Nine Years of Be The Change

Today is nine years anniversary of the existence of this blog. I thank you for taking any time you have over the years to read these posts. Over the next several posts, I wanted to introduce readers of this blog to other pastors in the Central Texas Conference who are blogging. So look forward to a few guest posts this next week and beyond. 

Thank you all for making this platform to share ideas. Thank you for your generosity and your questions and emails and comments. Thank you for your push back, I know that iron sharpens iron. But most of all, thank you for being the change. 

The Bible is Authoritative (not Authoritarian)

We call the Bible authoritative for the Christian life but we are seem to forget what it means for something to have authority but not being authoritarian. Knowing if the Bible is authoritative or authoritarian may be thought of in terms of where the Bible is located in our lives. Namely, does the Bible have the first or last word?

Major court cases in the United States ask a number of questions to make a judgement. Among the first questions asked is "what does the Constitution say?" The Constitution for the Untied States is authoritative for the rule of law. The Constitution did not say much about Native people living in the early days of the Untied States. When Chief Standing Bear sued for a writ of habeas corpus the government took the Constitution as an authority and saw the Constitution did not even consider Natives as human. By the end of the case, the judge ruled that an Indian is a person". When the judge gave the Constitution the first word on the matter, he did so because there is deep respect and reverence for the Constitution. The Constitution is authoritative, not Authoritarian.

When something is Authoritarian, we do not give it the first word, we give it the last word. When the bumper sticker says, "The Bible says it, I believe it" the last statement is "that settles it!" This gives the impression that the Bible is no longer authoritative but more Authoritarian in that person's life. Authoritarian systems cannot and do not tolerate questions or deviations. There is not room for interpretation or grey. Kings of old would make a decree and then say "thus says the King!" If you had any questions, the King had the last word and that was that. The King was the Authoritarian ruler and others were to fall in line. Those who did not were not out of the King's punishment.

The Bible is authoritative for me. I have great respect and reverence for the Bible. It has the first word in my life because it is authoritative. I have too much respect for the Bible (and God has too much love for me) to make the Bible Authoritarian for Christians. 

The "Three Sisters" Focus of Church

Allow me to recap the previous post:

• When growing a church is a chief priority, then we are incentivized to work with favorable populations.
• Working with favorable populations may grow a church, but it often leads to monoculture.
• Monoculture in farming is efficient but it has serious unintended consequences.

Monoculture farming is efficient and therefore, attractive. The USA places efficiency as a great virtue - so much so there is an entire cottage industry of "lifehacks" designed to make your life more efficient. There is something elegant about getting things done in the most efficient way (bricklaying, minecrafting, holding a coffee mug).

Many of us love the idea of being efficient with our time and, again, there is nothing wrong with it. Many people around the world are fed because of corn or soybean farms. The point is not about church growth but about valuing a type of church growth over another. Church work is anything but efficient. This is because Church work is work of the heart and shaping people's hearts is a long, long, long process that sometimes does not "work."

One of the early ways people avoided monoculture gardens was with the "three sisters." This is the practice of growing corn, beans and squash together. The beans grew on the corn while the squash provides shade and cover from weeds. It is true that you could get more of each vegetable if you just planted that vegetable, but then you are right back at monoculture farming. 

What do the "three sisters" have to do with Church? I wonder if the widow, orphan, and sojourner are something we might consider as a sort of "three sisters." If a Church spends time working with the widow, orphan, and sojourner then that church may not grow as many disciples as they might if the church focused on families. However, a church that focuses on these "three sisters" of people may find a sustainability that otherwise may not come from catering to middle class families. As Jesus said, the poor will always be with us - there are always new widows, orphans and sojourners. If we focus on the "least of these" we may very well find a more sustainable church growth. 

I say all this knowing full and well that I have failed to focus on the widow, orphan and sojourner. We all are trying to find the way to "be the Church" in this new day. I admit that I too am struggling with how to do/be the Church in a time and place where institutions are not trusted, authority is met with suspicion, efficiency is the currency of our time and the difficult work of being in the Church today is evident every week. I offer the idea of a re-focus on the widow, orphan and sojourner as part of my own personal reflection and growth, understanding that while I may not be called to monoculture church others are called in other ways.