4/25/2007

Haunted (from my old blog)

Posted by Kevin | Labels: ,

I recently returned from a business trip/conference for the company I work for. My job is endlessly challenging and for the most part enjoyable. But at the end of the day, it is not me. As I sat through the conference and listened to discussions about profit, revenue, best practices, professional excellence and many others topics...my brain was busy thinking about my church, the church of today, the church of tomorrow and captivated my life is by God's mission. I'm fully preoccupied by how the church has changed since the time Jesus and by how the church has to change for the future. Money is nice, my job is great, free business trip to Boston is cool - but God's mission is intoxicating. I echo the words of Brueggeman in his article 'Haunted Book - Haunted People.' I'm haunted, captivated, motivate, disturbed and energized by God's words to us.

"We are, all of us, children of the biblical text. We have been conceived and birthed, generated and summoned, given life, by this text and none other. This text keeps having its say among us, by translation and interpretation, by commentary and proclamation, by study and enactment. We must always again, always afresh in every circumstance, come to terms with it. We spend our life struggling with this text, sometimes struggling for the text, sometimes struggling against the text. The text always has its say among us; it will not go away. Its voice is a haunting one, sounding promises, uttering commands, voicing stories, proclaiming oracles, ejaculating pain, authoring hope. The voice of the text haunts us because we know very well it is a human text filled with endless critical problems—and yet we hear in it the very voice of God: majestic sovereignty, awesome holiness, passionate grace, weakness made strong. Because of this text, which will not go away or finally keep silent, we live haunted lives, filled with yearnings for what is not in hand, promises not yet filled, commands not yet obeyed, desires not yet granted, neighbors not yet loved. The old text becomes new text; old story becomes new song. For all those reasons, in gratitude and awe and fresh resolve, we celebrate the new, revised translation, made freshly aware by it that we are indeed haunted children of this haunting text. And because the text will not go away or be silent, we are destined to be endlessly haunted, uneasy, restless, and on the way." (Copyright © 1991 by Word & World, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. All rights reserved)

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4/11/2007

The Historic Trinity Chruch (from my old blog)

Posted by Kevin | Labels: ,


I had a really cool experience today.

I got out of a workshop early (I’m in Boston still @ a conference) and decided to go check out this old church I saw from my hotel window. When I got there I found out that it was the Trinity Church, one of the oldest churches in Boston, built in the 1870’s. I was completely taken by the church, the atmosphere and I couldn’t stop snapping pictures.

It was so cool to sit in a pew that people have sat in for a 130 some years. It was captivating to think about what it would have been like to be there for the first mass held, after they completed the construction. The church was a marvel of its time, a historic skyscraper – and it is now dwarfed by parking garages and office buildings. It was an interesting contrast. Some of the kneelers (not being Catholic, nor ever attending a mass, I had no idea the things you kneel on to pray were called kneelers – fyi) were hand knitted when the church first started and are in memory of people who use to attend Trinity Church. One of the kneelers I took a picture of was in honor of a guy named John Henry Huckins, the first Bishop of Vermont, who died in 1868.

But, as I sat there thinking (in between taking pictures) I thought there could be something here for church today – specifically for the emerging culture that is distant from the church of today.

First, RICH IMAGERY: The church was covered in rich imagery – I disagreed with a lot of the theology of the imagery – but it was captivating. From the stone carvings on the outside of the church to the wood carvings on the inside, from the elaborate stain glass windows to the meticulous detail of the murals – I was drawn in. It made me feel apart of something bigger, older, wiser than I am. I was relating with the beauty of it and the story. Multi-sensory communication is the more effective way of reaching the emerging culture and using this type of imagery has already proven to work – I just think we should have more of it. The imagery made me feel connected with the historic church of North America, the ancient church of the Renaissance and the early Christian church. I definitely think this is an avenue that the church has to leverage more of in the future.

Second, DEEP COLORS & MEANINGFUL DETAIL: It seemed as though every inch of that historic church was full of meaningful detail and was complemented with deep colors. It created an atmosphere that was breath taking. The architecture, the high ceilings, the elaborate detail and the rich colors all worked together to make me sense that this was more than a building. The church had a soul – that you could almost feel. It was a synergy. The hand carved stone and wood – from pews to alters and everywhere else – was the work of someone from the 1870’s Boston community. You could almost see the sweat and blood that went into every part of that church. Paintings, knitting, stone work, wood work, organ pipes, decorations – they all had their own story. It was so much more than dry wall and banners. Do you get what I’m saying? It was public display of a community’s talents and a community’s love for the church.

Third, REVERENCE: I felt a deep reverence while in that place. It felt spiritual; it felt like I should definitely be on my best behavior. I’m not Catholic; I don’t pray to Mary, say penance, go to confession, speak Latin or revere the Priest – and yet I felt like I was in a sacred place. It had this nostalgic draw to it. I think, in a world that is constantly changing, people are looking for some consistency, some stability in an unstable world. I think the use of historic creeds, imagery and liturgy will lend themselves to the church of tomorrow – I think people want that kind of reverence. Maybe the answer is just helping people find that place of reverence in their heart for God.

I don’t know, but it was a very meaningful experience for me. Now I need to sleep.

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4/10/2007

The Box (from my old blog)

Posted by Kevin | Labels:

The following is the begining of my box analogy. It is an analogy to raise questions, not really give answers. I want to make a difference in the church, in fact I want to be a catalyst that changes the church. And I don't want to help create the next wave of church trends, but really change it, tear it down to its most basic parts and then reconstruct it for the emerging culuture that surrounds me. And at this point in my journey I have way more questions than answers.
Is the church broken? I'm not asking if God is broken and we know people are broken, but is the church, how it's done and what it's become broken in North America? For thousands of people in America the answer is no. Their Sunday morning routine, the worship set, the 3 point sermon - it works for them. And if it weren't for the numerous friends of mine, who don't connect to the church - it would probably work for me still. Unfortunately, for millions of Americans, church is irrelevant, close minded and not for them. This pains me, how can I be so in love with the church and yet have friends who think of it as a plague. How did being religious become synonymous with being a hypocrite? How did we lose the ability to dialogue with people who don't think like us? How'd we forget that loving others (not just those who fit in our box) is the second most important commandment in scripture? How?

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