Starting a New Missional Community: Day 60

June 29, 2011

This afternoon I walked several blocks of Redwood City with a friend who has lived there for several years. We started on El Camino and walked westward. I was struck by the high number of residences for renters--apartment complexes (from the 1950s or 1960s, we guessed) and houses that had been divided into rental units. There were a number of people, mostly young and Latino, out and about in this neighborhood; we were the only Anglos.

The neighborhood changed abruptly. On one side of a major cross-street, there were apartments and other rental properties with overgrown yards; on the other side of the street, there were houses with immaculate yards. And almost no people--the more suburban the neighborhood became, the sleepier it became.

We also came across two church buildings that I had not known existed--one belonging to a Southern Baptist Convention congregation and the other belonging to a Latino congregation. The second building was for sale. It wasn't clear to us that the church still gathers there.

Canadians Talk Church Planting (BOOK REVIEW: FRESH AND RE:FRESH: CHURCH PLANTING AND URBAN MISSION IN CANADA POST-CHRISTENDOM)

Fresh and Re:Fresh is largely a collection of essays written by Canadian pastors who have either planted or revitalized churches in the last decade or so. The book opens with an introduction by Leonard Hjalmarson that serves well as a primer on missional church. He writes: "If we organize ourselves around mission rather than around church, we will have to find new measures of success. When we enter our neighborhoods in small and ordinary ways, we lose the drama of theatre that plays out at carefully orchestrated meetings on Sunday mornings. Life becomes ordinary and simpler" (p. 13). Hjalmarson sees missional leaders not as entrepreneurs (the type of leadership that grows megachurches), but as poets--people who "bring questions that invite dialogue" (p. 21).

The contributions that follow are a mixed bag, unevenly written pieces about communities that are only sometimes clearly missional (one community, for example, seems to be little more than a worship service). David Fitch's chapter (pp. 24-34) is perhaps the most interesting. Fitch, who started a church in suburban Chicago, argues that the way church planting was done through the 1980s relied heavily on the presence of large numbers of dechurched people (especially boomers) who were attracted back to church by new churches that marketed themselves with them in mind. With the number of these people dwindling, church planting will have to change, becoming more creative in order to start relationships with people who are truly unchurched. Today's church planters will need to be survivors (probably bi-vocational), communal shepherds, interpretive leaders, and spiritual directors--and they will not be top-down leaders. They will need at least five years to establish anything like a self-sufficient community.

This book is useful as a source of ideas. Faith communities described include one that gathers in a coffeehouse, two that meet in homes, and one that nests in the building of an established church. The stories here reveal a God who works through a variety of communities in a variety of ways.

Conversations with Church Planters

I've had conversations with three more church planters since late May, all men, ranging in age from thirty-something to fifty-something. Two are Presbyterian, one is Nazarene. One has been at it for about eight years, another about six years, and the third just a few months.

Two of the three church starts did not have a seed congregation. All three started with groups of about a dozen people, and they now have from fourteen to more than a hundred people involved. Only one of the three church starts has received a substantial amount of outside funding.

These faith communities all first gathered in homes. One is still gathering in a home; it hopes to relocate to a restaurant soon. (The planter, who is a wonderful cook, plans to be bi-vocational, running the restaurant for profit.) The other two communities rent space for their worship gatherings. None of them currently owns property.

Target groups named by the church starters have included young families, young adults, and the dechurched. These church planters have used missional language (service, neighborliness, community, "the priesthood of all believers," etc.) pervasively. One church plant is already making plans to multiply by planting a church itself.

Redwood City Demographics 2

At the new church development conference I attended earlier this month, I was introduced to Mission Insite, which does "mission context analysis" (demographics for churches). This organization has provided me with two reports on Redwood City's current and projected population. I requested one that included a two-mile radius with Sequoia High School at the center and another that was customized to include a smaller portion of Redwood City (I excluded the hills west of the city).

The first survey included a slice of San Carlos. The second survey included no San Carlos residents (about 15,000 fewer people). Not surprisingly, this change caused the average age and the average household income to drop from the first report to the second report. Also, the percentage of Anglos dropped--from a majority to a plurality.

The second report (which covered the area south of Whipple, north of Stockbridge, east of Alameda de las Pulgas, and west of 101) found close to 65,000 people, with little growth projected between now and 2015. The average age of these people is 37, with 79% under 55. The racial/ethnic breakdown of Redwood City is 46% Anglo, 41% Latino, 7% Asian, 3% Pacific Islander, and 2% African American. The fastest-growing racial-ethnic group is Asian.

The information that I found most interesting (perhaps because it was new to me) had to do with "mosaic types" (kinds of people). According to Mission Insite, there are at least ten mosaic types in Redwood City.

Mosaic 2010 Study Area

UPSCALE SUBURBANITES 5,839 26.3%

AFFLUENT URBAN PROFESSIONALS 4,565 20.6%

STABLE CAREERS 3,608 16.3%

ASPIRING HISPANIA 2,564 11.6%

NUEVO HISPANIC FAMILIES 2,347 10.6%

AMERICA’S WEALTHIEST 736 3.3%

SECOND CITY HOMEBODIES 616 2.8%

GRAY PERSPECTIVES 577 2.6%

SOLID SUBURBAN LIFE 438 2.0%

YOUNG COSMOPOLITANS 317 1.4%

Taking one group as an example, Young Cosmopolitans make up just 1.4% of the target area's population--a total of 317 people. It probably wouldn't be wise for a new faith community in Redwood City to make this group its primary focus. The largest mosaic types in Redwood City are Upscale Suburbanites (26%), Affluent Urban Professionals (21%), Stable Careers (16%), Aspiring Hispania (12%), and Nuevo Hispanic Families (11%). Who are these people? Upscale Suburbanites are predominately Anglo and Asian with college degrees, high incomes, and cosmopolitan tastes; this group's median age is 43. Affluent Urban Professionals are late Boomers and Gen Xers (median age 38), again predominately Anglo and Asian, but middle income; they like Apple products, VH-1, exercise, wine, and coffee. Stable Careers are multiethnic and middle income, median age 33. Aspiring Hispania are multiethnic (more than half are Hispanic) and middle income, median age 30; they tend to live in dual-income households. Nuevo Hispanic Families are 80% Hispanic, median age 29; fifty percent are bilingual, with many having young children. 

To learn more about these and other mosaic types, see Missional Cyclopedia.

Preaching John (Part Forty-Nine)

John 18:28-19:16a (Summary)

The climax of the Jesus-story continues with the taking of Jesus from the high priest Caiaphas to the Roman governor Pilate. Pilate is at least nervous about (if not yet afraid of) Jesus, whom he has heard called "King of the Jews." The governor's first instinct is to stay out of a potentially messy situation, and he tells the Jews to take care of their own business. Having been given permission to do with Jesus whatever they want, "the chief priests and the [Jewish] police (19:6)" decline, protesting--they want Jesus dead, but they want the Romans to do the dirty work. So great is their hatred for Jesus and his way that they want their fellow Jew crucified, an especially humiliating and gruesome way to die that would have the added benefit of suggesting that following Jesus leads to accursedness.

Pilate's conversation with Jesus betrays a wariness on the part of the former. Jesus speaks of having a kingdom that is neither from (in terms of origin) nor of (in terms of characteristics) this world--it is, for example, nonviolent. Yet Jesus is not trying to convince Pilate that he poses no threat; had Jesus wanted to evade death, he would have mentioned neither a kingdom nor followers--Pilate and Rome want no competition. Instead, Jesus resists the temptation here and until his death (as earlier when he stopped Peter from defending him) to preserve his life. His faith in God is seen in his willingness to die.

Pilate shrewdly has Jesus tortured, hoping to satisfy the chief priests and Jewish police without creating a martyr who inspires his followers to take up arms against their oppressors. Pilate gives the accusers another chance to show their fellow Jew mercy. Instead, they demand his crucifixion, claiming that he is guilty of blasphemy. Then Pilate is described as "more afraid than ever" (19:8).

Questioned again, the bloodied and suffering Jesus insists that--appearances to the contrary--God is sovereign, and Pilate is God's subject. Jesus' claim must have seemed ludicrous under the circumstances: God has more power than Pilate! Jesus remains obedient unto death, trusting that he and his way will ultimately be vindicated by the power of God. Pilate has no such faith; he chooses to exercise his power by having Jesus crucified--the Roman method of execution.

Preaching John (Part Forty-Eight)

John 18:28-19:16a (History of Interpretation)

Calvin thinks that some Jews want Jesus dead "not from passion or hatred," but simply because they believe Jesus has broken the Mosaic law. (This interpretation strikes me as naive.) This reason Calvin finds legitimate--claiming to be God makes one "worthy of death" (Calvin: Commentaries, p. 89). But Calvin thinks these Jews are wrong in their application of the law, in that Christ made this claim truthfully.

McClymont notes that Jews did execute people by stoning; but when they did so, it was "illegal" (Saint John, p. 264). He also comments on Jesus' words about his kingdom. According to McClymont, Jesus wanted "to shew how different his kingdom is from the kingdoms of this world" (p. 265). McClymont observes that the pronoun in "my kingdom" is emphatic, and that the pronoun sometimes translated "from" ("not from this world") can also be rendered "of" ("not of this world"). McClymont interprets Jesus' comments on power (or "authority") through the lens of Romans 13--Jesus is simply telling Pilate that he is subject to a greater authority.

Whitacre, who reads a great deal into this passage, asserts that Jesus' opponents want Pilate to do the deed so that they can "remain ritually pure" (John, p. 438). Whitacre suspects that Jews could have received permission to kill Jesus themselves, but that they wanted Jesus crucified (only Romans crucified) because it was an especially terrible way to die, and because it suggested that its victim was "accursed by God" (p. 439). (Deuteronomy 21:23 says that "anyone hung on a tree is under God's curse.") The opponents of Jesus not only want him dead, they also want everything he has taught and done discredited--his way of life will bring accursedness rather than blessedness.

Kysar offers opinions on both the term "the Jews" and the deterministic tone of parts of John (6:65, 18:37, and 19:11, for example). About the first, he speculates that this language came into use "after the Christians had developed their own identity separate from Judaism...which does not ultimately defuse the dangerously anti-Semitic quality of the Gospel" (John, the Maverick Gospel, p. 84). About the second, Kysar notes that John uses both deterministic and decisional language throughout, holding the two in tension without attempting to explain away the apparent contradiction (pp. 85-88).

Preaching John (Part Forty-Seven)

John 18:28-19:16a (Context)

The first part of John 18 tells of the betrayal of Jesus first by Judas and then by Peter. The accusers of Jesus seem to be Judas, Roman soldiers, Jewish police, and religious leaders, including Caiaphas, the high priest. Immediately following John 18:28-19a, the story moves to the crucifixion of Jesus (John 19:18).

Throughout the Gospel of John, "the Jews" tends to be a derogatory term that usually if not always refers to some Jews--specifically, the religious leaders. By the time the fourth Gospel was written late in the first century, Jewish followers of Jesus had been kicked out of the synagogues, thus creating animosity between "Christians" and Jews. Also, persecution of Christians by the Romans had escalated under Nero, which may explain John's somewhat sympathetic portrayal of Pilate (had this writing fallen into Roman hands, its destruction would have been less likely than it would have been had it criticized the Roman governing authority).

There are two other uses of the perfect passive participle dedomenon in John. In John 3:27, humankind receives what God has given it. In John 6:65, a person is said to be unable to come to God unless God allows it.

Preaching John (Part Forty-Six)

John 18:28-19:16a (Disposition)

"Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters" (18:28). Who are "they"? Who are "the Jews" who gather outside Pilate's headquarters and demand that Jesus be crucified?

Pilate is said to be "more afraid [of Jesus] than ever" (suggesting he has had concerns about Jesus from the start) in 19:8. Is he afraid (ejobhqh) of Jesus from the start? Why would he fear Jesus? What does he hope to learn from the questions he asks Jesus? How would he benefit from letting Jesus go? How would he benefit from having Jesus crucified?

Are the accusers of Jesus telling the truth when they claim that they "are not permitted to put anyone to death"? Have there not been multiple attempts to stone Jesus (not to mention a woman caught in adultery) earlier in John? Why would they prefer that the Romans kill Jesus for them?

What does the post-torture conversation between Pilate and Jesus (19:10-11) say about power? Who has power in this story? What does Jesus believe about God's power? In 19:11, Jesus tells Pilate that the latter's power has "been given [him] from above" (dedomenon [perfect passive participle] soi anwqen).

Preaching John (Part Forty-Five)

John 18:28-19:16a (Initial Acquaintance)

My faith community has been working its way through the Gospel of John lectio continua (verse by verse, week to week). Last week, we reached the start of the climax of the Jesus-story, with Jesus getting betrayed and arrested. With John 18:28, the setting moves "to Pilate's headquarters." We are also told the time of day--"early in the morning." Apparently, however, it's not too early for a trial, as Pilate comes out of his headquarters to see who has been dragged before him.

The conversation between Pilate and the accusers of Jesus starts with a simple question from the former followed by an evasive answer from the latter. Pilate appears to be disinterested in Jesus and unconcerned about the Jew's fate. But the accusers insist that the Roman governing authority find Jesus guilty and put him to death; they claim that they "are not permitted to put anyone to death" (18:31).

Interestingly, Pilate then has Jesus go inside with him--perhaps for a private conversation. Pilate is now curious about this Jewish rabbi, not sure what to think. Apparently, Pilate has heard something about Jesus--namely, rumors that he is "King of the Jews" (18:33). Then it's Jesus' turn to be evasive, before a second question from Pilate prompts a more pointed response: "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here" (18:36). With this statement, Jesus distances himself from both the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Rome; he is neither an Israelite patriot nor a Roman patriot. But this statement also raises the suspicion of Pilate, who shrewdly decides to put the decision regarding Jesus on the Jews outside. After this mob decides not to show mercy to Jesus, Pilate has Jesus tortured. Perhaps thinking that this brutality will be enough to keep Jesus in line, Pilate gives the crowd another chance to show their fellow Jew mercy. Instead, they demand his crucifixion, claiming that he is guilty of blasphemy.

Then Pilate is described as "afraid" (19:8). Apparently indecisive, he questions the bloodied and suffering Jesus more. Jesus responds by making a claim that must have seemed ludicrous under the circumstances: Jesus claims that his God has more power than Pilate. Then, in a remarkable twist, the Jewish nationalists who want the unpatriotic Jesus dead appeal to Pilate's Roman patriotism! "If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor" (19:12). Ultimately, Pilate chooses to have Jesus executed by crucifixion--the Roman method of execution.

Redwood City Church Visit #6

I am worshiping with established Redwood City churches in order to learn what they are already doing. My hope is to imagine a faith community that is different from these churches in order to engage people in God's mission who are not already so engaged (the unchurched or dechurched); I don't want to cannibalize existing churches. My posts on my local church visits will be descriptions, not evaluations.

Redwood City Church #6

Denomination: Episcopalian
Facility: Traditional church building
Location: Central Redwood City
Pew Bible: None (the readings printed in the bulletin were from the New Revised Standard Version)
Theological House: Liberal Protestant
Worship Services: 2 on Sunday mornings
Worship Styles: Traditional

I worshiped with an Episcopalian church at its second morning service (according to the church's Web site, its early-morning gathering is a smaller, acappella service). Just over fifty people assembled for worship on a bright June morning, an intergenerational mix--close to two dozen seniors and builders, about a dozen boomers, about a dozen members of Gen X and Gen Y, and several young children. Most of us were Anglo, with about half a dozen non-Anglos present. Robed clergy and other worship leaders led us in orderly fashion through a traditional liturgy with the help of a printed order of worship that was fifteen pages long. The music was played on a piano, lyrics printed in the bulletin (no projector or screen). There were a number of responsive parts and two Scripture readings (one Old Testament, one New Testament). A clergywoman preached a fifteen-minute sermon, focusing on the OT text (Genesis 22:1-14). This message was followed by the Nicene Creed, prayer, and the Eucharist, the last of which included universalist language. The post-communion hymn spoke of welcoming all.

Redwood City Church Visit #5

I am worshiping with established Redwood City churches in order to learn what they are already doing. My hope is to imagine a faith community that is different from these churches in order to engage people in God's mission who are not already so engaged (the unchurched or dechurched); I don't want to cannibalize existing churches. My posts on my local church visits will be descriptions, not evaluations.

Redwood City Church #5

Denomination: Free Methodist
Facility: Contemporary church building
Location: Downtown Redwood City
Pew Bible: New International Version
Theological House: Conservative Evangelical
Worship Services: 2 on Saturday mornings
Worship Styles: 2 Contemporary (1 English, 1 Japanese)

I visited this congregation's early morning service (its late-morning service is in Japanese). I was greeted warmly by multiple persons both before entering the sanctuary and during a designated greeting time fifteen minutes into worship. There were between seventy and eighty worshipers, the vast majority Asian and not more than a dozen Caucasian. The gathering started with a set of soft rock songs, the large praise band featuring multiple guitars, a keyboard, and drums. After fifteen minutes of music (and some singing), there was a children's message (about a dozen children), the aforementioned greeting time (during which I spoke with a delightful senior who told me she had been part of the church since the 1950s), a number of announcements, and a forty-minute message--a full hour uninterrupted by music. The preacher, a Chinese-American man in his late thirties or early forties, was dressed casually, fitting his speaking style. His message was heavy on illustrative material, and I had difficulty figuring out the connection between some of his illustrations and the text (John 17). But his focus was clear: Jesus prays that his followers would neither "sell out to the world" nor "hide out from the world." The service closed with Holy Communion.

Redwood City Church Visit #4

I am worshiping with established Redwood City churches in order to learn what they are already doing. My hope is to imagine a faith community that is different from these churches in order to engage people in God's mission who are not already so engaged (the unchurched or dechurched); I don't want to cannibalize existing churches. My posts on my local church visits will be descriptions, not evaluations.

Redwood City Church #4

Denomination: Seventh-day Adventist
Facility: Traditional church building
Location: Central Redwood City
Pew Bible: New International Version
Theological House: Conservative Evangelical
Worship Services: 1 on Saturday mornings
Worship Styles: Traditional

I visited this congregation's worship service on a sunny summer Saturday in late June. There were about three dozen people assembled, an intergenerational (several children, a few seniors, and the rest of us in between) and multiethnic (Anglo, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, and African-American) mix. A sign inside the intimate sanctuary claimed the maximum occupancy to be 250, but I doubt that half that number could have fit into the worship space. The music was traditional, played on a piano and an organ, with lyrics projected on a single screen. The service was long, complete with a long sermon. Using PowerPoint slides liberally, an ethnically ambiguous man in his thirties or forties and a suit and tie preached a message about Christian families, his thesis being that there is no greater witness to Jesus than a household that loves the Lord.

Evangelical vs. Liberal (BOOK REVIEW: EVANGELICAL VS. LIBERAL: THE CLASH OF CHRISTIAN CULTURES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST)

James K. Wellman, Jr., Evangelical vs. Liberal: The Clash of Christian Cultures in the Pacific Northwest (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), pp. 306.

James K. Wellman, Jr.'s Evangelical vs. Liberal: The Clash of Christian Cultures in the Pacific Northwest is a fascinating read that should be of interest to evangelical Protestants, liberal Protestants, and everyone in between. Wellman is "a liberal Christian" (p. 284) and a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor who teaches comparative religion at the University of Washington. The study he narrates in this book compared twenty-four growing evangelical Protestant churches with ten growing liberal Protestant churches, all of them located in the largely unchurched states of Washington and Oregon. (The churches were studied between 2000 and 2005 [p. 45], making the book's findings a little bit dated.) Because of this region's progressive leanings, Wellman went into the study guessing that the liberal congregations would have an advantage; instead, he found that the evangelical congregations were growing more dramatically (numerically, at least) and that growing liberal churches were hard to find (p. xiii).

One possible reason for Wellman's difficulty is his narrow definition of liberal. To qualify as liberal for this study, a church had to see "Jesus [as] a model of radical inclusiveness," had to believe reason to be as authoritative as Scripture, had to leave "personal morality" up to "the individual," and had to support a range of positions that included a public pro-gay stand (pp. 5-6). Thus, a mainline Protestant church that saw Jesus as more than "a model of radical inclusiveness," that valued reason but that believed Scripture to have greater authority, that occasionally addressed "personal morality," that was pro-peace, anti-poverty, and concerned about the environment, and that practiced gender equality but had taken no stand on the subject of homosexuality would not be considered progressive enough to be called "liberal" in this book. The evangelical churches studied seemed to include greater variety, with everything from Pentecostal churches (6) to Presbyterian Church (USA) congregations (2) (p. 48).

After noting that even evangelical Protestantism is declining overall (p. 3), Wellman sprinkles many possible reasons for the evangelical advantage over liberal Protestantism--particularly in the Northwest--throughout his book.

• Evangelicals have more children and retain a higher percentage of these children than do non-evangelicals (pp. 6-8). As one evangelical pastor interviewed by Wellman put it, "We believe in out-reproducing the liberals" (p. 278).
• In a reversal since the 1970s, evangelicals are now more public with their faith, and "[t]he public voice of liberals is now relatively mute" (p. 19). Interestingly, evangelical activity in the public square seems not to have impacted the Northwest's politics; in fact, Washington and Oregon became even bluer in the 2008 presidential election than they had been in 2004. ("Of the 298 evangelicals [interviewed] in the study, only 7 claimed to be Democrats" [p. 238].)
• Evangelicals nurture one another in "smaller religious enclaves" (p. 32). "Forty-three percent of evangelicals talked about participation in a small group whereas less than one percent of liberals were active in a small group" (p. 155).
• Consistent with their belief in hell, evangelicals emphasize evangelism; consistent with their belief in tolerance, liberals do not try to convert others--they "prefer everyone to be accepting as they are" (p. 37). Interestingly, Wellman found that the evangelical churches in his study did no better than the liberal churches in true evangelism; rather, the evangelical edge was in recruiting churched people to their churches, taking advantage of the large number of newcomers to the Northwest in recent years (pp. 53-54). Evangelicals wanted larger churches; liberals did not (p. 134). 
• Although the Northwest leans left in many ways, "the region is not liberal in the sense of being communitarian or devoted to larger public projects for the common good. It is fundamentally entrepreneurial and libertarian." The evangelical pastors interviewed by Wellman were the more entrepreneurial (p. 43).
• Because of the Northwest's progressivism, people living there can find most of what liberal churches offer outside of these churches: "What do liberals add to the regional ethos? My conclusion is that...liberal theology mostly mirrors the egalitarian and inclusive nature of the regional moral landscape" (p. 43). Offering little that is distinctive, liberal churches may seem unnecessary.
• Twenty of the twenty-four evangelical churches were suburban; seven of the ten liberal churches were urban (p. 45).
• Evangelicals target young people, both families with children in the home and young adults, contextualizing their ministry with these groups in mind; most of the liberal churches studied by Wellman were making little if any effort to engage these groups (pp. 110, 158-159). The fastest-growing liberal church was an exception (p. 131). All of "the [evangelical] worship services include[d] contemporary rock music" (p. 15) and were informal (pp. 132-136); "worship in liberal churches...was relatively formal and traditional" (p. 128). Tellingly, when Wellman sent students to observe churches, many of them returned describing the evangelical churches as "liberal" and the liberal churches as "conservative" (p. 83).
• The evangelical churches in this study made more effective use of technology than did their liberal counterparts; for example, their Web sites tended (1) to have a more local focus, (2) to be more interactive, and (3) to be updated more frequently (pp. 148-151).
• The study's evangelical churches saw their service to their communities as a means to an end--a way to bring new sheep into the fold; the study's liberal churches saw service as an end in itself (p. 212).

Wellman concludes:

Evangelical theology and organizational structures appeal to people in need of human connection. The PNW [Pacific Northwest] is a region that is entrepreneurial and respectful of a market mentality; evangelical leaders in particular resonate with this mentality of growth, expansion, and reward.... Liberals, on the other hand, appeal to the individualism of northwesterners, who value the freedom to think for themselves. Liberals, however, are less entrepreneurial, less interested in growth and expansion, and less organizationally dynamic, though they offer a religious ideology that is open and expansive, which northwesterners treasure and mirror. And yet, in this way, liberal religionists may be too much like the region. (p. 282)

Can I have a third option?

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 46

June 15

This afternoon I walked for more than three hours in Redwood City's 89 degrees. I covered about eight miles. My walk started at the intersection of Alameda de las Pulgas and Woodside, zigzagged through mostly residential neighborhoods to the downtown, and then returned up Brewster before zigzagging again. The folks who were out and about in this part of town were a multiethnic (mostly Anglo and Latino) and an intergenerational (mostly young adults and children) mix. I had one conversation of length, with an Anglo man about my age who appeared far too warm yet wanted a cigarette.

Interestingly, my circuitous route took me past no fewer than seventeen houses of worship, twelve belonging to orthodox Protestant churches (one of which is closed). (By my count, there are thirteen English-speaking, orthodox Protestant churches in RWC.) Judging from the size and condition of their buildings (which, admittedly, is not much to go on), these faith communities are smallish and aging--with the exception of the two Roman Catholic churches, whose buildings were massive. Below is a photo tour.

Woodside UMC
  

Messiah ELCA



St. Pius

Redwood Baptist

Grace Bible

Redwood Church

Kingdom Hall (Jehovah's Witnesses)

Happy Science

Peninsula Free Methodist Church

First UMC

St. Peter's Episcopal Church

Seventh-day Adventist Church

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Redeemer Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod)

First Baptist (closed)

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Sequoia Christian Church

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 44

June 13

This morning at a Redwood City coffeehouse I extended an invitation to a RWC resident to be part of the visioning team I hope to begin gathering in September. He expressed strong interest in taking part, and I asked him to think and pray about the invitation. I'd like to find at least eight adults who are excited about participating in this team's work; I'm looking for at least five more.

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 36

June 5, 2011

Today I visited two more churches who gather for worship on Hollywood Boulevard--ecclesia and Mosaic (Hollywood). I was joined for the first experience by a friend who started a church in the area about six years ago. We met outside the Pacific Theater, which now appears to be used exclusively by ecclesia. This faith community's Web site (http://www.churchinhollywood.com/#/home) includes information about the church's founding:

In the Spring of 2005, ten people decided to take a risk.... Desiring to preserve a small ministry in Hollywood, the “founding families” pooled their resources to host a service at the American Legion Hall on Highland Avenue. It was clunky and unprofessional. The room was hot, the sound system was a relic, and they weren’t sure anyone would show up. But there was a need. And people showed up.... After worshiping in seven locations in our first 3 years, in May of 2007 God led us to the Hollywood Pacific Theater. Uniquely positioned in an iconic building, on an iconic street, in an iconic city, we are striving to bring the love and life of Jesus to those on the Boulevard and beyond.

Along with many other people, we entered the building. We were dressed appropriately, which is to say informally. Little had been done to change the lobby--it retained the look of an old theater. We grabbed some coffee (self-serve) and entered the auditorium, greeted by a smiling person and handed bulletins along the way. The bulletin contained no order of worship, just announcements about the church's life.

By the time we had sat down in the middle of the cavernous space, the band on the stage had begun to play, lyrics to the songs they sang projected on a large screen behind them. The music was little different from what I had heard the day before when I worshipped down the street with Seventh-day Adventists--maybe a little more alt rock than anthem rock. The front man here, however, was more Hollywood.

Scanning the congregation of about 200 people, I counted dozens of hipsters--white twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings dressed casually but sharply, many with facial hair. I guessed myself to be, at forty, above the median age. We fill only about half the seats, some of us singing and others just spectating.

After a number of songs, an infant was dedicated with a few words and a brief prayer. Then a guest preacher was introduced. He spoke on a passage from the Gospel of John, with about half his thirty-minute message devoted to showing connections between passages from the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls, on the one hand, and the teaching of Jesus, on the other hand. The preacher proclaimed that Jesus is king, and we owe him our allegiance. Provocatively, he reminded us that our allegiance is to Jesus rather than to America. But he stopped short of imagining what this might look like in practice. Instead of a call to discipleship, the sermon ended with an invitation to make an undefined commitment to an abstract Christ in a silent prayer for which approximately twenty seconds were given. This time was followed by communion (by intinction), another song (or two) and a benediction.

After the worship service, my friend and I wandered up Hollywood Boulevard until we found a coffeehouse. I ordered an iced coffee, and it turned out to be so large that I was soon sweating the smell of java. As self-declared experts on all things missional, we decided that the church we had just spent time with was shrewd at contextualization, but that it was more attractional than missional. Then I peppered my friend with questions about his experience as a church planter...until his wife called and told him to come home.

I spent the next few hours walking Hollywood neighborhoods, arriving at another church-building-formerly-known-as-a-theater a few minutes before the start of its five o'clock worship gathering. (Mosaic Hollywood is one of several Mosaic communities in the Los Angeles area; the large church chose to be multiple faith communities in many neighborhoods rather than one megachurch in one neighborhood--to its credit, it seems to me.) Inside the building, I waded through a buzzing mob of young people, a meat market of flirting singles dressed like they were going out on the town (designer casual)--or on their way to a shoot. It was a meat market. And when else do Christian singles meet other Christian singles but church?

The worship gathering, held in a darkened auditorium, was so slick from start to finish that I doubt I would have been deemed suitable for even the closing announcements. Everything from the music (rock again, more on the pop side) to the spoken word Scripture reading to the message was so smoothly performed that when one of the spoken worders (is that a word?) got tongue-tied she looked as if she thought she had committed a mortal sin. It was a well-produced hour or so that challenged me only in the sense that I left wondering whether I needed to be better looking and more rehearsed to lead worship.

As advertised, Mosaic was a multiethnic community--but it wasn't as diverse as the Seventh-day Adventist community had been the day prior. My trip to Hollywood (Boulevard) was a tale of three churches. I think were I a local I would frequent the Seventh-day Adventist church--the quirkiest, least cool of the three, and the one that most reflected the diverse people of its neighborhood.

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 35

June 4, 2011

This morning I worshipped with Hollywood Adventist Church, a Seventh-day Adventist community that gathers in a purple building on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and North Van Ness Avenue. (The aging building looks like it either was a theater or was modeled after a theater.) I became aware of this church a few years ago when it was mentioned by one of my Fuller Seminary professors as an example of a missional community (I was studying Missional Leadership in Fuller's doctoral program).

Typical of California crowds, worshippers were casual both in dress and in punctuality--they continued to arrive at least fifteen minutes after the service started. The gathering songs were anthem rock, well performed (but singalongable) and loud, lyrics on two screens. Looking around the sanctuary, I was impressed to see a large number of young adults, with more than half of the 100+ worshippers in their twenties, thirties, or forties. Equally impressive was the great ethnic diversity--the largest number of persons present appeared to be Anglo, but there were also many Latinos, Asians, and African-Americans. When one of the song leaders invited us to greet one another, I was welcomed by an African-American woman who was sitting beside me, a Latino couple who was sitting in front of me, and an Asian man who was sitting behind me. The people assembled looked like the people I had seen earlier while walking the neighborhood around the church building. They greeted me with the words, "Happy Sabbath."

The pastor's first appearance was made well into the service when he baptized his ten-year-old daughter. Later, he preached on John 17, challenging us to think of eternal life less as something to be enjoyed in the future and more as something to be lived in the present. Eternal life is experienced in this lifetime, he explained, when we follow Jesus obediently. The preacher's delivery was unpretentious; he spoke in a conversational tone, making use of notes on a music stand.

The bulletin had only a barebones order of worship, with most of the space used for content describing the church's mission. Among the information here was news about "community organizing and service initiatives." The church's staff includes a Peace and Justice Coordinator.

Preaching John (Part Forty-Four)

John 17:1-26 (Summary)

John 17:1-26 is the farewell prayer of Jesus. Facing betrayal, torture, and death, Jesus takes time to speak to God, making requests for both himself and his followers (both the eleven with him and persons to come). The prayer culminates with Jesus asking God to help both present and future disciples "be one." This Christian unity will reflect the unity of the Father and the Son and will be a faith-provoking witness, helping the watching world believe.

Jesus makes no mention of agreement among the disciples. His followers are not in agreement on all matters, as John and the other Gospels make clear. Their unity is in "the truth" (17:17, 19)--which is Jesus (14:6). Paul echoes this didactic prayer in his own teaching, most famously Galatians 3:28.

If Christian unity is not seen in agreement, then in what is it seen? Jesus connects the theme of unity to his relationship with God--paraphrased, "As we are in relationship, let them be in relationship." The relational language used by Jesus suggests that oneness or unity is seen in the decision to remain in relationship. This decision will be despite differences (especially clear in Paul's teaching) rather than because of agreement. As he prays, Jesus knows that terrible times await; he wants his followers to tough them out, remaining together in order to continue his witness in and for the world.

Preaching John (Part Forty-Three)

John 17:1-26 (History of Interpretation)

Commenting on John 17:3, Calvin speaks of "eternal life" as something that is not only future, but also present. We "enter into the possession of life" when God gives us faith. Our transformation "into the image of God" begins with knowledge of God in this lifetime (Calvin: Commentaries, p. 137).

About the same time (1561) that Calvin wrote, Bullinger opined about "dissensions and strife in the church": "We are reproached because there have been manifold dissensions and strife in our churches since they separated themselves from the Church of Rome.... There have at all times been great contentions in the Church, and the most excellent teachers of the Church have differed among themselves about important matters without meanwhile the Church ceasing to be the Church because of these contentions" (The Second Helvetic Confession).

Shepherd credits the self-referencing use of the third person by Jesus to "the constructive skill of the evangelist" (the writer of John). Shepherd hears the prayer connecting unity, truth (which Jesus has earlier identified as himself [14:6]), and love. "[T]he last and the eternally continuing prayer of Jesus is that the unity of love and purpose he has with his Father will be reflected in the unity of the church in himself" (The New Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary on the Bible, p. 724).

Whitacre comments that the "oneness" desired by Jesus "is not merely a unity of thought among those who receive the teaching of Jesus. It is a matter of shared life" (John, pp. 411-412).

Carter also notes that the language of 17:21 is relational. When Jesus speaks of oneness here, he suggests an "intimate relationship with God" (John, p. 53).

Preaching John (Part Forty-Two)

John 17:1-26 (Context)

Looking at the literary context of John, one finds the theme of love emphasized early and often by Jesus, with joy and peace making appearances in chapter 16. John 18 tells of the arrest and trial of Jesus. The prayer of Jesus in John 17 is offered at a tense moment. Perhaps Jesus' mind gravitates to unity because he realizes that the stress that will follow will tempt his disciples to break fellowship and go their separate ways.

Paul, probably aware of the teaching of Jesus on unity, picks up this theme in a number of places, most famously Galatians 3:28: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." According to Paul, the unity of Christians is found in Jesus--not in agreement (much less agreement about one or more of the most debated topics of the day). The agreement suggested by the prayer of Jesus and the teaching of Paul (especially elsewhere in 1 Corinthians 1:10) is agreement to "have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16; see also Philippians 2:2-5); and one of the things on Christ's mind is unity. Followers of Jesus have a common desire to follow him, and following him includes sharing his mindset; but along the way, they will disagree. Neither Jesus nor Paul was naive enough to think otherwise.

Also noteworthy is the fact that Paul establishes that people with differences "are one in Christ Jesus." Jews and Greeks have differences; slaves and free folks have differences; men and women have differences. Despite these differences, they are united in Jesus Christ. Jesus--not their likeness, whether like-mindedness or any other variety of homogeneity--unites them. If agreement is necessary for their unity, then it is agreement that they will follow Jesus together--that they will "be of the same mind in the Lord" (Philippians 4:2).

Preaching John (Part Forty-One)

John 17:1-26 (Disposition)

This passage is interesting not just for what Jesus prays, but also for the fact that he prays at all. Knowing his time is short, Jesus nonetheless takes time to pray at length. According to the example of Jesus, prayer is faithful action in the face of betrayal and violence.

The contents of the prayer are also thought provoking. Jesus prays first for himself--that he would be glorified by God. Then he prays for his disciples, both the eleven who are present with him and those persons who "will believe"--who will follow him--in the future. Jesus does not, however, pray for the world--he mentions it with hope (17:21, 23), but he does not pray for it.

For his present and future followers, Jesus prays for unity--"that they may all be one" (17:21). What does this language suggest? What does the unity in view look like? What is its basis? What role (if any) does agreement play in the unity for which Jesus prays? What purpose does this oneness serve? How has the church done with unity?

Other questions include What is "eternal life" (17:2-3)? and Why does Jesus refer to himself in the third person in verses 1-3?

Preaching John (Part Forty)

John 17:1-26 (Initial Acquaintance)

After emphasizing the theme of love in a number of ways from its beginning, the Gospel of John touches on joy and peace in its sixteenth chapter. Now in John 17, Jesus adds the theme of unity to his teaching. This teaching comes in the form of a didactic prayer: "After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, 'Father...'" (17:1); "[a]fter Jesus had spoken these words..." (18:1).

The first part of the prayer (17:1-5) focuses on the relationship between the Father and Jesus ("the Son"). Jesus describes "eternal life" (aiwnioV zwh) as knowledge of God and Jesus the "sent" one. Here Jesus also speaks of his pre-incarnate existence.

The second section (17:6-10) focuses on the disciples of Jesus. Jesus affirms them for their obedience to God, their belief in Jesus' "sent"-ness, and their giving glory to Jesus. These words are perhaps the kindest description of the first Jesus-students anywhere in the Gospels.

Jesus then begins to use "in the world but not of the world" language (17:11-19). Shortly, Jesus will no longer be "in the world," but his disciples will remain there. Still, neither Jesus nor his followers "belong to the world." (The word translated "world" is kosmos.) Jesus prays that his disciples will be protected. Also, he speaks of them not being isolated from the world; instead, they have been "sent" into the world.

Finally, Jesus expands the number of persons for whom he prays to include his future followers--the church universal (17:20-26). Jesus prays that his disciples "may all be one." This unity has as its basis the unity of the Father and the Son; and the unity of the disciples with one another witnesses to their unity with God and Jesus.

What You Can Get for 2.6 Million in Redwood City

A closed church's building in Redwood City, selling for just 2.6 million. See: http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/17154193/401-James-Street-Redwood-City-CA/.

Start New Churches or Die (BOOK REVIEW: THE AMERICAN CHURCH IN CRISIS)

David T. Olson, The American Church in Crisis (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), pp. 237.

David T. Olson's well-written The American Church in Crisis contains a wealth of statistical information based on data from hundreds of thousands of churches in America. Here are some of Olson's most interesting findings.

• Self-reporting of worship attendance is compromised by the "halo effect," and the actual percentage of Americans who attend a worship service "on any given weekend" is only 17 or 18 (p. 29).
• "Seventy-seven percent of Americans do not have a consistent, life-giving connection with a local church" (p. 30).
• All of the three largest varieties of churches in America (evangelical, mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic) are declining in worship attendance, with evangelical churches declining the least and Roman Catholic churches declining the most (p. 36). (In California, this pattern holds, except that Roman Catholic churches are faring better than mainline Protestant churches.)
• Mainline Protestant church attendance declined by about 10% from 1990 to 2005 (p. 54). 
• "Mainline churches...have older members and older clergy than evangelical churches. In a 2001 survey, they had twice as many self-identified members over 65 years old as did evangelical and Roman Catholic churches, half as many 18- to 29-year olds, and one-third fewer singles" (p. 55). It's a double whammy for mainliners--lower birthrate and higher deathrate.
• "The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)...needs to plant 10 times as many churches as they currently do. Their established churches are declining by 30,000 attendees per year, and their new churches add fewer than 2,500 each year" (p. 56).
• "[N]ew churches are the leading growth factor" (p. 58). From 2000 to 2005, the "decline in the number of Protestant mainline and Roman Catholic churches was almost 2,500, [but] the number of evangelical churches increased by 4,500" (p. 57). The main reason evangelicals are faring better (numerically, at least) than other Christians is that they start more new churches.
• "Of all four regions, mainline churches are declining the fastest [in the West]" (p. 77).
• Churches have life cycles. "On average, churches begin to decline in size when they reach 40 years of age." Seventy percent of PCUSA churches "over 40 years of age" are declining! (p. 84).
• The Reformed family of churches is declining in every state but New Hampshire and Hawaii (p. 104). Only 0.4% of Californians attend a Reformed church (p. 103).
• Only 12 denominations--"a bewildering variety" but all smallish--are growing significantly, with much of their growth in the Upper Midwest. They are the Church of God, Church of the Nazarene, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Christian Reformed Church, Evangelical Covenant Church, Evangelical Free Church, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Free Methodist Church, Missionary Church, North American Baptist Conference, Presbyterian Church in America, and Wesleyan Church (p. 102).
• "[M]ainline churches have the lowest closure rates, and evangelical churches have the highest closure rates." Evangelicals are greater in number largely because "evangelical churches plant nine times as many new churches as mainline denominations" (p. 123).
• Only 31% of established churches are growing (p. 132).
• The only external factor that contributes to the growth of churches is population growth (pp. 133-134).
• The average first-year attendance of new PCUSA churches is 76 (p. 149).
• The average growth rate of new PCUSA churches in years 2-7 is 3.7%--meaning that a typical PCUSA church will average about 100 worshippers in its seventh year (p. 150).
• In 2005, the PCUSA was "97 percent white" (p. 160).
• The Hispanic birthrate is almost twice the Anglo birthrate (p. 171).
• At the present rate of decline, only 2.1% of the population will attend a mainline Protestant worship service in 2020 (p. 178).

Olson concludes with four chapters that feel tacked on, but that provide his book with some theological heft. In these chapters, he makes a number of recommendations for action, including that churches give special attention to the Gospels (pp. 188-189). But his chief recommendation--one that is heard repeatedly throughout the book--is that more churches be birthed.

Summary of My First Month Trying to Start a Missional Community

·         Visited the worship services of three Redwood City churches

·         Worked with at-risk Latino boys at Garfield School twice a week

·         Played basketball in the RWC rec league once a week

·         Attended three RWC soccer games

·         Walked several miles of RWC

·         Read three books on starting faith communities

·         Visited a Presbyterian new church development in Paso Robles

·         Had conversations with five church planters

·         Drank a lot of coffee in RWC coffee shops

More from a New Church Development Training Conference

Here are some more insights from last week's NCD training conference.

• "There is no model" for missional communities in the 21st century.
• The new community's leadership team needs to reach "a common understanding" of who Jesus is.
• "What is God doing in this area?" is a key question for people starting a faith community.
• Another key question: "What's the difference between a service club and a church?"
• Avoid the "bait and switch"--luring people in under false pretenses (with consumer-driven programs, for example) and then expecting more from them (namely, discipleship) is unlikely to work well.
• The purchase of property should not be a priority and should be put off as long as possible.
• "Vision requires physically seeing; demographics cannot replace walking the community."
• A team's focus people-group provides "a starting point"; but this group can and should change with changes in the neighborhood.
• The new community's mission plan should call for financial independence (within five years) and future multiplication.
• Bivocational leadership and creative arrangements between new churches and established churches will increasingly become the norm.

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 34

June 3, 2011

The three-day NCD conference I've been attending ended today with the questions "What is God saying to you?" and "What are your next steps?" The word that came to mind when I reflected on the first question was proceed. Most of what I had learned during the conference affirmed what I had started doing before the conference--in particular the importance of going into the mission field and doing ethnographic research (things like exegeting neighborhoods by walking them with theological intentionality). My plan to continue this research through the summer before starting to gather a team of eight or so people in early fall was also affirmed. To these next steps I added working with a coach whom I connected with at the conference--someone who is eight years into starting a church.

The largest part of the conference focused on learning how to use a Presbyterian Church (USA) resource titled Starting New Churches. This handbook emphasizes the importance of a team's "foundational statement" (which names beliefs about Jesus, the church, salvation, and service that team members agree are non-negotiable), a team's "vision statement" (which names the people in your mission field "for whom your heart breaks"), a team's "mission plan" (which identifies a starting point and subsequent steps toward a missional community), and a team's "missionary plan" (which establishes what kind of leadership is needed to implement the mission plan, as well as how this leadership will be procured). The conference leaders shared that a failure to develop one or more of these four things is the most common reason new faith communities disband.

I came away from the three days convinced that (1) my exegesis of Redwood City needs to include more conversations with its residents, and (2) my team will need to name a particular people-group whom we are hoping to engage with the gospel and in God's mission so that we can contextualize our ministry accordingly. About the second, I have reservations, as I don't want to start yet another homogeneous church (the church is called to be a preview of God's kingdom, which will not be homogeneous). One way to avoid homogeneity may be to target a particular neighborhood rather than a "mosaic" (a type of people); the focus people-group would be the people of this neighborhood, with the new church striving to reflect this group's ethnic diversity (the church would be as diverse as its neighborhood).

A comment made by one conference leader will stick with me: "For the PC(USA) to reverse its decline, it would need to start about 300 new churches per year; last year, it started about nine."