Cult Following - An Appropriate Response? (Part 2)

Part of the reason that this article has proved to be a hot-button issue is because of the spiritually-seeking people that many have claimed to be concerned about. There are 2 main schools of thought that I have heard on this issue

 

1. We should not change who we are because spiritually seeking people need to know what we are like. This sometimes does not take into account the fact that the methods of communication and the general corporate worship experience may or may not be relevant (need improvement, etc…) in contemporary culture
   
   
2. We should change, remove, mask or hide everything that would make a spiritually seeking person uncomfortable in our corporate worship gathering and in the event that we are not able do remove everything (like singing a bunch of songs, praying or giving an offering), we shall apologize profusely for it in the hope that our apology will be accepted and that the seeker shall overlook these shortcomings

 

 This second entry is going to be about a couple of things that I have been forced to increasingly wrestle with over the past few years as I have sought to find ways to relate to the culture in which I now live.

 

The expression that I have heard – an expression that I think accurately describes the cultural state of affairs with relation to Christianity in our country – is that Canada is a post-modern, post-Christian society. If post-modernism and post-Christianity mean nothing to you, please google both terms and you’ll find a plethora of information on both topics.

 

While the church may have had a large part to play in the formation of contemporary society, the truth is that over the years Canadians have turned their back on the church and in large part become suspicious of it. This is obviously not without the help of the church, the misuse of its (the church) power and influence and the growing disconnect with contemporary culture because of a refusal to recognize the times and adapt to them. Obviously there is more to it than this and I have read literally HUNDREDS of articles and books on this movement of culture into a post-modern, post-Christian state. You should too!

 

My personal experience has shown me three predominant groups of people that belong to the mission field that we seek to reach out to and that we hope would walk through our doors.

 

1. The indifferent and disinterested group (with or without prior experience with the church)
2. The cynical, hostile and suspicious group (with or without prior experience with the church)
3. The group that are on a search for an authentic spiritual experience (with or without prior experience with the church)

 

I am sure that we could add to these groups a host of other groups, but these are the ones I will choose to speak about from this point on.

 

Groups 1 and 2 mentioned above will most likely not darken the doorpost of a church unless they are dragged or somehow forcefully coerced. Heh! We all know this, don’t we? It is even more unlikely that they will walk into a worship space like ours because of the pre-conceived negative connotations that the word “Pentecostal” has.

 

Because these groups (1 and 2) of people are highly unlikely to come to our worship services, even when they do they view everything through the tainted lens of cynicism. This means that just about every experience in the church is going to look staged or reek with a lack of authenticity. The corporate singing is going to look like mindless chanting and the message and ministry times are going to look like hypnotic suggestion more than an authentic take on spiritual and contemporary issues. I believe that this is the category to which Mr. Holock who wrote the article that I circulated belongs. If we try to make changes to our corporate worship gatherings with these 2 groups of people in mind, we are wasting our time.

 

My personal belief is that these 2 groups of people can only change their attitude about the church when they become convinced that our walk matches our talk. Our worship services are a mockery to them because our high-flying rhetoric about being the change in the world we want to see and other such stuff is just that… empty words. Our songs are meaningless and repetitive because we are singing about being salt and light and yet in the world today, the salt and light are severely lacking. 

 

Outside of a personal miraculous intervention from God, such people will only change their mind about the church and about Christianity in general when they see a sustained, different approach by the church to issues OUTSIDE of the four walls of the church. Not one that seeks to forcefully influence contemporary culture and speaks down to it from a higher moral vantage point, but one that becomes a true advocate for justice and mercy down in the trenches in a world that severely lacks it. As I said earlier, there is nothing that our corporate worship gathering can change to influence these 2 groups because who we are inside the church is not who they see outside it and so everything that happens inside – from the greeters, to the guy with dreads, to the oh-so-enthusiastic pastor Mark looks extremely ridiculous.

 

The third group of people, who are on a journey seeking an authentic spiritual experience and connection with God (regardless of the definition they might have of who that God is at the time) are the ones who may wander into our doors uninvited, or accept our invitation to church. These are the ones that I have found are more willing to come again even after a less-than-perfect first encounter with the corporate worship experience because they may sense and even experience something more than just a staged weekly gathering.

 

We are therefore faced with a dilemma when they walk in. Do we hide who we really are so that they are not put off by the strangeness WE THINK they may have a problem with when they first encounter us? Do we hide the things we ourselves are personally wrestling over assuming that these spiritually seeking people shall experience the same battle? However, if we adjust our corporate gathering so that it is less “scary” what authentic, passionate, transcendent experience are we left with? We have to assume that we are going to be one of many stops (both denominational and religious) in this person’s quest to find a meaningful encounter with God (ambiguous definition at this point of course). How will we make the experience memorable and not bland then? We also must ask whether what we are currently doing actually DOES NOT harm us in the eyes of a true seeker… because we who are on the worship team are not really seekers in that sense. 

 

This, I think, is where the real debate lies because there are 3 key things all going on at the same time in our worship services

 

1. Communion with God – which has to take first priority in our service and so everything, from a worship facilitator’s standpoint, has to be done with this as priority number 1 and so we cannot strip away the things, the moments, the churchisms that facilitate this.
   
   
2. Communion with each other – because the second most important purpose of the corporate worship gathering as we have defined it in this community is actually NOT evangelism – even though it can serve that purpose – but rather fellowship as we find extensively through the psalms and a poignant piece of scripture in Hebrews 10: 25. Our thinking is that evangelism should actually happen OUTSIDE the corporate worship gathering… the act of bringing people into the family does not happen AT the family gatherings, but rather outside the family gatherings. This therefore is priority number 2 of worship facilitators and so we have to walk the tight rope between keeping the things that enhance this “communion with each other” and ensuring that we are not making relics out of things that were useful in the past, but not relevant to the growing fellowship with ever-changing generations and ethnicities
   
   
3. Connection with the previously churched/un-churched spiritually seeking person.

 

What, therefore, is the way forward?

 

In order to have any meaningful dialogue about this, we have to step out of the kind of thinking that makes our viewpoint right and all other opposing or differing opinions wrong. I would like to hear your thoughts about adjustments, changes, improvements to the corporate worship experience… not just things that PASTOR PAULO AND PASTOR MARK SHOULD DO, but also things that affect more than just the paid staff.

 

While this conversation should include comments about stylistic elements – vintage VS contemporary, old VS new, exuberance VS quiet meditation, one form of communication VS another, etc – I would like to hear some thoughts that are more than just re-dressing, because no matter how many times you change my clothes, I am still fundamentally the same person… the same goes for our corporate worship gatherings. Our continued discussion about improvements/adjustments to the worship gatherings has to go deeper than the dressing of the gathering. It has to be more than what the pastors should do and include what we who are part of the worship facilitation team can all do together.

 

Lets talk! 

Cult following - An Appropriate Response? (Part 1)

It is four in the morning and all I can think about at this moment is the article that Mr. Holock wrote about Woodvale. The reason I have devoted a ton of thought to it recently is because I have been trying to find in my mind what an appropriate response to this article would be moving forward because the memory of it is going to undoubtedly shape the forward momentum of this worship ministry either overtly or covertly.

 

I am going to cover my thoughts on this topic in three or four separate blog entries and I hope that you are able to read them through to journey with me and hear my thoughts as the lead facilitator of worship at Woodvale.

 

This first entry on the matter is going to be about the responses that I have heard concerning the article.

 

Most of the responses I have heard (and I identify CLEARLY with all of these responses) fall into one of the following categories

 

1. Some of us thought it was a hilarious article, clearly embellished and just a casual read. When I first read the article, this is exactly how I felt about it and thought nothing of it for a while. My sister, on the other hand, thought that it was not very good and slightly reminiscent of the “Exposés” that have been done on many of the large churches in the US.
   
   
2. Some of us felt offended by the article because of the sarcastic tone and the ignorance with which he wrote about our worship experience. My guess is that those of us in this group (I am one of you) were offended, not just because we are personally responsible for the success or failure of the corporate worship experience, but because anything derogatory was not just aimed at us but at everybody with whom we share these corporate worship experiences.
   
   
3. Some of us felt like it was a long-overdue license to talk about the things that we have issues with concerning our corporate worship experience at Woodvale. Some of our comments were masked behind our concern (real or so-so) for “Spiritually seeking people”, but if you are like me, you know that the real issue is not so much concern for those that are not yet at part of our fellowship; instead, it is things that we (I) have found wrong with the current establishment… things that we (I) may feel powerless to change.
   
   
4. Some of us, by nature, choose the middle-of-the-road approach. On one hand sympathetic to the church because we just happen to be members of it even though we position ourselves as objective outsiders; on the other hand understanding of the issues that Mr Holock had with our service either through personal experience, or just because we see ourselves as being in position to bring balance to the conversation.

 

Each one of us undoubtedly found ourselves in one, two or all of these categories and I have something to say to all of you… well, those who thought it was hilarious, I have nothing to say.

 

However…

 

If you felt offended by the article, I want you to know that I understand how you feel. I believe that the Woodvale family is a group to be proud of and that through our fellowship we accomplish a lot of good. Not only that, but through our attempts to remain truly authentic (even though our attempts may seem staged to those that are cynical), people are inspired to make real life-changing decisions. More to that, people receive hope, healing, restoration and most of all a clear sense that God is in control of their lives. Mr Holock’s article need not offend us; rather, it should show us that there is still room for improvement and that there are ways that we can execute our corporate worship gatherings better so that while he (or any other visitor) may remain skeptical, the authenticity of each moment and the manifest power and presence of God is undeniable.

 

If you felt like it was a license to finally vent about the things you had issues with, I want you to know that I understand how you feel too. It is natural that our personal and spiritual journey makes us crave different things that what we may find at our corporate worship gatherings. The discussion to always improve things must continue, but we (the people in this category) have to guard against constantly focusing on all the little things that we have gripes with or else we become cynical about the worship gatherings and start to think of them as being disingenuous when in fact we have stopped seeing things objectively, but rather through the dark colored glasses of discontent. I have five questions for such people

1. Have you spent so much time focusing on the things you think should change that you have lost the ability to see God at work in our corporate gatherings?
2. Some people in this category have gone as far as stating that they too think that there is too much stuff about our services that is or seems staged and lacking in authenticity – fake if you will. If you are one of these, then you REALLY have to ask yourself whether you are right about this or not. This is not a defensive question on my part because I know that I have sat through services and started to smirk at everything that happens. However, I had to realize that I was passing judgment on a worship experience without really knowing whether it was truly deeply authentic and life transforming for its participants.
3. You may think of yourself as a voice for people that are not Christian, but you have to separate what you think you WANT in a corporate worship gathering from what would be useful in bringing somebody that was truly seeking along into a relationship with Jesus. It would be wrong of you to think that what you want as a churchgoer is what an un-churched person on an authentic spiritual search wants from a corporate worship service. You have to ask yourself this question: Have I substituted what I want in a corporate worship gathering for what I think a person that is far from God is really looking for in such a gathering?
4. You have to ask yourself why you continue to be a part of the group that is responsible for perpetrating the very thing that you find disingenuous. I believe you also have a choice to make – to be a part of bringing about real solutions to the things you think need change, or remove yourself from the team that perpetrates falsehood.
5. You also have to ask yourself what king of solutions there are to the problems that you see – real solutions and not band-aid solutions

 

For the objective, aloof observer, I would like to say that your voice is much needed in the passionate discussion that is going to continue over this topic. However, just like the group of people addressed above, you need to realize that you are part of the process and not a separate observer. If you are somehow able to see and appreciate both sides with clarity, then you should become more involved in the discussion about ways to improve our corporate worship gatherings so that they are meaningful to both groups of people – those that have been at this Christian walk for sometime and those that may be checking us out.

 

I am going to end this entry with something that sounds completely unrelated, but I think that it is actually related to this discussion.

 

When I invite people to visit my family – both my Ottawa family and my Uganda family – I always give them the inside scoop about it. I let them know that there will be times when they will not even understand the language that is being spoken; I let them know about the quirks of my family and the family members that they should not be too worried about or those that they should watch out for; and I let them know that there will be times when we shall have inside jokes to which my visiting friends shall not be privy. However, when it gets down to it, I am PROUD of my family, I love my family, and in spite of all the weirdness of the first encounter, the reason I am bringing my friend along is that I know that in time he or she will start to love them as I do and may even become a grafted member.

 

I find that this is a useful parallel to Woodvale because this church is my family. The first time you meet this family, you run into the crazy people, the ones who have a weird smile plastered to their face, the ones that treat you like trash… but eventually, you start to see that pretty much EVERYBODY is an awesome person. You start to see that being a part of the fellowship is better than sitting on the sidelines pointing fingers and making fun and most importantly, you come to LOVE the family. I am not ashamed of my church family. I know that we can be weird sometimes and that there is DEFINITELY room for improvement in our corporate worship experience, but I have learnt to not be bothered by those that would seek to make fun of us because the good in this family far outweighs the superficial quirks that you encounter when you first meet us. There is substance, authenticity, love and friendship… sometimes hard to see because of the old woman shampooing the spirit through her hair, but it IS THERE! We could do better to illuminate it, though, couldn’t we? 

Simply Put

Verse 1
I don't really need 
To tell someone their future
I don't really have to see the things
That can't be seen
I don't need another
Hyped up church encounter
Or another clever new Years theme
I'm not looking for another goose bump sermon
Or a word that leaves me passed out on the floor
My basic needs are really very simple
To know You love me
You like me
And I am Yours
I am Yours

Bridge 
My learning could go on throughout the ages
But I just need the plain and simple of what's real
I could memorize and quote a million pages
But I'd rather just express the way I feel

Verse 2
I've tried so hard to know 
The deepest revelation
So I could stand and tell the nations
What it means
But I found the greatest gift
Wrapped in Your salvation
It's really much more simple than it seems
So I relinquish all my witty observations
Leave my so called sacred knowledge at the door
When You died You answered every single question
You said You love me
You like me
And I am Yours
I am Yours

- Fred Hammond 

I'd like to hear what you think about this...

I recently read an article that Pastor Dorothy gave me from a small community magazine that circulates in Ottawa. It was written by a gentleman called Martin Holock who attended one of our services last year (some time in late summer or fall, I believe) and I would like to share excerpts of it with you and hear what you think and have to say about it. You can read the article in it's entirety HERE and I believe the article is on page 14.  

The title was huge and catchy: CULT FOLLOWING 

Subtitle: Born Again at Woodvale Pentecostal Church 

This month’s excursion is to the west-end home of evangelical christians, Woodvale Pentecostal Church. You know the frightening version of Jesus Camp believers you’ve heard about who are into speaking in tongues and performing exorcisms? Those are Pentecostals and they are super popular. 

....

Pentecostals love a big crowd, so they’ve had to build massive buildings to hold them. A lot of these mega-churches across the US and in Toronto are Pentecostal, and they see a huge regular attendance. While many other denominations are experiencing a drop in Sunday crowds, places like Woodvale, where I have to park blocks away in a lot guided by ushers, are thriving. 

When I finally walk in, still 10 minutes early, I’m greeted with a handshake at every door along the way and there are already hundreds of folks singing the words projected on a slide above. I grab a pew at the back to take in as much of the action as I can. 

The music’s pretty cheesy, but I mouth along anyway. I’m putting on the best Christ-loving mask I can muster. A black guy with dreadlocks is singing at the grand piano, and 4 other neatly dressed young singers wave their hands and pour out their hearts accompanied by a full electric band. People of all shades and ages keep arriving and, pretty soon, folks are dancing. 

It’s a show - it really is. The music, the audience, the vibe. The closest comparison in my experience is a folk music festival. The quality of the music is mediocre, but the people who are into it are deeply, heavily feeling it. Only here it’s not stoned hippie moms and acoustic Dylan covers; it’s three or four songs repeated soulfully until you don’t even need the video prompts anymore. 

Early on, the congregation is proud to present some of its friends to be baptized. The first talks as unironically as possible about “coming out of the closet” as a Christian and sharing his faith with the world. There’s another guy who’s loved Jesus since he was six. The last is a 20-something redheaded woman who talks evasively about the craziness she got up to as a teen and how Jesus helped her through. It’s probably wrong to say I’m looking forward to seeing her get dunked, live on the screens they’re now using to show the action on stage, but whatever. She’s pretty hot. 

The children are then dismissed, and straggling spectators find their seats and get into position. The band is playing again. A few bouncer-looking types stroll up and down the aisles, monitoring us. Cal me suspicious, but I swear they’re identifying newcomers like me, for God only knows what purpose. 

All I know is that a minute later, a single middle-aged woman is standing next to me, singing enthusiastically and chanting, “Thank you Jesus, thank you. Praise Jesus.” over and over. Seconds later, and throughout the service, this secret spy chick is whispering in tongues. “S h a k a l a s h a k a t a t a t a a a. M i s h a k a s h a k a l a s h a a... Praise Jesus. Thank you Jesus.” 

Just act natural... Oh yeah, seen this *expletive* a thousand times... Yep, just some everyday tongue-talkin’... A real front-row shaker, dive-into-it type like this would usually be by the stage with the graying grandma who’s scooping up the spirit from the air in front of her, washing it all over her like she’s shampooing with it. The bouncers have fingered me and sent this shakalak woman here, I’m sure of it. There’s another single guy ahead of me, and lonely ladies all over. Why didn’t she go to one of them? 

Another feature of Pentecostal Churches is the God and Country routine. The service this week is about putting the Extra into Ordinary, and being filled with the Spirit like the saints in the book of Acts, but there are other, more political suggestions. Many times the phrase, “God keep our land glorious and free” is repeated. The oh-so-energetic and inspired Pastor Mark Scarr even declares at one point, as be bounces across the stage, “It’s not up to the world to influence the Church. It’s up to the church to influence the world!!” 

......

Ironically, it’s a big,enthralled crowd that gives them that personal feeling. And here at Woodvale, there’s definitely a crowd. We’re talking two floors of packed pews, probably around a thousand people, maybe more. And every single one of them is singing along. At least, unlike Catholics and Anglicans where the only passion of Christ is the bleeding Jesus pictures on the walls, here it’s pouring off the stage and dripping down the aisles. 

This is no special Sunday. These thousand people, of all walks and colors, are here every week. Christmas, Easter and Pentecost (50 days after Easter), are even more ridiculously packed with donating disciples. Woodvale has had to relocate or renovate many times in it’s 50 year existence, and they’re still regularly at capacity. And with a fanbase like this, and spreading worldwide popularity (huge among Africans, Latin Americans and Pacific-rim Asians, especially Koreans), these guys aren’t going away anytime soon, so you’d better find a way to live with them.