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How green is your church?

By John O’Keefe

How green is green?  Not too long ago we were posed with, what I believe, a silly question, “what kind of car would Jesus drive?”  Many non-believers found the question funny, one actually told me that, “It is silly for Christians to keep asking questions, that are so obvious rhetorical, and somehow they demand an answer.”  So true, so very true.  For me, more so as of late, I think it belittles a very important issue facing the church and society at large, the environment.   The question then becomes, what are we going to do about it?  You see, when we ask such a silly question we simply open Christianity to ridicule and show that our faith has no connection to the current world and current issues.  Let’s be honest, I could give a good rat “betoot” what kind of car Jesus would drive, but I do care about the quality of the drinking water that goes down the old pipes of my friends and family.  So, before we get our panties in a twist over the car Jesus would drive, let’s ask a even more important question; “How green is your church?”

Think about that for a second, how green is your church?  How connected to the environment is your church?  How much does your “disciplers” (a new idea of leadership in a postmodern age I am in the process of developing – more on the concept of “discipler” over time) handle environmental issues?  Does your church do a “church/environment impact study” every year to see how well it is doing?  What is your church, and you for that matter, doing to protect the environment?  How green is your church?  Now, before we get too deep, let me say this – I am not talking about those little “orange stickers” you place on the light switches to remind people to turn off the lights when they leave the bathroom.  Besides, they kind of reminds me of my father, every time we would leave a room my father would shout, “Hey, turn off those lights, do you think we own ConEdison?”  – I am not talking about stickers or catchy little slogans, I mean, how “down in the trenches,” “grab the bull by the horns and run” green is your church?  Light Green?  Median Green?  Full-blown Kelly Green?  How green? 

I do not desire to bombard you with a ton of useless stats on greenhouse gasses, or depleting ozone.  I figure you get smacked with that enough, but I do want to smack you enough for you to realize that this is important – and it starts with you and me – we need to be the role models; we need to take the lead in this important reality – we need to be green.  So, the question becomes, “How do we get green in the church?”  How doe we do a “church/environment impact study?”

Church/environment impact study:

I think the first thing to do is be open and honest.  Look around the church and see what you do now, and what you can do simply.  The next think I think you need to do is create an atmosphere in the church were the environment is seen as an important part of God’s plan.  Next, encourage all the people in the community of faith to develop ideas on how to be greener.  Have them look around and truly examine all areas of the church, then do something about it.  Here are some examples of what you can do to be greener; keep in mind these are simply some examples of starting points – these areas are not meant to be the “end all” list. 

Target Other Modes of Transportation:  It is not just carpooling any more.  I know, this is not the coolest idea, and not the most original – but it works.  Take a bus, carpool, ride a bike, walk.  Think of it this way, does the church “silently” defeat the idea of “alternate forms of transportation?”  Look around the church and ask yourselves these questions: Does your church even have secure “bike parking” area?  Does the church list the bus routes from different areas of town to help people find the church?  Does the church list names and numbers of people willing to “carpool” from different areas of town?  We need to get past our “my car, my freedom” idea of life.  We need to realize that sharing a ride to church has many benefits.  You build community, you make friends and you save a ton of gas.

Get “E’ed” – Move past paper and move to cyberspace.  I get three newsletters from three different churches (none of them I attend).  I get a “let us take your money” letter every three months from a church I do not attend.  I receive a tone of snail mail from churches I just visited, and do not attend.  Every snail mail I receive could be done sent via email; nothing I receive in the snail mail could not get from my email.  The problem has been that most churches feel, for what ever reason, if there is no paper trail then it’s not worth doing – but email is not the only way to keep information flowing, it is a way to keep information flowing without killing trees.

Another thing that all churches need is a good website.  Places like “Prairie Fusion” (Jordon Cooper’s little start up), www.ginkworld.net (under “web development” link), Iggie (at www.iggie.com), and 247 (web address) help churches develop killer, informative sites that can be used by all members of the church.  A church website needs to be a place where information is updated on a regular basis.  I have been to some sites where information has not been updated for six months, and even a few that have not updated in over a year. 

Get Real:  Let’s be honest, how many people read the Sunday Bulletin?  10%, if we’re lucky.  So, why print them?  Each and every week your church follows the same routine, the only thing that changes are the hymn numbers – so why print something that no one reads and never changes?  Either skip the whole thing, or print less for those who want it, and then offer a place where they can drop used bulletins for recycling.

“Zeroscape:” For those of us living in the Southwest this is a no brainer – it cost’s too much to water the lawn.  So, instead of watering, we created landscaping that looks natural and uses plants native to the area that grow wild and need no, or little, water.  Our lawns look like out natural surroundings.  But why can’t this be done in the East, or the Northwest, or any part of the country?  Natural landscaping that requires a “zero” watering system – rain – can be developed for each area of the country.

Closing: 

Someone once said that for these ideas to work you need to show people how they benefit them personally.  They said that people would not want to recycle if it is an inconvenience.   An that person is right, but as Christians we do not have that problem, right?  As Christians we are given a “new nature” that transcends our greedy, little selves and moves us to a higher place closer to God – that is what Scripture teaches.  As such, we need to be the example of a place where people are loved, forgiven, accepted, and taught that we can change and we must change – if not, we are no better then the rest of the world – and we are called “out of the world.”   We are the ones who must take the first steps for change.

John O’Keefe is the founder of www.ginkworld.net.  John sees a desperate need for the church as a whole to change and reach a new people for Christ.  He is straightforward, honest and calls it the way it he sees it.  John is a graduate of Drew and has been a Senior Pastor and Church Planter