Our Purpose: Transformation

Today's newsletter article:

Last Sunday's message: Fred Plumer is the President of TCPC. Recently he gave an address in Australia to a gathering of several thousand progressive Christians. In that address he talked about what it means to be living during the end of the Christian world and the unique challenges progressives face:

You see, for over fifteen hundred years, everyone in the church knew why the church was in business. The church had the exclusive keys to the kingdom. The church sold the only tickets to salvation. The church was the only broker for that "life after death" atonement pass. Most mainline churches gave up that lofty presumption decades ago. Since then, I believe most of our churches have been a bit muddled about what they are doing except to be "a really neat church." The results have often been a tepid Christology, a dead theology, and a lack of the mystical and spiritual. We complain about fewer and fewer joining us for the communion meal, but fail to notice that we are serving a low nutritional meal.

We now have two full generations of young adults who have grown up with the opportunity to make choices-choices about which TV programs they will watch, which kind of computers they want, what clothes they will wear, which sports they will play, and even what schools they will attend. They have grown with lots of discretionary time and money. But in the US approximately 60% all young adults between the ages of 18-25 have never been in a church, a synagogue or a temple. They have learned how to make utilitarian decisions. If you can not give them a good reason for spending their time and money with your congregation, they will by nature and training do something else with both. So...can we clearly articulate a reason that someone would want to come to our faith community? What is our purpose for being in business?

Can you answer that question? How would you answer that question? Well, the short answer that I would give is that our purpose is not to bring people to salvation but to invite people to find a path that leads to transformation. That is our business: transformation. Another way of saying it is that our purpose is not to bring people to a saving relationship with Jesus but to invite them to follow him, to do what he did.

What he did was to find a path, a way of living in the world, that made the God present here, and that made it seem to many of those who came in contact with him that he was in fact the presence of God. And he was, but what he taught was that this path was open for all to walk, for all to see God's presence and to be God's presence.

Our task here is to invite one another - to encourage one another - to sometimes even challenge one another to find and follow that path that leads to transformation. To live in the presence of the divine in the world and to become the presence of the divine in the world. And for us of progressive bent we have the added challenge of doing it in a way that isn't exclusive - i.e we have the only way - but isn't mush? Can we be honest enough to say that it isn't easy. There will be some choices to make along the way, some pain.

In Plumer's address he referenced this passage from Luke:

Luke 18:18-23

^{18A certain ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 19Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 20You know the commandments: 'You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.'" 21He replied, "I have kept all these since my youth." 22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 23But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich.}

The point of this story is not that he was rich and this was a problem. The point is that he had a blind spot that was getting in the way of him going deeper. We all have those blind spots. And if we are on a path of transformation we are going to bump up against them and have some pain and some choices to make along the way.

This should happen in a community that is working on transformation. Not in the sense of we the blessed community pointing out to you the wretched sinner your need to repent. But in the sense that as we work together there is going to be self-discovery, loving and supportive truth-telling, and hopeful next steps.

What also should happen is that is that it should be fun - there ought to be a sense that this is what it is like to live in the realm of the divine. It's a joyful place; there is laughter and joy when we are together. I am sorry to say that this never happens here ;)

I think we get it. The question I raise for you here is how can we as a community of transformation better spell out that path. Could it be that we could do a better job of spelling out a path. Not 5 easy steps to a better life with Jesus, but would it be helpful to have some kind of spiritual inventory that has markers of wellness and possible next steps, and a way of presenting this and working on this together as a community on a path of transformation.

That I believe, is our task. Plumer again:

C. Kirk Hadaway, a former executive with the United Church of Christ, now with the Episcopalians, wrote an excellent and insightful book, Behold I Do A New Thing, a few years ago. He begins his book with the question, "What is the business of the church?" He then goes on to answer his own question. "The purpose of the church is to transform people - to bring down their self-constructed walls, dissolve their delusions and help them see God."

In the midst of our everyday lives: at home, at work, when we are alone, when we are together: transfomation - to grow deeper to be able to see God and to be the presence of God in the world. That is why we are here.