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One of the sites I periodically visit on the WEB is “offthemap.org.” The site concerns itself with Christian evangelism – a concept and activity that brings pause to many. You know the negative stereotypical styles of door knocking with leaflets and one correct answer. Soft sell. Hard sell. Self righteous. Salvation or damnation. The “e” word among more progressive liberal Christians is renowned for its suspect character. CCC’s Board for Outreach and Engagement is so named because evangelism (which is what O&E and all of us to varying degrees are about) is a turn off word. Engagement is much more reflective of our style and theology than the negative stereotypes of evangelism.

Off the Map grows out of the experiences of a few people that are among the more conservative side of our Christian church family. Evangelism is a major focus within these communities. “True” Christians transformed by the healing power of John 3:16, (God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that all who believe in him may not die but have eternal life) are rightly ecstatic with the Good News. They understand the Great Commissioning as theirs, “Go then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples; baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt.28:19-20)

Off the Map founders have a sense of humor and humility. They define evangelism as helping people to connect with God. They are re-inventing evangelism in order “that it be understood as practical, do-able and fun for ordinary people. Evangelism is a spiritual practice of noticing and serving others in a non-dramatic, ordinary way.” Off the Map is part of a movement challenging the right to do more listening and less judging.

For me, this site provides a fascinating window into exchanges between “conservative” Christians and all the other strains of non-born again Christians. It was the language employed that first caught my attention. “Connecting people with God, being more real, more aware and less weird.” A major part of my identity and my ministry among you is being one who tries to make connections between real life and real faith. I have a well worn soap box called “God does not live in a box. Stop trying to put her there or find her there!”

Part of my work here is teaching confirmation, Covenant Class. I have been involved with Confirmation classes beginning with my outdoor ministry camp director roles in 1978. Confirmation can be a meaningful rite of passage. Confirmation can be a process of learning to claim one’s own faith and beliefs. Confirmation, for me, is an always challenging and stimulating time of connecting the dots between real life and real faith.

One of the reasons I value being involved with Covenant Class and youth programs is their tendency to keep me honest. If something isn’t holding their attention, if language or a particular concept is over their heads or doesn’t matter, I know it pretty quickly. I deeply hold Christian faith as relevant. I respect the many paths our God gives us to discover the sacred. In my and in so many other lives I have witnessed the life and death difference between hope and despair, between faith’s trust and belief’s emptiness.

When a kid says God hasn’t done anything new lately, or church is a waste of time or an attitude says “I’d rather be joking around,” I sense my internal brake lights go on. Whoa. What is really being said here? Are kids testing me or is there a question being asked that I am not addressing? Until there is a question, the answer doesn’t matter. Do I think what I am doing or saying is important? If it is, how can I reframe things so that it relates to what matters to kids? Because – having something or someone to hold on to, to have a moral compass in this whacky journey called life, matters. It matters to kids whether they clearly articulate it or not.

Sunday nights 7^th through 12^th graders meet at the church. 5^th and 6^th graders join in one night a month. We share a meal and a brief time of informal worship. I’m not overly satisfied with this worship time. I lead it. Partly I am aware that my predecessor, Linda Carder, did an excellent job teaching our youth about worship. The upper class of senior high can plan and lead worship. They still blow me away with their ability to produce depth. My style is more casual. While there are specific parts to worship, in this short 15 minute period of time I choose a theme and struggle to find ways to experientially express it. I miss more than I score.

I’m an advocate for having youth with us Sunday mornings yet, I do wonder if we end up reinforcing what we taught them earlier – that worship is for adults. I wish kids were more integrated into our prayers, ritual, music and sermon in this hour, I mean 70 minutes. I wish we adults could be enriched more by what they have to say. Realistically, we are a ways away from child, youth and family friendly worship. Transformation takes a while.

So, I’ve been asking myself lately, “What’s the big deal with church? Why is it supposed to be important?” I didn’t like going to the parish Mass growing up. I had a priest stop in the middle of the service and ask those of us in the balcony to either be quiet or leave. Church was boring and truth be told, it still is sometimes. Am I party to the adult mindset that insists there are things one does not question - and one of those things is the value of church?

I asked the youth last Sunday night to help me understand the differences and similarities between church and worship. I was surprised by the response. The column below worship had several positive phrases. Church generally held the negative feelings. Then I realized something. What we are doing right now they considered church. Formal, long, lecture (a sermon ceases to be a sermon and becomes a lecture after 15 minutes), isolated, a building. Worship on the other hand had comments such as relational, a time for giving thanks, can happen anywhere, community and individual prayer. This is worship as it long ago was intended to be. A time and space when the community gathers to share real life and real faith.

In this same time frame, as in the past two weeks, an invitation was extended to the Worship Committee by the Outreach and Engagement Board. There were questions regarding 10:30 worship. This past Monday evening most of the Worship Committee (a subset of the Board of Deacons), Jim Todhunter and myself, and the O&E Board sat around one table. What happens in worship and to some degree, how it happens is the concern of everyone. We are the gathered community seeking to give expression to our faith. We come desiring to be touched by the sacred.

Let me read for you something out of an article entitled, Toward a Basic Understanding of Worship, by Henry Schellenberg, Prof. of Church Music, Providence College. “Worship is one of the most widely-discussed, fought-over, but often too narrowly defined terms of late 20^th and early 21^st century evangelical discourse. With the plethora of books and seminars on the topic since the 1980’s, one would think that the subject has been well traversed. However, the continuing stream of articles, books and seminars does not seem to have stemmed the polarity of views that are responsible for an ever increasing number of church splits.”

Now don’t be alarmed. Our conversation last Monday was very respectful and had everything to do with working and worshipping together as community. The O&E Board along with all Boards and leaders here work and ponder sincerely how we build and nurture this vibrant community. MY take on the issue getting the most attention was the question of time. Why can’t we do worship in 60 minutes, announcements to postlude? Other churches do it in 60 minutes, some less. (And some churches worship a lot more than 60 minutes I might add!) Can’t we be more efficient, tighten things up a bit? Then we have the age old exercise of offering suggestions as to what we don’t need in the service. Yes, you understand. For every part deemed unnecessary there is a voice declaring that it is essential. The conversation can become very spirited. Try suggesting less emphasis on remaining seated for the postlude or excluding children and/or children’s time, omitting certain prayers and consistently preaching 10-15 minute sermons. Worship belongs to everyone and in a sense perhaps, no one. As a worship planner and leader I strive to be sensitive to as many needs as I am aware. I try to make everyone a little uncomfortable, just not at the same time. This hopefully means we are making space for God to move in more than one way.

Worship is definitely too narrowly defined by most of us. Good worship is what we like. I’m as guilty of this as anyone. In the spirit of being open and affirming of another kind, I put energy into being positive when certain hymns are sung, language is spoken, or prayer styles are used. Sometimes God surprises me by saying “Ha! Betcha didn’t think you would find me here.”

What ultimately disturbs me in these conversations is an unspoken inference that worship is a program.  That it is possible, with enough tweaks, to craft a product that meets most needs. We have 60 minute classes and newshours. This is true. There is meaningful 60 minute or whatever minutes worship.

This is a deep and wide topic. There is plenty to talk about. What is worship and why do we worship are good starters. The word liturgy comes from a Greek word meaning “the work of the people.” That fact can be both humorous and profound. I wonder if part of the tension we are experiencing is the collision between our need to slow down and make time for the sacred and our need to be on our way somewhere. Our culture clamors with expectations that somehow we can have it all. Time. It is a loaded concept and reality. How does God interface with our struggle? God is there. We know this.  And we know, God is present in more places than this sanctuary Sunday morning.

As a point of clarification, 10:30 worship at CCC is generally 70 minutes. The worship committee has given us this directive. This includes up to 10 minutes for announcements. It seeks to acknowledge that there are dimensions to our worship we want to include and that there are limits to what we can include. We have gone overly long on occasion but not as often as memory seems to recall. The Worship Committee and staff strive to create a time of purposeful reflection and faith filled challenge in our services. We pray for the Spirit to be with us Sunday morning. And when God speaks, we try to listen.

I say let’s keep talking about worship, about church, about being Christians in 2006. The gospel writer John has Jesus telling the woman at the well that true worshippers honor God in spirit and truth. I wonder what that means.

Amen.

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