building blocks

Last year, my daughter gave me a book for Father's Day called Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon. I'm pretty sure this gift wasn't so much a judge of my masculinity, but more a result of a sale at Borders and the limited budget of an 11-year-old. In any case, the motives behind the purchase aren't important here, but the book is.

In a chapter titled To The Legoland Station, Chabon explores the development of Legos and the freedom of imagination and creativity in children. Chabon points out the simplicity of Legos when he was a child. Squares and rectangles, six basic colors, simple trees, snap-in doors and windows, and red sloping roof tiles. Abstract, minimal, and never meant to be "realistic," we accepted Legos for what they were, a product for our imagination. Open-ended and exploratory.

Somewhere along the way, Legos changed. Now, this shouldn't surprise us because most things change; however, it wasn't only the Legos that changed, but the rules that govern playing with them. A short trip to any Legos store will prove that there are numerous color options, every shape imaginable, uncountable minifigures (Lego lingo for Lego people), etc, etc. Even though such changes are to be expected, Chabon writes that it was the predetermined boundaries and the prescribed formula for play that he resented most.

What used to be basic building blocks for your imagination and creativity to run wild, have now become elaborate attempts to create realism based on predetermined outcomes. Most Lego kits now come with detailed, step-by-step instructions for creating miniature versions of things like race cars, pirate ships and pretty much anything from the Star Wars movies. The dreaming and scheming of working with these basic building blocks has been substituted with the frustration of trying to follow a 47-page manual with no words. And once some of these elaborate things are made, children are cautious in playing with them for fear of breaking them or losing an irreplaceable part.

As I read this chapter about Legos, I kept thinking about church planting. The building blocks for church seem to be fairly basic. I'm thinking in terms of things like prayer, service, care, teaching, fellowship, worship, communion, etc. With basic building blocks like these, under the supervision of the Spirit, the possibilities for how a church lives out its mission within its specific context are endless.

What I have seen, and have been guilty of myself on occasion, is trying to plant a living, local body of Christ using some formulaic set of rules with a predetermined outcome. It's as though we have more confidence in "tried and true" models than in our ability to hear from God and partner with what He is already busy doing. We serve a creative God, who has given us all that we need, but we often turn from the hard work of listening, praying and submerging for quick fixes that boost our numbers and give the appearance of success.

One of the goals of play is to engage the imagination and unleash creativity. Similarly, in church planting we need to engage the heart and imagination of God and unleash His creative Spirit. The substance of church, the transformation of its people and its impact on the surrounding community has less to do with forms, and more to do with heart and spirit. Unfortunately, young church planters often become disillusioned, confused or frustrated somewhere along the way because the reality of what is may not resemble some self-prescribed ideal.

Because of this, our team has made it our mission to walk alongside young church planters as they work out the dreams that God has laid on their hearts. The results may not follow one of the “prescribed formulas” of church planting, but they certainly strive to be in tune with the heart of God, His kingdom and His mission.

The Clinic and the Church

Every third Thursday of the month I drop the kids off at school and head to the local government health clinic. As a permanent resident of South Africa, I receive my monthly medicine for free, which is a wonderful blessing. On these trips to the clinic I am privileged to see another side of South Africa. First of all, of the 60+ people waiting in line, I am one of five or so white people, which includes the staff. Secondly, I am exposed to "the system," which many South Africans battle on a daily basis. A trip to get medicine at the clinic can last anywhere from an hour to two hours or more. Thirdly, before the clinic officially opens, I get to take part in an interesting "church" experience.

Although this "church" experience raises several questions for me, I must say that I respect the staff and enjoy watching them in action. They always greet the waiting crowd when they arrive to work. One by one as they come through the door, the staff give a big "dumelang" to those waiting on the pew-like benches. And, everyone in the pews returns the greeting. It's nice and friendly. You get a sense that the staff genuinely cares about what is happening at the clinic. I can't say that for most government agencies I've experienced.

Okay, so we've established that these are good-hearted people so let's get back to "church." Once the staff has arrived, one of them will come to the front of the counter and stand in front of the pews - uh, I mean benches. After a bit of small talk, they will begin to "preach" - not that we are getting exegesis, but we are getting Jesus. This little sermon can last anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. I must admit, they are usually quite thought-provoking. After the "sermon" is over, we are asked to stand so that we can pray. Sometimes we are asked if there is someone who would rather not pray, but I've noticed that no one ever raises their hand. We all stand and pray out loud at the same time - what I have come to call "African-style prayer."

So, although I enjoy this cultural experience, it has raised some questions for me. First of all, I wonder if this is actually an abuse of position and power. Is this what Jesus meant when he gave us the commission to go into all the world and make disciples? Is this kind of experience honoring to those who don't want to participate? Or do the ends justify the means? "People hear the gospel," we say, "therefore, we have been faithful." Or have people heard the gospel. I wouldn't want a person of another faith to espouse their views at the clinic and then ask me to pray. I would probably feel violated because I had no choice to be there or not.

I also think we make a lot of assumptions about the place of the Church in society. I am often guilty of thinking that the Church needs to be in a prominent position in society in order to be effective. However, history shows that the Church is truly most effective when it is on the fringes of society. Having position, power and authority has rarely been an effective way of transforming people's lives.

I understand that I may have opened a whole can of worms here, but I do want to think through our methods of sharing the gospel and our ideas about being the Church. I have done some things in my past that were called evangelism, but felt more like I was being sneaky or taking advantage of people. These felt more like shoving the gospel onto people rather than sharing the gospel with people. How do we follow God in the way of Jesus so that we speak the truth in love while honoring people and giving them the best shot at hearing and experiencing the gospel?

Let's dialogue.