Estimated reading time: 2 minute(s)
The other day I was reading something about caroling in the newspaper. It was a little article in the local paper about being ready for carolers, and how to best welcome them, should they visit your home. But, then there was another little piece on how to organize a caroling party.
And I thought, “That would be fun!”
I started to think about what it would take to get something like that going, and who would be willing to do such a thing. There would be many details to coordinate, so that everyone could participate and enjoy themselves thoroughly.
And I thought, “I guess that’s a good thing about the ‘church’…”
But then it occurred to me, that while we can manage and organize groups of people in institutional settings, we also are quite good at attaching some sort of agenda to the proceedings.
If indeed a church were to organize a christmas caroling party, you can almost bet that there would be some sort of ulterior motive along with the “holiday cheer”. Be it a smile, and a nice catch phrase, “God loves you, and so do we at First Church on the Corner!” or, perhaps more aggressive interrogations… uh… conversations… about where/if the resident of the domicile “goes to church.” Or, there is always the standard “Gospel Tracts.”
Nice.
It’s not just in caroling. Christians are not welcomed into peoples’ lives because they have an agenda. Whether getting people to church or to heaven, there is an agenda. In everything we do! From the obviously planned “Bring a Friend Day”, to the more subtle “game nights”, or “open gym” or any of the webs we disguise as social events – everything we do is for some alternate, “higher” purpose. We can’t just enjoy life together!
Come on people. Just be real. Just be you, and relate to people as you are. Don’t try to get them to be something else, or do something you think they need to. Let God and them sort out what they will DO… you just love them, hang out with them… just be real.
Oh, that frustrates me so much. And the sad thing is, some of you, my fellow believers, who are reading this will say that I am overblowing this… that not everyone has an “agenda”. No? I do beg to differ. It is in every piece of corporate life, and then what we call “outreach”. Our love is selfishly motivated to see results in people that we think they should produce.
How sad.
So, I may still get some friends together to walk around our neighborhood and sing. But that’s all we’ll be doing. Just, having fun singing. Not “building community”. Not “reaching lost people with the ‘Love of Jesus'”. Just, being a community. Having fun, living life together. No agendas.
Just… life.
Everything has a purpose.
At the end of your post, you say “not ‘building community,’ … just being a community.” … I don’t usually object very strongly to anything you say, but this one was a little out there, even for a postmodern ‘heretic’ like me.
Is not everything we do supposed to communicate the love of Christ? Is not everything we do, say, etc. supposed to BE evangelism in its purest form?
Just because much of the modern evangelical church has addmitedly corrupted such words as “evangelism” and “community” and “outreach” … does not mean that such things are incorrect motivations or purposes in their true forms. By BEING a community, one is, sui generis, BUILDING community. It’s sort of a self-causing thing. Evangelism is supposed to be everything we do – all motivated to show people Jesus.
I think that instead of trying to set your own traditions and your own vocabulary to say the same things, maybe it’s just time to redefine the older words that we already have. The english language doesn’t need more words, it has enough problems with all the psychologists doing the same thing (for example, “cognitive dissonance” to take the place of “confused”).
I was thinking, you often rant against the use of the term “church” to refer to a building or organization (instead of its true definition, which is a specific set of people, the followers of Christ). Yet you often use the term in the way you despise. I quote, “if indeed a church were to organize …” – your connotation clearly implies an organization, not a bunch of people with a common purpose (Jesus). I say this not to piss you off, but because I really hope you think about this stuff. If you disagree, fine, I could be wrong (or I could be saying the same thing you are in a different way and missed it), I’m only 22 and you’re … um … 29.
But for the record, tracts pissed us all off. So I’m with you on that one.
Hey Chris
I think you know that I don’t comment on most comments, but I just wanted to clarify I few things.
I know we don’t agree on things sometimes 🙂 That’s totally cool, but I think you might have misunderstood what I was saying.
First, on the term church… what can I do? That’s what we have called those organizations. So, unfortunately, it gets confusing whether I am talking about the actual church (those who are in Jesus) or what we call the church (the building, the organization, the service, whatever). Sorry for the confusion there… but I hope that context can help convey what I’m trying to say for the most part.
But just to clarify the part that really bothers me about the agendas we Christians have for other people’s lives, and our relatioships with them… it’s just manipulative. Chris, I have been in staff/leadership planning meetings where we actually used the word “trick” when discussing plans for upcoming events. There is such a manipulative undercurrent to every single event and action and any sort of plan for “the church” … it’s just really sad. We know people “need Jesus”, so we’re willing to throw out their ability to choose by manipulating them and our relationship with them to achieve the desired end of their “conversion”.
We can’t just enjoy life together, we’re always thinking how we can maximize our efforts to advance the kingdom, whether it be through a worship service or an ice cream social. Everything, as you say, has a purpose. And I think that’s sad.
I think life was meant to be lived, not manipulated.
Just my opinion. 🙂
My personal point of view is most definitely shaped by the fact that the north american culture is foreign to me. The “Agenda” that you refer to Greg is such a fiber of US culture.
It’s in most things I observe culturally and so the ‘church’ (as an organized institution) is no exception. It’s the ‘drive to achieve’ that is the characteristic of the north american culture.
I think the intentions of the typical north american christian are generally ‘good’. To help ‘save’ the lost, to spread the good news, etc. I don’t think there is anything “wrong” with those intentions, I just have always been more responsive to people that are more the way I picture Jesus being. No “ulterior motive”. He was just himself with everyone, he didn’t change who he was to “entice” people and convince them to listen to him. He didn’t spend time with the disciples scheming and plotting and devising plans and strategies to “reach” the masses.
Chris, when you say “Evangelism is supposed to be everything we do – all motivated to show people Jesus.” it reflects that North American tendency I’m talking about. You use the expression “supposed to be”, which is one of my LEAST favorite expressions in the English language, because it brings up the concept of “duty” and “obligation”, as opposed to the concepts of love and relationship which, in my opinion, are tied to Jesus and his ministry.
I was an ‘un-churched’ person not too long ago. Foreign to what it meant to be a Christian and going to ‘church’ on Sundays etc. There were people that God put in my life whose love so completely overwhelmed me that I saw Jesus in them. As much as they did try to take me to ‘church’ and make me read ‘christian things’ what actually did it was their love, the way they treated me when there was no talk of conversion or church stuff . When they were just being themselves, and loving on me for no apparent reason other than…just to love. I wasn’t coming across as something that was “supposed to be”, but just something that was, almost as though, they couldn’t help loving me. And THAT, I believe, is God’s heart for the lost.
good points, both of you. I feel like an idiot, mostly because I really did write a paper on postmodern culture, and I find myself backpedaling (foot-in-mouth disease?) about some of my own terminology. I should know not to assume everyone knows what I’m talking about, that was what my whole paper was about.
Anyway, “supposed to be” means original intention. Of course our love is the point. Our love has a point, even while it also “simply IS.” When I read scripture, I do not see a universe where there are things that were done just because they could be, I see every piece fitting together like a giant puzzle, a bigger picture the result of all the little stuff. Which means every piece has to have a point, a purpose, in the larger picture. There aren’t miscellaneous pieces left over.
Laura, you hit on something I think is important – that our ultimate motivation is not of ourselves, like ‘we have to evangelize, it’s required’ like a textbook is required reading, but that our evangelism is a natural byproduct of our love of Jesus and, as a result, our infectious love of the people around us. I guess that’s what I was trying to say, but you said it way better.
Greg – I have been to those same meetings, and frankly it pisses me off too. But I’ve also been to lots of meetings where we say “how can we help these people” and then the volunteers or staff offer so much of themselves to do so. But you’re right, the other part of it is that our daily lives are to be equally important, the connection in between “outreach events” that makes, in the end, the larger difference in someone’s life. I guess that the organized american church, as a majority, has forgotten the connection in their own culture – since they are, by nature, efficient to the hilt. It’s more important to be efficient and maximize all resources and minimize wasted energy. Perhaps your point is that it’s ok to have a little “waste”, because what we’re calling “wasted time” isn’t actually a waste?
Just another thought…
Evangelism, the way I know it, at least, is not about the other people. It has become about us. It’s not about showing kindness to someone, letting them know they are loved and accepted by God more than they could imagine. It’s usually about changing their lives to match ours. Getting them to attend functions sponsored by the “church” or even just getting them to do all the things we think make us a Christian. (Reading the Bible, praying, going to church, just being a nice person, etc)
But Jesus never “evangelized” with any expectations. He told people who were asking (or listening) about the Kingdom of God, and then he just hung out with people. He spent time with people. *LISTEN* Not so that he could tell them the “important stuff”… just because he loved them.
That’s what I mean right there. Most Christians throw a “so that” into their relationship with others. (Be they friendships, or relationship with Joe Stranger.) Jesus didn’t have a “so that”.
And I so want to live free like that! To just be real and open and honest and love God and love people. No strings. No agenda. No “so that…”
Just… life.
(oh wait.. I think I said that…) 🙂
I think we all mostly agree 🙂 but you boys can continue “debating” if you’d like 😉
Greg–
Amen and amen! You articulated something that has been bugging me to no end. Thank you for putting words to my unformed thoughts.
this is great!! i’m so glad i came across this site. i’m going to check it regularly. i hope that doesn’t make me a creep, i’m totally new to this. peace.