Post Denominational? A Story From Japan

Former Mid-America Associate Regional Minister Ken Watson told a memorable story during a sermon at FCC, Odessa, MO.

A small but populous fishing village was located at the base of a 150 foot cliff on the east coast of Japan. They caught, processed and sold fish to people on the mainland while farmers in the highlands supplied them with grains and vegetables.

One day a wheat farmer near the cliff was about to begin the first good harvest after a long drought when he spotted a tsunami headed directly for the fishing village.

Knowing that the wave would destroy the village within 15 minutes, the farmer quickly pulled some ripened wheat stalks together and lit them with a match and set his field ablaze.

When the villagers saw the smoke, they immediately took off for the farm to help their neighbor extinguish the fire. They arrived too late to save the farmer's crop but just in time to avoid the crashing 60 foot wave that pulled every house and boat into the foamy sea.

Some might think that the village being saved by the farmer's sacrifice was the crown jewel of that folk tale. I think it was the experience of a just, loving, Christ-like community in action that is the true glory of the story.

Farmers and fisher folk, lowlanders and highlanders each thinking in terms of the whole community while building on what made each unique offers a lesson to the Church of Jesus Christ in our time.

If ever there was a time for the various tribes of the Body of Christ to pull together, it is now. And while challenges threaten to overtake some congregations, it should not be that we commit to better collaboration to avoid the dangers but to embrace the opportunities that we miss to advance the cause of Christ because we still tend first to think in terms of our own tribes (denominations) when we plan mission and ministry.

Of course, denominational organizations are helpful. We are not disembodied spirits. Denominations - like extended families offer something very important to many Christ followers and they are not likely to go away anytime soon.

I am particularly pleased as many Disciples of Christ are re-examining our heritage and discerning how we are to be, what we are to do in the centuries to come.

A piece of that discerning has to revisit the question about our original "polar star." Early in our 19th Century beginnings we understood that a divided Church could not prevail in the "Wild West." For two centuries we experimented with a variety of models for re-unifying the Church in North America with less than stellar results.

Today, we do not wait for academics, denominational leaders, or experts to tell us how to bring the Body of Christ together into more effective, coordinated, missional activity. Prompted by the Spirit more of us are praying, conversing, experimenting locally, and, our local communities benefit as a result.

How is this true or not true for you?

Leadership and Membership

For a couple of years now, Tom Russell and I have had an ongoing conversation about leadership. He contends that pastors get a really bad rap for not being able to serve up the magic potion that will cure all congregational ills. They are pilloried for not having enough expertise, for not earning a Doctorate, for not preaching like an all-star, for not administrating like the church version of a Donald Trump. Tom suggests (and I concur) that all the legitimate efforts to help pastors be all that they are called to be, required to be by God tell only part of the story. At some point members of congregations have to own their own callings, their own ministries (and some of these ministries are also their primary occupations).

Tom's observations come into sharp relief for me as I consider the 80%+ approval ratings for the new president and I wonder if we - common citizens - have a transition team to help support our own plans for stepping up in huge ways to the challenges that can only be met by the whole Unite States. I suspect that most of us have neither a plan nor a transition team to support our taking on more civic responsibility. Is it too far a stretch to wonder if this is also the case with most disciples in the care of articulate, prophetic pastors?

Elders, deacons, and pastors who met in Waverly two weeks ago offered some hope in this regard. There seems to be an emerging consensus among elders and deacons that they are no longer content to be liturgical functionaries or fixtures in congregational boardrooms. They want to do more of the spiritual formation work that is desperately needed by new and veteran members. They also see the value of doing that in teams - networked within but also beyond the congregation.

Some (not all) elders and deacons at the Waverly training event expressed a desire to form a grass-roots, inter-congregational network of continued training, support, and accountability. As information becomes available, we'll post that. We would also like to be able to support similar efforts around the area. In the meantime, check out Richard Foster's article "Spiritual Formation Agenda" from the January issue of Christianity Today.

What do you think? Please share your comments.