From Bill Easum:
I think there is too much lamenting over the death of a church. Who really cares? I doubt if God does. Isn't the real point what we are doing with Jesus?If we all took this direction, we would concentrate on introducing people to Christ and helping them grow deeper rather than building a church.
From Scott Williams:
I'm tired of being the man. I'm tired of carrying the weight of the church on my shoulders; of feeling like the buck starts and stops with the senior pastor. There is a dysfunctional dichotomy in church circles, a separation by position which has been the cause of much hurt and confusion. I'm done with it.I'm no theologian but as I read the new testament I read about gifting, not positioning, of calling not hierarchy. We are all part of the body of Christ, each serving in different capacities, none subservient, none elevated. As a paid pastor I hold a position of calling, of servanthood, of trust. Does this then entitle me to separate myself from the laity as an authority by position, as over and above?
...I would like to propose that as a pastor my primary duty is to equip, facilitate, lead by passion, and seek God's vision. I have a calling, areas of authority, places of responsibility, and a role as spiritual elder. I disagree with many pastors who feel that they need to be out in front in every area; I just want to be a passionate, visionary, part of the team. I am still strong-willed, directive and often immature but no longer feel the need to win at all costs, to pretend I have it all together, or to go it alone. I want community. I want to be real. For so many years I have bought into the myth that I can't really trust people in my church. Did you know that your pastor probably feels that he or she needs their deepest community with people no from your church? Did you know that your pastor is probably lonely and isn't convinced he or she can trust anyone? It's a sickness that has to stop. Something is wrong when the promoter of community isn't in community his/herself.
Amazing post. That last paragraph alone is worth reading multiple times.
I picked up an interesting book over the weekend called Orbiting the Giant Hairball. The author, Gordon MacKenzie, worked for Hallmark for 30 years. The hairball is a mildly disgusting term that represents what institutions (like Hallmark) become:
Well, two hairs unite. Then they're joined by another. And another. And another. Before long, where there was once nothing, this tangled, impenetrable mass has begun to form.
The result is that the hairball becomes huge, with an equally huge gravitational pull (a hairball with a gravitational pull? don't think about it for too long) that sucks "everything into its mass" and establishes guidelines, techniques, methodologies, systems, and equations. What once started as fluid and creative becomes rigid and inflexible. A hairball is a "tangled, impenetrable mess of rules and systems, based on what worked in the past and which can lead to mediocrity in the present."
You can leave the hairball altogether. You can get sucked into the hairball. Or there's a third option - you can orbit the giant hairball:
Orbiting is responsible creativity: vigorously exploring and operating beyond the Hairball of the corporate mind set, beyond "accepted models, patterns, and standards" - all the while remaining connected to the spirit of the corporate mission.To find Orbit around a corporate Hairball is to find a place of balance where you can benefit from the physical, intellectual and philosophical resources of the organization without becoming entombed in the bureaucracy of the institution.
You probably see where I'm going with this. You can leave the established or institutional church, because you're frustrated with its rigidness and inflexibility. You can get sucked in to its gravity and become absorbed with its maintenance and standards. Or you can orbit the established church: connected to its mission, benefiting from its resources, but free of the bureaucracy of the institution.
I never thought I'd find a metaphor for what I'm trying to do in a hairball, but this metaphor fits well. Orbit on.
