beings? ;-)

[Paul]

lol, yes helen, i am a master of insight ;)

or maybe i think this is one of our blindspots where we can sometimes act less in the spirit of kindness..

[Makeesha]

I think it's important to extend the same grace to "pomo christians" as you're wanting to extend to modern christians. You need to realize that everyone is at various stages on their journey - some people who may think are a bit bull doggish might just be in a phase of chaotic change or the first stages of healing.

I always laugh when I read things like this cuz it's sort of like punching the bully to teach him not to punch.

I think your words are wise paul and certainly good to keep in mind - - even *if* I don't really see what you see.

also, just like the fundies feel compelled by conscience to call tony jones a heretic damned to hell so am I compelled by conscience to call them on it. If we all were to just stay silent in the guise of "peace", we would never grow past infancy. And *that's* not peace anyway, it's apathy.

I thank God for those who are called to be peacemakers (people like you Paul, and Don Miller also comes to mind) but I'm not impressed by the people who just walk around pointing fingers at everyone on both sides telling them to play nice - - that's just self righteous.

[Paul]

thanks Mak, you're right people are in all sorts of different places, emotionally and spiritually, it's one of the reasons i so love the emerging church and the freedom, healing an opportunities it brings for people in many cases to rediscover, reignite or reexamine the why/what of their faith in Jesus and end up with something that feels more whole, holistic and healthy.

It's my experience and it's the experience i engender and support others in - i want to be about hope and i am not trying to minimise anyone's pain or where anyone else may or may not be.

Grace is something that God extends to all of us and calls us to extend to everyone, same with love, forgiveness etc [gee i love preaching to the choir, lol]. The fact that you and I can look at something and still not see the same and talk about it ways where you show me such amazing amounts of kindness, grace and help is such a wonderful lived example of the very best of the emerging conversation - as i quoted Brian McLaren, at its best its about being good more than insisting on being right.

When we are called heretics I'm not saying we shouldn't stick up for each other - afterall we are all slightly heretical - that is not what I am talking about here, although if i was i'd point to Grace and say i loved her response because it inspired and encouraged rather than finger pointed and attacked.

I am also not saying heh you and you and you and you play nicely/kindly etc - that is self defeating. I'm trying to point the finger at me and say heh me think kinder, do kinder, be kinder. I also suspect that if it's a blindspot for me it may be a blindspot for others as well, so worth at least writing so people can think through their own responses :)

[dh]

Well Paul, with myself being a "modern Christian", I really enjoyed your post. I still try to understand how people can be "Emerging" as opposed to "modern". Really "Emergent Christianity" is a hard type to understand. I speak with people who any Christian are "non-Believers" and I find more people want a more "definitive" understanding. Many people have questions and truly want answers. I have found that as a "modern Christian" when I share with them the truly "definitive answers" from God's Word I seem to a super majority of the time an answer like "Wow, I really like what you said and it makes sense." I just don't understand how an "Emergent answer" would lead them to Christ nor can I see how being "Emergent" can truly lead people to accept Christ as their Savior for Salvation of souls. If we know the definitive answers from Scripture with Scripture in light of Scripture, how can an undefinitive answer help people. I believe that is why people don't see any difference between Faith in Christ or faith in other gods that are truly outside of Christ. Again I say this with no judgementalism but from a foundation of what Scripture says. Many people like myself get the "judgemental" label placed on them when if one reads Scripture and states what Scripture says then it isn't the people mentioning Scripture being the judgemental ones but Scripture have a Spirit of conviction a "conviction of sin, righteousness and judgement" as Scripture mentions directly. Just some strong thoughts and at the same time some encourgaing words at the start from a "modern Christian". dh

[Paul]

Thanks DH. I think that many people love the presentation of God that is about defintive answers, formulas, schematics etc. They are highly effective because that is still the way many people think - hence why they are used. However not everyone is wired like that, for instance some people need experience first rather than propositional Q&A etc.

Are job is not to so much evaluate the approach as my way is right yours is wrong but be sensitive and co-operate with the Spirit - or as Paul might say to the modern I am a modern and to the post-modern I am a post-modern for the sake of the gospel.