Losing my religion, part 1

No, I'm not losing my faith in God. But over the past half-year, I've lost my faith in many "religions," or systems of belief that I previously abscribed to. Maybe it's my recent 30th birthday. Maybe it's a change in diet. Or a revelation from God. But for whatever reason, my opinions on church, politics, and evolution have changed dramatically over the past year. I'll be posting separately on each of these issues over the next few days. Be prepared for some shocking revelations!

My belief in "church growth." What is this religion? It's the idea that we can please God by merely implementing superficial changes to how we "do" church: service time, song selection, sermon topics, mentoring structure, small group strategy, seeker-sensitive programs, etc. How did I lose this religion? Well, there were several influences. I read a couple books that looked at this issue from vastly different points of view. I first read Mark Driscoll's "Confessions of a Reformission Rev," a recounting of his experience building Mars Hill church here in Seattle over the last eight years or so. I've heard so many good things about Mars Hill, and I really like Driscoll from his book. His dedication to God's work in Seattle is truly inspiring. But I couldn't disagree more with some of his ideology. In my view, he gives too much credit to formula and not enough to the sovereign work of God. This leads to wrong-headed assumptions. For example, he freely admits that many who come to his church are tormented by demons and that he has the power to cast them out, but doesn't want to publically engage in this ministry because people would view him as a "spiritual guru." But isn't casting out demons something that Jesus called His disciples to do, often very publically?

The second influence was also a book: "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire," by Jim Cymbala. And, amazingly enough, just after I read it, I had an opportunity to hear Ps. Cymbala speak at a local pastors' conference. Ps. Cymbala of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York represents the opposite (or antidote) of the "church growth" religion. He credits his church's success not to his preaching style or their world-famous choir, but on a complete and utter dependence on the work of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, Ps. Cymbala emphasizes the power of prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit in the church service--not rhetoric or presentation. Another book I just finished, "Chasing the Dragon" by Jackie Pullinger, also showed me how God can work through people who are artless and without worldly resources, but have a heart that is wholely dedicated to Him.

Finally, Willow Creek recently released the results of a multi-year survey which found that its program-driven church organization was not doing very good at making disciples. As one blogger at Christianity Today's Out of Ur blog put it: "In other words, spiritual growth doesn’t happen best by becoming dependent on elaborate church programs but through the age old spiritual practices of prayer, bible reading, and relationships. And, ironically, these basic disciplines do not require multi-million dollar facilities and hundreds of staff to manage."

I'm not saying I don't appreciate operational aspects of church--it's just that I'm much, much less interested in those things because I don't think they are what we ought to be focusing our energies on. I don't think the key to true church growth is simply a format change, lunch program, or preaching style. Instead, I've been attending the Saturday morning prayer meetings at church for the last few months. I started after being convicted by the Holy Spirit that all our human effort is in vain if we don't seek Him. Ps. Cymbala's book was a tremendous inspiration in this regard. Revival must start on our knees, not in planning meetings.

Next up, Tyson loses his religion in politics!