|
john
covell
senior
pastor at echo mountain
1.
How would you define the "postmodern movement" in the church?
A definition of the postmodern movement in the church is not necessarily a
definition of postmodernism. In the church, "the postmodern movement"
often seems to be a programming label you find alongside buzzwords like
"alternative service" and "GenX," describing a type of
program or event rather than a type of person, a way of thinking, or a
sub-culture of a given community. I say this about churches on a broad scale
because there are
still relatively few churches that are calling themselves postmodern in a
positive way.
I think the best way to define the postmodern movement is to say that it defies
definition, which is what often makes it seem so postmodern. But there are
certain traits or threads of historical and cultural postmodernism that weave
their way throughout and emerge in genuine postmodern ministries.
One of these traits is a non-linear approach to spiritual formation. We don't
force people into a one-size-fits-all program, matriculating them through a
course of spiritual growth, commitment and service. For instance, in our church
the phrase "new believer" doesn't make sense to our people. As
long as they have been "spiritual," or have believed in God,
regardless of the form or structure of that belief, they have considered
themselves "believers." Their belief in Christ may be new, but they
often see it as the natural progression of their spiritual journey. As well,
there are many who have to come to our church because they are trying to
re-connect with Christ, in whom they have believed for much of their lives, but
have not expressed their faith in worship or in a spiritual community for some
time.
Having not grown up in church, I began seeking and following Christ as a young
adult, not even knowing that Easter Sunday had anything to do with the
resurrection of Christ until I was 20. Back in the early 80's when I began
following Christ, I didn't find out until after I had been informally discipled
by people who didn't realize they were discipling me that I had had not been
officially discipled in a regulation Disciple Group. Lucky for me, no one
caught on.
Another trait is the desire to capture the essence of liturgy and ritual, but
with new forms, some drawing on ancient forms and some creating their own. We
are creating some traditions and liturgies in our church, not just for the sake
of liturgy and tradition per se, but because they are the natural byproducts of
communities and families.
2. Story, "Truth in the Narrative," is a prime way of sharing
the truth with "not-yet-believers." How does Echo Mountain approach
"story?"
Everyone has a story, including God-the one who's story has an inherent
supernatural power that can change the courses of the lives (stories) of people
forever. I'd like to think that our use of "story" is not so
much programmatic or some kind of postmodern marketing tool, but that it is
characteristic of the personality of our church and services.
We saw a great example of this last Sunday. My Associate Pastor (also named
John) and his wife Tiffany just had a premature baby named Livia who spent the
first 17 days of her life in the neonatal ICU. Our current message series has
been looking at the stories of the people of the Bible and we are currently
looking at Peter. John's "sermon" was all about how, during those
three weeks of his life, he drew so heavily on things Peter describes in 2 Peter
1:3-8. He was able to weave Peter's story in with his own as well as the stories
of those he knew were listening to him speak.
Our Sunday morning services are the only time when the mutual exchange of
personal stories-whether for the purpose of seeking or giving encouragement-is
the primary form of "ministry." The stories that are told both
verbally and relationally to friends, family, apart from the worship service are
the things God uses most often to pour his love and grace out through our lives
and into the lives of other people.
Regarding the use of story-telling or narrative presentations in the sermon,
there is an opinion out there that engaging with scripture on the
"story-level" or by presenting it in a narrative or story-telling
style implies a sub-standard level of exegesis and study. That may be true in
some cases, but not it doesn't have to be. I would argue that, in order to tell
the story of scripture, one must be committed to thorough exegesis and attention
to the text and context of each passage, otherwise we miss profound elements of
the stories of scripture that offer tremendous hope and encouragement to people
who sincerely want to follow Christ. This doesn't mean you have to be fluent in
biblical languages because there are enough resources that will walk you
through. However, neglecting critical resources and prepare messages using only
devotional-quality resources and commentaries does a disservice to a church.
I'll get off that soapbox now.
3. What makes the Worship experience at Echo Mountain different from other
churches in the area?
When
we began Echo Mountain Church in May of 1999, I
was acutely aware that our geographic location is not at all unchurched in the
sense that there are plenty of churches nearby. Echo Mountain is literally a
10-minute (or less) drive from many churches that offer traditional services,
blended services, seeker-driven services, seeker-sensitive-purpose-driven
structures, contemporary services, and alternative services. Yet there are still
thousands of people living near our church who were not attending those
churches, so we set out to intentionally create a worship service and worship
experiences that were different than these churches. Not because we believe they
are doing anything wrong or because we have an ax to grind against them, but
only to try and connect with people who were not connecting to these churches.
There are levels of worship experience at Echo where someone might experience
things that are unique to our church. Making people feel accepted wherever they
are at on their spiritual journey is not just a mantra or an ecclesiastical
platitude. We really do all we can to provide this experience for people. We
integrate communion into our services about once each month, telling out people
that it is not only a form of worship, but that it is also a ritual through
which we identify ourselves as followers of Christ. We acknowledge that
there are always those in our services who would not yet
identify themselves this way so we decided not to pass trays down the aisle
because that tends to communicate an expectation that each person will
participate. Even though I've sat in churches where they warned us to "just
let the elements pass by," the truth is, people are watching you and if
don't take it, you feel very conspicuous. In our auditorium, there are tables in
the front, on each side, and in the back. We introduce a time for communion by
giving a short reflection on the bread and the cup and then playing some quiet,
acoustic worship songs. During this time we encourage people to pray, reflect,
meditate, sing, and then get up and get the bread and the cup on their own off
of one of the tables. It's very cool to watch people do this in solitude, but
also to see parents and children, husbands and wives, siblings, friends, etc.
going to a table together.
Regarding music, we have chose two primary departures from other contemporary or
purpose-driven churches. We incorporate very little (if at all) of the
adult-contemporary-Hosanna-Vineyard-Integrity-Christian-top-40 worship songs.
Again, not because we're against them. The songs in our service are often
original (written within and for our church) or
lesser-known songs with original arrangements. Our bands more closely resemble a
band you would see in a club-four or five people who play an instrument as well
as sing. We do very little "performance" music and we encourage people
to sing, pray, or just listen during the worship-whatever will best help them to
connect with and hear from God during that time. Our musical style is a
millennial-retro-guitar-driven-pop sound through which we have a time of
high-energy celebration as well as a time of quiet, acoustic reflection. One
thing that is also different is that our Senior Pastor (me) is also the worship
leader.
It is important to note that we encourage our people to view their
"worship" as the entirety of the expression of their faith. In other
words, singing songs as a church is one form of worship, but so is the way they
relate to their co-workers or their spouse, as well as the ways in which they
serve God by serving people in ministry. These are just a few examples, mostly
pertaining to our services, of what worship looks like at Echo Mountain.
4. How important do you believe community is to a postmodern people?
It is extremely important-so much so that, without it, our message doesn't make
sense to them. One of the characteristics of postmodern people is that they have
experienced a disillusionment with materialism. Some of them saw its futility in
their parents' lives, while others experienced it firsthand. Over half of
them saw their parents get divorced and many of them are divorced themselves.
For these reasons (and many more) meaningful, enduring friendships are extremely
important and they generally do not seek out anything meaningful for their lives
apart from relationships or without the expectation of meaningful relationships.
This dynamic is not without its inconsistencies, however. For example, a growing
number of postmodern couples who are followers of Christ live together before
marriage, admitting that it opposes God's design for marriage, and even though
statistics consistently show that that couples who live together and then marry
get divorced more often than those who do not.
The community experience is germane to our church. Our church's purpose is to
meet people wherever they're at on their spiritual journey and to help them to
grow as followers of Christ. (I know purpose statements are a very modern,
boomer-ish thing, but ours really helps us to stay focused.) In the same way, we
describe our "mission" or the parameters of our ministry efforts as
"becoming connected with the community around our church; and becoming
connected as a spiritual community within our church."
Relationships, mutual encouragement and support, serving God by serving each
other, developing and deepening friendships, mentoring, discipling, studying the
Bible together, going to lunch, encouraging someone who's experiencing a
struggle you've survived, etc. are all different forms of community, among many
others.
5. Looking to the future, what three, or four, major waves do you believe God
is sending?
On the global scale, I'm not really the one to ask, so I'll answer this
regarding the waves I see God sending to and through local, postmodern churches.
One wave I think is coming is a return to the credibility of the smaller,
neighborhood church. When I say "neighborhood," I mean that the church
is primarily attended by people who live less than five miles from it's
location. People are beginning to reject the idea that a church is always better
when it is bigger. I believe that mega-churches can offer many good things to
people; I served at two mega-churches (attendance of 5,000+). However, I
think that, once a postmodern neighborhood church has developed the critical
mass necessary to provide quality resources for their people, they will begin
physically growing out instead of growing up. What I mean is that, instead of
just getting more and more people to sit in a room together and become the
biggest church in town, churches will grow and then send part of their number
short distances away to create a similar ministry in another neighborhood.
A wave that I think is already here is an embracing of theological diversity
within an orthodox context in a given church. It is not uncommon for modern
churches to present doctrinal "non-essentials" as if they were
essential. By non-essentials, I mean issues such as pre-mill and pre-trib
issues, Calvinist versus Arminian issues, etc. As we formed our statement of
faith, we intentionally created one that could be as inclusive as possible,
drawing "lines in the sand" only on issues we believed were necessary
for congregational unity. As a result, there is diversity on ecclesiology,
eschatology, and soteriology on our board, our staff, and among our elders. We
are solidly united on what we all consider essentials, but we believe that our
example of respectful discussion and disagreement encourages our people to study
these issues and form their own opinions, rather than just ingesting the
"party lines" of their church. On the other hand, if a church feels
that God has commissioned them to promote a certain theological perspective or
agenda, they should do that to which they believe God has called them. But at
the same time, churches such as ours, that feel God has called them to a
more inclusive theological approach should pursue that with the same commitment
and for equally good reasons.
6. Tech plays an important role in our lives, how do you see the church using
tech to reach a postmodern people?
For postmodern people, technology is a way of life. Computers, video games,
digital graphics, cell phones, voice mail, email, the ATM, etc. are all the
norm. I believe that the church needs to be careful not try to and compete with
MTV and Playstation because it will always lose. But as long as the church is
using technology to do what the church is there to do, it makes sense to people.
If we don't utilize technology people will think we're naïve and inefficient.
We don't play our music as if we think we're as hot as the Dave Matthews Band or
try to present a video or a PowerPoint slide show as if we think it's as good as
the latest U2 video. But on the other hand, God has brought us enough talented,
creative, and technologically astute people to offer quality music and effective
media. The resources are inexpensive, accessible, and easy to use so we would be
foolish not to use them. But this does not mean you sacrifice quality. Our
people are familiar enough with these resources to know what they are capable of
producing. To create or present anything less than our very best-both creatively
and technically-damages the credibility of our message and community. In our
church, we have excelled musically but not kept pace with our media resources so
we are now making that a priority.
7. Given the new meaning to the term "911," how do you believe we
as a Christian people need to minister in this time of hate and confusion?
In the aftermath of September 11th, we saw millions of people who had been
previously indifferent toward God reach out in prayer, service, and to seek
community with others. God's people have a window of opportunity to show
their world how these things can all be daily, life-long foundations to their
lives rather than psychological or sociological insurance policies that are only
necessary when disaster strikes. Regarding ongoing problems of racism and hate,
God's people refuse to succumb to these things, even in the most seemingly
innocuous scenarios. Racial humor at work, economic and class separations at
church, the marginalizing of single adults, especially single parents are just a
few examples of how the church fails to lead people to a higher plane where
people are valued as God's creation and the objects of unconditional love and
the sacrificial death of Christ.
Any Closing Thoughts?
OK, you asked for it! Going to church at Echo is a lot like going
swimming. Some wade in slowly-very slowly. Some jump in, knowing for certain
they're right where they want to be. Some need formal lessons while others learn
by watching
others-some still in their street clothes. They're actually there quite often,
but they're still trying to decided if they even want to go swimming at all.
Those in the pool telling them "Come on in, the water feels great!"
and they just smile and say, "I'm okay. I might go swimming later on, but
not right now."
Seeing our church like a pool complicates the process of figuring out how to
meet the needs of all these "swimmers." Do you need to learn to dive
before you learn the breaststroke? Is it more important to be able to swim laps
before learning to do a cannonball? What about those who spend 90% of their time
in the pool actually just lying in the sun reading and talking, only getting wet
when they need to cool off? Are they really "swimming?" And who
is really qualified to teach someone else how to swim? Only the lifeguard?
The one who's lousy at swimming laps might still be the best one to encourage
those contemplating that first jump off the side.
When people come to our pool, instead of lining them up into classes, we show
them the deep end, the shallow end, the diving board, and the lanes for swimming
laps. We have "floaties" for the little ones and kick boards for
adults who want them. Experienced swimmers usually know where they want to
begin. Inexperienced swimmers ask questions, but don't always let on how
insecure the really are about swimming. They act as if they swim all the time,
but their farmer's tans and 10 year-old, ill-fitting swimsuits give them away.
Where does a pastor fit into the pool? Pool manager. Lifeguard. Swimming
instructor. Standing on the edge and watching people, I can give them tips on
how well they're doing or how their diving form looks. As well, sometimes I have
to blow my whistle and tell people that it's unsafe to run along the pool deck.
I might get in and hold someone afloat, telling them they really won't drown
when I pull my hands away-and if they do start to sink, I'll pull them back up
and we'll try it again.
Some people just prefer to watch and learn, asking questions, and practicing
with a friend. Our church isn't always a big pool party. There's always someone
who thinks its funny to splash people in the face. Some people pee in the pool.
They don't admit it, but they do. People spill their drinks or drop food into
the pool when they're not paying attention. If you accidentally swallow some
water, the chlorine will make you gag and vomit and gross everyone out. When
that happens, some will get out and wait for someone else to clean it up before
they get back in. Someone else will take it upon themselves to clean it up. But
no matter what, the pool is most enjoyable when other people are there.
Dennis accepted Christ in a cult-like group during the Jesus movement of the
late 60's. After a traumatic discharge, he spent 30 years battling alcoholism
and drug addictions. His Jewish therapist is a massage-therapy client of a young
woman in our church. She told Dennis that Echo would be a good place to deal
with his hatred for the church and for people in general. For the first
several weeks, he was looking for any reason he could to justify his claim that
Christians were judgmental, condemning and wouldn't accept him right where he
was just for who he is. He's been swimming in our pool ever since. At
least once a week (sometimes more) we have a conversation about how God is
melting his heart. He's a curious paradox of a spiritually thirsty, yet
relationally guarded child of God for whom Christ is deconstructing an entire
emotional, relational and spiritual grid.
Have you ever watched a new mother take her child to swimming lessons for the
fist time? She hands her child over to swimming instructors that look way too
young to be watching over so many children near water. That nervous mother,
sitting on the pool deck, trying to look relaxed is thinking, "Please be
careful. You have no idea how valuable that person in your hands is to me."
The lives of these people, while they swim in our pool are holy ground.
Listening to my sermon, singing a worship song, asking for advice or prayer,
uncovering a wound, describing a personal breakthrough, confessing sin, letting
me baptize them, taking a free Bible, going to a small group because I said they
ought to, serving in a ministry, inviting a friend to church-the list goes on
and on-are all invitations to me to enter "holy ground. When someone says,
"Your message was just for me," that's holy ground. When someone
describes that dark, dichotomous place where the weakness of their flesh
violently collides with the willingness of their spirit, that's holy ground.
God delivers the same Gospel to unique individuals. Nicodemus, Jairus, Peter,
Paul, the bleeding woman, the woman at the well, the Gerasene demoniac, the 10
lepers, the Ethiopian eunuch, and Cornelius all swam in the same pool, but
they all swam differently. What's our evangelism strategy? To
respectfully and compassionately meet and accept each one wherever they're at on
their spiritual journey and invite them into the pool. My most important
strategy is to remember that an invitation into holy ground is an honor
afforded to a privileged few. God hands his children over to us and says,
"Please be careful. You have no idea how valuable that person in your hands
is to me."
|
