Why Exiles?

In his book, The Present Future, Reggie Mcneal says, “A growing number of people are leaving the institutional church for a new reason. They are not leaving because they have lost their faith. They are leaving to preserve their faith.” For several years Jay and I have found ourselves feeling as though we were falling into the cracks of a contemporary, corporate modeled, church culture that yearns for the days of old when all society embraced the values shared by the Christian community. It was like we all tried to put our heads in the sand in hopes that if we kept buried long enough, we would come back up and find a nation that was respectable, moral, and “Christian.” We found ourselves increasingly unable to fit into the mold of such a culture. We desire to be faithful followers of the radical Jesus striving to live expansive, confident Christian lives in this world without having to abandon ourselves to the values of contemporary society.

The biblical metaphor that best fits those of us who feel this way in our current age and faith situation is that of the EXILE, says Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann. The passing of Christendom could be compared with the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon. The Jews were taken to a foreign land and allowed to serve their God, but could not return to their homeland. Many grew so accustomed to life in Babylon that they refused to return to Jerusalem when the opportunity arose. Likewise, the church is has grown so accustomed to the ways of its captive empire, and it is so focused on merely holding the small plot of ground she currently holds, that it is too preoccupied to reimagine a radical future in Christ. Those of us in the cracks are exiles, yearning to live freely and dangerously in a system that has gotten so used to it’s captive culture that it has been content, and even defensive, of that very culture, leaving us feeling at home neither in a society of greed and materialism, nor in the church.

As exiles, we are pursuing a life of Organic Christianity. Margaret Feingberg puts it beautifully when she says, “The word ORGANIC…, describes a lifestyle that is simple, healthful, and close to nature. Those are all things I desire in my relationship with God. I hunger for the simplicity. I want to approach God in child like faith, wonder, and awe. I long for more then spiritual life, but spiritual health- whereby my soul is not just renewed and restored, but becomes a source of refreshment for others. And I want to be close to nature, not just shorelines and mountain ridges as much as God’s nature working in and through me. Such a God infused lifestyle requires me to step away from any insta-grow shortcuts and dig deep into the soil of spiritual formation found only in God.”

The church is an organic extension- the earthly image- of the triune God. (Eph. 1:22-23). What would it be like if churches emerged organically, like small spiritual families born out of the soil of lostness, because the seed of God’s kingdom was planted there? These churches could reproduce just as all living and organic things do. Hal Miller gives this great metaphor:

Institutional churches are a lot like trains. They are going in a certain direction, and they will continue in that direction for a good long time even if all hands try to make them stop. As with trains, the options for turning the direction of institutional churches are limited at best. If a switch or siding is available, the train could turn. Otherwise it just follows its tracks. So everyone that’s aboard had best hope that he is on the right train headed in the right direction. Organic churches, like those in the New Testament, are different. They are not trains, but groups of people out for a walk. These groups move much more slowly than trains- only several miles per hour at the fastest. But they can turn at a moment’s notice. More importantly, they can be attentive to their world, to their Lord, and to each other. Like trains, institutional churches are easy to find. The smoke and noise are unmistakable. Organic churches are a bit more subtle. Because they do not announce their presence with flashing lights at every intersection, some believe that churches like those in the New Testament died out long ago. But nothing could be further from the truth. Organic churches are everywhere.

Jay and I long to bring Christ to people where they live. We desire to be in places directly where life happens and society is formed. We long to be a church that is centered more in life and the workplace. The heart of our message is that God didn’t make us come to him in Heaven. He came to us (John 1:14). We are exiles, longing for more and desiring to connect with others- to love others by helping them love God. This blog is a place that we hope to give you a peek into our journey as we begin stripping away the excess in order to live organically in community as the extension of the triune God.