Thoughts of a College Pastor

Earlier this fall I went on a church visit…

…mostly as a spectator.

I was excited to visit this church. The trip had been on my list of things to do for a couple years but I never made it happen. The opportunity finally came and I was stoked.

I arrived 15 minutes early (I know right…)

With bells on…

Smiling…

Open to any and every interaction that might arise…

I walked to the front entrance…

Approached the doors…

Walked in…

Scanned the room…

Found my seats…

Sat down…

Sat for 7 minutes and had to pee…

Got up and went to the bathroom and returned to my seats…

Sat through the service…Great worship, sound, stories of the Kingdom coming to the surrounding city, a good message on Nehemiah 3.

Took communion…

Service was over…I helped pick up chairs…

And then walked out the same doors I entered through…

Did you notice anything strange about my experience?

Maybe you didn’t notice anything strange because we have become so accustomed to what took place.

No one talked to me. Not a hello. Not a, “Is this your first time?” Not a, “What are you doing for lunch?” Nothing.

Here’s my point…the message/sermon/teaching was on Nehemiah 3. The teaching pastor made some excellent points. He talked about how the families rebuilt the walls of the city and they stood next to one another as they built the walls. They stood shoulder to shoulder. They worked hand in hand. It was a call to communal action. It was a rally cry that said…if we’re going to reach the city around us then we must do it together.

I say, AMEN! I agree. Preach it brother.

The only problem is this…the medium doesn’t echo the message. The message communicated through the medium tells me that I’m not worth your time. I’m not welcome. I’m not needed on the building crew. The medium is the message.

We can preach about community all day long but if our communities and personal lives do not reflect the message…the message is void.

Another example of this is the Baptist church in Asheville, NC that planned a book burning ceremony. They planned to burn all the book by people that didn’t agree with their stance and theology. The name of the church…Amazing Grace Baptist Church. The message is…this is a place of grace…the medium is…if you don’t agree with us we’ll burn you.

We can preach and preach and preach a message of community, grace, forgiveness, mercy, unity, etc….

But if the medium is conflicting then the message is void.

I read a book called Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps early this fall and that is where this idea was brought to my attention. I’ve started to hear and read a lot of bashing on Shane Hipps and his book. He talks about how the message is always changing because the medium is always changing. People don’t like that because that means that you can’t just preach a message…you have to live it. Yes the message of Jesus might be love and peace and grace…but if our lives are not love and peace and grace then the message of Jesus in fact changes to the message of our lives.

Shane Claiborne says it this way, “To all my nonbelieving, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity. Forgive us. Forgive us for the embarrassing things we have done in the name of God.” (Full Article)

My prayer is that the church today will begin to understand that they are the embodiment of the message. They are the medium by which God wishes to communicate His message to the world. They are the message. They are God’s plan A. And there isn’t a plan B. Whatever message we preach with our lives and our churches is the message that the world will hear.  The medium is the Message.

What message are you communicating? What message is your church communicating? Does it line up with God’s time-tested message? What changes need to take place?