Vision 2012 Team Goal # 3 (of 5)

Spiritual Formation, Church Wide

The Church offers spiritual formation through worship, education and service. Over time these three practices can transform an individual and by doing so, they transform the world. The Vision Team celebrates the Spiritual Formation that is already taking place at FUMC and yet challenges the church to have greater expectations for church-wide, on-going involvement in these spiritual practices.

Our current approach to spiritual formation is something of a buffet. I think a better model for us is spiritual formation as a box from Angel Food. Let me explain the difference.

I love buffets. I get exactly what I want in exactly the portion I want. As I think about a typical Chinese restaurant buffet I imagine loading my plate with General Tso’s Chicken or Sesame Chicken or Orange Chicken—all basically deep-fried meat morsels coated with sugar-sweet glaze. I skimp on the vegetables so that I get more bang for my buck. It is mostly about loading-up on that glazed chicken. But I don’t usually eat that way at home. At home I am more careful to include good, unprocessed vegetables, higher quality protein without the fat and sugar and higher quality breads than the oil-encrusted flour that blankets the buffet morsel.

By comparing Church spiritual formation to a Chinese buffet I do not mean to suggest that our offerings are unhealthy. Rather I am faulting the cultural pattern of individualism that has crept into most of our program-sized churches in the United States. It seems normative for members to load-up on certain worship morsels while giving scant attention to the broccoli of education and even less acknowledgement that there is mission-work “fruit” at the buffet as well. Churches have lowered expectations to the point where education and mission seem completely optional for adults. I was talking with a Scout leader from another church who shared with me the ways that Scouting has changed in his area. On typical weeknight meetings the group is complete but when they plan weekend camping, fewer than half of the kids attend. He is mystified because outdoor adventure really is at the heart of the program—they are called “scouts” after all! Camping is where the rubber hits the road—where theory becomes practice. Families simply will not commit all of that valuable weekend time to a program like Scouts. They load up on the weekday meetings but miss out on the nutrients. So it is in churches too. Still I wonder if we can shake free of the buffet mentality.

Angel Food delivers a box of essential ingredients to families who place monthly orders. See www.angelfoodministries.com This month the $30 box includes: a bag of onions, dozen eggs, 2% shelf stable milk, Ribeye steaks, pork chops, quick prep chicken fried rice, a fully prepared lasagna, breaded fish patties, ground beef, broccoli, breaded chicken cutlets, breakfast cereal, hash browns and dessert. I can use everything in this box! I can save a lot of money too, which is the point of Angel Food Ministries, but that is not the point I am trying to make right now in comparing the box to spiritual formation. What I want to emphasize is the breadth and consistency of Angel Food. Spiritual Formation requires breadth and consistency.

A newcomer to FUMC might come expecting the buffet. That is the cultural expectation. Yet in addition to an uplifting worship, they are encouraged, from day one, to claim a full box of resources. The box includes an expectation to be in a small group study as well as the assumption that within weeks or months that newcomer will roll-up-sleeves with us in a setting like Agape Café or raking leaves for neighbors who need the help. On the other hand, long-timers who feel that they have “done their time” in service or study—people who often speak to me in terms of “retirement” from church obligations—these folks also receive the box. Their needs are different than those of newcomers. They may need more cereal and less dessert. But older adults most certainly need consistent spiritual formation in all three areas, worship, education and service. A father brings his daughter to Sunday school but then rather than simply expecting that he will drive over to Honey Dew for coffee, waiting for his daughter to finish Sunday School, the dad meets with other dads (or moms) for a Biblically-based parenting class. After their classes the two meet together in worship. After worship, the two take the “Bonnie’s List” of service options with them and talk in the car about how they can best serve one of the needs listed there. When they get home, mom (or dad) is still sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper when the two arrive home with an idea for service. At the end of the month the entire family attends worship together and celebrates the completion of a family goal.

Spiritual Formation exists to help people heal fragmented, divided lives. Our church serves people best when we offer wholistic spiritual care rather than fragmented options. When we meet at our full church conference on November 21^st, let’s make a collective decision to raise our expectations for Spiritual Formation. Let’s offer (and receive) the whole box!