I continue to be struck by how we live in in between times; in between modern and after-modern worlds, in between Christendom and after-Christendom worlds, in between Gutenberg and after-Gutenberg worlds, these are a few of the in betweens we are navigating.
The church is in between these and other things as well. What kind of leadership is called for in in between times? What kind of spirituality will nourish this new leadership? What kind of user generated content will change the outcome of the experience for those involved in meeting we call “church?” What will the navigation of these in betweens mean to how we architect new meeting spaces for the new ways of gathering as the people of God.
I have been a part of conversations over the last month where we have probed and discussed all of these in depth. In 61 different sessions over nearly 30 days we have bumped up against these questions and more. But I wonder if all of these things will only be answered when a key shift within the church’s self understanding happens…the shift from belonging to transformation.
For a long time we have trumpeted the need for the church to be a place of belonging, and while that is true I am not convinced that is the biggest need, calling or commission we have. The church has people belonging but not being, people being informed but not transformed.
I am willing to admit I might be wrong and maybe I don’t have the best vantage point. But I wonder what might happen if we in the church started shifting the questions we are asking from how people connect, to how they change, from how they belong to how they become.
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