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a letter > reminder and encouragement
Family & Friends,
Greetings in the Name of our common Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. May His Peace and Grace be with you.
Sometimes you want to say something and there’s nothing like a good old letter to do the trick. Yesterday a student from Asbury College came to interview me for a paper she’s writing in a class. She wanted to talk about Vine & Branches, as an “emerging church” and what we do and why. Liz and I sat down with her over coffee at the house for about an hour. Good conversation. Nothing spectacular, just good.
What makes me want to write to you is this; whenever you are asked particular questions about what you’re doing and the whys behind it, etc., it makes you think. That little interview made me think and have to succinctly answer questions about who we are and why we do what we do. It’s very helpful to have to do that from time to time. It was a positive thing.
We talked about what our purpose is as a church - basically, why do we exist. I wanted to share with you the answer I gave and use it as an encouragement and a reminder. I had to stop and think when she asked me. I said: “To be that which facilitates the formation of people into the Image of Christ.” That’s it. And I said, “whatever we do or don’t do takes that purpose into consideration - whether something helps or hurts our formation into His Image.” So, we don’t have a liturgical structure because it’s cool, we do it because it’s formational. We don’t pray the Office or encourage one another to pray the Office because it’s this new hot thing that emerging churches are doing. We do it because it’s a tried and tested spiritual discipline that helps build us into new Creatures over the long-haul.
That long-haul for us, too, is huge. It’s one of our central principles of spiritual formation. We talk about it constantly. I try to remind us all that this is how it works as much as possible. Basically, change takes a long time. The things that have to happen inside us in order for us to truly be transformed into a new kind of person are involved, to say the least, and we are constantly trying to be honest about that. In my role, as “father” of the community, it would be irresponsible for me to tell you anything different, or to present to you some kind of quick-fix spirituality option. None of us should offer it to each other. It might feel loving but ultimately, it’s not.
We also talked a bit about the pastoral role and how it functions. I mentioned how I am part of the community and not just “over” it. Even though, sure, we have leadership and I lead, spiritual parenthood, etc., we don’t use that as a reason to separate the leader from the community or from real relationships inside the community. Also, I mentioned my philosophy of ministry which involves being a bit more passive than the traditional notion of a pastor - not trying to solve everyone’s problems. And I won’t. I can’t. Sometimes, I’d like to say a lot of things, but I know, taking all things into consideration, it would not be for the real benefit of the person to say them at that time. So I keep my mouth shut. Certainly there are times to say things, and I pray I will do that when needed, that we all will, but simply because you know something or it comes to mind, does not mean it should be said.
So, overall, I just wanted to remind you about who we are and what we do. I wanted to encourage you along the way, that the things we do, how we worship, pray, etc., are purposeful and are not done simply to do something. I hand these things on to you as a legacy, I hope. My desire is to build something into you that is deep and strong and lasting. My ultimate desire is to see us all truly be transformed into the kind of people we were created to be. And so, I am trying to faithfully give you the tools that will make that possible. Please pray that I do it well and that we all live what we talk about.
So, understand that what you’re involved with here is not “just church.” It’s not just something to do on Sunday nights. Of course, “just church” should probably mean more than it does in many circles. Understand that there is real purpose behind who we are and what we do together as a community. Understand that it takes a long time. Understand that it requires your real and willing participation. It’s not automatic. And don’t give up! Sometimes, I know, it seems like nothing. It’s boring and repetitive and not very exciting. I know that. I feel those same things. But I also know that it doesn’t have to feel like anything to be forming me. We have to help each other remember that. Let’s keep marching together. Sometimes there is a haze and you can’t see the destination, but if we stay together and help each other to keep going, we will get there.
Pax vobiscum,
+ Alan Creech, abbot
Vine & Branches Christian Community
posted by + Alan @ 11:12 AM :: 0 comments