Skiing and community

If you have ever been snow skiing on a mountain with many strangers, then you may know about a skier' code.  It is a very loose list of which those who are on the mountain will enter into a social contract with the other skiers and live by them.  So things like, respect others space or those downhill have the right of way are general rules that make skiing more enjoyable for all.

But there are other unwritten observances that are present each time I go skiing.

First, while you ride the lift it is socially acceptable and expected that you will talk with the people you are riding with.  Small talk mostly, but when you are minister small talk can quickly turn to something else.  If you are on a lift and discover you are sitting with a minster, do not feel like you need to apologize for not going to church.  We are not packing clipboards checking off people as they give their excuse.  Also, do not feel afraid to share your religious views, most of us will not try to convert you but we do like your story.

Secondly, skiing on a mountain is a very quick and humbling reminder that there is a socio-economic divide.  I can count on my two hands the number of ethic minorities I have a seen yesterday and today skiing.  If you ever find yourself forgetting there are a ton of people who are without, just stand next to a ski line and see who is not there.

Third people trust one another when skiing.  Each time you go for a bite to eat or stop at the restroom, you take your skis and boards off and place them on a rack.  Much like a bike rack you see at parks, but these racks have tons of skis on them.  Not one of the skis are locked onto the rack.  Everyone leaves their stuff for a long time and trusts that they will be there when they return.  And guess what, they are always there.

Finally, I have noticed that those who work the mountain and those who work surf shops in Hawaii are the same type of people but they like the snow and not the surf.  

P.S. we were in line and something much like a flash mob broke out and sang Silent Night while everyone waited in line.

Why the Mainline is dying?

In the most recent book I have begun to undertake, Almost Christian (you can see the book cover and link to the right of this post in the "goodreads" box), the author Kenda Creasy Dean makes several arguments about the current state of affairs in the Church.  While this entry is not a critique about the entire book (of which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to understand not the future but the current state of the Church), I did want to share one aspect of the book which connected with me deeply.

The argument is that there are some youth who are very devoted to the Church and the mission and ministry of the Christian Way (about 8%) and there are four characteristics these youth possess that other youth do not in regards to the Church:

1.     A Creed to believe 

2.     A Community to belong

3.     A Call to live out

4.     A Hope to hold onto

Of those youth in this category there is a higher proportion of LDS (Mormon) church members than any other denomination.  The next most represented denomination in this "devoted" category are members of Evangelical Non-Denoms.  The Mainline is the next represented group, with Catholics near the bottom of the list.  

As I reflect on my local community of faith, we take a lot of pride in fostering the second of the four characteristics.  We use words like 'family', 'connect', 'belong', 'fellowship' and even 'get together' a lot in our faith community.  While not nearly as dominate, we also take some pride in the first characteristic of the four and put a lot of effort in making sure we are teaching 'good theology' striving to remain 'open' to different theological perspectives, and using gender neutral language for God as best as we can.

However, these third and forth characteristics are hidden at best in my faith community.  I do not believe this is intentional at all.  We do not disregard Call/Vocation or Hope/Future but these seem to take a backseat to our Creed/Teachings and Community/Family emphasis.  And it I wonder if this imbalance actually firmly locates my faith community in the past/present unable to advance into the future and vision?

It seems to me the ability to call people to live a certain way or the ability to share a certain hope for the future is understood as “divisive” by some who want to foster a community and a common creed.  It is difficult for some to see how we can be “divisive” and also maintain a community and a unified creed.  So these individuals,, for the sake of Community and Creed, do not spend much time on potentially “divisive” issues of Call and Future.

Could this be one of the reasons the Mainline Church is on the decline?  We are living in the past and present out of a potentially “divisive” future?  

What do Lebron James and Young Clergy have in common?

If you have been in a cave for the past four weeks, then you have not heard but Lebron James is a basketball player. In fact, he is the most sought after player in a long time. He played for his home team, the Cleveland Cavs, for seven years and his contract expired. As a free agent, he had several offers from all around the league. It was quite the hoopla. While the World Cup was going on (the most watched sporting event in the world) I could not get highlights on ESPN because everyone was speculating "where will Lebron go?"

This 'drama' reached it's apex last Thursday when on an hour long special James declared that he would be leaving his beloved Cavs and head to the Miami Heat.

People reacted as they do.

I was thinking about all this and how it hit me was how much the decision feels like what I am in conversation with my young clergy peers about.

Let me explain.

"King James", as he is called by media and fans, turned down more money and even better teams to play with the Heat. Let me rephrase that, Lebron turned down money to play with friends.

The NBA is a league built around individuals. Jordan. Shaq. Dirk. Kobe. It is known as the "superstar" model. That is, get a "superstar" and your team will go far. Because lets face it one superstar on a team of 5 makes a HUGE difference. So teams go after these superstars. The NBA markets the stars. Show me a time which you saw a team picture of an NBA team other than when they just won the championship and I will show you a picture of the year 1951 and all the players are Anglo.

Lebron moved directly counter to the entire leagues push get a "superstar" to lead a team to the championship and joined up with a team of stars. Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade and Lebron James are all friends. They all wanted to play basketball together. They all were willing to forgo the whole 'superstar' thing and take a pay cut in order to work on a team.

Many of my young clergy peers are tired to churches pushing the superstar model. Olsteen. Moore. Jakes. Graham. Warren. I would be interested to know if most people know what the name of the church (team) these people are connected to. They are superstars and people like superstars.

However, many of my friends in ministry are tired of super-stardom. We, like Lebron, desire to work on a team. We want not only other clergy to let their egos die but also for laity to be willing to take the lead at times. We desire a team of stars not superstars.

It is my hope that the Heat have success and fun as they work together to accomplish tier goal.

I have the same Hope for the Church.