Last week, I recommended the book Death By Suburb by David Goetz. As a Pastor, I really resonated with his chapter titled “Lashed Down.” Goetz makes the case that much of our spiritual growth is stunted because we run from the community of the local church when it gets mundane or difficult or frustrating. As more and more people hold the local church to ever-higher standards (that I’m not sure God ever intended to actually live up to on this side of eternity) and equate quiet walks in the woods with the corporate worship of the church, Goetz’s thought is all the more important!
A few quotes . . .
“Freedom does not always mean going. In the thicker life, in fact, freedom often means staying. That’s certainly true of the Christian understanding of marriage. Staying with one partner over a lifetime opens me up to the goodness of God in a way that serial monogamy doesn’t. Church is another place where freedom means staying. . . With both church and marriage, I stay rooted in community, because only in a place where I’m free not to leave can I find the “personal” in the so-called personal relationship with God. This sixth practice (staying put in your church) is all about staying in relationships when everything inside of me screams to pack up my hurt feelings and find a more ideal community.”
“Church migration patterns tend to follow whatever church has the buzz – the “more biblical” preacher, the newer, more authentic service with the riveting young pastor who weaves stories using live animals as props and uses technology innovatively; the nuevo liturgical service; the burgeoning youth ministry with the exotic mission trips. There’s nothing like momentum, when your church is the one that is attracting new attendees. There’s nothing worse than seeing your friends leave your church for another only a mile or so away.”
“The religious hoi-polloi seem restless, always looking for the next worship conquest. Often the anxiety is couched in terms of life change: “Our oldest is now a senior, and she’ll be headed to college in the fall. We just need a place that ministers to me and my husband for a change.” “We’re really tired of worship choruses and casual Protestantism. We want a church that is steeped in mystery and transcendence.” “We need a church that is a healing place.” . . . And of course, there are always the theological reasons: “The church is headed in a direction that is not biblical.”
