We are going back to visit a church we used to attend when we first moved to Nashville. It’s been a while, and there is a new pastor there now. The church has identified itself as a church that is solidarity with the poor, and is a Reconciling Congregation of the United Methodist Church, and they surely do valuable ministry. My prior problem there was feeling that my gifts were not being encouraged; even looked upon with suspicion by not only the former pastor, but by some of the members. (The gift: figuring out and implementing ways for the church to implement Web technology to enhance the communication and sharing in the membership, and to “tell the story” of the church.

One of the other tensions I experienced there is a classic one: the activism of the members existed almost as an island; the structures for the Inward Journey were insufficient; I did not feel known there. I often felt that the membership (most of them are about that age) was a “60s culture” group who do the liturgies of the Progressive camp, and are involved in the Civic Organizations who do advocacy, but that the supporting structures were not there (the building of a spiritual journey together).

It was as if the affirmation and participati on of activist and advocacy programs were all that needed to be done, and then given a theological tint and a “sendoff” (ie “We’re with ya’) and that’s the only thing there is: the worship where we say “Go” and then we go, and come back and say “We Went”. All of this is to point out the absence of intentional structures of seeing to it that noone is in this journey without a support group. We all say we are FOR support groups, but then our structures forge ahead without them. I believe that The Church of the Saviour communities have this part right. And I can’t help but feel that in MOST places, they totally miss it. There is NO SENSE that this people of God is WHERE our lives are centered. It does not approach “family” the way many chruches name themselves (not unlike how many secular corporations call themselves the “Corporate community”; it’s not unlike them in that the life of that church in no way funct ons as the CENTER of concern and substinance and energy. Most of all, rare is the church where a majority of its members can honestly say that they really feel known there.

I still admire the social ministries of this church, and its message, but , as I ‘ve said before, and Gordon confirmed, “I”ve been runied”. I cannot help but notice the Inward Journey piece; the piece that pays attention to and supports and emphasizes the journey in depth with one another; and which seeks to enable the discernment of gifts. The advocacy and the various works of mercy are not be abandoned or minimized; they need to be maintained. But the way to maintain them and continue to be open to the movement of God’s spirit in other directions to which that spirit calls us, is to tap into the unlimited resources available to the People of God to participate in that which God is doing in the world. And we acnnot do this without the resources of the Inward Journey.

I cannot say whether or not I gave up on this church too easily or too soon. I expect that this morning I might find myself looking for signs of change in that direction. There’s a lot more to it, such as the aforementioned lack of encouragement/apprreciation for my “calling” to help build and enable the ways in which the Web can be used as an extension to community; to help offer detail to the stories told in public; to offer online stories to broaden the appeal and attract “seekers” with whom the narrative and the ministries of this church resonate. And to aggregate resources for both the Inward and the Outward Journeys of this church.