Today, I aim to further stimulate the thinking for a new way of being and doing church.
There are many ways of doing and being church.
Psalm 98
Matthew 5:14-16
The psalmist encourages us to learn a new song to sing –
not so much because our old songs are no longer adequate, or relevant, but
because God continues to do new things
and we need to keep alert to what God is doing,
and be aware of what is happening –
but more than that,
God is doing new things for us –
and we are being called to join in the work being done.
This psalm has informed me these past many months as I have thought about this church
and what it might look like in a year or two.
This is the third sermon in this series about Vision2012 for CPC 2.0.
(If you missed one or both, and are in the least bit intrigued, you can find them on the internet –
accessible from our website www.ConnectOnLine.com
or on the blog I use periodically: ConnectingWithThe Faith.Blogspot.com .)
The first week dealt with the underpinnings of a new way of being and doing church –
looking at what would be the basics to consider as a dream of a new church emerges.
And, I spoke of some considerations from a recent book entitled, What If the Church Were Christian?
spelling out several instances were practices of the church are at variance with the faith we profess based on this Jesus of Nazareth.
The second sermon was based upon the need to redefine our idea of neighbor – and neighborhood – as Jesus did in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Luke thought this story was essential to understanding what Jesus was up to and what believers were to do in the way they were to live their lives.
And I have to believe that a new vision of church must include a new definition neighbor and neighborhood as well.
In the era in which we live, our neighbors can no longer be defined as those who reside near us in a geographic area that we call neighborhood –
but the internet, and social networks like You Tube and Facebook, and cell phones are redefining for us what we would call neighbors and neighborhoods;
and any vision of a new way of being and doing church in the years to come will have to include this new way of defining and being neighbor.
And, today, I aim to further stimulate the thinking for a new way of being and doing church.
One church thinker offers this image for us to consider:
for hundreds of years now, the prevailing image of what a church is is based upon a box, right?
You build a box and folks will come, right?
(Not unlike that movie, The Field of Dreams: you build it and they will come.)
And this worked pretty well for many many years.
But today much has in our society has changed – and this “box” model doesn’t work as well anymore.
The situation that this church has faced for several years is not unlike the experience of many many churches – not only around here, but all across our land.
Overall, fewer and fewer people are coming to our box churches.
Most congregations meet in aging boxes designed in another era with different needs and concerns.
And our whole idea – our whole concept – of church becomes so tied to this “box” idea –
this idea that our church is the building we use.
And it becomes easier to close the doors when the economics of operating a church with a large aging building become overwhelming –
rather than undertaking the task of re-envisioning another way of doing and being church.
You see, my basic theological understanding is the God continues to be at work in the world – even, or especially, in our time –
and the primary task of believers is to join in God’s work – wherever we see it happening.
Sing a new song, the psalmist says.
I am sure that it is time for us, in this church, today and in the years ahead to think outside the “box”.
Exactly how, I don’t know.
But I am sure that our vision and dream for a new way of being and doing church will include the concerns I have tried to address in this series of Vision/2012: CPC 2.0 .
What I do know is that there are many ways of doing and being church that do not rely on the box model.
You may not be aware of many of these other ways because there has been very little written or publicized about them.
Fifty years ago, Malcolm Boyd wrote a book that profoundly affected me and helped to move me in to be a minister.
The book was called The Underground Church.
And it was an anecdotal collection of stories about several churches from all over the country where believers were gathering in alternative ways and places outside of the walls of a traditional church building.
The book contained stories of 8 or 9 of these churches – but at the time hundreds existed all over the country.
You may not be aware of what is happening in China.
When the government made Christianity illegal in China, Christians were no longer able to meet in large meeting anywhere – certainly not in church buildings.
And the communist government initiated programs to eradicate all professing Christians.
Many were taken to prisons, some were brought to trial and put to death.
And to this day this persecution of Christian leaders is going on.
For 60 years it has been illegal to be Christian in China.
But, for 60 years, the Christian faith has been living and thriving in China.
All over the country of China Christians meet in one another’s homes – small groups trying to be under the radar in their meeting
but highly visible in their living.
And the witness they bear to others is noticed by others and the church grows.
The church grows even though the government still shuts down every house church they hear about, and even though they imprison every church leader they find.
There are thousands of these house churches in China.
And today, 60 years after it was made illegal, there are roughly 54 million Christians in China actively involved in living their faith.
And in our country, although you probably have never heard about it, there are thousands and thousands of house churches all over the country.
One researcher estimates that somewhere between 6 and 12 million Americans worship regularly in a house church –
a small group of people usually, but not always, meeting in a home.
All over the country there have evolved what I call “boutique” churches –
believers gathering around a particular mission or purpose for being.
Some meet in pubs,
some operate soup kitchens which become where they meet to worship,
some meet in and operate coffee houses,
some meet in industrial parks,
some meet in corporate board rooms,
some meet in union halls.
They meet in a wide variety of places –
places that are tied in to what they see as their purpose or mission.
A growing trend for churches that give up their building is to use another building for their services.
Many churches are meeting on Sunday morning in a movie theater – in fact the chain that has the Upper Darby theaters is a prime supplier to churches that use this method.
In Edmond, Oklahoma, of all places, there is a church that sees its purpose and mission to minister to people all over the country and world though the internet.
They were one of the first - and certainly the one most devoted to making this internet church work.
And today their services attract millions of participants from all over the world.
There are literally hundreds of ways of being and doing church that are out there right now.
So, what will this church look like 10 years from now?
I don’t know.
But, I am certain that the new CPC will be “out of the box.”
You see, in whatever form it takes, a church is a community of people seeking to hear about and to live a Christ-like life – for many reasons, to be sure –
maybe the reasons give rise to new forms,
may one form is no longer viable to maintain.
For me a church is about offering opportunities to express love for the Lord God,
with all our hearts,
with all our souls,
with all our strength,
and with all our minds.
While Jesus never went to church, he spoke of its purpose right there in what we call his sermon on the mount.
Jesus told the folks on the mountain that day that they were to be as light for the world.
To illuminate the darkness and to show the way for others . . .
A light shining brightly like a lighthouse,
a beacon burning brightly – placed on a stand for all to see.
I just had a vision!
You know the Swiss Farm Drive Through Stores?
You know where they are – and you know what they are – because of their what?
Every single one of the stores is built with a predominant silo, right?
Well, what if we were to build a chain of small churches on strategic corners all over the place in the form of lighthouses?
Wouldn’t that be great?
What a concept, huh?
Well, I think we should take a clue from the psalmist and learn a new song to sing.
And we know why, because of what Jesus said.
Whatever dream or vision comes, it will be as a beacon on hill – doing God’s work, being church, for all the world to see.
For friends, Jesus’ words were not just for the folks on the mountain that day.
They are for you and me, too.
His words speak to us, as well as to those that day.
You and I are beacons.
How we live our lives is seen by others.
Where and how and whether we shine the light is what we ultimately will be judged on.
One translator puts the final words of our lesson today like this:
Keep open house;
be generous with your lives.
By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
That’s the reason for what we do.
That’s purpose for doing what we do in the way we do it.
let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds
and give honor to your Father in heaven.
Let this inform what you do and how you do it in the life you lead;
and let this inform what we do as a church and how we do it as well.
Remember to pray for your church this week –
as we pray for you.
Amen.
This sermon was part of a worship service at Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, March 6, 2011.
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