“This church is different!” Fine, but why? Because everyone there is young and hip? Because everyone is Reformed? Because all the parents keep their kids out of public schools? Because the music is good and loud and original? Because there are icons and candles and an ancient liturgy to connect us to the historical church? Because you’ll never see a jumbo-tron or overhead projector in the sanctuary? Because good coffee is available before, during, and after the service? Because the pastor isn’t afraid to use coarse language? Because the church office refrigerator is full of microbrews? (I could go on…)
Hopefully your local church won’t want to be defined or distinguished by anything except the Gospel. If the Word of Christ is central to your identity and mission, good. By definition, then, your church would seek to remove all other hurdles than the Gospel between people and God. The attitude of, “If you’re not different like us, we don’t like you,” is a major blockade to be removed. Once these barriers are gone, and all you have left is the grace of God through Jesus Christ, then you have a distinctive church… only, it’s what the church has always been, and what it should be. What does that do for your distinctiveness?
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Be patient with me. I promise I have a point here.
I was watching the Kentucky Derby the other weekend, because that is what I do this time of year. I wait for and watch the Triple Crown events. So, this very remarkable horse, Street Sense, was almost dead last at break from the gate. Watching the skill of the deep-Louisiana native jockey maneuvering this beast between rails and hooves and lashes into first to win by over two lengths, a very comfortable win, was breathtaking. In fact, this was such a comfortable win that he looked over his shoulder and saw his victory with enough time to celebrate BEFORE the finish throwing his dominant lashing arm in the air! The thing with horseracing though, is that you forget the jockey and you are terrified and stunned by the power of the beast as if there were no man! The jockey only wields this power and shows it off to a crowd unable to certainly appreciate the raw and terrible nature of the fury to be tapped beneath.
So then it gets ridiculous. They begin with the pomp and show. They begin interviewing MEN of all things. Asking about training and money and how it feels to have the win. It all seems so ridiculous. I watch the owner’s double chin move as he answers about the months of grueling training and I see his buttons sparkle as he speaks of his own difficulties overcome. And behind him I see a horse, fierce, snorting, willing to submit, foaming at the mouth and invigorated, muscle fibres involuntarily shaking in recovery. And the men continue this circus.
The camera continues to run from one hero to another with the real hero in the background.
It’s a different story with the jockey though. This Louisiana bred man hasn’t ceased to haunt me since he was interviewed. The reporter asked him questions. But, he was too simple to give any real insight. He was really quite ignorant. So she replayed the race and with an excited voice asked him to recount his strategy and his thoughts. He only said words such as “Here I moved into this opening. This opened up.” He was not at all pleasing to the camera but I was as moved as I was with the win of the horse. Why did you not try to be wise for men?
The man was unremarkable in every way. He was shorter than a man, smaller than a man, less intelligent than a man, simpler than a man, less of a man than a man. I’ve seen all this before and not been haunted. But when the world gives him fame and he is not moved, millions and he remains unmoved, when he declines so that he remains unremarkable and becomes less palatable to men in so declining, and holds onto his integrity and understands the circus even if it’s not clear to him that he does, that changes me.
I’m sure there must be something of value in being remarkable but for the past three weeks of being haunted by these thoughts I cannot find value in being remarkable. And I cannot stop thinking about it. Your post tied it into church things for me. I think the thing is beautiful, to be completely unremarkable so that in relating to the Thing of Power, which for us is God… in relating to Him we would not contaminate His beauty with our circus. And we would not tend to inappropriately expose our fat, old, wrinkled necks next to His glorious mane and expose our freak show for what it is.
TR Underwood
Well said, my new friend. I must admit, I was beginning to wonder where you were going with that one….