11:35pm - Wednesday, May. 12, 2004
Everything Old Is New Again
What will the 22nd century church look like?
I�m reading a book right now that�s making me wonder what exactly the Church will look like a hundred years from now. It seems that as I start forming an idea, it is that very idea that is discussed in the chapter that follows. So here are some thoughts.
As you know, I�m journeying toward Catholicism (I promise I won�t make this another entry about Catholic theology!). What I�m wondering is just how �Catholic� the North American church might become in the next several years. I�m not necessarily talking about theology. I�m talking about liturgy, �worship�, community, etc. I think the evangelical/protestant church is finally rediscovering all of the wonderful things that they left behind 500 years ago.
I was recently sent an article about the �Baptist Monastery� movement that seems to be picking up steam across the US. This idea is simply a rediscovery and a slight reworking of the Catholic practice. A bunch of Christians live together in a central location, pray together, work together, sing together, and do social work in the community together. Then, on Sundays, those Christians are joined by others who may not live in the �monastery, but are still a part of their broader community. This is such a novel, new idea, and it�s been around since the 1st century! Hello!
It also seems that people of my generation are rediscovering the idea of liturgy. It seems that there are many people who have grown up in an evangelical experience (like me) and want to feel something deeper on a Sunday morning. They want a sense of the mystical experience of God, not just three fast songs followed by two �worshipful� (insert �slow�) songs and a 30 minute sermon.
A more traditional service (Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican) seems to be more inclusive of the five senses, making it a more �complete� experience. These services try to connect the individual and/or community with God through sight, sound, touch, and even taste and smell.
There is art to view that helps us connect to God, for example. The sight of a crucifix, stained glass, an icon, etc, can communicate things there are no words for. Through sound, we experience song and scripture. We can also experience God through touch when we turn to embrace or take the hand of a brother and wish him peace, or when a priest touches your forehead in a blessing. We even �taste God� in a way when we receive communion in the bread and wine, and we can even get His scent through the burning of incense.
There has also been a tremendous move in the last few years towards small discipleship groups, which is again something that existed in the ancient church. Just a few Christians spending time in prayer together can be a powerful thing.
All of these things also help to build a better sense of community. Perhaps the greatest loss of the 20th Century North American church has been the idea of community. The Catholic / traditional approach, until the latter half of the last century, was the idea of a parish. A church located centrally within a community for the locals to worship together in. This was rendered unnecessary with the advent of the automobile. Don�t like the church next door? Just drive a few miles away to one that suits yer fancy. Grown tired of that one? There�s another just a few more miles away.
Perhaps before the car, one might have felt a greater need to �stick it out� with his local church, as there was nowhere else for him to go. Perhaps one tended to stay and actually work out a problem he may have with the leadership. Perhaps not, but I have a feeling that would tend to be true.
In the older mode of church, there was a deeper sense of being committed to one another. North American society tends to be extremely individualistic and consumer-driven. �I want MY needs to be met, and if the product you�re selling me here doesn�t work, I�ll move on.� That mind set completely pervades church in the US. Believe me, I�m living in the church capital of the USA (There are more churches per capita in Modesto than anywhere else in the US).
Our society is becoming very technology-driven, very �modern.� As much as your cell phone and internet companies would tell you it�s all about being �connected,� we as individuals are more disconnected from one another than we�ve ever been. Ever try to carry on a personal conversation with somebody who has a cell phone? They �connect� with everybody except for the person in the room with them!
Christ�s Church grows strong when it is different from the World. So if His Church is to survive (and believe me, it will) it is going to have to become radically different, perhaps even to the point of being seemingly backward. As the World becomes more and more complicated, the Church will become simple. As the World becomes high-tech and flashy, the Church will become low-tech and thoughtful. And as the world becomes individualistic, the Church will become community-minded.
The church will always be in direct opposition to the values of the World, as Christ Himself always was while he was on this earth. This has been and always will be the hope and strength of His Church.
