Book Review: Phyllis Tickle, Emergence Christianity

Phyllis Tickle. Emergence Christianity: What it is, Where it is Going, and Why it Matters. (Baker Books, 2012; available for Kindle.)

Phyllis Tickle’s earlier book, The Great Emergence, was an important conversation starter all around our Presbyterian Church. This conversation was encouraged when Tickle was the keynote speaker for the theological reflection seminars offered by our Office of the General Assembly along side of the 2010 meeting of the General Assembly. The thesis of the Great Emergence is now well known. The Christian Church has cycled through a series of huge transformations every five hundred years. The last one, the 1500s, was, of course, the Protestant Reformation. Now we are in the midst of a new Great Emergence which is shaking the foundations of the established church and ushering in a very new expression of church in our culture.

In her new book, Tickle picks up again her historical theme but this time focuses specifically on American Church history. This is the good book which carefully tracks the history of the new, emerging Christianity in American history. Tickle pulls together some history and the many different pieces of the current, diverse practices into a good story and a compelling thesis that Emergence Christianity is here to stay.

Here is, in my opinion, her thesis statement about the characteristics of this new Emergence Christianity. She unpacks each of these characteristics in a full and clear way:

“Of the several general characteristics that the Great Emergence and Emergence Christianity hold in common, these of deinstitutionalization; nonhierarchal organization; a comfortable and informed interface with physical science; dialogical and contextual habits of thoughts; almost universal technological savvy; triple citizenship with its triple loyalties and obligations; a deeply embedded commitment to social justice with an accompanying, though largely unpremeditated, assumption of all forms of human diversity as the norm; and a vocation toward greenness – these undoubtedly are among the most characterizing.”

There is something new happening in the church. What is it? What is the relationship between the new, emerging thing and our established church? In what ways can the emerging church and the established church touch and support one another? In what ways can they learn from one another? For those of us immersed in and committed to the established church I believe this is an important conversation. Tickle’s overview of the new thing that is happening in our midst is informative and helpful. There is a deep tone of courage and hopefulness in her writing. There is nothing to be afraid of; God is doing a new thing in our midst.

I will cherish the opportunity to have more conversation around Tickle’s new book with other church leaders. 

Charge to the Market Square Church

"Long and Slow"             

My wife, Kris, and I have three boys; Kyle is 24, Michael is 21 and Eric is 13. On a Tuesday evening this past September, Kris and I were driving to Eric’s eighth grade back-to-school night. Kris said to me, “This is our 35^th back-to-school night.” I said, “What!?” Kris answered, “This is our 35^th back to school night. We have never missed a back to school night. If you count all three boys this is the 35^th." Only a Mom could possibly remember and calculate such a thing.

            

My friends, how long does it take to raise a child? How long does it take to form a Christian? How long does it take to build a church? How long does it take to create a more just society? How long does it take to bring peace?

           

My charge to you, the congregation and friends of the Market Square Presbyterian Church, is to continue the long and slow journey of faith you have been on since 1794. Continue this long and slow journey of faith. These words “long and slow” are important. I am borrowing them from a classic book: Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Eugene Peterson is a Presbyterian minister, now retired and a prolific author writing in the area of biblical spirituality and Christian formation. I never met Peterson; Tom did during their days together long ago in Baltimore. Peterson’s book “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction” is an old book that has become a classic for pastors and church leaders. The book is a beautifully written reflection of biblical spirituality for ministry today. The outline of the book is taken from the fifteen Psalms of Ascent, Psalms 120 to 134. This collection of Psalms are all pilgrimage Psalms, probably originally used by the Hebrew people as part of their daily prayers while they were making pilgrimage up to Jerusalem. Peterson develops this image of pilgrimage for us, for our Christian journey in the Church. The task of ministry today, the task of being the church today is a long and slow task. This to me seems to be a vitally important word as you turn the page to a new chapter and begin a new relationship with a new pastor. The task ahead of you should be a long and slow journey together which builds each one’s individual life in Christ, which builds up slowly and authentically a new pastoral relationship and which continues your long journey building the church. I might add, of course, that this long and slow journey should also continue your abundant and generous participation in the ministry of our presbytery.   

           

I am not going to develop it now, but it would a fruitful discussion to consider the many ways that this Christian commitment to long and slow is deeply counter-cultural today. Our culture is obsessed with speed, what Peterson calls “today’s passion for the immediate and the casual.” In the face of all of that, I am asking you to be long and slow together, building up one another, building up the church, and slowly ushering in a more just world. Thanks be to God in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

            Mark J. Englund-Krieger

            Tom Sweet Installation Service

Market Square Church

Book Review: Rendle. Journey in the Wilderness

Purposeful Relationships

Book Review: Gil Rendle. Journey in the Wilderness: New Life for the Mainline Churches. Abingdon Press, 2010. (Available for Kindle).

This quote is the first paragraph of Rendle’s reflection on the mainline churches today:

“People no longer join congregations because they want relationships or because they want to “belong.” As far as relationships that serve as social friendships, increasingly people already have as many as their time and lifestyle allow. Rather than simply seeking social relationships for which there is less room in a harried contemporary lifestyle, people now come to congregations because they want a purposeful relationship with others who are seeking a purpose and meaning in response to the questions they feel in their lives. For many the function of relationships in congregations has now shifted from being only social to being also purposeful. This shift that removes the congregation from its position as a central institution that provides friendships out of which members then shape a personal identity is difficult news to many congregations, which continue to think of their only strength as being warm and friendly relationship providers.”

I believe the simple idea presented here is stunning if we ponder what Rendle is truly saying. How many of our churches are still motivated by the desire to be friendly and attractive while not truly being about a “purposeful relationship” with Christ?

What is the purpose of your congregation? Is that clear when people walk in the door? Is your congregation excited about that purpose? These are hard questions. These are difficult questions. But the answers to these questions may define whether or not your congregation will survive this wilderness time.   

Report to Presbytery Dec. 4, 2012

Theological Community

            Being a pastor today is an exhilarating, joyful calling and a stressful, confusing job.  Yes, being a pastor is an exhilarating, joyful calling. I borrowed those words from Eugene Peterson. He writes, “There’s a kind of exhilaration because God is doing something, and even in a little way, it’s enough at the moment.” I believe it is a blessing and great fun to live at this time which is truly an era of Reformation for the Christian Church in the world. The foundations are trembling, some old things are crashing down and some new things are growing up. God is at work in our world. Thanks be to God.

There is a particular piece of this great era of Reformation which I would like us to ponder, the vocation of the pastor. Eugene Peterson may be one of the best guides to this new territory of pastoral life today. Peterson has now written a whole stack of books pondering the question of the pastor’s vocation. These sentences from Peterson’s old book, The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction, copyright 1989, may be one of his earliest explorations of this terrain. “The essence of being a pastor begs for redefinition. But one by one, pastors are rejecting the job description that has been handed to them and are taking on this new one or, as it turns out, this old one that has been in use for most of the Christian centuries.”

Being a pastor is an exhilarating calling and a confusing job:

We live with almost complete vocational uncertainty. What does it mean to be a pastor? How should pastors be prepared for this work? Today the academic preparation of pastors in our seminaries is separated from the life of the church. What should pastors learn? How should we define a faithful career path for a healthy pastor?

Being a pastor is an exhilarating calling and a confusing job:

There is confusion about the professional boundaries of the pastoral vocation. Pastors, in our church, are skilled professional people usually with full time salaries and benefits. Any yet many of the people we work side by side with in the Church – Ruling Elders and Deacons – are, in fact, volunteers. Can Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders be professional colleagues? Can they be friends? Is that allowed? Who can be the pastor’s friends? Does your pastor have any friends in your Church? What does that mean? Is it possible to be a pastor and a friend?

Being a pastor is an exhilarating calling and a confusing job:

What exactly is a pastor supposed to do with their time? How much should pastors read and study during their work week? Are pastors today perceived as working too much? Or are pastors perceived as not working enough? What is the difference, and who decides?

Being a pastor is an exhilarating calling and a confusing job:

We now live in a fully disestablished Church. I believe this is a good thing. But it raises some difficult questions for pastors. Pastors in a fully disestablished Church have no social clout, no cultural status and no innate, cultural authority. So where does the authority of the pastor come from? What is the authority of the pastoral office? Does your pastor have any authority? What does that mean?

I want to support pastors. I want to support all of our Church leaders. In the Presbyterian Church we are all in this together. We will seldom separate off the pastors for special concern, although that fact itself may be an interesting discussion point.

I have three pieces of advice for our pastors, and all our church leaders, as we have fun together in this era of Reformation:

1) Make your spiritual life a high priority. Pray often and immerse yourself in the spiritual life. Prayer is always bigger than us. Prayer is always inviting us, calling us, beckoning us beyond ourselves and back to Christ. Learning  to pray is something we might do every day.

2) Seek accountability: The paid, professional pastors in our midst should, I believe, take the initiative to seek accountability within the congregation. The pastor should invite conversation about the time, the tasks, the goals and objectives of their ministry. There should be common discussion about what the pastor does most and least, where and when. By seeking accountability the joy and challenge of pastoral ministry will be shared throughout the whole community.  

3) Create theological community: We need to do this together. I would like to create avenues, forums and time where we can build theological and spiritual community together. I am not talking about support groups. We are already doing that very well. I am talking about theological community.

Kim, the moderator of our Strengthening our Congregation Committee, put together a wonderful sheet which is in your folders. This describes a series of 24-hour retreats at Camp Krislund. I have been pushing for this. Many people have participated in creating this idea and planning this forward. Let us use our beautiful Camp Krislund. Many of you have told me you have never been to Krislund. You need to visit there; it is not very far, just up the road. It is not like going to Honduras. We have pushed out these plans and ideas which in different ways create theological community. These may be great plans. Maybe you have better ideas. But let’s do it together. Let us connect and talk and get to know each other. Pastors and all Church leaders, let us find ways to talk together about the joys and challenges of this work. Theological community. Let’s do it together.  

  

Report to the Presbytery Sept. 25, 2012

Honoring Christ

The short statement copied here was approved by the General Assembly of our Church this year. This Action Item has not received a lot of publicity or attention. I believe this Action Item, if we can take it to heart, may be essential to the health, vitality and faithfulness of our Church today.


General Assembly (2012) Action Item: 07-17 From the Church Orders and Ministry Committee; On Honoring Christ in Our Relationships with One Another

This item was approved by the Assembly with a vote of 405 YES to 230 NO.

“The 220th General Assembly (2012) acknowledges that faithful Presbyterians earnestly seeking to follow Jesus Christ hold different views about what the Scriptures teach concerning the morality of committed, same-gender relationships. Therefore, while holding persons in ordered ministry to high standards of covenant fidelity in the exercise of their sexuality, as in all aspects of life, we acknowledge that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) does not have one interpretation of Scripture in this matter. We commit ourselves to continue respectful dialogue with those who hold differing convictions, to welcome one another for God’s glory, and not to vilify those whose convictions we believe to be in error. We call on all Presbyterians to join us in this commitment.”

We are typically polite, courteous and respectful of people in the church with whom we disagree. But when those disagreements rise to questions of biblical authority and interpretation we are seldom, I believe, truly able to engage the depth of our differences. We talk past one another. We retreat into like-minded groups. We fall silent in the face of massive disagreement. We close our hearts to the other. I suspect many of us are convinced, in our heart of hearts, that there is only one way, one correct answer and one true interpretation.

Are we in the spiritual, emotional and intellectual place within our own selves to truly believe “that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) does not have one interpretation of Scripture”? Is this not good news for us? This is an Action Item that may become a prayer concern. May we each “commit ourselves to continue respectful dialogue with those who hold differing convictions, to welcome one another for God’s glory, and not to vilify those whose convictions we believe to be in error.”

Is This True?

Book Review: Diana Butler Bass. Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening. Harper One, 2012 (Kindle Edition).

            We are already in the year 2012. Diana Butler Bass offers, in her important new book Christianity After Religion, an interpretation of our recent decade which is compelling and troubling. My cultural perception of Christianity in our society remains captivated by the paradigm shifts of the 1980s and 1990s when the Religious Right was popular and had a lot of media attention, our mainline denominations continued their long pattern of disestablishment and diminishment and the mega-church movement was booming. But according Butler Bass, and with some penetrating sociological data, the place of church in culture may have shifted again, significantly, since 2001.

            She argues: “the first dozen years of the new millennium have been downright horrible for religion, leading to a sort of “participation crash” in churches of all sorts as the new millennium dawned. In particular, five major events revealed the ugly side of organized religion, challenging even the faithful to wonder if defending religion is worth the effort, and creating an environment that can rightly be called a religious recession”.

1)     2001: Butler Bass argues that the churches did not respond well to the September 11 terrorist attacks and many Christians got caught up in the base movement of religious bigotry and hatred. She writes, “It became hard to discriminate between healthy, life-giving religion and violent, life ending religion.”

2)     The Roman Catholic sex abuse scandal

3)     Protestant conflict over homosexuality: Butler Bass argues that the whole, long, public debate over sexuality in almost all of the large, national churches has seriously undermined our effectiveness for ministry and our standing in our society. “Although some Christians surely felt theologically and morally uncomfortable with the idea of a gay bishop, many more were appalled by the nastiness of the controversy, the obvious politicization of their denominations, the low spiritual tone of the discussion, and the scandal of churches suing their mother denominations over property.”

4)     2004: The religious Right wins the battle, but loses the war: Butler Bass cites a popular and influential recent book on American Christianity to make her case. “In their recent book American Grace, Robert Putnam and David Campbell cautiously suggest that the real victory of the religious Rights has been to alienate an entire generation of young people.” In my mind, that is a painful conclusion but my own perception tells me this may be correct. Is this true and accurate? Butler Bass concludes: “The old religious Right may have won some cherished political battles, but in the war over the hearts of their youth they surely lost more than they gained.”

5)     2007: The Great Religious Recession: Finally, Butler Bass argues that when the great economic recession hit our nation at the end of 2008, the churches were too feeble to respond to the massive human need all around. “The economic recession arrived at a moment when churches and denominations were already in a religion recession. The national economic crisis served to weaken embattled religious organizations, further marginalizing conventional faith institutions in a chaotic cultural environment.”

 

I believe we need a full discussion of these themes. What is happening in church and society? What worldly events are impacting our churches? How are powerful cultural forces influencing the churches? What is the public witness of the Church in our society today? Most of all, Diana Butler Bass’ reflections help us break out of some of the stale stereotypes from the 1980s and reflect in new ways on these important questions. Diana Butler Bass’ new book is important and worthy of careful study and group discussion. Let’s talk about it!

Book Review

Michael Jinkins. The Church Transforming: What’s Next for the Reformed Project?. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012.

The phrase, “Reformed Project”, caught my eye when I first pondered Michael Jinkins’ new book.  It is a good phrase which I had never heard before, but a phrase that immediately resonated with me. The Reformed Project sounds open ended, forward thinking, experimental and innovative. The Reformed Project should be what we are about in the Presbyterian Church. Like all projects there will be false starts and bad choices. Like all projects things may be provisional, and filled with a sort of experimental, ‘Let’s try this attitude’ that is liberating. A project is not obsessed with success. I guessed that Jinkins was onto something very interesting with his phrase “Reformed Project.” And I was right. “When we say we are Reformed Christians, we are simply saying that we are Christians committed to a particular project, the project of reforming the church” (page 12). That is a project we should be about!

Jinkins and I are, in part, preaching the same sermon. I am gratified that someone of Jinkins stature in the church today is saying these things. This sermon that I have been preaching for years, and which I believe Jinkins is also preaching, is about how our church is good and blessed. I want to preach from the highest Presbyterian pulpit, I want to shout from the highest Presbyterian mountaintop: “Can we please stop whining! Can we please stop complaining! Can we put away the “Woe is me!” litany! Do we know how rich our heritage is! Do we know how great our Church is! This Church belongs to Jesus Christ!” I am encouraged that Jinkins is standing with me. He says it better: “When we are mindful of our legacy, however – when we remember the good news of Jesus Christ that fuels our lives and gives us hope as persons – we stop worrying about our survival. And when we stop worrying about our survival, we, as a church, become powerfully attractive to those around us” (page 108). Jinkins preaches: “We really do need to stop whining about the losses we have suffered in numbers and prestige and influence as a mainline church. No one else cares, including (I suspect) God” (page 117).

Michael Jinkin’s Reformed Project includes some compelling components. He offers a rousing call to a “thinking faith.” This is our heritage. This is the air we breathe. Chapter Three which calls us again to a thinking faith is a powerful source of encouragement for every harried pastor and over scheduled church leader who wonders again about the value of theological education and who struggles to find time to read the hard books. We need a thinking faith. My worry is all caught up with Jinkins: “I worry about  what will become of Christian faith – indeed, I worry what will become of the world we live in – if Christians fail to ask the tough, deep, critical sometimes intractable questions about life.”

Jinkins also offers a fresh, creative image of the task of ministry today with his description of becoming a “docent in the house of wonder.” This is a fabulous image for ministry today, and Jinkins develops it with compelling description. What if ministry was truly about helping our people imagine again, dream again, walk again into the rushing stream of God’s grace? “Their vocation is to deliver people into an awareness of the presence of God, in which they will know themselves to be creatures created for God’s own gracious, good and just ends” (page 88).

As a Presbytery staff person, I have a unique perch from which I view our Church. My view sees a lot of conflict and confusion. Jinkins sees the same things but does not shy away from our ugly heritage of schism. In what I consider a brilliant theological reflection, Jinkins dissects for us John Calvin’s theology on schism and unity in the church. For people like me who are working every day with issues of schism, separation, unity and our profound polarization, Jinkins Chapter Four, Schism, the Unintended Consequence of the Reformed Project, is important. The Reformed Project has always struggled with these issues, and our struggle with these same things today may be painful and personal but it is all not new. Our age is not special. These issues lie “at the root of the Reformed Project . . . But, potentially, the seeds for understanding our unity in Jesus Christ also lie in Calvin’s theology, and they may yet render in us a more ‘charitable judgment’ of those with whom we differ (page 67).

Thank you, Professor Jinkins, for a bold call to hope. Thank you for helping us not be ashamed and afraid. Thank you for a lifting our pride and reminding us again of the good gifts we have all received in this Reformed Tradition. Indeed, I would like to print your last sentences as a poster to hang inside the front door of our Presbytery office: “If we can remember who we are and who we are called to be in Jesus Christ, the best days of the Reformed Project are still ahead of us. Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda” (page 121).