Orbiting the Conventional Church

A friend at Starbucks on Saturday. Four or five couples at Bob Evans on Sunday. This is as close as it gets to “church.” The idea is most representative of what the early Christians did two millennium ago. They spent time together, ate together and shared together, Hence they knew each other well.

This is what our little group of Jesus followers prefers; meaningful relationships outside the rigid structures of America’s skewed understanding of church. Before I go on, I need to tell you that we all still attend the Sunday assemble. We just no longer do “church work” as defined by the institution. We’re not willing to fall into the trappings of traditional church. And how do we keep from being sucked back in? As Gordon MacKenzie, says, “You go into orbit.”

Have you got a minute? Good. Because I want introduce you to the concept of orbiting. Orbiting is responsible creativity that energetically explores and operates beyond the gravity of church models, patterns, accepted norms, and contemporary standards while remaining connected to the spirit of what western culture has come to define as church.

To enter orbit around the “contemporary-traditional-church” is to find a place of balance where you benefit from the resources of the organization without becoming entombed in the institution. How do you enter orbit? By seizing the best course of action for turning one’s vision into a reality while avoiding the pallid path of “church appropriateness.” You’re ready for all this, right? Good. I’ll go then.

To be of optimum value to the “appropriate church” endeavor, you have to invest enough individuality to counteract the drag of the “appropriate church,” but not so much that you escape the pull altogether. I want to hover just beyond the gravitational pull of the “appropriate church’s” programs, ministries and premeditated Sunday morning worship. Through the measured assertion of my own uniqueness I’m reestablishing a dynamic relationship with the appropriate church. I find its gravitational drag an asset that keeps me from floating out into the overwhelming nothingness of what is embryonic, emerging and still evolving. Yet I must be carefully not to allow that same gravity to suck me into the church trichobezoar, or I’ll find myself in a different kind of nothingness. The nothingness of normalcy made stagnant by the contemporary consumer’s “appropriate church.” Orbiting the appropriate and normal is the only place where you can tap your one-of-a-kind magic, your limitless creativity.

Homophobia Church

There’s a subculture within mainstream society today that is extremely antagonistic toward communities of faith because they perceive them as oppressive, homophobic institutions. I’m part of that Christian community and I love God’s people, but I’m also brave enough to stand up and admit that at times the church has been homophobic, unjust, and downright mean.

Do we extend grace to the people who have tasted the pain of divorce? Do we show grace to people who are divorced and remarried, an area Jesus specifically called sin? If so, then how do we not show grace to people in a sexual relationship that Jesus never mentions?

If we’re going to stamp out the lingering antagonism and have any legitimacy to speak out on the issue of marriage, it will have to come out of the reality of our lives, not simply our doctrine.

Here’s a thought.

Is the church brave enough to step out of the box and champion the call for justice on behalf of gay and lesbian people? If we stand on the other side of the aisle and allow discrimination against homosexuals and lesbians to continue without a hand raised or a voice uttered, we’ll find it’s difficult to say convincingly, “But we love you in the name of Jesus.”

To show the love of God we must stand up for the civil rights of those whose orientation is homosexual on the basis of discrimination. When we stand with them they’ll see us as their friend. It’s not compromise, neither is it a statement that says we have bought into homosexual eroticism. We simply recognize that discrimination is wrong and stand with them on the matter.

When we minister to this growing population of God’s creation, in that setting, and on their turf, we’re going to be surrounded by people not living the biblical ideal. I don’t affirm that, but neither do I condemn them.

Cynicism, Fear, and Faith

Maria Salzman believes one consequence of western culture’s weathering of one scandal after another is a culture full of cynicism. We’re much wiser to the ploys of politicos, preachers, and priest. And we’re anxious about what the future holds. Anxiety overload! And we respond by bouncing from—”It won’t get me”—to a cautious and fearful—”Can I beat the odds. Am I going to make it?”

Not only have our fears been amplified but our trust has eroded. We’ve lost faith in our institutions (government, corporations, the United Nations, and even church). All of which once helped us navigate the world’s woes. We’re at the cynical tail end of just over 200 years of ideologies spawned by the enlightenment.

Here are some of the things I have observed in response to our fears and anxiety. A desire for more personal control. I see that in home-schooling, the obsession of homegrown organic foods, and the screening of potential mates online for the perfect match. Personal control has become a social phenomenon.