Читать книгу The Bartender - Michael McNichols - Страница 8

If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt,as far as possible, all things.

René Descartes

“Why do we keep meeting here? I always feel like I’m on the set of an old Cheers rerun.”

“It’s because there’s an important community that comes here—one we ought to be connecting with.”

“They don’t look much like the people in our church.”

“That’s just the problem.”

Paul and Gracie met every week at a pub in the local historic downtown area. The building that housed the pub was formerly a warehouse as were the neighboring structures that lined that particular street. The brick walls and heavy roof beams had been repaired and restored but left exposed, giving the pub a connection with the city’s early history. The chairs and tables were all mismatched antiques, sometimes wobbly but always offering space for long lunches and conversations. In the center of the long, rectangular structure was an ornate oak bar that stretched out over 20 feet, with a carved back section that held bottles and taps that reached from floor to ceiling. While the pub was more of a restaurant than just a bar, the drinking area provided the hub from which the rest of the seating area emanated.

The old wood smells and feeling of an earlier era filled Paul with a sense of community and human connection. There was a kind of social charm to the place that drew Paul back week after week.

Gracie Kline was in her mid-thirties and a key leader at Music City Community Church. She had come to faith in Christ while in college and soon joined with a large campus ministry. Over time she saw a number of friends become followers of Jesus through that ministry. After college she became a stockbroker and now worked for a large business consulting firm. Even with her demanding schedule, Gracie was a committed and active member of Music City. Because she was single she seemed to have more flexible time than many other people in the church. Gracie was part of Paul’s leadership team and she was typically a great contributor, even though she and Paul often disagreed. Gracie seemed uncomfortable with Paul’s frequent willingness to question not only the way the church operated but also the so-called rightness of some theological positions. Yet he appreciated her ability to function in a competitive business environment and her persistent objectivity.

“Why is that a problem?” Gracie made a face that revealed her suspicions about the quality of the menu items.

“Look at the population of our church. We end up looking like one another. Most of us are white, fairly well-educated, and able to make a living in this part of the country—which takes a fair amount of money. Yet our community is much more diverse than we are.” Paul had expressed this before. It was not a new complaint.

Gracie looked around the pub—an old brick and wood warehouse that had been reclaimed and transformed as the city attempted some form of redevelopment. “OK, so the people who come here are multi-generational, ethnically mixed, and immersed in a culture that tends to be foreign to us. What are we supposed to do about that? Should we implement some sort of affirmative action program? Or maybe we should impose racial and age quotas on membership?” Gracie was becoming irritated by Paul’s frequent revisiting of this subject.

“No, I’m not saying that at all. You’re right—it would be artificial to start forcing diversity to happen in a church. And maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with age or ethnicity, but with people in general. It’s just that we seem very unconcerned about the people outside of us.”

“I don’t think it’s lack of concern that’s the issue.” Gracie moved her menu aside. “I just think people don’t know how to get there from here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look. What does the average Christian in the church think about evangelism?”

Paul thought for a moment. “Well, they’re probably for it, as long as somebody else does it. My experience is that most people see evangelism as a kind of spiritual specialty.”

“Right. But even if they thought it was something they should do, how would they go about doing it? You’ve spoken a lot at church about the change in our culture—from modern to postmodern and all that stuff. If you read about these changes as much as you do, and yet you don’t really know how to proceed, then how do you expect the average member of the church to reach out?” Gracie sat back, victorious in making her point.

As Paul sat thinking about what she had said, Dean Mori entered the pub. A recent college graduate, Dean was ten years younger than Gracie and almost twenty years younger than Paul. He was third-generation Japanese-American. Dean was raised in a conservative evangelical church and his college experiences at the state university had served to not only deepen his faith but also to open him up to the complexities of culture, faith, and church life. He was on Paul’s staff and served as the youth pastor and associate to Paul. He was also attending classes at a local theological seminary, which gave him continuous material for controversial conversations.

“Hi guys. Sorry I’m late.” Dean sat down and looked at his friends. “Did I miss something important? You look pretty intense.”

Gracie filled him in on the discussion, trying to downplay Paul’s social commentary and focus more on his question regarding evangelism. Dean looked at Paul. “I’m interested in your answer to Gracie’s question. I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately.”

Trying to buy a little time in order to frame a possible answer, Paul pressed him. “So what are you thinking about?”

Dean leaned in closer. “Well, I don’t mean this to be a criticism, so don’t take this personally, OK?” Paul knew this meant it would be personal.

Dean continued. “Anyway, you know how you are always saying that our church is supposed to be ‘a people for God, for the sake of the world’? Well, I’ve been thinking that the way we operate as a church doesn’t really support that.”

“What do you mean?” Paul started to feel slightly queasy, taking this quite personally. He had been thinking the same thoughts; it just sounded threatening to hear someone else verbalize them.

“Don’t get me wrong. I think the intent is right on. But how are we really helping people to be that kind of community?”

Gracie jumped in. “Right. We do a lot of good things. Our gatherings on Sundays might need some work, but overall they seem to be meaningful experiences for the people. We have small groups that help people connect with each other and, hopefully, with God. But we don’t really have a way to help them become the kind of community we claim to be.”

Paul broke in. “I have to admit that this is really frustrating for me, but I know you’re right. Even though we’re a relatively young church, we’re just as prone to falling into comfort zones as anyone else. I’ve always wanted us to be a church that grew with people who came to faith in our midst rather than by transfer growth. Instead, we have a church that struggles to grow at all. The people we have are great, but I don’t think I know how to help them—us—become who I believe God wants us to be.”

“I’ve got an idea about this,” said Dean. “I was reviewing my notes from the Spiritual Formation conference I went to a couple of weeks ago.” Dean attended this ecumenical conference as part of a seminary class assignment. “There was so much great stuff there about truly becoming authentic followers of Jesus. And I know we keep trying to help people with that through the Sunday messages and in our small groups.”

“Do you think we need to do more than that? Aren’t people already pressed for time? Just showing up for church a couple of times a month seems too much for some.” Gracie sounded a bit cynical, but still interested in where Dean was going.

“I don’t know about more, but maybe different,” said Dean, leaning forward in excitement. “For example, what if our small groups became places of intentional spiritual formation—real, authentic discipleship—rather than being simply places of connection? And what if our primary ‘programs’ focused on real spiritual formation before anything else—even marriages, child raising or whatever?”

“I’m assuming you mean that we should have more of a focus on teaching people to be authentic Christians—which we usually call discipleship. I’m always for that. So finish making your connection.” Paul felt a growing sense of anticipation, even though he was slightly annoyed that someone as young as Dean was coming up with these ideas.

“Well, that would help us learn more about being ‘a people for God.’ But the problem is that spiritual formation can become a very self-focused process. Unless there is some kind of outlet for our formation, then we risk stagnation.” Dean was on a roll.

Gracie broke in. “I’m a little confused here. What exactly is spiritual formation? I think I know what discipleship is, but this is a new term for me.”

“Well, in a sense spiritual formation is discipleship. It is about intentionally orienting your life around God through prayer, worship, and spiritual disciplines like fasting and solitude so that you continuously open yourself up to God and invite him to form your life.” Dean caught his breath and smiled a little sheepishly. “At least, that’s how I see it. The problem with the term discipleship is that it has come to refer to a process of learning. It is used too often to refer to the idea of being a student of Jesus rather than one really involved in the life of Jesus. Discipleship is still a good word as long as we use it right.”

“Is some kind of intentional outward service the answer to avoiding the introspection trap?” Paul sensed that something was really happening here.

“Well, I think that’s an important part. And some sort of corporate service project would be a great unifying thing for our church. But I think that a renewed look at spiritual formation can help everyone learn to see themselves as part of a larger community that is truly for the sake of the world—or, to use the nasty word: Evangelistic.”

Gracie looked skeptical. “Are you saying, Dean, that everyone has the potential to be evangelistic? Doesn’t that fly in the face of the idea that only a small percentage of any congregation is actually spiritually gifted that way?”

“What if that research is grounded in a wrong assumption?” Dean had that I’m-coming-up-with-something-nobody-has-ever-thought-of-before look on his face. “What if it defines evangelism in such a way that only the extroverts or fearless people qualify? What if that assumption—probably coming from all those spiritual gifts inventories that are floating around—is based on defining evangelism as making a presentation, getting agreement, and bringing everything to closure through a prayer of faith all in one encounter? If all that is off base, then there is the possibility that a much broader spectrum of people can be involved in leading others to faith in Jesus.”

Paul fumbled for his PDA and started making some notes. “So how would you redefine evangelism?”

Dean looked down. “I don’t have a strong handle on that yet. But I think it has to be a much more natural thing than we’ve made it to be. I think it has to pour out of our lives as we are being formed in the character of Jesus. Since we’re all wired a little differently from one another, I guess that means evangelism will look different person to person. I really believe we’ve got to help people learn how to live in such a way that their entire lives are evangelistic. I know that concepts like ‘lifestyle evangelism’ and ‘servant evangelism’ have helped along this path, but sometimes I think they still risk allowing people to remain unconnected to other people while trying to let their lifestyles and service speak for themselves.”

Paul looked up. “So evangelism, based on what you’re suggesting, is potentially the natural outflow of a life of spiritual formation?”

“I think so. I hope so. And isn’t that the kind of spiritual journey we want to invite people on?”

“I think we need to start writing this down,” said Gracie. “It’s probably going to take awhile. Can we order lunch?”

Paul waved to the waitress, signaling that they were ready to order. She was young, in her early twenties, and usually took care of the section where Paul liked to sit.

“Hi, Angie. I think we’re finally ready to earn our keep here.”

Angie smiled, and rolled her eyes in mock-exasperation. “Well, it’s about time! At this rate you may as well stay for dinner.”

“Sorry. It’s just that we’re racking our brains to solve cosmic issues. We’re on a mission from God.”

Angie put on a look of feigned interest. “So you guys are the Blues Brothers. Er, and Sister.” They all laughed.

Gracie looked up over her menu. “So, Angie—got any solutions for us?”

Angie looked down at her order pad. “Nope. No views on the God thing. So what are you going to have today?”

Suspecting they had just moved into sensitive territory, they ordered their lunches. As Angie finished up and left to place the order, another figure moved to the table.

“Hey, everybody. What’s going on today?”

“Hi, Emil. Good to see you.” Paul brightened up at Emil’s arrival.

Emil was the pub’s main bartender. He and Paul had gotten acquainted over the years and even ran into each other on occasion at a local coffee shop. Paul really liked Emil and had even invited him to church. Emil always politely declined.

“You guys look like you’re in an intense conversation today. Lighten up—this is supposed to be a fun place!”

Dean laughed and said, “Yeah. We’re here talking about church stuff. No fun allowed!”

“Ah, yes. Church stuff. Now I know why you’re intense. It does always seem like a lot of work to me.” Emil looked sympathetic.

Paul suddenly had a revelation. “Hey, Emil. You might be able to help us with something. You just might have a point of view that would give us a way to get out of a box we think we’re in. Would you be willing to get together to talk with me?”

Emil replied, “Sure. Just don’t expect anything really deep from me! How about tomorrow morning at The Grinder?” Since that was both Emil’s and Paul’s favorite coffee shop, it was a natural meeting place. It was also close to the pub and made it easy for Emil to head to work afterward. They agreed to meet at 9:00, giving Emil two hours before he had to be at work.

“I’ll be there. Thanks, Emil.”

As Emil went back to his post, Gracie looked over at Paul. “Doing a little market research, Paul?” Gracie had obviously put on her consulting hat.

“I just have a feeling that someone like Emil could offer a perspective that we don’t have. And there’s just something about that guy. He seems to see the world in a different way.” Paul looked over to the bar, watching Emil serve his customers another round of beers. He was somewhat surprised that Emil had agreed to meet him so quickly.