You Know What They Say About Assuming…

I had this idea for a project after a class I took last quarter. The project calls for someone to go to a church service and write down every assumption that they have. Approach the service as if they’ve just arrived on Earth from a foreign planet and their first order of business is to attend your church.

I wrote down some assumptions from the service that my wife and I attended this past weekend. Here’s a few:

People like to sing.
We know what day of the week church services are.
That we know how/why to pray.
We know what the Bible is.
We know what to put in offering baskets or even what the offering baskets are.
Who know who God/the Prophets/Jesus is or are.
People like listening to one person speak for 40-50 minutes.
We know what a Pharisee is and who Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are.
We know what the Old/New Testament is.
We know what the Gospel is.

All of us operate under a certain set of assumptions in our everyday lives. We have to, otherwise we would never be able to make it out of our driveway. But some of these things we assume that people coming to church already know are powerful assumptions that aren’t always true. We may “assume” the very people we are trying to reach right out the front door.

Always ask the question: “What does this assumption say about the people who are here?”

Do you have any assumptions to add to the list?

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Contributor: Justin Wise

I am a religious deviant who enjoys coffee, collared shirts, spending time with my wife and son, learning about quantum physics and creatively exploring the riches of the Spirit of Christ. Find more here: JustinWise.me

Watchman4Jesus

That people want to be pointed out as new visitors, or don't.
That church is always within a building called a church
That the format is always in a particular order
That there is always a special person in charge and more important than all the others
That visitors are outsiders and not part of the family

Jim

I assume the worst scenarios.I've been in some terrible church situations.

Ben Anderson

assumptions I used to have:
- Christ did not establish a visible church
- that thousands of different sects of Christianity is necessary
- that John 6 is not meant to be interpreted literally
- that the early Church was fundamentalist

to my astonishment I found that I became convicted that Christ did establish a Church. This church subsists in the Catholic Church, which administers Sacraments necessary for salvation. The early Church identifies most closely with this modern day Catholic Church.

Dan Bryan

you're the blog master flex, not me. i suppose i tipped my hand, but yes i think that is true at least some of the time. i think sometimes the rising generations have stopped giving money because of the abuses they've seen, and unfortunately some aren't giving it anywhere.

but that's not the primary story i see. i have a great friend who gives money away like crazy mostly to actual people doing real work to make an impact in the world. i'm not implying that churches don't do real work - but there is an important shift here.

i think there is an emerging value in rising generations to give to causes, to give to real people/projects that they can touch/taste/see. i actually think its a great shift. i think that at times institutions have divorced from actual contact with need - and this has actually left us less generous.

the gift of treasure is not only a command its about a heart exchange. if it is only rite or ritual the heart exchange (and change) tends to be minimal. i think one of the best parts about this shift is that rising generations don't want to be robbed of this exchange.

will institutions take note? will they adapt and adjust? get smaller and flatter? i hope so - release people to touch real need around them and give generously - as institutions to themselves!

Ross_Hesseltine

This is what interests me...as my church starts to venture into a new worship service.

Justin Wise

C'mon now... You can't drop sweet gems of nectar like that one and not expect everyone to want more! We need more Bryne on BeDeviant.com. Matter of fact, it should be "BeBryne.com". What do you think of that idea?

You're Episcopalian, I'm Lutheran. We dig liturgy just like you guys. How are you "liturgizing" a younger generation in ways that you find effective?

bryne lewis allport

i think that i'll pass BeBryne.com, but i know it was an offering of love. not to mention, i'm cheating my way to glory here... i spent all day reading and writing on heidegger, so my dialogue level is set a little high. my brain isn't big, it's just swollen. :)

i can't really speak to what the episcopal church is doing as a whole, but our congregation really works at making the least in our own congregation feel welcome. we are very tolerant and inclusive of children and the disabled. my kids say that this is the first church they feel like they belong to too. the grace that's extended to them (to make noise, wiggle, even be bored or confused) let's them approach the liturgy on their own terms. i think this makes an impression on people looking in on our congregation.

also, our church is all about service to the community. i think it makes a big impression on the younger generation, not only when you put your values into practice, but when you practice your values together.

Justin Wise

That's a really great question. I seem to find myself asking that a lot. We KNOW (or at least, think we know) that something is ineffective, yet we continue to do it... Why?

bryne lewis allport

I'm episcopal so we're used to, but sometimes not good at, balancing the requirements of the liturgy with creating a welcoming congregation. The problem really goes beyond the possible exclusive character of religious practices. I think the american church as a body has ceased to value the liturgy's ability to disrupt us from our daily lives. Church service shouldn't be an experience seamless with our everyday lives. A quick survey of religious experience in the Bible would tell you that advent is disturbing. However, in order to make those experiences understandable and sharable, you need to adopt symbols and practices to memorialize and evoke advent. The problem is that eventually, the symbols and practices acquire an everydayness of their own. So the real balancing act is keeping liturgy sharable as a community while maintaining its essentially disruptive character while welcoming others to the community.

AND i just miss you.