bobjots : redux

Now in all fairness, I have very little gripes about my previous congregation. I was somewhat troubled by the building project, primarily because of what it implies rather than the money involved. Nonetheless, I have spent most of my formative Christian years within the Methodist Church and congregations with some form of Charismatic expressions and I found in my previous congregation probably one of the best fusions of these two strands of Church life. How else would I have ended up coming from a Wesleyan Holiness tradition into a Lutheran congregation pastored by a man influenced by Pietism.

I did, however, eventually find myself starting to look for a much smaller congregation to go to. Perhaps it was just a search for some form of communitas to further my exploration of God and be part of how He works with His people. That is probably why I thought this post by David Fitch spoke very well about why I eventually chose to move to this small congregation :

.. It is more difficult to build a live body of Christ, the social space of His Lordship, where his powers are made manifest and his mission is sent forth, and poor people are actually recognized and loved, and where a politic takes shape which subverts the consumerist depersonalizing forces of our day ..

Of course, not every large congregation / mega church expresses the same impersonal dynamics that Fitch contrasts to in his post; my previous congregation is one of those which didn't. And not every small congregation would share the same powerful and organic dynamics that Fitch loves so much; there are plenty of examples to see.

I think one commentor got it right when he said here:

I think that in principal (principle? - emphasis mine) the post is right on. But, I don't think the difference lies in size, but in direction. A small church can be just as attractional, entertainment and numbers centered as the mega church. Indeed, when one considers that seminaries have been on the church growth fad for the past 20 years, it is hard not to have that mega-church marketing mentality ingrained into most leaders.

The difference--and the challenge--is whether or not a pastor of a small or a mega church chooses to be growth oriented or missionally oriented. If it's growth, there are a myriad of examples and how-to's out there to model your church after. But a true missional church is a tremendous challenge, a big step in faith, and a sure-fire way to split a church. To be successful missionally, especially if you are attempting to turn an attractional church into a missional one, is not for the faint-hearted or those without strong negotiating skills, nor for those who lack vision, and most definitely not for those for whom compassion and mercy are not among their most defining attributes. Such a pastor most assuredly has it tougher than your average attractional small, medium or mega-church rock star.

But it is a good reminder for us to be vigilant that our expression of faith and community in Christ doesn't end up becoming just another form of religious peddling in the supermarket of worldviews that is our society.

PS : Why the Lutheran Church? Heh .. that's probably something that I'll save for another post.