Channel 75.  What comes to your mind when I say “channel 75”?  For us cable subscribers, that channel is TLC- The Learning Channel.   Along with Discovery Health on channel 74 and HGTV on channel 59, the TLC channel is one of my favorites.  It has shows like “What Not to Wear”, Trading Spaces” and “Trauma: Life in the ER”.  There is a newer show on TLC that is called “Town Haul” hosted by Trading Spaces designer Genevieve Gorder.  It is like the show “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” in that Genevieve picks a whole town to do a make over.  She comes into town with her crew, gets to know the residents of the community and in conjunction with the leaders of the community, she picks several businesses and individual’s homes to work on and literally reinvents the town space.  The transformation of the community is always inspiring.  Many townsfolk come forth to be a part in reinventing the atmosphere and vision for their community and the results are astounding. Dead marshy spaces are turned into magnificent Parks and community centers, run down ice-cream stands are turned into café type atmospheres where people can gather to have conversation.  From restaurants to barber shops to making accessible homes for the physically challenged, Town Haul helps communities reinvent themselves so that they can move into the future with a sense of hope and vitality.  It changes the economic atmosphere, the viability of the small town and strengthens community connections.  Town Haul is just one show among so many these days that are helping people and communities to reinvent themselves for their future well-being.

I wonder how the church is going to reinvent itself in order to be relevant, viable and be the faith passers in this postmodern world to a new generation.

In my readings lately, I have read the most profound, challenging and inspiring book called “Unlearning Church”.  It is written by a United Methodist pastor by the name of Mike Slaughter.  He pastors a church in a small town in Ohio and is a gifted preacher and leader. This book is written in light of the passing of the modern world view and in light of the post modern era in which we now live.  He addresses the struggle of most churches now-a-days- the relevancy factor.

Over and over again, theological and religious literature, as well as statistics and experience, all suggest that:

• Organized religion is not working for postmodern people

• Today’s church is aging

• Christianity is no longer growing in this country- in fact the fastest growing religious expression is Buddhism, mainly because Buddhism is centered in practice and not doctrine- but that’s another sermon!

The PCUSA alone lost 43,000 people last year.  And that was the third straight year where the loss of membership was over 40,000.

Do you think it is time for a Town Haul meeting and makeover??

Jesus commands us to go and make disciples.  With a loss of over 130,000 members in the last 3 years, what do you think our score is on making disciples?  It might be time to Unlearn Church so that we can move forward in faith.  It might be time for FPC to really take a hard look at how we can become a next generation church that actually creates an atmosphere in this postmodern world for discipleship making.

On my sabbatical, for all the reading, research and connecting with churches and their leaders all across the nation, I found Slaughter’s description, in his book, of where we are as a people of faith the most helpful in setting the stage for what we must do in order to “make disciples”.  It articulated what I was having trouble synthesizing together about the differences in the modern era and the post modern era as it impacts the church. It also gave enormous hope and excitement about being a part of the church in the 21st century and how we can together move forward in faith, hope, love and a lot of hard work!

Here is how Slaughter lays out our “Church History”:

There are 3 waves of churches:

The first wave was that of “Replication”.  The church in the U.S. just replicated what was imported from Europe.  Immigrants from Europe simply relocated their traditions and dogmas as they moved to the U.S.

The second wave is best described as that of “Proclamation”.  It was born out of the Great Awakenings in the U.S. and reached it’s zenith with the Mega Church.  It is based on a platform-proclaimer who gives a presentation to spectators-receivers who watch and process it.  [This is what we baby boomers are used to.]

The third wave, representing the new thing God is doing, is that of “Demonstration”.  These are churches of contagious faith living our authentic biblical community expressed through compassionate service and social justice… it is highly personal and interactive. (p.37-38)

Pastor Brad Cecil states it this way:

The last 100 years in the U.S. have been a period of tremendous proclamation of the Gospel, but the next 100 years will most likely be marked as a period of tremendous demonstration of it.  (p.42)

It is not enough to be just talking heads, we have to demonstrate the love of Christ in church, in our workplaces, in our communities, with our kids, in our homes, and in the world.

Now, I don’t know about you, but whenever someone brings up the fact that God is doing a new thing, I inwardly groan because I know it is going to make me feel uncomfortable at first.  Isn’t that just like God to make us get out of our comfort zone!  Many-a-biblical story includes things that make us squirm—Jesus did what on the Sabbath??  You want me to leave my family right this very minute to follow you?  You said Jesus actually spat in the mud and put that mud on that man’s eyes??  How many times are you telling me I have to forgive??  As Slaughter states, “The people quickly saw that Jesus would disrupt their normal life patterns… Jesus calls us to leave safe places… God wants to create a passionate tension in our lives, a holy discomfort… People grow the most in times of tension, adversity and crisis…We don’t grow when we are comfortable… (p.87-90)

A holy discomfort helps us to grow and become who God wants us to be.  I wonder if that’s where we are right now at FPC- a holy discomfort.  We lack leadership in key areas, we don’t quite know where God is taking us with this new “mission-minded, small group centered” identity, we have frustrations about how slow it takes to get everything done, and we seem a little desperate that the fall programming events are coming up fast!  What kind of growth do you think God is helping us to experience?  How have you pitched in to make things work around here at FPC lately?  If you haven’t yet discovered your passion or employed your gifts, this is a great time to do so!!  It will take all of us being the Body of Christ to be a next generation church where God’s power is unleashed and are ultimate calling of making disciples can be fulfilled.

“God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, but our understanding and discoveries of God grows and deepens.  This maturity happens if we allow ourselves to remain in places of discomfort.”  (p.91)

So what other places of discomfort might we discover if we are to become a next generation church in this postmodern era.  What other stuff do we have to unlearn that might make us anxious and cause us to rethink our own values?  Here are a few more things that are different in the post modern era:

We need to unlearn categories.  What happens when I say “traditional”?  Some of you are saying “yes” and some of you are rolling your eyes.  The postmodern generation hates categories to begin with, but “traditional” or “contemporary” is not the point.  The issue is “does it have Spirit?”  Does it have all the awe and mystery of the East and the High tech of our nation.  Does it engage more than one sense?  As Slaughter puts it, “people learn best when all their senses are engaged.  The next generation of churches will avoid the stiff and cerebral and will offer people a multi-sensory experience of God” (p. 62). Talk about getting out of our “Frozen Chosen” comfort zone.  Is this scaring anyone yet??  Or is it getting you excited about really being empowered by a loving God who is more active in your life than ever before.

We need to unlearn committee talk.  Relationships and igniting people’s passion is how we will demonstrate Christ love best in this world.  We will never be able to meet the great needs of our community if we do not know who people are inside this church.  What makes people tick, what would you get up at 4:00 in the morning to do because you love it so much.  What nourishes your spirit?  When I ask people why they are on this or that committee or team, I usually get the “duty” answer, not the “passion” answer.  It is important to know some aspects of people’s lives in order to help them reach their spiritual potential of service to this world and growth in Christ.  It means knowing folks enough to say, “Oh, I think Shirley would be great for that project.”

We need to unlearn that bigger is better.  If you are in a big group, you may not get known.  In smaller groups, we can be encouragers and help people be accountable in their spiritual lives.  If you are not known, then it is hard to tap your passion or invite the use of your gifts.  It is hard to share burdens and experience the real joy others have when you have a celebration in your life.

We need to unlearn that intellectual comment about Christ will do the trick in helping people to know God or come to church.  The postmodern generation doesn’t want words, they want actions.  “The behavior of Christ demonstrated to pre-Christian people is far more convincing than all our intellectual explanations.”  Dogma is dead, unless it is backed by congruent actions.

We need to unlearn that information is enough for people.  People really want an invitation to an experience of God.  Our worship now is designed for information.  The postmodern worship needs to be designed for experience.  What does it mean for us here in this sanctuary where we are not wired for visuals to be presented?  What does it mean just to have flowers as our artistic texture here in this sanctuary?  How do just a few candles up high on the wall create an atmosphere of awe, mystery and wonder?  How many of your eye lids are heavy right now because I am just a talking head up here??  What does it mean to only have hymns of the church sung this morning?

I am not saying these things are bad, in fact, they have served us well.  I am just saying that we might want to rethink a few things in order to be one of those next generation churches.  This sanctuary is designed for information, churches touching the post modern people need to be designed for experience.

We need to unlearn that busier and more is the best.  How many programs you have is not so important any more.  How many attended this or that meeting or event is not the measure of success now-a-days.  “Today people are not looking for church meetings so much as for life meaning.  Success is not measured by church growth, but by lives transformed!!  We are changed by the way we live in relationship.  Jesus was about the business of empowering people to seek the lost, strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the injured, and bring back those who had strayed.  This is not a program, but a radical demonstration of the power of God… unlearning churches focus more on connecting people to meaning than activity… Now we measure success by asking, “how are people finding life change and purpose THROUGH the experience?  Does it make a difference in their relationships, parenting skill, Christian witness and stewardship?”  (p.77)

Today, we have some choices to make in demonstrating God’s radical love.  We can write checks for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.  But will this be enough to demonstrate God’s radical love or help us find purpose?  What more might we do to engage us in connections that will be transforming for those in need and for our lives also?  Unlearning churches will send money, but they don’t stop there-

 How will we respond??

There will be teams from our Presbytery going down there in the future- will we be a part of this effort?  Will we be the ones demonstrating the love of Christ outside our own comfort zone?  How do we want to connect? 

Jesus said, “Go” and make disciples. 

Go and demonstrate my love to others;

Go and show others what it means to be connected to me;

Go and bind up the wounded, lost and lonely;

Go help people find purpose;

Go and show the grace of God in whatever situation you are in.

Might this be the time to reinvent what it means to demonstrate God’s radical love?  “The world is waiting not for religious organizations, but it is waiting for communities that demonstrate God’s reckless love.”

May our community be the hands and feet of Jesus in this post modern world today.  Amen.

Reference:

Unlearning Church by Mike Slaughter