Crooked Legs

You might be wondering what happened as the result of my last blog. We had a conversation. We turned up at the attic cafe, drank some absolutely beautiful coffee, a bit of pork pie- and five people sat round and talked about the Church. What they wanted it to be, how they were frustrated, what they thought was great. It didn't really have a structure, it wasn't really much of an event, and compared to other things I've organised you might say it was pretty poorly attended. But I came away feeling strangely uplifted, encouraged. I believed that actually it made a difference. 

I've just finished reading a book by Seth Godin, a marketing guru from the States, called 'Tribes'. It's all about the future of culture, of business, of organisations. He argues that due to various factors; including social media, the internet etc.. we are entering into an age of 'tribe'. An age of small groups of people passionately following a cause, a leader, an idea- because they want to, because they believe in it. They didn't start because anyone gave them permission or asked them to be there; but because someone invited them. Someone did something. 

That's how I see the future of the Church. A movement; a group of people who exist because they want to not because they ought to. A group of people who follow, discuss, explore, challenge. There's never an end of 'Church'; people don't leave when it's finished- but when they want to. It isn't contained into 4 meetings a week,10 meetings a week- in fact, it's not really about meetings at all. It leaks into every aspect of the lives of those involved. It isn't contained into a building or a group or a room.  People are honest about who they are and where they're at. It does not exclude or alienate. People are not afraid to doubt and question.

 I see the Church as a constant, flowing, moving community of people who love each other- who meet each others needs and those around them. Ultimately Church is a people who choose to discover what the Jesus who existed 2000 years ago has to offer now; how what he said, who he was, what he stood for, impacts today. It shouldn't be afraid of being wrong, of being different, of being something that looks weird. It exists for its purpose and for its people and not for tradition or preconceptions. It might look different from one month to another. It is impossible to define and describe. That's what I long for, that's what I strive for. That's why I get out of bed in the morning.  

I believe that faith makes a difference. I believe that Church is a tribe that we need as we move forward as a society. That's my aim. I'm constantly looking for my next step. I feel like I'm getting somewhere slowly. I reckon you should come with me. I'm going as far as these crooked legs take me. 

Rebellion

I went to a conference on Friday full of world class speakers on global leadership. There was a guy that really stood out to me called Seth Godin. He spoke about the need to innovate, do be creative, to do something for the first time. Our culture is changing before our eyes, Godin claims we are entering the death of the industrial age. We used to live in an age where the people that owned the means of production controlled the world- the factory owners, the publishers. Today the means of production is the small humble laptop. Until relatively recently, I would have had to get this published for anyone to notice it. But now anyone, anywhere can get their voice heard. Godin claims we are entering the age of the artist, what will get noticed, what will make a difference is those people that are doing things that no one else is doing, not those doing what everyone else is doing.

That is pretty counter cultural, we've become so institutionalized, we're so used to doing what we're told, that it takes a pretty strong will to act against it. The thing is, there is no map anymore. There is no right way of doing things. There is no right way of being unique, of being an artist. It's an open plain field to create the future. I don't know if that excites me or scares me silly.

The  question is, if Godin is right, if we're on the brink of a new revolution- of recreating society, where is the room for the Church? To put it bluntly, the Church needs to adapt or die. Church has reflected the culture for the last two thousand years. Godin describes the Church in recent times of being in the business of "teaching people to fit in so we can ignore them". That has pretty much been the message of society too- buy nike, buy coca cola, be like everybody else. Creativity has been squashed. Everyone has become ordinary.

There is opportunity like no other to stand out. To be heard. To think differently. But it involves risks. It involves thinking outside of the box, being controversial. "Everyone has seen brown cows. If we just make more brown cows, no one will notice it, everyone is making brown cows. We need to make purple cows". As I see it the Church has tried to reinvent itself- it has tried fresh expressions. And sometimes it's paid off, sometimes it's achieved fresh, relevant Church which isn't compromising on the truth. But I still think we're making brown cows- we're taking the model of the "talk, worship song sandwich" and putting it in a pub, putting it around tables, putting it on the beach. Is this the only way to proclaim truth, is this the only way of making purple cows? Surely it can't be.

I was talking to a Church leader at the conference with a dying congregation of 25 eighty year olds, who weren't interested in doing things differently, being radical, being missional. And he was so fustrated about how to make a difference. He also told me about a pancake event he put on when he gave away 400 free pancakes to people in the community. I asked him if any of them came to Church, he told me they hadn't. I wonder, what would it take for his pancake event to be 'Church'. In some ways, it was more Church than his preaching the lectionary and singing 4 hymns to 25 stubborn old ladies- it was missional, it was serving the community. If he kept giving away pancakes every week, and then found some way of sharing truth, whether it was by conversations, by media, or maybe even preaching- he would have himself a thriving Church. But we need to dare to be.

We need to dare to fail with the Church. We need to dare to be challenged. It is pretty obvious that the Church is dying in a lot of places. I think the reason for this is primarily stubbornness. "The world needs to change and not us. We're doing things the 'right' way." The truth is- the Church needs innovators desperately. But no one is going to pick you. Stop waiting to be picked. Step up, pick yourself and dare to do something no one has done. Dare to be radical. There is a new time dawning and it needs new leaders. Are you going to sit back and watch others lead, or are you going to dare to put yourself on the line?