And the Darwin Award for Ecclesial extinction goes to…
Any church leader in Sean Tuckers new book “Unlearning”. Well, not all of them, but Sean’s debut is a litany of insensitivity, crassness and downright toxic religion, which I am now reminded, has been alive and well over this last decade.
The key sentiment, told in flowing, compelling, and yet matter-of-fact narrative, is his cry
“I’m an adult, and I suppose at this point, I should be gaining some momentum on my life path, but I feel completely stalled”.
Sean recent
ly turned 30, and as one who has felt a call to pastor, he has responded enthusiastically throughout his 20′s, preparing himself for the task, including 4 years at seminary. In heartfelt anticipation, he has made himself available, and been employed in several churches. But the outcome of his energetic attempts at christian service within the institutional churches has been spectacularly disheartening.
He has repeatedly been asked to join church projects and then, to leave, mostly in crushing rejections from older men, whose change of heart usually involves reservations about Sean’s intentions and innovations, be they placing a projector screen across the crucifix, having long hair (!? thought that issue went away 30 years ago), or being “too white”. His qualification into the ministry was blocked at the last hurdle on a charge of “emotional instability” from a particularly threatened individual.
And if his account is to be believed, you don’t get much worse than this pastoral welcome:
“You won’t hear from me, unless something goes wrong. That’s my leadership style. Good luck”
That makes Deism look like a pretty rosy option.
So how do we explain this pain? I think it is one of 2 things.
Firstly, Sean is psychologically unsound, innately rebellious, or aggressively iconoclastic. Well, he frankly confesses to and owns his own weaknesses, frailties and errors. (And in my only meeting with him, which to be fair does not mean I know him intimately, this same lack of guile pervades).
Or secondly, this institution we call “church”, at very least in its modern form, is fundamentally flawed.
Needless to say, there is a contingent who cry foul at his whistle blowing. I know this move only too well – if a church leader doesn’t like what you are saying, he can respond very negatively, or he can try to appear gracious and blames it on the fact that you “have been hurt”. But in neither of these do I hear ownership for the real problem – discredited, outmoded, desensitised, dogmatic, junk religion.
Despite it all, Sean acknowledges those he has encountered within his church experience who have given him hope. So the “rant” (to which I wholeheartedly assent) is not without grace and reason to remain positive. Furthermore he is at pains not to directly impugn any individual, pointing rather at the systems they represent.
I very much hope that Sean Tucker is right in his closing observation:
“A growing number of people in churches are opening their eyes to our attempts at hiding away in the womb-like institutions we build for ourselves. They are feeling the call of the Great Task in a plethora of ways, and challenging their churches to respond.”
Russell Chadwick said
I identify…but I don’t try to work within the system…I just get out there and humbly serve the King and His bride with all I’ve got. I don’t expect the system to accommodate me or even acknowledge me. Having said that, despite not being blind to the faulta and failings of the system…I try to ‘add vallue’ everywhere I go.
Consequently I plant congregations wherever I go…but I also end up serving in all sorts of places. In the last 3 weeks I’ve preached the word in my own Amazing Grace church twice, in local Baptist churches twice, in a United Reformed Church once, in the local Quaker group once, in a local Starbucks 3 times, at the local Council offices 3 times, and I’ve facilitated a ‘Town Wide’ men’s meeting attended by 150 men from all the various local churches.
2 Tim 4:5 ‘make full proof of (discharge all the duties of) your ministry’.
Carpe deim!
Nic Paton said
Russell I’m encouraged by the fact that you do not have any expectations of “the system”, and that you are so fully present to your calling.
But let me ask, just for the sake of conversation: For you, would NOT preaching ever be a valid expression of service? That is, vacating the space rather than filling it, and then caring for what might emerge from within that space?
Please understand me, I’m not anti-preaching, but there is in my mind another side to ministry – the apophatic or kenotioc (emptying) way, or the via negativa (letting go, sinking, mouring, silence).
JOHN said
I like “church is the best idea we have.”
Nic Paton said
Ahoy Pravda – thanks for chipping in here.
Yes I see what you ar saying, but the concept “church” is ever evolving. So which idea might Sean mean?
For me, I’d like to declare a moritorium on the word itself, and use for example “Faith Collective”, or “Emerging Community”, or “Tribal gathering”, or “Generative Space”, in order to reignite our imaginations. Maybe one day we can return to the word, but not before we purge it of its associated toxins.
I say this loosely, because I don’t want anyone to think they can’t talk to me using the word “church”. They can and indeed must, if it works for them, but let’s all be open to letting the idea breath, grow, and evolve.
On that, this is a must: Gretta Vosper, Brian McLaren, Ian Lawton, Bruce Sanguin, and Sally Morgenthaler and Michael Dowd discuss “Evolving Church”: https://www.box.net/shared/static/233h9ydid0.mp3
Alastair McKay said
Hi Nic – long time, no contact. I was just tidying up my favourites folders, having just upgraded to Internet Explorer 9 (having never made the transition over to Firefox, like many of my colleagues), and came across your blog.
Of course the Church is subject to sin and failings like any institution. And of course there are immature leaders within the Church, who can block growth and flourishing. Only two nights ago we had friends from the church we are part of around for dinner, and they were bewailing the way that the vicar and leadership seemed to be blocking positive initiatives that they were wanting the church to take. However, I remain hopeful and convinced that the local church can make a significant impact on its local community and beyond. And that mature leaders can play key role in helping this happen.
As part of my work on my DMin dissertation, I’ve been reading Steven Croft’s Ministry in Three Dimensions, Robin Greenwood’s Parish Priests: For the Sake of the Kingdom, Stephen Pickard’s Theological Foundations for Collaborative Ministry, and David Heywood’s Reimagining Ministry. They all express a conviction and hopefulness that I share for the church and its leaders, both in the mainstream church and the emerging church streams.
Individually, the challenge remains for each of us to discern our calling, and to maintain clarity about in God’s love. At the same time I believe that we also need to be willing to submit our personal discernment to the challenge and discernment of others – and that can be both a surprising and a painful journey. Having not read Sean Tucker’s book, I can’t comment on his particular journey. The Church and its leaders will continue to fail individuals, and such stories will not end. But my own experience suggests there are also many more hopeful and encouraging stories also to be told.
nic paton said
Hi Alastair – great to hear from you and to have you take part in this discussion. I know that for you healing and peacemaking within the church are central, and I value that work highly.
I share your hope for mature leadership. Moreover, I am involved in a community in which small but substantial things are happening. We’re generally post-church, have asked our questions about the institution, and are looking to build a sense of belonging. We value our christian heritage and experience but feel that truth is not the exclusive domain of the Greco-Roman “christian” worldview (as laid down by Augustine).
Sean’s context is similar but not identical to mine – he’s 20 years younger than me, for a start. In the review I am trying to find our areas of commonality.
I’d like to hear more from you on the topic, in whatever way. Thanks again for taking the initiaitive to contribute. Blessings, Nic.