30/50: Church in an Age of Influencers
Another way to think about church: We come together to remind each other why it matters.
“Congregation is composed of people, who, upon entering a church, leave behind what people on the street name or call them. A church can never be reduced to a place where goods and services are exchanged. It must never be a place where gossip is perpetuated. Before anything else, it is a place where a person is named and greeted, whether implicitly or explicitly, in Jesus’ name. A place where dignity is conferred.”
Due to quarantine protocols around a Covid exposure (I tested negative and have no symptoms), I stayed home and Zoomed into church today. I’m grateful to work with people who are flexible, professional and soulful because it came off beautifully without me in the room.
When I was an associate pastor, I knew that I wasn’t the main draw. One morning when I was preaching, I fielded a Sunday morning phone call asking if the Lead Pastor was preaching or not. I still regret not saying, “No, I am preaching.”
I’ve done it too. I’ve decided not to go to church if the preacher isn’t the one I prefer. Now, I’m the Lead Pastor. Numbers go up if I’m preaching. While gratifying to my ego, it bothers me. Church is not about being aligned with your local Influencer, it’s about a community lifted into the presence of God and empowered to fiercely love and bless the world.
When the pandemic began, many Influencers, including some of my favorites like Brené Brown and David Whyte, began Sunday morning livestreams. One of these offerings even started on Easter Sunday! With full acknowledgment of their good intentions, it felt like a kick in the gut. Every pastor I knew was killing themselves to learn video editing, Zoom, live-streaming, recording, and lighting. We were struggling to make space for worship and connection on a local level. And into that space marched folks with international platforms and all sorts of resources, offering content that did not require the messiness of community and the awkwardness of church.
Just like a therapist that becomes a therapist to work out their own issues (see the magical Dr. Sharon on Ted Lasso, Season 2), I became a pastor because I have issues with church. I struggle with the institutionalism and rigidity. Churches get attached to traditions, buildings and budgets and miss what it means to love neighbor and the world with the radically open arms of Jesus.
Yet, church holds the possibility of grace, connection and transformation more than any other institution I can imagine, so I stick with it. It is a counter to the consumerism and privatization that our culture has adopted. At church, you don’t get to create your playlist, you can’t “unfriend” anyone, you may hear something that doesn’t confirm to your bias, and you expose yourself to an ancient text and traditions that don’t always sound good to modern ears. All of that is beautiful and hard.
There are seasons to step away from church. I’ve had them myself. But it’s also easy to take cheap shots at church that have more to do with making you feel more righteous or hip or enlightened. As time goes on, I have less patience for that line of thinking. Every week, our community gathers and it is often vulnerable, messy and uncool. But we find Grace, we see each other, and we walk back out into the world with open arms.