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Yeah, what he said!
Just one of the reasons why I like Rob Bell...

Rob Bell said in an interview with the Whittenburg Door, "I don't believe in Christian art or music. The word Christian was originally a noun. A person, not an adjective. I believe in great art. If you are an artist, your job is to do great art and you don't need to tack on the word Christian. It's already great. God is the God of Creativity. Categories desecrate the art form. It's either great art or it isn't. Followers of Jesus should have the first word instead of coming late to the game with some poor quality spin-off. Let's talk about things before everyone else. —Rob Bell (Whittenburg Door—printed by permission)

I like Rob Bell. He's hip, smart, articulate, wears really cool glasses, and he's a real mover and shaker in the church world. He calls it like he sees it, and he has one particular trait that I admire most—he asks hard rhetorical questions. I like asking hard, sometimes obvious questions too, even if I dont always have appropriate answers myself. It doesn't hurt to ask, and it stirs our God-given gift of thought. You can call hard (aka "irritating") questioning cynical, but I prefer to call it necessary. It's necessary because it requires requisite analysis and process. 

If I say to you, "Don't you think money is, and always has been, problematic in the church?" you have to, at the very least, dip into your database and see if, in your own experience, you've ever had a similar thought. You have to accept or refute the statement even if only for yourself. You will eventually conclude that I was either in error or that you want to think deeper on your own about the assertion I made and, perhaps, expand on it.

Questions demand answers, whether we do that work passively or actively, it requires real thinking and a kind of sorting out of our own points-of-view. That's a good thing! It's like doing research before you buy an HD television. You go to the web, you find out what others think about the products available, then you decide for yourself before you drop your hard earned cash. Its both practical and soul-satisfying to exercise your mind over issues that will impact you financially or in some other emotionally satisfying way. 

Why I, er...we, can't lose weight...

I have this friend, George, let's call him (...yeeeeh, that's right...George) who went on 6 diets in one year and lost (and regained) 15 pounds over and over. I asked him why he felt that he had failed to attain and retain his desired weight loss. His answer didn't surprise me. He said, I've discovered that one size does not fit all (no pun intended). His journey took him from pineapple crepes to boiled chicken and back to the knife-resistent fruit once again. He quickly tired of the boring and sometimes complicated nature of these diets and craved some variety. That's where things went awry. The variety included things like vanilla shakes and French fries and the weight quickly reappeared. So, then it was on to the next book, the next diet, and the next failure. While the experts said he would lose weight if he just stuck to the plan, he was not everyone, and the latest diet expert was clearly not speaking for him when they promised miraculous results. 

The church finds itself currently in something of a diet guru-like dilemma. Many Christian leaders (at one time we called them pastors) are currently trying everything under the sun to fulfill the Great Commission. Like a failed diet, it seems to be two steps forward and four steps backward—their churches, overall, are not growing. They have a haunting melancholia mixed with incredible Pollyannish hope, much like the failed dieter has when attempting to change old habits. They try everything, enjoy small victories, then sometimes realize no real change has happened. They don't have larger congregations, the folks they have don't seem to be changing, and George Barna (bless his heart) endlessly reminds them that Christians are pretty much like everyone else when it comes to moral living and righteous resolve. Is there a plan out there somewhere that holds the key for changing the Evangelical world's current track record? 

No. Formulas suggest that a truth is going to come from some knowledgeable trendsetter and change everything forever. Innovators do make a difference in our lives and our churches. They take us forward and they challenge us to new thinking, but nobody has a corner on THE answer except God.

He is talking, but are we listening to Him or someone who seems to be speaking for Him? Question Him, He's got the answers.

Blessings

Doug

—Doug Lawrence, internationally recognized speaker, author, and advisor, helps churches assess and improve their skillfulness in creating engaging worship experiences by utilizing his more than 35 years of "deep trench" worship leadership in prominent mainline churches. You may reach him at dlawrenceconsult@mac.com. Or, if you wish, call 1-650-207-8240 for assessment information and scheduling.