“I need someone to come up and draw some things on the whiteboard for me.” The speaker requested an “artist” to come up and produce a work of art on the whiteboard. Okay, maybe not. He said he just needed someone who could draw stick figures.
Well, when the word “artist” was spoken, I was quickly volunteered for the task. So, I headed up to the front of the classroom, marker poised in hand, and awaited my instructions.
“I want you to think of words that describe the church. Something that can easily be drawn, so that we have a picture of what you think of when you hear 'church.'” The speaker posed the question to the class, and awaited their responses.
“A building.” Someone suggested. I took the marker and created a large building. Our “church.”
“Pews.”
“An altar.”
“Ceiling fans!”
“People.”
“A pastor.”
I continued to draw as words were tossed out for me to add to our picture of church. I drew the church, people in the pews, a worship band up front, an offering plate, a pulpit, the Bible, education buildings, a nursery, windows, a parking lot.
Then some interesting, but very true words were put out, that started turning the wheels in my mind.
“A clock!” A very key piece of equipment in the American church. I don't know about other churches around the world, because I have yet to go to a church in another country. But I know that in America, we are obsessed with time. We have only so much time we can allot to church activities on Sundays, before we have to hurry off to our next engagement. And heaven forbid if the pastor should preach longer than he normally does. Doesn't he know we have a very important meeting at Starbucks after church? We love God, but Starbucks just gets too crowded by 12:30.
I digress. I drew the clock, and some more descriptions were given.
“A program, a bulletin.”
“COFFEE!”
“Donuts and coffee.”
“A greeting center, a foyer.”
“Greeters.”
“Communion.”
“A baptismal.”
“The Holy Spirit.” I drew a flame hovering over the roof of the church, and the speaker said that we would stay with those images for now, and I could sit down.
He went on to give a new question, asking us what, in all of those words we gave, in the whole image I created on the whiteboard, was cultural.
“What do you think is a cultural in this picture of the church?” Woo boy, that was an interesting thought. Indeed, what is cultural in our church today?
The speaker began erasing parts of the image as we picked out things that were cultural. We started with things that were easier to give up.
“The parking lot.”
“The coffee and donuts.”
“Ceiling fans.”
“Windows.”
Slowly, the picture of church began to be stripped of its cultural image.
Pews, educational buildings, the nursery, the clock, the program, the walls of the building, and the pulpit were all erased.
Then, things got sticky. Our image of church as we know it in America was being challenged. What TRULY is the church? What defines church? Is it the building, the nice seats, the greeting committee?
The speaker continued to ask us what we thought about certain items on the board.
“The offering plate?”
“That's not cultural.” Several argued. I began to think. Jesus did say to tithe, but is the way in which we tithe and give offerings cultural? Handing the plate around, etc. The speaker erased half of the offering plate, signifying that offering was still important, but the way in which we do it can be cultural.
“The baptismal?”
Most of us agreed that the actual baptismal in the church could be erased. Many other countries do baptizing in rivers and lakes. Again, it wasn't the actual practice that was cultural, but the way in which it is conducted.
In the end, my grand picture of the church was stripped of its ornate decorations, yummy donuts and coffee, the dreaded clock, programs, parking lot, everything.
In the end, all that was left were the people, the Bible, the sacraments, and the Holy Spirit.
To me, it was a beautiful picture. It was simple. It was a community of believers, joined together in a united purpose under our loving Savior.
This illustration was given at my PathWays class, which I have mentioned before. This class has pushed me beyond just a normal understanding of missions, and made me dive deep and search for answers to hard questions that many pass over. This day was no different.
Our speaker emphasized that none of the things we erased from our image of church were bad. They are culturally relevant in America. But, they can become “bad” if they create barriers that block other people from entering in and joining with us in Christ.
In my mind, I was reminded of the saying “Keep the main thing the main thing.”
Sometimes it's nice to just see things stripped away, and expose the root, the core, the center, and reason for it all. It is a breath of fresh air, and an incredible reminder that we are not the only culture in the world.
There are thousands of cultures circling the globe, and church could look different in every one of them. Life looks different for every one of them. Based on what a culture values, what resources they have, where they come from and where they want to go, can all factor into how they do “church.” But at the very core, it is a sweet body of believers, joined together under Christ, diving deep into His word, and spreading His name and love.
I look forward to worshiping, finding fellowship, and living life in every country I step into on the World Race. I love learning about different cultures, and why people do what they do. I know that seeing people worship and learn about God in a way that is Biblical and culturally relevant to them is a beautiful picture, and I am excited to witness part of that in the future.
