In the Coracle

“So, how’s your church doing?”

June 3, 2004 // Tags: Mt. Si Vineyard

I HATE answering that question.

I REALLY hate answering that question.

I hate it becase of how it makes me feel, and how I feel I should answer the question, and what I want to say, and how I can’t tell if the person asking the question sincerely wants to know or wants the “good, good. you?” answer.

I hate answering the question because my stock response is something like, “Good, we’ve got 20 or 25 folks on a weekend now, we had 4 families go through our last 101 class, we have awesome new worship leaders and we’ve got young leaders emerging with good ideas.” Frankly I could print a note card that said that, hand it to people when they asked the Question, and 94% of those people would be fine.

But I always cringe at the first part of that answer, because I know that my temptation is to measure success by that number, and even when I’m surviving that temptation, I know that most people asking that question are listening for the number.

What I REALLY want to say is, “Well, we’re proclaiming good news to the poor and freedom for those who are bound and captive to one thing or another. We’re doing our best to recover sight for the blind and release the oppressed. We’re trying to understand and act on what it means to be agents of God’s grace and favor. And we’re crushing injustice and sharing our food with the hungry and giving the poor wandered shelter (even when we’re not sure if it’s a con job or not), and clothing the naked and not hide from relatives who need our help. But mostly we’re trying to see what the Father is doing here and now and participate as fully as possible. ”

But somehow it’s hard to remember all that stuff in the moment, and it’s too much to put on a notecard to hand out.

So I’m going to start answering the question with things like this, both to help me to resist measuring myself by attendance, and to focus myself and the questioner on something more helpful.
One of our young leaders is brining nonChristian friends to Christian leadership conferences, and they’re actually enjoying it.
Yesterday I helped mentor a guy who’s gotten himself into an emotionally damaging love triangle, and who’s dealing with anger and rejection.
Last week we prayed for 3 people whose image of marriage was crushed by divorce, and God began healing them.
The nonChristian couple who went through our marriage workshop is excitedly signed up for our first Alpha course.

We think we might have more people in our first Alpha course than we have in a typical Sunday service.
Maybe that will help my attitude, and help me to answer the Question well.

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Introduction

Welcome! I'm Pat Loughery, and I'll be your host here. Feel free comment on what you see here. I am a lay missionary to North Bend on the east side of Seattle, a husband, dad to 2 kids, a software test manager for Equiom, Inc.,, a software consulting company. I'm also a failed and (quite possibly future) church planter and a Doctor of Ministry student with Bakke Graduate University, and usually on this blog we discuss Christian spirituality (especially of the Celtic, post-Evangelical, post-Charismatic and neo-monastic flavors), photography, motorcycles, and other oddball things.

About the Coracle

I'm trying to live a deep and relational Christian life. As I study Christian spirituality, I find the Celtic stream helpful, challenging and liveable. One of the images from early Celtic Christianity is their sea transport - the coracle.

The ancient Celts traveled in coracles - handmade, wooden framed and hide-covered boats, to journey where the trinitarian God led them. Though the transportation was simple, the journey was profound. This image is an illustration of the way I experience God's guidance - an invitation to travel with him on his paths, not mine; at his pace, not mine.

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“So, how’s your church doing?”