Watering church lawns and other absurd reductionisms
20 Oct 2008
Andrew Jones (aka Tall Skinny Kiwi), posted a qoute from a blog, that got a flea/bug in my ear.
Andrew’s blog post title, ‘Why I don’t go to church’ with a qoute from another blog on how churches spend more money on watering lawns than the needs of the poor in the world, with no comment by him was a little vexing, but that might have been his plan all along 
And he succeeded with me.
The full article (which is very good), makes clearer that when asked, the author says he doesn’t go to church, he understands that he is the church. And the qoute on watering lawns is ameliorated in it’s larger context.
Whilst the placing of the qoute with that title, made it look like an absurd reductionism, I do increasingly find myself irked by such reductionisms.
1. True: Is this quote true, where are the stats that prove, ‘most parts of the church in the West spend as much money watering the grass at the building… than the entire annual economic needs of other parts of the church in the poorer places on the planet’? It’s so easy to throw out claims like this about the church collectively compared to a situation in the world, but how about some evidence to support it?
2. So What?:Take enough people collectively, from any grouping and you can make similar assertions. Emerging Church christians spend more on apple laptops/ipods, or books on missional/emerging church, than than the entire annual economic needs of other parts of the church in the poorer places on the planet.
And people who don’t go to church spend more money on crisps (potato chips), than the entire annual economic needs of other parts of the church in the poorer places on the planet.
I’m not arguing for the watering of lawns of church buildings, and I am not justifying how churches do get consumed with their own maintentance, and don’t resource mission, which should be their primary identity. I do want to question the ’straw man’ of reductionisms like this, that avoid the log in our own eyes, by making ‘church’ the resource boogeyman.
And there are plenty of churches with lawns to water that do a great deal in their community.
3. The False Consolation of Reductionisms: I read a blog a few years ago about a Christian who had decided to ‘leave church’ because of all the poor people that members of his church drove by on the way to their resource intensive building. The author’s ire was provoked by a church that ignored the community around it’s building. It was an vitriolic tirade of how they (the author) had seen the waste of resources, by a church consumed with itself, that missed the needs of the community around it.
And yet I thought, what about you, who drove to the church yourself. Did you ever stop and minister to those people? Did you not only minister to them, but invite others in that church community to join you? Did you then influence your church, so that it threw it’s doors and resources open to those around it?
No, you felt that you had done something by ‘leaving church’, a church that in your assessment that didn’t do something, you weren’t prepared to do either it seems.
22 comments
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Comment by brett jordan
9.40 am on 20 Oct 2008
If you’re not careful, you’re going to end up on ‘our side’ jason
Comment by Jason
9.48 am on 20 Oct 2008
Which side of the Lawn is that then?
Comment by brett jordan
9.58 am on 20 Oct 2008
After reading Revelation 8:7, us bibliophiles tend to stay off the grass completely
Comment by Jason
10.14 am on 20 Oct 2008
Comment by Andrew Sillis
11.54 am on 20 Oct 2008
Hi Jason,
Thanks for Deep Church which is always thought provoking.
All this talk of lawns, reminded me of a project a Church near here (Greenford, West London) is doing next weekend.
They are creating a ’slum’ on the lawn in front of their Church. It will be a kind of urban bivouac with shelters made of old fence panels, tarpaulins and the like. Members (of all ages) of the Church are going to live in their slum encampment over the weekend to raise awareness of the plight of the poor throughout the world (and in our own city). They are calling it ‘Slum Survivor’. Greenford is far from being a wealthy part of London, so this isn’t simply the middle-classes pretending to be poor. The local community seem to be really interested in what is planned; although one of the features of the event will be something of the spontaneity of life in slum encampments.
Comment by Jason
5.37 pm on 20 Oct 2008
Our youth are involve in this too, do let us know how it impacts you all?
Comment by Brian Niece
12.53 pm on 20 Oct 2008
I agree completely. In my case (as a pastor who has beat his head against a wall trying to lead parishioners in this very direction with no tangible results to speak of), I also wonder how long we try within the structured church?
I and my family will soon be joining with others to be Christ in an urban setting (www.SynergyProject.cc). This comes from years of trying to “convert” Christians stuck in an attractional paradigm.
Sometimes, it might be like Christ to shake the dust off our feet, find and work with others who wish to be Jesus to their community, and see what happens.
Be the Peace …
Brian
Comment by Jason
5.38 pm on 20 Oct 2008
This does open up the bigger question of staying and leaving, I might come back to that in another post. All the best with your new adventure!
Comment by tobit
1.06 pm on 20 Oct 2008
this certainly got me thinking and a bike ride into town and back prompted the idea of responding…
point 3 is really quite interesting
what do you do if you find yourself in such a church? who is to blame? out of the 50 regular attenders at the church I am part of, my wife and I (with two small children) are the only ones that walk.
Our walks do provide some opportunity to ‘minister’ to the folk we stop and chat with along the way. Our church on the other hand (at least at an institutional level) does seem to be occupied with itself – for example driving there to hold services (like we always have), make plans to build a new extensions, and so on. We (again at an institutional level) shy away from doing good things, ministering to those around us, and I have a big problem with this. Now, my wife says there is nothing to stop me doing something, but to do it alone, even though I am prepared to do it, without the fellowship and support of my brothers and sisters, and without ideological coherence, is tough going.
So, if I end up leaving, I certainly won’t be leaving any cyber-debris by way of vitriolic tirades against my church. and it won’t be because I wasn’t prepared to do something. Leaving to do something would be the key (only?) reason and a result or side effect of this might also be leaving my church as a member.
Comment by Jason
5.39 pm on 20 Oct 2008
Can you engage in it, and invite others from your church community to help, what would happen if you did?
Great to hear from you, jason
Comment by Tony Simoncini
4.06 pm on 20 Oct 2008
I think the author is guilty of what many in the church over the years have been guilty of. Combat one problem by creating another. When you see an issue, be it theology or praxis…the church has been guilty of going way out of balance to the “other side” of the issue. Free will…God determines everything; Truth is relative…truth can only be found in scripture, etc! I believe correct theology and praxis can be found on both sides if we would just put our collective heads together!
So the author refuses to go to church and maybe his reasoning is correct…I just think his application is terrible. Go back to the church and try using your influence you have with leadership and decision makers to start reaching out to the poor and needy in the community. Or does he even have influence with the leadership. Do they know his name? Education is much better than evacuation! Jesus was always teaching, not running from the crowd who had things wrong in theology and praxis. His desire was to bring change to judgment! So to be like Jesus is not to neglect the church, but to guide the church in the ways of Christ so that we as a body of believers can impact culture and the world!
He says that “he understands that he is the church”; where is that in scripture again? What could he possibly be talking about…no one member IS the church. We all have our parts to play in the bigger picture of the church of Jesus Christ and if we leave the church (community), then we leave Jesus. Now, we can leave a particular community in favor of another that better exemplifies the teachings of Jesus, but to leave it all together and say that I am the church so I don’t need community, is a gross misunderstanding of the scriptures and all that Jesus taught!
Peace
Tony
Comment by Jason
5.41 pm on 20 Oct 2008
Not sure which author you mean, Andrew Jones or the main post he qouted?
I get the being the church instead of going to chruch, we are the body of christ in being and action.
And his article does express the part we all have to play as the whole church.
great to hear from you. Jason
Comment by Tony Simoncini
4.13 pm on 20 Oct 2008
I meant to say, Jesus came to bring change NOT judgment! Sorry!
Comment by matybigfro
3.21 pm on 21 Oct 2008
Jesus also paid the price for bringing change
if you look around there are so many people who are still carrying their wounds from the time they tried to effect change in a church.
Almost as many as the churches that have wounds from leaders or zelouts that tried to change them.
Comment by Tony Simoncini
4.53 pm on 21 Oct 2008
I would agree, but rolling over and keeping silent is not the answer. If Jesus is our example, and we are to carry our cross as He implied, then we too may pay a price to bring change. This is something I have been chewing on for a year now, and I’m finally ready to start talking about the change I think my church needs. In other words, process the change in you first, and when you have a sense of it, go out and evangelize the church. No different than telling those around you about the Christ change in you. I’m not speaking about the extremes here (zealots) which I realize can and will hurt everyone involved (no matter what side your one) I’m talking about change that fits in the middle. Any church, any where, can see the need to spend less on themselves and more on their community. This is not deep hurting you and me with words that cut like a knife from the zealot change…this is simple; teach people that the gospel is not about them, it’s about His kingdom, and how we bring His kingdom to earth and display it to our community is actually caring about the community beyond getting their butts in our seats and getting them to pray the prayer!
Peace
Tony
Comment by Michael
4.28 pm on 20 Oct 2008
I could never criticize someone for leaving church. I know too many really wonderful people who have done that. I can only share my personal decisions on this.
Avoiding too long of a long rambling reply, the three main reasons for staying, despite completely understanding why people might leave.
1) While a church is not the only way a community of faith can be constructed, the faith does best reside in a community. My church is my community.
2) A little humility is a good thing. I am so right about everything, it is good for me to be willing to be seen as a fool.
3) I owe my community my dissent.
Comment by Jason
5.41 pm on 20 Oct 2008
HI Michael, I can’t believe how long it is since we last met/connected. Great to hear from you.
Comment by Tony Simoncini
9.34 pm on 20 Oct 2008
Jason,
I was speaking of the original article by Bob. I think he has a lot of good points I just think his delivery is a mistake. It’s not a judgment on him and I know people who have distanced themselves from any church affiliation and they do just fine spiritually and in praxis. My concern is that guys like Bob see a bigger mission and a bigger gospel than the average 20th Century American church goer who does nothing to touch the poor and oppressed in their neighborhoods…and because of this difference of opinion he leaves the church! Sure he can go and do those things on his own, or is his passion for loving and serving his community better served teaching this “new” gospel to a group of people who may be willing to share his passion and go practice it! In other words Bob has so much to offer the body, his community, the church!!!
I get that churches have screwed things up big-time and I was a part of it like the masses. But since I have been shaken up to something new in my journey with Christ…I went through a process. At first I wanted to scream at everyone the things I was learning and feeling about the gospel we preach on most Sunday’s that revolves around how great God is to MEEEE, and how the gospel isn’t about me…now I’m at a place of loving even the people in church who don’t get it and gently drag them to a place of hearing me out and tell them my story…what God is doing in my family and how He is changing our perspective on the gospel. How the gospel we hear weekly is a little off when it suggests God is so concerned about how much I give so He can calculate how much to give me back, etc. This has been met with open arms and ears that are interested in hearing more! So my advice to Bob and all those who are struggling with the way their church is treating their budget vs. their community, is start to sharing these concerns from a Jesus perspective with everyone in their community and see to it that a small part of the “watering the lawn” budget is moved to serving the needs of those outside of the 4 walls
Comment by Robin Parry
9.04 am on 21 Oct 2008
Jason
I think that you have perfectly expressed the kinds of frustration that I often feel with some critics of churches. I am all in favour of constructively criticising churches (and I know that not all my criticism meets such lofty standards) but I do think that an awful lot of unfair and hypercritical criticism goes on. It is easy to take a cheap shot and mistake it for a profound and devastating insight.
Robin
Comment by Dan Kimball
3.23 am on 23 Oct 2008
Jason,
I often have heard criticms of church buildings and money spent there instead of money used for other causes. I believe we should not be extravant in church buildings or watering the grass, but I am very pro-building if a church has that privilege. If you go to Compassion International, they have a very beautiful lawn. I have driven by it many times. A very large office complex too. But that building and grass, is their headquarters and from that base they end up helping thousands and thousands of children in need across the world.
I see it as a valuable thing to have a “headquaters” so to speak as without it, and if monies were directly given without the systems and organization I doubt as many children would be helped.
I see church campuses much like I do Compassion International’s headquarters. I see no issue with watering the lawn as long as the building then can be a headquarters for seeing more and more people helped or reached with the gospel which wouldn’t necessarily happen if there was no headquarters. To me, church buildings should be seen as missionary training and support centers. Where hundreds can be trained and supported through what happens inside.
Raambling a bit, but those are some reactions.
Dan
Comment by Charlie Boyd
11.00 am on 23 Oct 2008
Dan
As a supporter of Compassion you have worried me a bit about the well manicured lawn at Headquarters.I am an Advocate here in Ireland for Compassion – many sponsors are signed up ( with so many Christians inhabiting this island) but one thing does concern me.We advocates are invited to go overseas to visit a Compassion work – trips are usually quite expensive but Compassion will pay half the cost if I plead poverty.This sounds a bit like a perk for the salesforce.Hope I am not being cynical.
On the Church/no Church issue I personally stand with the no formal church brigade.The issue I think is not having a building or not but having so many buildings in every town of the Western World.I feel that believers who have got sick of the institutional thing are turning away from the competition which sees churches as market driven businesses.In my Irish town of 70,000 peolple there are at least 65 ‘churches’ – one street has 5/6 separate services in their respective buildings meeting at the same time each Sunday morning.Non believers aren’t stupid – they can see throgh this ‘choice’ – ‘Look how they love one another – NOT’.Watchman Nee had many faults but he was correct about this – there is only one church (ekklesia) of Jesus the Christ in my town not 65 some of whom may only get together for a week every few years for a ‘mission’.Again the non believers see through it.
The free market spiritual economy has discredited ‘churches’ in the sight of the ordinary guy.
Here is a radical idea for those of us who love buildings- Have a massive Basilica like St Peters in every large town in the Western World where all the believers in a locality can come and enjoy being Christains.Then like the Christian denominations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre we can fight about who is to stand where!
The above is tounge in chhek of course.The issue is not the building one but the competition that leads to every Tom,Dick and Harry splitting off from a previous one to build their own.There is an epidemic of this over in Northern Ireland at present.Spiritual Capitalism gone mad!!!
Charlie
Comment by Carl Peet
8.06 pm on 1 Nov 2008
I like to call the Consumerist Christian agenda- Burger king Christianity- everyone wants it their way ?
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