Tuesday, March 27, 2007
the tension and the terror
I am in bed right now. Headache extreme...yet restless as ever. I though i would share a couple of obvious thoughts that are by no mean original to me (at least i don't think so) about the Social Justice Conference that i was at this weekend.First of all i have to preface this by saying that it was amazing. loved not only what i learned but also the vibe of everyone there and just all that was going on. it was something special...something different that you don't feel very often but would want more of.
okay so lets go. one of the things i loved about it was "the tension". there was this awkward tension going on the whole time because of the location of the conference. this was not a bad thing. in fact, i feel it was good, challenging, and even helped in the learning process. for those of you not there, it was held at a church called "the meeting house" in oakville, which is one of the most affluent cities in canada. not only did oakville cause tension toward the theme of social justice (a city in which i have heard it is illegal to be homeless...could be wrong so don't quote me on that), but "the meeting house" itself is a multi-million dollar church building that is state of the art in every aspect. this is seen visible in every area from the projectors, to the movie theatre comfort seats [which i shouldn't complain about...(subbracket...i am writing this out of jealousy)], to its millions of dollars worth of other top notch assets. Not only this but the location in oakville is in highly commercial almost industrial area outside of the city, making accessibility to the church hard unless you have a car (which i must admit most do in oakville. (i must say that this looks like it is me ripping into "the meeting house" which it most definitely is not my intention, it is merely to prove my point of tension...if you want to talk to me about my thoughts on "the mating house" i mean "the meeting house" we can gladly talk...they are doing great things...and that was a joke about mating") wow i am off track. okay, so, i couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable hearing each of the different speakers having to bring up the fact that we were in oakville or at a "mega" church in order to not avoid the obvious. it seemed that everything they were teaching was anti where we were. teachings revolved around generosity, and free giving, and close community...knowing those that you are helping. this was crazy to me as i was looking at the hundreds of amps up on the stage being lit by one of the most amazing lighting systems i have seen. now this can work....again i am on the defensive here. the "mega" church can reach a community and can do it in a way that the small home churches cannot. as i sat there and thought about the resources that a mega church would have it is hard not to want that and see what it could do if used to bless a community. anyways enough about that. i will end with saying i love the meeting house....you go girl.
the terror is what i want to talk about next. this thought didn't hit me until i was sitting at my church on sunday morning hearing a sermon that i am sure i have heard 15 times already. my thoughts were something along the lines of "how can i walk away from the experience of seeing someone who "gets it", what it means to be a jesus follower ( Shane Claiborne ) and where do i go from here? i know that i cannot live the same, but where do i start the change and transformation. do i start small and build with the worry i wont get there, or do i go all out at first and worry about burn out, or do i do the typical christian style of balance. its mainly a fear of mine that this is like a classic youth retreat high, that i don't want to end. theres also the fear that it was so nice to hear the amazing stories and feel a part of them because i was there and that is good enough...live vicariously through them. then there is just the straight up fear of what could my life look like? shear terror is all i feel when i think about that. i loved shanes thought of "my conversion messed me up and i am still recovering from it". where do i go from here?
p.s. i got the title for this blog entry from a straylight run song.
Labels: Evolving church, social justice
5 Comments:
- DoubleYouSee commented at 6:16 PM~
So, about that conversation on the meeting house... shall I open the discussion?
I appreciate much of what you said regarding the tension of holding a conference on "Social Justice" in a place that seems excessive. I wasn't at the conference, I was however a part of "The Meeting House" since we were "Upper Oaks Community Church" meeting in a high school auditorium. (Then we bled over to the staff room, then the Cafeteria, then to a movie theater... we can do a history post somewhere else)
So, my bias on the table, allow me to calm some of the tension (a bit late I might add). First off, The Meeting House is hardly a church which can be summed up by the Oakville "site". We exist in Downtown and Uptown Toronto, Hamilton, Brampton and Kitchener/Waterloo. These locations all benefit from the "technical prowess" of the Oakville site, as they all watch the sermons from the previous week on Movie screens at local (formerly Famous Players) Movie Theaters. This kind of community outreach allows the church to spread it's small Home-church, community based message. Every site has many many home churches meeting throughout the week to keep the community ideal an obtainable one though we meet in such a "mega-church" environment on Sunday. The Home Churches perform hands on volunteering in their local communities, provide a venerable army of volunteer support to their very own local communities and often form their own fund-raising initiatives. (Also it should be said, the size of the Oakville site is based on accommodating the numbers of people drawn to TMH on a weekly basis without having to build a church from scratch (Imagine the cost savings, it was an upfront discussion we had as a Church community before we moved on it, and it made the most sense.)
So, it's true, TMH is well equipped when it comes to "production" equipment, but, it is a production on Sunday. It's a chance to create media and send out a message to thousands each week in our regional sites, and MILLIONS (OK, thousands) on our podcasts.
Feel any better?- Eastman.Jonathan commented at 7:35 AM~
frig i wish i could have been there. i had a work meeting with a bunch of broads and some crappy pizza.(for work) but i got a good laugh hearing the "mating house" comment. (anyways i should leave this space open for people with serious argumentative comments) Room-MATES for life ;-)
- N Shurr commented at 8:56 PM~
doubleyousee,
Thanks for your comment. I appreciate all that you had to say. Might i again say that i in no way was attempting to rip on the meeting house in my post (except the little mating house comment but that was said in good fun). I might also add that i have attended the meeting house on many occasions enjoying my time there. i have many friends who attend and are highly involved (maybe not to the extent that you were being there from the get go but you understand), and i also have a friend who is the lead pastor there. Frankly i do not know how to respond to your comments. am i to say "thanks" and sit back and think that the meeting house has got it all figured out and there wasnt this lurking tension. am i to argue with you and tell you the meeting house is doing it all wrong (which is impossible to do because look at all that is going on in the MANY locations). or should i just say that we are on the same side here and i think my post would have made a lot more sense had you been at the conference. listen, the meeting house is an amazing place that god is definately using. everyone knows that and to deny it would be stupid. i just think there are some things like the excessiveness that you pointed out that really seemed to show up when learning the things that were taught at the conference. thats all.- commented at 12:38 PM~
You obviously missed the point of being a Christian.
You, just like everyone else, you easily blame and judge the biggest church and you failed to acknowledge the struggles a big church like The Meeting House has.
Living downtown I can see why your thinking and attitude is flawed.- N Shurr commented at 7:16 PM~
Thank-you for you thoughts andre.
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