Don’t Assimilate Me!

June 1, 2007 | Filed Under culture, gospel, missional |

blind-beggar.jpgHere is a very helpful post by Rick Meigs over at The Blind Beggar where he summarizes the last chapter of Gary McIntosh’s book “Beyond the First Visit: The Complete Guide to Connecting Guests to Your Church.”

While I shared with Rick that I was a bit uncomfortable with couching all of McIntosh’s thoughts in the “what the emerging church does” discussion (because I believe it is bigger/wider than simply what the EC does) I found the points to be right on and in many regards more biblically faithful than our typical modes of operation. I would like to hear your thoughts.

This is not my type of book, but she (Rick’s wife) liked it and thought I’d enjoy the next to last chapter which is titled, “Don’t Assimilate Me” and is focused on the emerging movement. She was right because he had some interesting observations from the perspective of an outsider (non-emerging).

One of the first things the McIntosh did was lay out what he viewed to be the ten characteristics that, while all don’t, many emerging movement faith communities espouse.

1.  They see Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount as central to faith. Thus social and ethical concerns are just as important to them as spiritual concerns.

2.  They see God’s fingerprint everywhere. Thus there is no secular realm as such, but many, perhaps most, things in the secular realm are considered spiritual.

3.  They see community as more important than church. Thus community happens first, leading to church; rather than church happening first, leading to community.

4.  They see dialog as more important than debate. Thus they focus on building relationships first by stressing similarities, and work on differences after the relationship has been forged.

5.  They see hospitality as central to discipleship. Thus welcoming others takes place in the secular realm as well as in the church.

6.  They see worship as an authentic encounter with the living God. Thus prefab worship services are replaced with individual creative expressions.

7.  They see shared leadership as the ideal model. Thus gifted people are free to lead without constraint in a highly collaborative atmosphere.

8.  They see culture as organic – fluid, shifting, and dynamic. Thus spirituality, community, and faith must be elastic, creating an uncharted journey with unexpected detours, but always progressing.

9.  They see spiritual life as holistic. Thus spiritual growth and expression happen not just in traditional acts of devotion, but in all realms and activities of life.

10.  They see church as missional. Thus they see themselves on a mission from God to transform their world.

Using these ten characteristics, he then lays out a different paradigm of connecting the guest than that common to the Baby Boom generation. The following is almost verbatim including the language and terms he uses.

Sharing Compelling Stories

Emerging churches reject the use of formulas and simple solutions. The use of simplistic approaches to ministry, such as “The Four Spiritual Laws,” “The Roman Road,” or the newcomers’ class, are not welcome. Deep sharing of one’s personal story through intimate conversations is the preferred model to salvation, as well as assimilation. Connection happens naturally as newcomers are drawn into personal stories, the story of Jesus, and the story of the church.

Embracing People into the Community

Approaches that look or feel like they serve the institutional church are deplored. Since the church is a community of faith, the relational is highlighted over the institutional. Normally, traditional church expect newcomers to commit their lives to Christ and be baptized before they are embraced into the community of faith. Emerging churches often turn this around and accept people into the community before they are believers. Thus guests are allowed to serve and participate in church ministry and activities in the hope that they will embrace Christ in the process.

Doing Life Together

Emerging churches sense that advice given without request is rarely accepted, so answers to life’s troubling questions are not immediately dispensed as though from a “Bible answer man.” Doing life together allows life’s questions to rise naturally, and guests can see the truth of God’s word internalized in the lives of real people, as well as exegeted from the pulpit. As guests see God’s word lived out authentically in people, they are drawn to become part of the church.

Engaging the Senses

God’s propositional truth is valued, but emerging types desire to learn truth through all the senses. They find that art, music, poetry, media, Internet, drama, and lots of stories are powerful ways to engage guests and draw them into God’s story and the church’s story.

Learning Together

Communities of faith are learning environments where fellow learners gather to discover the truth of God’s word. In such a context pastors and other teacher must approach guest as parent-like mentors who have traveled further, rather than as know-it-all Bible teachers. Newcomers are drawn to connect with churches that treat them as fellow travelers.

Hitting the Streets

Understanding the basic facts, figures, and outlines of Scripture is not enough in emerging churches. Experiential knowledge that is acquired by seeing God at work in the lives of real people and honest situations is more meaningful. As guests see God’s truth evident in people’s lives, they are enticed to become part of the church. Thus helping newcomers get involved in the lives of needy people in the larger church community is a powerful way to connect them to the church.

Challenging the Culture

Emerging churches resist a blind acceptance of the predominate culture. They are drawn to churches that provide a biblical critique of the culture. This churches that seek to redeem the world as well as individuals will fined guests connecting with them.

When I shared some of the ten characteristics above with my non-emerging boomer “church” friends, it didn’t resonate with them at all. A blank stare was more common than not. I’m interested in your reaction and comments on what Mr. McIntosh has laid out here.

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2 comments so far
  1. BradB June 1, 2007 8:25 am

    Hey Brad,

    Thanks for this. Great characteristics or principles to consider. There is enough to chew on here for quite a while. Perhaps a prolonged consideration of each characteric or point of connection may be beneficial.

    We really have to get that being the church is a relational thing. We need to resist the pressure from those coming to the church and those already in the church to adopt unbiblical means (i.e. dependence on technology, and institutionalized programs). We must diligently work at purifying the means by which we follow our Master in connecting people to his church and kingdom. I see the EC getting closer to those “purer” means than say what I have been exposed to in the last 35 years as a follower of Jesus. We let him teach us our theology (sometimes)but shut him out when it comes to our methodology of following him.

  2. Matt Christenot June 1, 2007 1:44 pm

    I hate the word assimilate. I would be scared if I knew a church wanted to assimilate me. Maybe it’s b/c my dad was a serious Star Trek TNG fan (ok, I admit it, so am I) but I can’t help but think of the Borg. “You will be assimilated, resistance is futile.” Not the image I’d like to convey.