Disclosure: I am no longer a minister, having surrendered my credentials due to addictive patterns that overwhelmed. I am restored spiritually and in conversation toward renewed credentialling, in time.
The Emerging Urban Church—Reconciling Presence
When I first came to Seattle I felt as called to the city as I did West Seattle Church of the Nazarene. I still do (even now, after failing the city and my church, so deeply).
I had always longed to pastor and assumed I would minister to convert as many of the 97% of non-church goers as I could reach. But Jesus changed all that. Early on, God made it clear that the Trinity of God would do all the converting that needed to be done and my role was to 'save' the Church; that is to call it into following Jesus into the city. As I heard it, "Terry, just respond to everyone I bring to you. You're just smart enough to blow this whole thing up. Let me initiate—always.”
What that did was place me on a twenty-eight year trajectory of simply listening to the city. In the early years I spent a lot of time at St. James Cathedral, downtown, the Seattle Diocese beautiful Cathedral. What sent me there was the sense I always had driving past, that I was on sacred ground. I use to do a lot of prayer walks around the city and St. James and First Press were the two churches I felt called to; so I would sit, watch and listen. What amazed me at St. James was how diverse were the people who would slip in at all hours of the day to touch the water reminding them of their baptism, sit in silence, light a candle and leave. Persons of every economic strata, from extremely well dressed to homeless and every ethnic community were attracted, in awe. One day I watched for an hour as an older woman, perhaps in her nineties, wipe down every chair in the Cathedral. "God, fill this place with Your Holy Spirit and draw to it all who will come." I had no doubt that my little prayer was surrounded by hundreds of others.
What catches me by surprise is that urban ministry continues to convert me, as I live in the city that I love and minister, however poorly, as an associate in the community of faith I love. From this journey, I've come to several conclusions, upon reflection:
1) The Jesus event (birth, life, teaching, passion, death, resurrection and ascension) reconciles everyone of every age, economic background, ethnic or national origin, gender identification and all creation to the Creator; really saves with the only question being who will finally live into their salvation, embracing it and who will live against it. Given that we in the church are close to this Revealed Story, we bear the greatest risk and responsibility.
2) Our journey in the city is to live sacramentally, as a Reconciling Presence, entering into the whole life of the city celebrating the Kingdom of God already here and coming.
3) Places, as much as persons need the restorative grace of God’s renewed earth in Jesus.
That really begins with remembering. for Seattle, that the land was first entrusted by God to the Duwamish tribe and upon the arrival of white settlers they gifted much of what is now the downtown waterfront to these new immigrants. Chief Sealth, for whom Seattle was named also played a role in making peace with the early territorial government of the region. They were repaid with rejection, so that by the mid 1880’s no Indian could own land in the now city of their chief’s namesake.
4) The Churches of the Nazarene need to use their gifting (in persons, resources and land) for their neighbors, walking with great reverence, restoring broken persons, relations, houses, streets, political party's by 'living Jesus' organically, never compelling or being compelled.
5) If a great congregation is dying or approaching transition, we who are a little healthier should surround and assist in worship, renewed listening to their part of the city, seeking creative economic and entrepreneurial ways of prospering their neighborhood. We desperately need to stay connected with each other, praying for one another and listening to the Holy Spirit's awareness of each neighborhood.
These are the non-negotiables: Reverence, Diversity, Reconciliation, Restoration.
Reverence: Negatively, reverence is simply being human, ever cautious about the all encompassing narrative that claims to solve every issue. The issue isn't if there is an ultimate narrative as we who are In Christ are living at least in a measure inside it already, knowing that "in him (Jesus) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Colossians 1: 16, 17). Talk about meta-narrative? That is the ultimate one. However, this same Jesus"did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness"(Phillipians 2: 6b, 7). When God created us humans, God allowed multiple, diverse and creative narratives to enter the universe; the only real issue being—are they reconcilable?
The First Nations peoples of the earth need to be honored as God’s uniquely chosen. We, the rest of us, are immigrants having claimed a manifest destiny that is not ours to claim. What is ours is the reality that as Jesus followera—it is the meek, the impoverished, those who mourn, seek peace and Justice who will prosper as God’s reign of love breaks in.
in Seattle that means thanking God for the Duwamish who shared and in doing so have been reduced to about 300 persons who are not officially recognized by the Federal government.1
Diversity: The very word membership, C.S. Lewis says, is invented by the Church and means something very different than what is commonly thought of today. Today we think of members as one of a class of likes; say union, dogs, women, homosexuals. What Paul had in mind is a membership of un-likes that together form a diverse union. Lewis fleshes out the idea of membership by speaking of a family whose members have different functions. He notes that the father is also an older male–a role model, a husband and a worker. Each function of the same person contributes meaningfully to the diverse makeup that is at the heart of ‘family’. The small child, he writes is almost a completely different species of animal than the near adult teen, each bringing something unique and life-giving. The dog or cat, though radically different, are nevertheless significant members of the family, whose loss would affect the meaning and experience of the whole. His point is that at the heart of communal salvation is the uniqueness of each individual human functioning in the Body of Christ. 2
Diversity, seeking unity, is at the heart of our universe as God is Three unique Persons so united in love as to be One in essential nature. The mission of Nazarenes has to ever be with each unique person, from within their culture and land, seeking unity in love.
Reconciliation: In West Seattle it was never our intent to feed persons who do not have the benefit of rented or owned homes, but to sit down and eat together. We did not invite Share/Wheel shelters into our church to alleviate human need alone, but to introduce by initial conflict and then acquaintance and then parties and meals our neighbors with homes to our neighbors without; breaking down every stereo-type with the reality of how very much we are alike. When our children party we always sought to have adults around engaging. It's not that we are careless about homelessness or hunger or age barriers. Quite the opposite. Behind the very real injustices in this world that cause white Starbucks employees or the pol or you and I to profile and mistreat African Americans is the fears and loneliness inside all of us. 'White Privelege' is real and really does impact persons of color, everyday. Nazarenes in the city should seek justice, which reconciles us to each other and within ourselves; healing even the unconscious but real stereo-types which raise barriers to love. We will always stand with those in greatest peril, but with arms open in every direction seeking a healing by love, not hate.
Restoration: Pre-science humans understood something better than we western, enlightened persons who think our scientific narrative explains all: Land and people are vitally connected. Human violence, racism, lust, addiction affects natural processes; certainly as our individual selfishness pollutes the environ. But it is more than that. I can't put my finger on it, but with my Native American friends I've come to believe what The Word says when Jeremiah declares that Israel's exile would be 70 years to allow the land to lay still, "because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood"(Jeremiah 3: 9).
The early church understood that salvation, though deeply personal, was always about restoration of communities and land; the very shalom or 'well being' that God intended in Creation, made real. Isaiah, prophecies that the people of God "will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings"(Isaiah 58: 12). .In John's Apocalypse the promise is that Rome will fall of it's own arrogance by the One "dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God... Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations" Neither Jesus, nor the body of Christ that comes to earth to serve the nations in the rebuilding and renewal win by war; but by "the Lamb, looking as if it had been slain"(Revelation 19: 13, 15a & 5: 6). When Rome finally fell and it's institutions collapsed, it was the Church that lived into the need, ultimately corrupting the church by power.
I cannot wait for the day to come when I shall see Jesus and be caught up in the air with him to greet him as Roman citizens would an emperor who is coming to their city. Whether asleep in the Lord or alive, we shall come and enter into the 'New Jerusalem' whose river of life flows from the Throne and the Lamb and heals the nations. I trust it will be Seattle that I get to minister in.
Till that day, I shall live open to every human, converting none, but engaging in duologue with all; gay, straight, African, Samoan, Russian, persons of color and white—living into Jesus and watching for where he is already alive in the city among believers and non-believers who by love are changing outcomes and bringing justice and facing down the hundred addictions which de-humanize us.
They include:
1) Each Community of Christ, listening to its part of the city should develop one or two missions, with partners in the city, toward restoration and get good at it. 3
2) Each Community of Christ will work toward and from an active 'Worshiping Presence' centered around the Eucharist, the incarnational sign of God's Reconciling Presence. All mission flows from God, even for those who do not yet know the Trinity of God in the Holy Spirit. As humans whose very essence is the ability of wonderment or awe, worship is central. It is 'the gift' of the Church to parrish communitys. To that end art and theatre and music should be central focuses for the use of our facilities in parrish life.
3) An emphasis upon the ordained track of Deacon should be emphasized for both 'Church Institutional Positions' to equip the church and for parrish community service. Entrapenerual and bi-vocational callings should be encouraged as the first can be gifting to create in local settings creative and human capitalism and the second allow for deeper engagement in parrish life and commerce as part of her or his mission.
4) Metrics should be developed which track the worshiping community’s Missional Presence in Parrishes—wether a house church or ten persons who gather, prayerfully, around a reconciling, restorative, peace-centric or just mission. The multiple uses of our facilities, 7 days a week, some with rent and others gifted, should be measured for effective 'restoration and reconciling' outcomes such as (personal renewal in love, community missions encouraging new outcomes in education, justice and commerce for persons of color, police/community relations, and help with marganilized communities).
It is time for a wholistic 'holiness' love and ethic with the local church calling, developing women and men and communities to that end.
What we bring to the table is a 2,500 year old Story of God's love wanting to be re-born in the life of Seattle or Centralia or Vancouver. We give up on no one and in reverence, respecting diversity, seeking reconciliation and a restored human community and land we make available our limited resources to God and his city and people—and watch what only God can do!
Blessings!
Terry :)
Adder: My most recent children's book, for children and those who form them—parents, grand-parents, teachers, ministers—is an example of the "New Evangelism". It's called "The Sacred Tree" and can be purchased at: The Sacred Tree: A Children's Christmas Adventure in Time (A Children's 'God Talk') https://a.co/d/a
1 Note: See the history and rich cultural heritage of the Duwamish People:
2 Note: "Weight of Glory" by C.S. Lewis, Chapter III, pg #30-42
3 Note: "Small Strong Congregations" by Kennon L Callahan @ Small Strong Congregations
4. See our last COM (Communities on Mission) Video..at: https://youtu.be/s9l820zeWy0?feature=shared
5. Another book focused upon urban American mission is: Holiness in the 21st Century: A Political Gospel Worth Engaging
https://www.amazon.com/Holiness-21st-Century-Political-Engaging/dp/1980391092/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2KDBM2
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