It has been a while since I've posted to my General Convention/Episcopal church blog. The occasion for this (and a few subsequent) posting is where I find myself this weekend, and what I am here to do.
I was invited by Bishop Stacy Sauls of the Diocese of Lexington (my bishop) to attend a weekend aimed at "dreaming" about how to reinvigorate the life of the church. While I'm still unclear on how this weekend came to be, Forward Movement Publications is involved, and Bishop Sauls will report on the work of our group when we adjourn.
We were invited here because someone in the wider church thought we were creative, imaginative thinkers not stuck in an "old" mode of thinking and acting. I feel honored to be among the people here this weekend. There are priests, executive directors, seminary graduates, PhD's, educators, activists, academics, youth ministries directors, etc. And then there's little old me. The stories we shared tonight were incredible, coming from a very diverse experience base and an obvious investment in the life of the church and its wider work. I've been very involved in the church, too, but this weekend will be the most different "church" experience I've had.
We have no rubric, no script, no agenda. We are being asked to tap into our creativity, our imaginations, and our experiences to produce something. Anything. We can't leave the hotel until we have something. But what?! None of us have any idea. Don't get me wrong, this is not a complaint. I think this experiment of "dreaming" without script is awesome. However, how can we dream without a stated objective? What is our goal? What is our purpose?
I don't know where our discussion will lead us tomorrow, or what ideas will percolate as I walk through the Magic Kingdom (immersed in a "culture of creativity") with these new acquaintances. Tonight, however, I feel the need to start plotting a very rough, preliminary vision of what it is I might dream.
What do I think about the Episcopal Church?
First, I have no commitment to maintaining the Episcopal Church forever. I have a strong denominational identity and love the Episcopal Church, but my motivation to work within the church does not arise from some fear of its eventual demise.
I have always been moved by the Episcopal tendency to show faith through action, and I have no interest in what I consider blatant evangelism through word (i.e. the questions, "are you saved?", "do you believe in Jesus?", "have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?"). I think how we speak and how we behave should be demonstrative of our relationship with God in Christ. How does the Episcopal Church form people to lead them to sharing the Good News of God in a way that is real, immediate, and substantive, and demonstrative of their relationship with God, but that allows the Spirit to move of its own accord, unconfined by the language of proselytism?
Goals for the church
To reclaim "religiosity" from fundamentalism, traditionalism, and conservatism. To show God's love, grace, and power in unconventional, nontraditional, ground-breaking ways. To show that God is a God of openness, of superhuman love, radical compassion, unfathomable understanding.
To show that right religion is that which is practiced by individuals constantly striving for compassion: individuals who are self-critical and work to deepen their understanding of compassion, love, and forgiveness; individuals who know their smallness, know their faults and their sins, and embrace their humanity in full knowledge of God's love of His children.
Ambiguous and undirected prosaic nonsense. Where will this weekend lead us?
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
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