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I sit here at home in Jacksonville, FL (not because I particularly want to be home, but because the number of people that have invaded the roadways of our city has made staying home a better option than going out), and ponder what if we as disciples would follow our quest with the same fervor as what I’m watching this week as the NFL's Super Bowl comes to town. You may not have had the opportunity to visit, or live in, a city when an event like the Super Bowl comes to town; so let me set the stage. Imagine a 4th of July environment every day for four days straight. I’m talking about more than a dozen concerts every day from the afternoon until well after the time that “normal” people go to bed, traffic jams everywhere, and wall-to-wall people for miles. Sound like fun, exciting, a place you’d like to be – yeah it’s kind of fun, even with the inconvenience.
But it’s Saturday now, the game is actually tomorrow and the parties are going strong late into the night. I’m just going to guess, but I’ll bet, I will actually be able to sleep in and leave a little bit later than normal to make it to church on time tomorrow morning. There will probably be even less people than usual on the roads tomorrow as I head to church. But that’s a separate issue… This whole Super Bowl event has me thinking – what would it be like if today’s disciples of Christ participated in a Disciple’s Super Bowl?
Imagine a season of “discussions” where differing groups sat down and discussed/debated the differences that they saw in relation to what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Discussions concerning theology, missiology, hermeneutics, and relevance, to mention a few, as the topics of debate. Imagine that there was a way to determine a winner in each of those meetings that would propel the two best “images” of Christianity into a Super Bowl of sorts.
That sounds like a great idea, if your “flavor of choice” wins the debates. But what if you lose? What then? Would you stick around and ponder the other points of view? Or would you take your preverbal ball and go play elsewhere? Or what if you win some, but lose in the end? Does that mean that your “flavor” is wrong, flawed, or that it just didn’t measure up on a given day with a given group of people? The most exciting thing about a series of “discussions” of this nature might not be winning the debate, but being heard and allowed to influence the thought processes of other disciples.
There’s a growing trend of churches and parachurch organizations that are being launched without a denominational backing. Why not? In a culture that largely doesn’t trust organized religion, giving a look and feel of a grass roots movement helps to remove some of the outer barriers that may impede its mission. It also removes the red tape of what can and cannot be tried – there won’t be a Bishop calling you on Monday for what happened on Sunday, if there isn’t a Bishop to whom you report. The people that hold you accountable are more likely to better understand the mission and the means than what is seen within many denominations when a group tries to reach the growing postmodern generation.
This seems to be one of the tactics used by Emergent, and that’s not meant to be negative. It seems to me that there are many people within Emergent that would like nothing more than to debate and dialogue as a means to better understand what it means to be a disciple of Christ in our current era. Unfortunately, not everyone is as willing to open those lines of communication if it means that they too may have to re-evaluate their own thought processes. Most people are willing to offer up their own point-of-view, but if there is a difference of opinion, it’s more difficult to find someone to listen to how those differences impact the ways we follow Christ. In some ways, Emergent is pioneering a Disciple’s Super Bowl.
With the recent announcement of Youth Specialties and Emergent no longer collaborating on an annual conference (the main event of Emergent), this may just be the opportunity to bring more of an opposing opinion into the conversation. In no way do I suppose that Emergent or any denomination has the whole Christian or disciple thing figured out. However, the more diversity within the conversation that takes place, the more likely it is that someone will articulate an option that is more comprehensive in today’s culture and yet remains true to the one we’re following (Christ).
It’s my hope that one day I can sit in a room of Christ’s Disciples who share differing viewpoints and are willing to discuss those differences with the intent to better each other, not just to persuade someone to join another side. And then if that can happen, maybe, just maybe, the streets of some city will be grid locked with people trying to participate in a discussion that will have an impact beyond the field of play.
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