OK, so this post will be really long. I began writing down some thoughts a few weeks ago, and it's now grown to a 3-pager! Sorry, but I've gotta get it out! For the patient, or bored, I ask some feedback when you're done reading.

Thanks! OK, here goes!

What the world needs: More green churches. AKA Midori Ministry.

The hot word in the Portland food scene (along with most of the country) is not what I originally guessed it would be, though it’s closely related. ‘Organic’ isn’t really the focus anymore, though it was the posh thing to be a few years ago. ‘Organic’ hasn’t been abandoned as much as it’s been absorbed by the new emphasis: ‘Sustainability.’ Coming in a close second to ‘sustainability’ is another idea not far removed from organic; ‘local.’ The big push in the food-service industry is to provide foods that are produced locally and use production methods that guarantee those foods and the land they’re produced on will be around for a long time. These two foci, local and sustainable, constitute the larger idea of ‘green’ food practices.

Now, there are those of you who groan at the thought of looking to our society for advice on how to run church. To you I say poo. Church history is replete with examples of Church leaders looking to concepts well-known to the society they operated within in order to teach and lead the church. Christ’s use of agrarian metaphors and Paul’s reference to Greek logic and mythology are two good examples.

Anyway, back to ‘green.’ How would it look to apply the popular notion of ‘green’ practices to the church? What would ‘local’ and ‘sustainable’ look like in ministry?

‘Local’ seems to be something many churches have been headed towards for a while. After the mega-church boom of the 90s, many churches, including those filled with baby-busters and GenX-ers, have moved towards a more local focus. Rather than trying to become the biggest church in the city, boasting people who travel from miles away to receive the ministry they provide, many of these churches have moved towards smaller numbers and impacting a more focused geographical area.

[I’d like to pause here and say that I have great respect for big churches. I do not, in any way, wish to sound like I’m bashing mega-churches, or the Christ-loving followers who may sacrifice their gas money and their time for the Kingdom in order to attend far-away churches. My first church, which I’ll always call my home church, was such a jewel in a dark valley that we had many people who drove 20-30 minutes to attend regularly, including mid-week ministries and meetings. Please don’t hear me bashing mega-churches, because I’m not. I’m just noticing a trend away from that model of church development.]

So, we see churches moving towards a local focus already. What about the other part? What does ‘sustainability’ look like in the local church? I think it means keeping some people in the dark about Jesus, so there’ll always be those who are ‘lost.’ Ha! Just joking!

Insuring sustainability in ministry takes me waaaaay back to a book I read in the early 90s about youth ministry, ‘The Ministry of Nurture’ by Duffy Robbins. I don’t think I ever even finished the book, but one idea of his that has always stuck with me is the idea that you can’t do youth ministry (or any ministry, for that matter) for the sake of the group. You can’t make the group the focus, the end-all of spirituality. Because, in four years or less, those being ministered to will no longer be there. If a student cannot differentiate Jesus from Youth Group, what is his/her relationship with Christ going to be like after they graduate? They usually shrivel up and die, or they try to stave off things for another four years by going to a Bible college. Not a place like Multnomah, but other colleges…

Similarly, if we run churches in such a way that those we’re reaching out to have no or little exposure to Christ in their lives, how is their relationship to Christ going to suffer when a loved one passes away, or they suddenly loose their job, or they find themselves sorely tempted by an attractive new friend their spouse will never know exists?

The problem is the same, it’s the immersion that’s different. In high school youth group, there are often small groups or accountability groups, perhaps theology classes or some form of deeper spiritual education, and copious amounts of fellowship and ministry opportunities. But then that all dries up when they graduate, and work schedules or college class schedules or relationships or any number of other distractions take life over. Some college ministries fight this valiantly, but many people simply, sadly, fall away.

If the high school youth is like a rock, dipped in water for a time but then removed, left to dry up, then the adult who only experiences Christ on Sundays is like a rock partially dunked in water, again and again. Most parts of this rock are never wet, never cleaned or cooled down.

Both ministries, and both classes of people ministered to, suffer from a lack of sustainability. It’s not about dunking them in the Water of Life again and again, it’s about setting the rocks down and letting the Living Water pour over them. The Water that flows never runs out; His cup never runs dry. Give people constant exposure to Christ in their lives. Make their relationship with Christ sustainable.

What does that look like? What things must happen?

For one, the idea of getting people into the kingdom must not be the only thing on our to-do list. Christians with no root shrivel and die quickly, and if we love them as Christ did we’d want them around a little longer than that. People need depth in relationship.

This brings up another idea I’ve come across recently in the food industry. It’s the idea that people aren’t going to go out to get what they can get at home. There needs to be an innovation, some aspect to what they’re getting at the restaurant, that they aren’t able or willing to get at home. This doesn’t necessarily mean ingredients in the food, either. Atmosphere, entertainment, pampering; these are but a few of the reasons people go out to eat other than for food.

What shall we in ministry do? What can we bring to church or offer our church family, that they aren’t able to get at home? We can’t just read the Bible to them, they can do that at home. We can’t just play good music for them either; they can also get that at home. So what can we offer? Why would people come to church when they can read their Bible or listen to a good worship CD at home?

Well, first and foremost, part of the issue is that people probably won’t read their Bible, or choose to worship in song or any other way at home. People on their own don’t generally do very good at that. Remember what I was talking about a few paragraphs ago, where some ministries inadvertently teach people to depend on the ministry for closeness to God. Part of the reason that happens so easily is that people generally don’t do well on their own. We need community, accountability, discipleship and education, all of which require other people.

So what does Church offer that people can’t get at home? Other people! You yourself are one of the reasons Church is better than no Church. That being said, what is there to do with ourselves?

It’s been said before, but Christ doesn’t send us to make Christians of all people. It’s disciples He wants. There’s an aspect of living life, of modeling principles and ideals, of teaching and of learning, to discipleship. These must be present for a sustainable relationship with Christ. Where do we find ourselves in the cycle of discipleship? Are you in need of being discipled? Or are you at a stage where you can disciple others, teaching and challenging and growing them up? Perhaps you are poised in the middle, able to disciple some who are very young, but in need of some guidance yourself. Regardless of where you are, you need other people in order to live life as God desires to give to the fullest.

So what other innovations does Church offer? Other people to influence and be influenced by is one thing; what else? I think another aspect Church offers is closely related, perhaps so close that it’s easy to confuse with the other.

I’m talking about community. Yes, that’s very similar to what I just said, other people. But I’m speaking of the aspect of choosing to be a part of a community, of letting yourself be known to a group. In the paragraphs above, I was talking about other people as individuals, able to influence us or be influenced by us. But now I’m talking about community as a whole, as an organism of its own, different than a group of individuals. The interplay of individual to group is wholly different than the interplay of individual to individual. In community, people become part of something larger than themselves, and they are fundamentally affected by it.

So, perhaps ‘sustainability’ in ministry means paying attention to what people need and will always need: other people, both as individuals and as community.

Am I just stating the obvious here? I feel like I’m talking in circles… Am I resonating with anyone out there? Do you all have any thoughts on my thoughts? Let me know!