Sacred Places or Religious Spaces?

Last year an issue of U.S. News & World Report featured a cover photo of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro along with a feature story titled, “Sacred Places.” The accompanying article states, “Sacred places range from entire cities to that special room in your home, and can be man-made or part of nature. Often associated with saints or holy figures, they are places that draw pilgrims—sanctified, in some cases, by great churches, mosques, temples, or shrines.”[1] One thing is evident from the article: most sacred places so designated are monuments to, and relics of, the past. Few, if any, would be considered dynamic organizations making a positive societal impact in the current era.

In contrast, I am aware of many churches that are making a difference in society and a positive influence in our culture. This is not the result of random selection. Those influential sacred places are more about people than geography, and have arrived at this opportune moment in history because of intentional choices made in the past to form a culture or ethos of influence. For them, “What would Jesus do?” is more than an ephemeral slogan, it is an incarnational mandate.

The challenge for Christian denominations in the twenty first century lies in our ability to maintain our alignment in a day when many are questioning the value or role of denominational affiliation—or the need for stick and brick institutions at all for that matter. It is no secret that mainline Protestant denominations and many evangelical denominations are suffering from decline and struggling for identity. In contrast, many of the fastest growing and most influential churches in postmodern America have no traditional denominational affiliation. In my own Seattle backyard, Mars Hill Church, Overlake Christian Church, Westminster Chapel, and The City Church serve as prime examples.

In his recent work on denominational structures, George Bullard addresses the post-denominational era and suggests that perhaps what is really taking place is a time of denominational transformation as opposed to the death of denominations. He cites the growth of ministry networks, and how new denominational forms or associations are growing in the number of congregations and total membership. He states, “Real denominations are genuine, authentic, exceptional, positive, essential, and incarnational—to name a few characteristics. They are denominations who care more about making kingdom progress than the thriving of the denomination as an institutional presence.”[2]

I can speak on behalf of the Northwest Ministry Network and affirm that we are in a time of great transition. While we have already made many changes from a hierarchical structure to a more collaborative leadership model, we continue to change as we embrace the values of a learning organization. We view ourselves as more of a resource center than a command and control center. Executing this vision is not as simple as it sounds. The pathway is often fraught with tension as we attempt to fulfill our vision of “strengthening and developing empowered leaders and churches.” If we are able to leverage that tension in the proper way, we can stay in tune with the Spirit’s leading with more harmony than discord.

The fact is, some of our churches and ministers don’t particularly feel a need to be strengthened, developed, or empowered by us, particularly those who place a great deal of value and security in the past and in the way things have always been done. They confuse theology with praxis, substance with style, and view any change from the status quo with suspicion. It is not difficult to understand the sense of security felt by those who have retreated into their sanctuaries of tradition, where change is obscured by the comforting patina of familiarity. Nevertheless, leaders who would train transformational leaders recognize the comfort of living in nostalgic niches comes with a price. It must be exchanged for irrelevance in the present and extinction in the future. To me, that doesn’t seem like a very good exchange.

Simply put, our world is changing. And the implications of our changing world will greatly impact our religious institutions—particularly our colleges and universities, and the denominational structures that birthed and support them. Unless we in the Assemblies of God are willing to work together with our institutions of higher learning to engage the culture, while embracing our values and purposes, we will quickly lose sight of our mission and lose relevance in the world. If we fail in this task, we will experience decline and waning influence as both the church and the university founder in the throes of an identity crisis.

However, if we succeed, and we surely can succeed if we set an intentional course to align our vision for the future with our purposes and mission, we will emerge from our present identity crisis and experience robust growth and expanding influence in our world. The key to our success lies in our ability to weave together the threads of our core values, theological truths, biblical purposes, and mission in order to create a compelling tapestry that will explain a timeless story to a new generation in a new way—a way that does not just tell, but show. This tapestry must be gripping and persuasive enough to engage the seeker on the journey, the parishioner in the pew, the pastor in the pulpit, and the scholar in the university. Some call this missional thinking, some call it incarnational ministry, but it is really just doing what Jesus modeled and asked us to do.

It would be a mistake to expect that this will be an easy task. However, even the most complicated of tasks can be broken down into basic components, building blocks in a strategic design. While it may seem like the impossible dream, we need to formulate a strategy that holds forth the promise of balancing the most treasured parts of our heritage with a compelling vision for the future. In short, it must invite us to engage our culture, while embracing our own values, and in so doing, make a difference in our world for Jesus’ sake.

Without the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit, any institution or denomination, and particularly academia, can easily be bogged down in the mechanics of organizational anxiety. Prayer and spiritual formation must remain central to all that we do. This component from our heritage will ensure a bright future for both the church and our schools as we equip students and parishioners to think theologically and live out their faith with passionate hearts. However, we must learn to focus on the future, not the past. Driving while constantly looking in the rear view mirror is a certain path to disaster.

The world of 2008 is not the world of 1914, when the Assemblies of God was birthed. In those days, the Temperance Movement, fueled by Wesleyan Holiness and Pentecostal preaching, was about to usher in the ratification of the 19th amendment, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages for the most part in this nation. There were no mega churches within our ranks, most of our constituents were suffering from poverty, the War to end all wars (WWI) was about to begin, infection from a simple wound or catching the flu could kill you, and sacrifice was a way of life. Foreign missions held the prospect of journeying into the unknown regions beyond, wherein lay great adventure and serious dangers.

In the context of today’s flattened world, individuals have many choices, and technology has removed many of the barriers of time and space. In this environment, can we expect to survive unless we step up to the plate with contemporary ministry to meet contemporary needs? While we recognize our arrival in a postmodern, post-Christian era, we must also recognize that many of our churches are still trying to figure out the modern age, and fighting against it with a separatist mindset. In some churches, purchasing a video projector is met with suspicion and pity the poor pastor who tries to preach from anything other than Paul’s Authorized KJV! As a denominational executive with some experience in untangling church conflicts, I can tell you that many of the issues dividing our churches have nothing to do with the mission of God, but everything to do with petty cultural preferences; many of them firmly entrenched in the early 20th century.

We must recognize that we are not all the same, that we can have unity in spite of our diversity. Last year I preached in one of our Seattle churches where, as a white male, I was in the minority. I wish I could say this is true in more of our churches, but sadly, the color of our churches does not reflect our society at large. The only way this will change is through intentional effort on our part by embracing diversity and encouraging people of color to associate with us by giving them a seat at the table and a warm welcome. In the Northwest Ministry Network, we have recently added new members to our governing board, the presbytery, to reflect the ethnic diversity of our constituents. We also offered seats to those of the female gender, recognizing the value of their representation with voice and vote. In order for us to more accurately reflect the ethnic diversity we hope to achieve, we must also discover ways to remove many of the cultural barriers that build walls and learn to build bridges instead. In John McCain’s recent concession speech, he made reference to the fact that Theodore Roosevelt was severely criticized for inviting Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House more than a century ago. Today a member of Washington's race will call the White House his home.

We find ourselves in a time of great transition in an emerging church in an emerging world. And times of transition are always fraught with anxiety and tension mingled with moments of exceedingly favorable opportunity for those willing to take a risk and journey beyond the familiar avenues of the past. On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit thrust the original disciples from their familiar inside surroundings onto the streets where the people were gathered. In the twenty-first century, does the Holy Spirit want to do the same thing, strategically thrusting Spirit-empowered students and adults into the culture where they can make a lasting difference?

If we are to survive and thrive in the future, we will need to leave our holy huddles and impact society by empowering servants in our communities who will rise to leadership positions within their discipline or vocation. Churches will be considered sacred places and not just religious spaces when they are truly offering refuge and hope to the communities they serve, by partnering with those who will do good works, love justice, and walk humbly with God.

Many pastors comment that they are “having good services.” I wonder if the community cares much about the services they offer? Would your community notice or care if your church ceased to exist? If we offered services that truly served our communities, they might be more interested in our “church services.” Through incarnational works of service, new young leaders will exert influence on public policy and serve at all levels of government.

Visionary, transformational leadership requires today’s leaders in the Assemblies of God to rise up to the challenge and leverage the security of our own success to ensure the success of future generations. King Hezekiah was given a fifteen year life extension in response to his prayer for healing. Nevertheless, poor judgment later brought a severe reprimand from the prophet Isaiah, the consequences of which would be felt in the next generation as their treasures would be pillaged, and their sons emasculated and taken into captivity.

Hezekiah’s response to Isaiah was almost flippant, “‘This message you have given me from the LORD is good.’ But the king was thinking, ‘At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.’” (2 Kings 20:19 NLT)

Hezekiah represents those leaders who choose to live in the present on the storehouse of the past, while ignoring diminishing returns and ultimate destruction of the institutions they have held dear. “As long as everything stays the same for my lifetime, I’m happy with the status quo,” they think. May that never be said of our leadership. Instead, let us embrace the vision of our churches as sacred places—not just religious spaces—where spiritual vibrancy, biblical authority, theological purity, academic integrity, incarnational ministry, community unity, global visibility, and ethnic diversity converge in order to affect societal and spiritual liberty—for the glory of God.

[1] Jay Tolson, “Sacred Places.” U.S. News & World Report, November 26, 2007, 36.
[2] George Bullard, Real Denominations Serve Congregations: Seven Practices of Greatness. (Seattle: Amazon Shorts, 2007), 2.