Thursday, January 26, 2006
The Portrait And The Reality
Brad Hightower is painting a portrait of an "emerging" pastor.
Firstly, I give a hearty "Amen" to the concept that the distinction between the public and private persona of a pastor should be indistinguishable. Anything less simply makes the gospel out to be little more than a suit of clothes worn at certain specific times when necessary - it robs the gospel of its truly transformative power.
But, this idea puts a distinctive burden on those that claim to minister in its realm. They must work very hard to be holy people. Not holier-then-thou but holy people. If the idea is to show the transformative power of the gospel, then that tranformation must be plainly evident.
Secondly, I will agree that pop culture is not a big deal - to a point. Some pop culture truly is a big deal. Defining that line would be a years worth of blogging unto itself, but it exists. One must be in the world, but not of it, to use a cliche. Not all of the old standards are, as Brad describes them, "superficial." Agreed many are, but not all.
There is one other important idea in all of this. While we desire to make the gospel accessible, we also desire to make it transform. We can never forget we are calling people forward. As Christians we must have both an open door and a vision. If we jettison the vision just to have the open door, they come in and find an empty room.
I would argue that some of the apparently superficial helps maintain that vision. In a post on Monday, I stated that in an affluent world, the need to develop a biblical concept of beauty is one way to help develop values. That idea of beuty is part of the vision we must cast. Is beauty "superficial?" - Yes, often, but it establishes a context. Within that apparent superficiality the true vision is more apparent.
Thus, while God is as present in the gymnasium as He is in St. Peter's Basilica, the basilica has a context in which the transformation God wishes to create in me is far more apparent. In this sense the superficial matters.
So what's the point? The public and private personas of those that minister in Christ's name must indeed be indistingusihable. But, I think the way to accomplish that is by elevating the private, not devaluing the public.
Related Tags: emerging, transformation, Christianity, church, faith, superficiality
In fact, the key principle is that there is no difference between the emerging pastor's public and private persona. This principle is intended to teach that we ought not to live in fear, but, instead, the church is to be a safe community where there are no hidden rules and hidden agendas. The church is to be first and foremost a "no condemnation zone". The church is the safest place on earth to be open and honest about your struggles with sin....I have met Brad on a couple of ocassions and He is a great guy. I have aboslutely no idea if the comments I am about to make apply to him personally or not, I am dealing strictly with the ideas he presents.
...It is an interesting thing that the emerging pastor is often criticized for being more concerned with Pop culture than being distinct and holy. But this is a misunderstanding of the values of the emerging community leaders. The meta-message behind being hip is not "look at me I'm hip" but that we do not believe that cultural distinctive are good barometers of heart holiness. Being distinct is not so much about cigarettes and secular music as generosity and hospitality. The emerging pastor has Weezer on his iPod and a homeless family in his living room. By contrast, the old model tended to maintain the home as a sanctuary and to consider keeping in step with Pop culture to be a sign of worldliness. In the new paradigm, being culturally hip is simply a way of saying it is not cultural distinctiveness that is the proper barometer of holiness but honesty, love, compassion and a mild temperament. Being culturally aware is simply a way of showing that the old standards are superficial. The world is in need not of the forms of religion but the power that can transform the affections.
Firstly, I give a hearty "Amen" to the concept that the distinction between the public and private persona of a pastor should be indistinguishable. Anything less simply makes the gospel out to be little more than a suit of clothes worn at certain specific times when necessary - it robs the gospel of its truly transformative power.
But, this idea puts a distinctive burden on those that claim to minister in its realm. They must work very hard to be holy people. Not holier-then-thou but holy people. If the idea is to show the transformative power of the gospel, then that tranformation must be plainly evident.
Secondly, I will agree that pop culture is not a big deal - to a point. Some pop culture truly is a big deal. Defining that line would be a years worth of blogging unto itself, but it exists. One must be in the world, but not of it, to use a cliche. Not all of the old standards are, as Brad describes them, "superficial." Agreed many are, but not all.
There is one other important idea in all of this. While we desire to make the gospel accessible, we also desire to make it transform. We can never forget we are calling people forward. As Christians we must have both an open door and a vision. If we jettison the vision just to have the open door, they come in and find an empty room.
I would argue that some of the apparently superficial helps maintain that vision. In a post on Monday, I stated that in an affluent world, the need to develop a biblical concept of beauty is one way to help develop values. That idea of beuty is part of the vision we must cast. Is beauty "superficial?" - Yes, often, but it establishes a context. Within that apparent superficiality the true vision is more apparent.
Thus, while God is as present in the gymnasium as He is in St. Peter's Basilica, the basilica has a context in which the transformation God wishes to create in me is far more apparent. In this sense the superficial matters.
So what's the point? The public and private personas of those that minister in Christ's name must indeed be indistingusihable. But, I think the way to accomplish that is by elevating the private, not devaluing the public.
Related Tags: emerging, transformation, Christianity, church, faith, superficiality
