Over the last several months Katie has been working on applying to schools for PhD work. First there was the studying for the GRE… and then the taking of it. Next was the reading, researching, and writing for her independent study (and what would become her writing sample for a field in which she has little academic experience). Then there was the filling out of applications, the ordering and sending of transcripts, and the acquiring of recommendations. And now… now we’re in the waiting.

She has applied to ten schools… none of which is within 1,000 miles. So, assuming she is accepted by at least one school (which seems like a fair assumption), we will be moving this summer. Which means finding a new job… and new friends… and new community… and a new church… and…

There is so much to do, but for now we have to wait. Wait to see where we’ll be. Will we be in Wisconsin? Michigan? Illinois? New York? Pennsylvania? North Carolina? Kentucky? Tennessee?

Schools should start responding sometime in March.

… is it March yet?

Why?

As we were driving through we wondered and asked one another, “What happened here?” The town looked largely abandoned: street signs had rusted; dozens and dozens of buildings were vacant and boarded up, or perhaps gutted by fire; many buildings were overgrown with vines or were (literally) falling apart – whole brick walls having crumbled to the ground. What once appeared to be the main commercial area of town was now just a skeleton of buildings (though the area was still labeled as “Historic Downtown Cairo” by a large, metal entryway).

We took a few pictures, asked one another again, “What happened here?”, and then continued out of town and toward Colorado. But the memory of the place and a curiousity of its story stuck with us.

Upon returning to Colorado we investigated Cairo as much as we could. We discovered that it was once a booming town… a city built for 20,000 residents (and at the time of our visit having only 3,000). It’s location at the confluence of the Ohio River and the Mississippi River made it an important player in the era of the steam engine. It had also been a place of major conflict during the civil rights movement. I’m not completely sure how the story goes, but essentially white business owners refused to hire black employees… so black residents boycotted white businesses… and instead of giving in, white businesses simply left town.

From what we could tell Cairo never recovered; the population simply continued to decrease. On the other hand, the level of poverty seems to have increased. As of 2000, roughly 2/3 of students in the Cairo school district are below the poverty line. Any remaining businesses seem to be slowly moving out of Cairo (a coffee shop/bookstore/community center that had opened closed after about a year).

In short, I began to think of Cairo as a town with little-to-no hope. …and for some reason, Katie and I were both (individually) drawn to this place. We began to ask one another (before we were even engaged) what it might look like if we were to move there. What if we were to move there and simply live among the poverty? …among the seeming hopelessness? (Though there is always hope; there is always the chance of resurrection … at least that’s what I believe).

That seems like something Jesus might do, doesn’t it?

And so, for the last year Cairo has been on our mind. Could this be the place God is calling us to live? Perhaps. …but we’d only spent a total of about ten minutes in the actual town. So we found an empty jar and made it our Cairo jar. We would fill it with loose change and bills until we had enough to make another trip to Cairo.

Last week we decided we had enough to make the trip and that the timing was right. We loaded our car and headed east.

#13. I dream of a church where…

There is a front porch.

Many churches are good at greeting visitors once they enter the door. Warm smiles, handshakes, and sometimes even hugs await the newcomer at the entry way. They are sent a message: “You are here. You are welcome here. You belong here. We are glad you are here.” …and that works for a lot of people.

But it doesn’t work for a lot of other people. (Partly because some people don’t belong here).

Some people don’t want to feel like they belong once they are here. They want to feel like they belong long before they ever enter the church building. That’s what the front porch is about. The front porch is the near-neutral place where people can meet and interact. It is a place where a visitor can belong without really belonging.

It’s like when you move into a new neighborhood and don’t know the neighbors. I suggest that a good neighbor might invite you over for a drink or some food. The first visit with your new neighbor will likely be more comfortable if it takes place on their porch or in their backyard… not actually inside the house. Places like porches and backyards are more neutral than family rooms and kitchen tables. Family rooms are too intimate for a first visit… they’re too personal. Family rooms have family pictures. They have favorite books and movies. They have their own memories and stories. Family rooms are about the owners of the house – not the visitor.

At some point – perhaps when the relationship is more established – you will be invited into the house… into the family room with the pictures and the books and the memories – though perhaps this will not be your first encounter with these things. Perhaps at some earlier visit these items were brought out to be shown to you… in the more neutral ground of the front porch.

I dream of a church with a front porch. Not a literal front porch (though that would be fun too), but a place, space, or time that is a more neutral ground. A place, space, or time where people can belong without really belonging.

Thoughts?

#12. I dream of a church where…

We are looking forward and backward.

There seem to be a lot of churches that are either good at one or the other. On the one hand, some churches are really good at looking forward – to the future, to where the church is going, etc. On the other hand, some churches are really good at looking backward – to the past, to where the church has been, etc. Both are good.

We need both. …but not separately.

Separately they can become dangerous. A sole focus on looking forward can cause a church to not have an identity. Such a church is constantly reinventing itself. It isn’t grounded in the past… it isn’t grounded in its history; in the things that has made it who it is. On the other hand, a sole focus on looking backward can cause a church to become stuck in its ways and to never reinvent itself. In such churches we hear things like, “We’ve always done it this way…” and “I remember the good ole days…” These sorts of places refuse to move forward (or at least do so begrudgingly).

There are also lots of churches that are great a doing both – looking forward while looking backward. In such places the past speaks to who the church was, where they’ve been etc… and it also informs – though it doesn’t define – who they will be. Such churches are able to look forward because they’ve already looked back (and continue to do so) and understand who they are and where they are going. In the words of one church: “To know where we’re going, we have to know where we’ve been.”

#11. I dream of a church where…

Liturgy and hymns are important, but not the only thing.

To begin with, let me just say that I love liturgy and hymns. First, when we utilize liturgies, printed prayers, rituals, etc. during worship (and even at other times), they remind us that we are one body. We are one body with those standing/seated next to us. We are one body with those scattered throughout the entire earth. We are one body with those that have come before us – and those that will come after us. Second, we find that liturgies, hymns, etc. give us words to say when we don’t have the energy/strength to find our own words. There are times in life when we’re just too broken, beaten down, desperate, lost, or lonely to speak our own words. It’s in these times when words prepared by others are especially appreciated.

I love liturgy. I love hymns…

…but if that’s all we do, I think we’re missing out.

To utilize only liturgy and hymns feels like we’re firmly rooting ourselves in the past (a good thing), but that we’re not looking/moving forward (a bad thing). Shouldn’t we be creating our own fresh songs, prayers, and creeds? (True, there actually are new liturgies, songs, etc. being created). Also, liturgies and hymns often start to feel stale after a little while… whether they’re hundreds of years old or just two days… don’t they? (This may just be me).

Again, I love liturgy. …and I love hymns. I just also love new, fresh things.

#10. I dream of a church where…

We are actively engaged in studying the Bible together.

Together. Many of us study the Bible on our own (though I would venture a guess that the majority don’t actually even do this), which is good… but do we study it with others? Do we sit around a dinner table and discuss the words of Isaiah? Do we talk about the letters of Paul as we ride in a car with a friend? Do we spend our fellowship hour after the worship service conversing about Jesus? I think – for the most part – the answer is no. We don’t spend a lot of time even talking about the Bible, let alone study it together. It’s not a book that was meant to be studied alone. The stories, laws, teachings, prophesies, and letters that are found in the Bible were addressed to communities – communities that heard them read out loud; communities that reflected on them together; communities that would have asked questions like, “What does this mean for the way we live?” and “What does this mean for the way we see the world?”

Many churches offer Bible study groups that meet each week at the church. …and, I’d say, most of these Bible studies are sparsely attended. (I know I’ve only attended them a few times in all of the churches I’ve attended). Many churches also offer in-home Bible studies… these are also good… and also often sparsely attended.

So how do we change this? How do we get people excited about and interested in: 1) Studying the Bible; and 2) Studying the Bible together? Because it’s a fairly significant book, right? It ought to inform and shape how we live and how we see the world, right?

How do we create an atmosphere in which people want to study the Bible together? …one in which during the fellowship hour, the first thought on someone’s mind isn’t, “Let me tell you what happened on Friday…” but, instead, “So I was reading Ezekiel the other day, and I was wondering what you thought about…” How do we create an environment in which people can’t wait to go to their house church, because they know they’re going to have an amazing conversation about Job? How do we create an environment in which Bible study groups at the church are eagerly and expectantly attended?

Because studying the Bible together is important… isn’t it?

#9. I dream of a church where…

We have active house churches.

Call them what you’d like: house churches, small groups, short circles, home communities, cell groups, etc. The idea is that a smaller number of people (say 6-10) from the church would regularly gather together in order to share meals, study the Bible, provide support and encouragement, ask questions, and challenge one another. This is the place where members would really feel like they are really connected to the church community.

I’ve seen such groups based on a number of things: age, gender, interests, passions, proximity, etc. They are all valid bases for such groups – though at this time I am especially drawn to the idea of house churches based on location. That is, that people who live closest to one another meet together.

I’m not just talking about a church having two or three house churches… but having enough so that every person in the congregation is (or at least could be) involved in one. Such house churches would not replace the Sunday morning worship service (or whenever it might take place), but they would complement them. Each of the groups might have some sort of followup discussion on the sermon, a conversation about the current Christian/Church season, their own chance to sing some songs… heck, they might even decide to celebrate Communion together!

I remember visiting one church for which the house church was central. They mentioned that they believed that it was the Sunday morning services that brought people to the church, but that it was the house churches that kept them there.

#8. I dream of a church where…

The congregation/community is intentionally intergenerational.

A lot of folks my age (31) and younger probably enjoy being a part of a church with people their own age. I do too… just not at the expense of losing the older generations. The older generations simply have too much to offer and teach us (and, yes, much to learn from us as well). We need some people to remind us of the past and ground us there… and we need other folks to push us to the future and to remind us to be constantly re-imagining and re-invisioning things. We need to hear the faith stories of those who have gone (and continue to go) before us – their struggles, their joys, their accomplishments, their failures. We also need someone to listen to our own stories… and when appropriate, to add their commentary.

Throughout the Torah/Pentateuch/Books of Moses, the people are told to teach their children and their children’s children. They are told to recite the Law to them. They are to tell them how they and their ancestors were once slaves in Egypt… and how the LORD brought them out. They are be ready to pass on to their children and their children’s children their faith, their history, and their way of life.

Similarly, in the New Testament we find that information, faith, beliefs, and ways of life are passed down from one generation to the next, and from one group to another. (Take for example the church of the Thessalonians. They first followed the example of Paul and the others… and then they became an example to the Macedonians and Achaians.)

I believe a healthy church simply must be intergenerational. There is too great a need to pass stories, beliefs, dreams, and ways of life from one generation to another. …not only down in generation, but (perhaps especially in the case of dreams) also up in generation.

…besides, watching the different generations interact is just fun.

#7. I dream of a church where…

Art and creativity are stressed.

If I am completely honest, I’m not the most artistic person I know. …not even close. My drawing and painting skills are relatively weak. I’m not much with clay or other modeling mediums. My poetry leaves something to be desired. I’ve never even attempted making anything with stained glass. My ability to play guitar (or any instrument, for that matter) is limited… to say the least. And my writing is average, at best.

I do, however, try. …and so, I at least like to consider myself somewhat creative. I have attempted to paint (and hope to pick it up again before too long). I have written bits of poetry… and even if they’re not award winners, I am proud of them. I would love to learn to create stained glass. I have built a fairly impressive locomotive using legos… and a train car out of popsicle sticks. I enjoy writing.

Actually, I enjoy creating.

God is a creator. …the Creator. If we’re made in God’s image, doesn’t that mean that we, too, are creators? Of course the answer is yes.

If so, shouldn’t we give more attention to things like art and creativity in the church? (Some churches do this quite well). Can’t we find ways to incorporate them in our worship services, education hours, and community life in general? Do we have members of our church/community that are especially skilled in painting?  - let’s line our halls with their work. Are there members who do amazing things with music? – let’s have them write a special hymn/song for us to sing together. Are there members talented with stained glass… pencil work… poetry… writing? – why not have them teach a class?

I dream of a church in which art and creativity are profoundly valued and used. I’ve had a few thoughts on this before: Creating Drama in the Church (the good kind); Let the Spectators Become an Entertainment to Themselves.

Thoughts? Questions? Disagreements?