Jim and Casper Went To Church...Day 4

Same book.

Same comment ground rules. Scroll down three days and re-read both if you're new to the conversation, okay? The coffee's been flowing and The Diner's been joyfully crowded and busy these last few days...and conversation's been enlightening and intriguing along the way...and I'd be disappointed if you weren't up to speed if you're just joining us today. So, if you're a new customer, why not take a few minutes and catch up, okay?

And...

...we're off on day 4.

I'll record a little section in it's entirety because it prefaces today's discussion. See, in the book, the author has some background vignettes that proivde a context for the relationships he builds...which helps understand the dynamic the two of them have as they visit churches. It's a nice addition. Anyway, here's one of the vignettes titled "Defending the Space":

"From Talking To Listening. In my first book, Evangelism Without Additives, I talk about free attention giveaways. This involves simple practices like asking someone 'How are you?' and actually listening. We've been experimenting for a number of years to see what happens when, rather than asking people for their time and attention, we offer them ours.

For some reason, Christians continue to believe that we can talk people into following Jesus. That's why we think we need to memorize the right words or even our own story (as if we can't remember our own story). We all know the impact it has on us when someone listens to us. This simple act is so rare that wheover practices it (even poorly) is immediately set apart in our minds as someone we would like to spend more time with."

Defending the space means we practice listening."

With that in mind, Casper discusses a concept known in evangelical circles as "friendship evangelism." Kind of like making an intentional effort to befriend neighbors or co-workers with the intent of leading them to Christ. Casper's words: "Wow. That seems so cynical...(that) anyone would think that friendship is a technique for reaching the unchurched. I mean, that makes for a pretty manipulative friendship, for both folks. The unchurched person is basically being decieved, and the so-called church person is being deceptive..."

Now, I'm not sure many of the Diner patrons would disagree with that line of thinking, but it does speak to how our church interacts with those that aren't in our, ahem, world...which is what I really wanted to touch on, as Jim does when they go on their visit to Imago Dei (that has The Diner's featured podcaster, Rick McKinley, as their teaching pastor). They called this chapter their "emerging church weekend" adn Jim actually used a word I like better than "emergent": Neo-evangelicals. In other words, "they hold traditional evangelical beliefs but have changed the way church is done. That's why they have those candles down along the front of the stage, the guy painting while we sing, and a more casual dress code."

Casper liked the "otherliness" of the folks at Imago Dei: (Jim) "Otherliness is a word I use to describe people caught in the act of following in the footsteps of Jesus. They're focused on others, listening to others and serving others in small, doable ways. In short, they're 'otherly.'"

Casper: "You don't need to be a Christian to practice otherliness. In fact, many Christians don't practice otherliness at all; some actually practice beliefism, or the worship of right beliefs. [after a discussion on how chuch members cleaned up an urban park, and didn't use the results to invite people to church or anything of that nature] Their actions told me what he (Rick) meant...Think about it. What are you going to respond to? Someone getting in your face with the Bible or someone showing you care and campassion? The pastor also said something that made me think...he called Sacred Space (the cleaned-up park's new name) a 'beautiful inbreaking' which is the opposite of what many of the megachurches seem to practice. Imago Dei is not trying to get you to join them so much as they're trying to join you. I really like that."

So, today, it's on my mind to lead the discussions along the lines of the future of showing Christ to others. I mean, after working with teenagers for two decades, I saw that they'd get wise to the "free pizza" type deals where you'd give them a flyer advertising the Super Bowl and give them free pizze but then turn off the halftime show and give some type of gospel presentation. I learned quickly that those type events held little long-lasting return and for the better part of those two decades just loved on teenagers where they were (and taught my staff to do that)...that we couldn't "out-glitz" the world anyway but rather we could build relationships with teens and love them as best I could by showing up at their games, plays, concerts, workplaces, etc.

And this chapter really resonated with me because, well, I was already "there."

But what I'd like to hear about is what you see as the effectiveness of the church in the world. Are we really being salt & light or are we more of a holy huddle, waiting for those in the world to come around to our way of thinking and join us? I see pockets of both, frankly, but would enjoy hearing what you have to say about our "otherliness" today.

Manalive am I enjoying this book/conversation, lately! I think I've got about two more posts on this and then I'll move on...for those of you who aren't interested in it, though. Thanks to those of you who aren't interested for bearing with me!