Method or Madness

Several years ago I began to read extensively on church growth, contextual missions and theology, the emergent church, and other how-to-do-church-in-the-21st-century books. At the same time my pastor was challenging the idea of spectator Christianity. This is where ‘super-star’ musicians and preachers wow the crowds with their talent while the crowds seldom if ever engage in the worship activities: preaching, prayer, singing, service, etc.

After 30+ years of three songs, prayer, offering, announcements, special song, teaching, and final prayer I was ready for ‘real’ Christian ministry. The pattern of worship was so familiar that I began to despise it. I read McManus, Bell, Warren, Barna, Viola, McLaren and many others. I let the ideas of these good, honest men roll around in my head and a new framework of simple, Spirit-led church emerged in my imagination. On my daughter’s sixteenth birthday I woke up around 2 or 3 AM and started writing my own vision for how church should be ‘done’ (She’s approaching 21, so, you can see these things have been rattling around in my mind for some time).

Eighteen months ago I helped start a small church in East Tennessee. I was excited about the possibility of ‘doing church’ in the simple, Spirit-led manner I had imagined. Although it is good (at times exceptionally good) I am cured of the disease of believing that there is a ‘right’ method for doing church and worshiping God. I now believe that the pursuit of method can be a form of magic (I’ll explain more below). I believed, while I was worshipping in a traditional way, that the number and tempo of the songs, when we stood or sat, who spoke and when, would actually cause God to ‘move’. I came to believe, in my newly acquired framework of worship, that God would actually speak if we simply opened it up, kept it simple and intimate, and called for full participation of all the believers. If, however, a person has spent their week not seeking the will of God, not serving others in love, not looking into God’s word for direction, not praying for his guidance, and then attempt to ‘do church’; their efforts will fail no matter the method. But, if people adore God, serve others, and seek his will throughout the week then when they come together to celebrate God’s victory in their lives; whether it’s traditional, emergent, simple, charismatic, or liturgical God will meet with them and they will experience, both individually and collectively, the transcendent, life changing, presence of God.

Going back to my claim that method can be a form of magic. Magic is the art of invoking supernatural powers. Magicians would conjure through their actions or incantations some spell that would ‘obligate’ the supernatural powers to act. I have a feeling that in some ways we have come to think that God responds to us, through our methods, like the powers respond to a magician. But, there are a couple things to remember about God and I think they’re supremely important: 1) he acts unilaterally; and 2) he acts out of grace. These two points are corollary to each other. We could not act on our own so he had to act for us (that’s the whole Jesus in the flesh, on the cross thing). When we receive the Spirit and seek to do his will we can become participants in his work, but our efforts must be heart driven and not method driven. So, it is in my opinion that an individual or community of faith could be liturgical or charismatic in background and still experience and be changed by the presence of God.

I mean to imply that there are benefits in many of our traditions and also reasons to consider opening ourselves up to less structure, but the question of method is less important to the Christian community then the question of heart and desire for God. If you are at dis-ease by the methods of your church simply open your own heart toward God, seek him through the week, and serve others through love. When you return on Sunday embrace God through your spirit and see if you are not changed.