Dreaming Organic

I recently finished reading From Eternity to Here, by Frank Viola. This was the third in my personal Viola series, beginning with Pagan Christianity and Reimagining Church.

I loved all these books, because they helped me to re-orient myself to a vision of God's purpose in the world that affirms an exalted view of the church without reducing that affirmation to a set of unexamined presumptions about what Christians should do on Sunday morning. But all this critiquing of the church has not turned me against "meeting together," only made me all the more desirous and excited about being in on the mission of God in the world with others. That's because Viola does not simply critique. He moves on to a Biblical vision of the mission of God, in From Here to Eternity, that is inspiring, Christ-exalting, and motivating.

I realize that not everyone is dissatisfied with church-as-usual, and these people tend to tremble at the thought of someone "re-imagining church." But the number of people who are leaving the institutional church (and not necessarily out of selfish motivation) is, some say, enormous. Don't make groundless assumptions about these church-leavers. they don't necessarily want to be free-agents or lone-rangers. They are not necessarily chasing a will-o-the-wisp of false teaching. They are simply wondering if the family of God, in which Christ is the first-born of many brothers and sisters--or, to change the metaphor, if the bride of Christ, for whom Jesus is returning one day for the wedding feast of the ages--might not be something more than the entrepreneurial/attractional model has to offer.

I am filled with wonder when someone tells me that the church in America does not need to be re-imagined. This is simply a failure of discernment. The reformation slogan, semper reformanda, speaks to this very need. As do Christ's letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. Organic Christianity may seem like nothing more than another catch-phrase, but it encapsulates the dream of many--including (I would humbly suggest) of God Himself.

3 More Things

I think I love Scribio Facio Noto (even though I don't know what it means).

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I also love Anthony Esolen's thinking on the election. Like the man said, "Put not your trust in princes."

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I've been warned about Frank Viola's books. A well-meaning friend suggested I read some heresy-hunter's blog concerning him (she said she was afraid for me). This is all very strange, as it was clear that she had no idea what his books were actually about. It seems that the co-author of Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ is sure some dangerous fellow! Not that I expect everyone to agree with Viola all the time (heck, I have some reservations myself), but I would say Viola has reoriented my views significantly (I'm brainwashed!). Anyway, I've been warned:

Re-imagining Church

I just finished Frank Viola's Reimagining Church. And I think he's right.

Could I have said this a year ago? Probably not. Although I was bored by the standardized church experience, I didn't question that it was essentially the right (the only) format--the approved and anointed format--for doing church. Oh, perhaps the music could be tweaked a little (or a lot), and the sermon should have contained more of this and less of that, but I didn't question the necessity of sermons. I sensed that there was something false and cloying about much religious rhetoric, and something annoyingly self-serving about the promo-culture of church life (you know, promote the book, promote the movie, promote the latest church-based program, promote evangelism, promote volunteer-ism, promote morality, promote leadership training so more folks can take the lead in this culture of promotion). Toward the end of my 18-year career of pew-sitting (except when ushering, at which time I showed other people to their pews) I even began to wonder if sitting in rows listening to a lecturer/showman for 45 minutes every Sunday morning was really all that helpful. But what was the alternative?

Viola presents the alternative in Reimagining Church. In short, he's describing "organic church." A community of Christ followers that involves the cultivation of real relationship and life-sharing, untethered to institutional structures and Sunday morning verities.

Am I ready for that?

I have no idea.

But Viola has definitely started me wondering and imagining. The subtitle of his book, "Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity," is an invitation. Shall we?