I posted a few days ago about the place of the elderly in our faith communities – that they have a place in the church that no one can fill, and that their own journeys are not over.

One part of Jim’s post that I have been thinking about is his comment that traditional churches are doing a better job than emerging communities.  I partly agree with him in regards to mainline denominations, but I otherwise disagree for two reasons.

I say partly because I don’t think that the large number of elderly members in mainline churches is as much a result of them doing senior ministries better, as it is a simple result of minimal changes to church structure and liturgy.  This results in more seniors attending, because it is the style of church, liturgy, and hymns that they are familiar with.

I also don’t think that the emerging communities are doing a bad job.  Actually, I would have to disagree with the premise of that statement.  The emerging conversation brings together people of a similar mindset, and therefore includes people of all ages, races, places, and backgrounds. 

The Gen-X movement sought to bring together people focusing on an age range, and quickly found that the issue was not one of age, but of a way of thinking & living.  Out of that evolved our current conversation, and while it may appeal to a predominantly younger crowd I feel that this simply points to the rising percentage of postmodern thinkers with each generation.

In between the churches of the emerging conversation and the mainline denominations are the evangelical churches, and this is where I have seen the greatest lack of attention given to seniors.  From several personal experiences, I feel that many churches only tolerate their older members.  The church gives the older members their own Sunday school class and social club, and then convinces itself that they are doing a good job of ministering to the elderly members of the church. 

The occasional requests for a hymn or relevant class topic are ignored, because the church is too busy trying to get the seekers with the rock n’ roll worship services and hot-topic studies, and polished performances.  This is a really sad situation that our churches find themselves in.  The seniors have been influenced by their generation and difficult times to not complain when something is wrong, but instead grin and bear it.

The really sad fact is that often times the people getting the least amount of attention are the ones who kept the church alive in the time of transition from lesser relevance to the seeker sensitive, polished show of a church.  In those hard times when numbers were low, and people continued to leave for greener pastures these people remained dedicated to their church home.  Now they are repaid with a church they hardly recognize anymore, and a hint of irritation from the people around them.

Of course, this isn’t every church, but I feel that there are many who fit this bill and fail to realize it.  We should all take a serious look at how we regard the elderly in our faith communities, and make sure that their faith journeys are being as celebrated as anyone else’s.  Intergenerational gatherings and fellowship should also be a priority for us.  We have already missed so much guidance and empathy by leaving them out of the loop this long.

Just some of my thoughts.  I would love to hear yours.  How do you think churches are doing with giving attention and respect to their older members?  What else would you suggest as possibilities for improvement?

There is a great quote over at an association of associations* blog, Acronym, that is from Ben Martin over at Certified Association Executive.

“And the conversation isn’t all about your blog: If you write a blog but don’t read others’ blogs, comment on them and link out to them, what you have is antisocial media. My mom taught me that God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we could listen twice as much as we speak. Unfortunately, many seem to believe that God gave them ten fingers and two eyes so that they can type five times as much as they read.“

This touches back to my A Conversation for Everyone post, and the fact that we need to be seeking an ongoing dialogue instead of one-way rhetoric.  If there is no conversation there is no change, and if there is no change then there is no point to our conversation.** I am currently attempting to stay on top of 83 blogs in my Google Reader. It isn’t always easy, and I don’t get to thoroughly read every post that I want to (many are starred for return), but it keeps me involved in the many conversations that are happening under the umbrella of the emerging/ missional conversation.

This is true for Christ-followers, Association Execs, and anyone else who dares to put their ideas, thoughts, and struggles in the blogosphere for all to see!

Peace.

* This may seem redundant, but it is not.  It truly is an association of associations; and it gets really confusing when you begin to talk about their gatherings and how they associate their associations with the association of association, as well as the synergy of one association with another association within the association of associations (gotta love In Good Company).   

** While Yoda-esque in its wording, this is not as circular in definition as it may appear.  It is merely a sign of the abundance of caffeine in my system, as are these footnotes that didn’t really need to be here.

(HT: my lovely wife, Dana) 

Jim over at Lord, I Believe; Help My Unbelief! has a great post from Saturday that forces us to look at a part of ministry where we often fall short: the elderly.

I may be in the minority, but for me the aging community is very much an awareness in ministry.  I am blessed to have a wife who has opened my eyes to the wonderful ministry that only the elderly can give us, and also to the lack of inclusion and attention in our churches.  Just as I have devoted my life to ministry, and in doing so have entered into this emerging conversation to seek a better way; so also has my wife is giving her life, but she is seeking a better way in aging — so that those who are living out their lives somewhere other than home can feel like they are at home instead of an institution or a hospital.

We are very aware of the lack of attention given to the elderly in the world around us.  Seeking a better way to help older people find a home in our faith communities – where they are still a part of the journey instead of a burden, should be important to us if it isn’t already.

So quickly we forget that the elderly in our communities are those who have gone before us.  When someone is struggling with an idea, a question, or a situation, there is more than likely an elderly person in the community with a wealth of wisdom and discernment if not direct, personal experience that could help someone else through the same struggle.

It is also important to remember that the places they have been are only part of a journey that they are still on.  People assume that the elderly have “got it,” and are just waiting to go; but the fact is that older Christians are struggling with faith questions just as we are.  While we are wrestling with questions about how we are to live, and what God wants us to be doing as part of His work, older believers are asking their own questions.

“Have I accomplished enough in my life?”

“Have I lived a life that is pleasing to God?” 

“Do I still have anything left?  Does God still want to use me?  Can God still use me?”

These questions are just as important to the community as anyone else’s; and we would greatly benefit from remembering that the elderly living their faith alongside us not only have questions of their own, but also have a great deal to offer us as we struggle at certain points along the path that they have already traveled.

God says, “I am offering you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

“Choose life.” That’s God’s call for us, and there is not a moment in which we do not have to make that choice. Life and death are always before us. In our imaginations, our thoughts, our words, our gestures, our actions … even in our nonactions. This choice for life starts in a deep interior place. Underneath very life-affirming behaviour I can still harbour death-thoughts and death-feelings. The most important question is not “Do I kill?” but “Do I carry a blessing in my heart or a curse?”
— Henri Nouwen in Bread for the Journey

I stayed in the classroom after class the other day to catch up on some blogs & plug some due dates into iCal.  As I sat and worked I noticed another guy had stayed behind too, and after a couple of minutes we began to talk about ourselves, our churches, and our desires for ministry. We talked for about half an hour, and I noticed something in our conversation — I have become a very pessimistic person when it comes to church.

Both he and I have had our struggles with churches that are built on programs & luring people in — where they are so focused on presentation that there is little in the way of discipleship.  We both have frustrations about our tribe, its sacred cows, and its legalistic tendencies.  The difference is that his dark clouds have silver linings, and mine are just full of thunder.  

It seems that I have come to a point where I am so discontent that I have stopped living in the hope of the better way.  I am part of this emerging conversation, but as Henri Nouwen has reminded me above, nothing can emerge from the ashes if life isn’t present.  My enthusiasm for turning consumers into Christ followers has been replaced with cynicism concerning the modern church & its ability to be transformed — my blessings have given way to curses.  

In light of this self-revelation, I have decided to focus my journey through this Lenten season on recovering my hope for transformation.  I may be preparing being prepared to plant a new faith community here in Topeka or elsewhere, but for now God has me in this place and time to minister to the community I am a part of.  

I pray that God will restore my heart of blessings, so that I might seek life.  I hope that you will think of me in your time of prayer too.

The last few weeks I have been thinking about the transition from attractional to missional, and how best to help my church find its missional indentity. 

The attractional church makes decisions based on how they can attract more people into their building, to keep them coming back, and to officially join the membership & become financially involved.  This desire to attract & keep the attention of churchgoers affects the design of classes, sermon-series, worship services, architecture, branding & marketing, and extra activities of a church.

The missional church doesn’t look at attracting people into the church, but instead sees it’s own identity as a community of faith that exists to be a part of God’s mission to seek reconciliation with the people in the neighborhood/ city that they are in.  This focus is not inward (money & people serving programs), but outward (money & people used to meet the needs of people in their surrounding community).  People come into the church through the invitation of a friend.

My question is how do we seek this transition in local churches from the inwardly-focussed attractional church, to the outwardly-focussed missional church?

The church I am serving is attractional to the core.  Even our ‘evangelism’ efforts are dramatic extravaganzas at Christmas and Easter.  

I will be starting a new class in April, and my desire for this journey is to help people seek their missional identity.  I plan on utilizing the missional texts of scripture, as well as the writings of Newbigin, Guder, Frost, Hirsch, & Roxburgh.  I would love to know what you have done in seeking a missional identity in your community.  Thanks.

While many bloggers started the new year by recapping the highlights of 2007, Kester Brewin also looked forward to 2008.  One of his predictions for the coming year is “the collapse of the emerging church as a popular project.”  He further clarified his hunch on Emergent Village saying, 

I sense that some of the key players are less and less willing to work with that particular language. I think that, whereas a few years ago people were excited by the prospect, people are getting used to/bored/fed up with ‘emerging church’ as a concept, and will thus leave it behind.     

I don’t think the issue is the emerging conversation.  Whether we are speaking about the conversation itself, or the language used.  The dangers of participating in the conversation come from the “Emergent Church” dissenters, and their growing hostility towards anyone who seems to be a leading voice in what they want to label as a movement.

These dissenting  crusaders define the “movement” and identify the “leaders” themselves, and continue to pigeonhole the language into definitions — most of which aren’t even a part of the meaning implied by those in the conversation.  Their oversimplification leaves postmodern meaning ‘denying truth,’ and the purpose of the “Emergent Church” being the deconstruction of all tradition, orthodoxy, and practice in the evangelical church.It is no surprise that these horribly skewed definitions labels leave those who are seeking a better way to live as Christfollowers wanting to distance themselves from the controversy for the sake of progress.

Moving away from hot button terms and labels will only keep the conversation a few months ahead of its critics, IMHO.  Meanwhile, as the bashers work diligently to follow the evolution, those who genuinely desire to be a part of the conversation may never be able to find a place in the dance where they can cut in.  Instead of abandoning terms and anything emerging, I feel we should continue to address these incorrect labels and accusations with constant clarification in our conversations.  I have always tried to be conscious of my language.  I call it speaking out of the definition.  When you unpack your terminology in an effort to be better understood, you also leave those who wish to attack you with less room to twist and manipulate your words.

This is where I feel the emerging conversation might continue its efforts to overcome the intentional misrepresentations of others, while at the same time making it easier for those new to the conversation, to join in the journey of finding a better way.

What do you think? 

It’s a new year, and I decided that I would finally start my own blog in 2008.  So, with help from Adam Walker Cleaveland & Chris Pearson I am writing the first post of ogrepraxy.  I hope that this will become a welcoming place for generative conversation about living better as Christ followers.  As a pastor/learner/teacher/writer I will often talk about things I am struggling with or chewing on, but I also hope to further dialogue that is happening elsewhere in emerging conversations that seek a more missional, incarnational, holistic faith of action, hospitality, compassion, and love.Welcome to ogrepraxy everyone!