gloryseedNow, let’s dig a little deeper.
We’ve been talking about the values of our church. So far we’ve been talking about values our church does have. Now let’s talk about some values that it doesn’t have.
There is probably something that you value that isn’t valued by the church. That’s a guess, a safe guess, I think. The values you do share with the church are important enough to keep you coming, but deep in your heart there is something you miss, some value you wish was shared by others.
What is it?
Now, in order for this to work — no defensiveness is allowed. When you read the comments on this post your first response may be to defend the church — or say, “How can you say that! Look at this!”
The fact that a perception exists that a value is missing is enough of a reason to suspect that the value isn’t there.
Pastor Chris
Filed under: Uncategorized
I think we have lost some sense of our “joy” and/or “excitement” in the christian life. This is seen, in my opinion, by the amount of evangelism that is either not taking place or not talked about. We do not see people bringing their friends and/or neighbors to church. When I am excited about something, I share it with others. I don’t need to have all the answers, the right program in place, I don’t look for just the right timing because it may be a little awkward…I just share the idea or object that I am excited about with whoever I think needs to know or would appreciate what I have to offer.
You can count the number of members received by a first time “profession of faith” on one hand in the last 29 years that I have been attending PCM. (Not counting our covenant children)
I think as we regain that joy, it will effect our desire and commitment to share Christ as individuals and corporately as a church.
There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called “The Great Adventure” and it reminds me how the value of “adventure” is missing in the church today. I think this is along the same lines as George’s comments as well. When I became a Christian in High School the Lord immediately planted me into a church which was full of adventure. People loved to come and outsiders were constantly visiting to see what all the talk was about in this church (Yes, the word spread around town about how fun this church was). This was also one of the most intellectual church’s as well because the leadership took the opportunity to turn adventure into teaching moments.
Chapman’s song reminds me of this church and how the “life of the mind” and “life of the heart” were a Great Adventure and all we did was exciting and part of this adventure. The song goes on to say “saddle up your horses we have a trail to blaze into the wild blue yonder of God’s amazing grace.” The wonder and unknown of God’s grace should be exciting and we should be overwhelmed with joy because of it. I pray we can recapture this as individuals and as the body of Christ.
I have been thinking about this the last couple days. This is not an easy thing to do because I find it hard to separate out my preferences. I think that values have levels too. Some are the live-for/die-for kind. Others are trusted to be true even though they don’t quite resonate with us. Others still can better be described as preferences it seems to me.
There will never be a perfect church and one must use discretion before airing certain things publicly. I guess this is supposed to be just the kind of forum where this difficult task is made easier.
I guess I would value an atmosphere that was less close-to-the-vest, less rigidly reformed in style. This can impact many aspects of church life, including worship. I think that we should foster a very diverse (positive sense)
collection of ministries. It is hard to boil this down to a few sentences.
I don’t think we currently do a good job here. I think it would be difficult (perhaps very) for someone to come into our church and feel free to start something which is visually
different than the usual fare.
I trust that we are very solidly rooted in biblical theology. But,
ministry and service are living throbbing dynamic things, messy things. I think it can become subtlely second nature for us to wear a deep rut in a path where appearance is very much over-valued.
I think the world, and our little part of it, need reformed churches that are very unique and fresh. People sense too easily (consciously or not) the stale religious air.
There – I’ve run on. But you get the drift.
Values which I place a high regard for which are not clearly evident to me at the PCM are: accountability, challenging the way things are, diversity, foresight and legacy. As we continue through our planning sessions I can explain these values further but these are my initial thoughts.
In Romans 14:12 we are told we are accountable to God. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul instructs us that we are one body. In Galatians 6:1-2 we are to carry each other’s burdens. In Hebrews 10:24 we are to spur each other on. Thessalonians 5:11 we are to encourage one another. If we go back to the OT and look through Ezekiel we are told we are “watchmen” and in chapter 33 we are told that we need to “blow the trumpet” if we see the sword coming otherwise the people will not be warned. We are individually accountable to God and He has placed us in community to hold each other accountable to faith in Him. We are called to challenge one another by understanding the “way things are” versus the “way things ought to be.” Many PCA churches I have either been a part of or visited seem to rest in the TULIP and use it to justify why they do not need to do anything. This is NOT the case at the PCM as there is an intentionality to reach others, build a biblical worldview and equip the saints. However the values I have identified are to extend this intentionality by strengthening the church, preparing it for potential growth, engaging with our culture with a reformed view and keep it thinking about the future.
I appreciate Brian’s comments “I trust that we are very solidly rooted in biblical theology” but I caution us not to become comfortable in this. I have seen churches explore what they ought to do and forget what they do well and lose touch with it. This is why out of all the values I place a high regard for being biblically centered is at the top.
I agree with what Brian, George and Rick have said. In addition, other things that I value (although I readily admit they are more aspirational than actual in my personal life) are: corporate prayer, promoting a greater awareness of God’s kingdom work and our involvement in it locally and globally, an emphasis on family worship and the role of the husband/father as spiritual head of the home and the developing of relationships for the purpose of encouraging spiritual growth, accountability and leadership development. A final area is one which I have recently seen God beginning to grow within our body. That is a spirit of unity and mutual love, respect and concern for each member of the body by every other member, as described in 1 Cor. 12:12ff.
We ran out of time Tuesday so I wanted to give two values that do not seem held by the church as a whole. I have noticed some individuals share these values but it does not seem to drive the mission of the church.
The first value: worship that is fully engaging. I think there are two ways of thinking about this. There is what was mentioned at the meeting with “amens” and congregational praying. This would be engaging the congregation in the drama of the liturgy. Instead of a production put on by the pastor that puts the congregation in the place of a spectator, a worship service should be an event in which the congregation actively participates. Much of this is already done with the responsive readings, but other examples of this would be lay readers, receiving Communion at the table, children being prayed over, passing of the peace, common confessions (of faith or of sins), etc. The less I am a spectator and the more I am a participant, the more meaningful the liturgy becomes. It is less a lecture that I attend and more a drama in which I act.
This leads to the second way that worship is fully engaging. It engages more than just the mind. I depend on Sunday School to challenge me intellectually. The worship service should be a complete restatement of the Gospel. A liturgy should contain the whole story of sin, confession, revelation, prayer, the Atonement, forgiveness, thanksgiving, and sanctification. These are aspects of the Christian life that should be part of our everyday life, but that on Sunday should be dramatized in a way that engages our whole person, not just the intellect. It is possible (and profitable) to include all these things in a sermon, but by acting out these aspects as a community on Sunday – through confession of sins, reading from Scripture, corporate prayer, the reliance upon the sacrifice of Christ (both in the Ministry of the Word and the Ministry of the Table), giving thanks in song, prayer, and offerings, and blessing each other – the Gospel is tangible and beautiful in ways other than in the intellect. This of course does not detract from the mind-blowing nature of Christ’s sacrifice, but adds a different dimension to it. (By the way because of this value of engaging worship, I find the absence of Communion from the worship service an unbalanced presentation of the Gospel. I need the Gospel preached to me every day; I need Christ’s righteousness constantly. I need his body and blood daily, not once a month. Since we do not have a daily worship service, we could at least have the drama of the Gospel every Sunday.)
The second value: love of culture and desire for its transformation. I think most Christians would agree with the second part of the statement. We want the culture to be transformed without our having to engage in it. The concept of a Christian counterculture still seems attractive to some today. It is hard to evangelize if you don’t love the lost, and it is hard to redeem society if you don’t love its culture. There are wonderful truths and great beauty in the world which some of the Church has missed because they have refused to look. The retreat from “secular” culture by the fundamentalists in the early 20th century still has its consequences today, for example, there are no evangelical leading research universities, the state of Christian film making is deplorable, and evangelical voices are more often condemning than leading in studies of biology, geology, psychology, feminist theory, or even history. These are interesting and exciting topics that should not be feared. I think this point was made in Sunday School when we started Keller’s book, Reason for God. Keller enters into discussions with skeptics on their level, and challenges the basis of their faith. He does not argue over the particulars of science or theory. If we had a love for knowledge and for people, I think we would be interested in learning and discussing “secular” ideas. These often have elements of truth which can inform us about the Creator and His creation through natural theology. Also, it can be disarming to non-Christians that have stereotyped Christians as out of touch.
I came to think about this when I questioned myself why did I invite Christians and non-Christians to Intown Presbyterian Church in Portland, but I have not invited anyone to PCM, when both preach the Gospel and are Reformed. I think it has to do with a blatant desire on the part of Intown to engage and largely accept their culture. The diversity of the congregation was disarming to most non-Christian visitors (remember this is Portland). But many of the outreach ministries were well fitted to the Portland culture. For example, they hosted an annual art show inviting local artists; they provided moving, cleaning, and cooking service for HIV patients too sick and alone to care for themselves; and there were regular “table talks” held at various pubs where aspects of Christan theology, history, and philosophy were discussed. I especially used the table talks to invite non-Christians. Most of my friends were uncomfortable to come Sunday morning to a church service, but to meet some people at the bar for some beers was more comfortable for them. By loving “secular” art, the homosexual community, and good beer (Portland has the best micro-brews) the church was demonstrating God’s love and grace to the fallen culture. And Intown was a place I was excited to invite everyone I knew, because of their love and engagement with their culture.
I think this might be too long of a post but it might be more distilled here than if I had tried to explain it at the meeting.