Thinking this morning about domination-style faith
systems
I am in Salt Lake City
Right across the street from the Temple
For a national meeting (General Assembly) of my
denomination,
The Presbyterian Church in the USA (PCUSA)
Which is decidedly NOT in the domination mold
I remember the mothership of the PCUSA
A very nice, although not huge building in Louisville,
Kentucky
And I compare that to the center of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
This could be the Capital of a nation!
It stretches for 5 or 6 city blocks. Large blocks
Filled with large impressive buildings
Amazing landscaping
I am wandering around on a Sunday morning
And am watching the men in their black pants and white
shirts
Headed (I assume) for the Tabernacle
Women too
But mostly men
And I am thinking back to yesterday, as I rode the train
in from the airport
The car was filled with young people, all headed to some
sort of youth meeting
(college age I think)
We had a delightful conversation with a delightful young
woman
Who was friendly, polite, articulate, warm, engaging
Everything you would want in a young adult
And totally on fire for her church
I am only “around” Mormonism
It is not a huge presence where I live, a stone's throw
from Idaho
Where it is a huge presence
But it is around
And I think about its emphasis
On family
On the high demands it places on its people
To participate in the life of the church
I think about its very hierarchical structure
And about the control the church exerts over its families
And the control the parents exert over their children
And I contrast that to the approach I see in most
Presbyterian churches
And families
Sure, there are authoritarians in our denomination
I have met a few
But over the years we have evolved into a system
That is egalitarian
We have the ministry of all believers
We have families where children have a voice
And we have
For good or ill
Pretty low expectations
We don’t exert a lot of control
We teach independence
We encourage our children to think, to question
And challenge
I am mostly OK with this
But I think about our churches
In my generation (I am 73, raised in the 50’s early 60s)
Church attendance was expected
The son of a doctor whose own father was a Mennonite
minister
Being in Sunday School and Worship was not an option
I loved Sunday School
And your group (as I got older) was fun
And the leaders (my parents included) compassionate
And helpful
But now?
I wonder?
There are so many other things happening on Sunday
morning
From sports to 4H (yes, really)
To family outings
My children are now the parents.
And they, if not antagonistic to ‘church”
Are not involved
They are wonderful human beings,
Raising wonderful human beings
But they are not part of the church
And they are not involving their children in the church
They are spiritual (I think)
But church is not a thing
And this is where we are at in the more “progressive”
denominations
It makes me wonder
I remember the old scripture quote
We used to hear so often
Train children in the right way, and when old, they will
not stray (Proverbs 22:6)
I don’t want to be part of an authoritarian system
I don’t want to be coercive
I don’t want to exert tight control using power,
authority
And yes, fear
I don’t want a system where people are told not to think
Not to challenge
To simply believe and obey
I don’t want a religion that demonizes education
I know the damage such systems can do
I see the trauma
I watch people as they leave such systems
and go through a process of deconstruction
But I wish we had more young families participating
More young voices singing, shouting, laughing
In our sanctuaries
How does one make that happen?
Without coercion and control?
I would like to think if our faith is genuine
If we have spiritual energy
If the Holy Spirit is running loose
And Jesus in unbound
And the power is present
I would like to think that if our worship
Helped people experience, remember the sacred presence
And gave them energy, and love, and hope
I would like to think that if we were finding ways
To do life a different way
If we were living out our faith
Loving, caring, forgiving, including
That if we were feeding the hungry,
Clothing the naked,
Housing those without homes,
Protecting those who are oppressed,
Fighting injustice,
Welcoming all in the love of Christ,
That would do it!
We have certainly tried.
But here we are,
A struggling denomination.
900 and some people
Sheltering in the shadow of mighty edifices
Watching the faithful obey
Seeing the impact of obedience
And seeking our own way forward
Our last meeting the theme was “From Lament to Hope”
This time the theme is “Live into Hope”
Are we living into hope?
How do we do that?
I hope we figure it out.
I hope we “catch fire”
I hope for the sake of my tiny congregation
(for which I have been temporary supply for 17 years)
And my tiny Presbytery (Eastern Oregon)
And my ever smaller but beloved denomination (PCUSA)
That we can figure out
How to create energy and excitement
How to create followers of Jesus
How to make people who reflect the image of God
Our God of Love
I hope we can do that.
Without buying into the domination paradigm
But instead live out the servant paradigm
And call people through lament
(not away from lament, we always need lament)
Into hope
Into a faith
That helps make the Kin-dom of God real,
Here
Right now!
In this faltering and failing world
In this divided and angry country
I really do want to
Live into Hope
