The Coincidence of Brian McLaren
Go check out Mobtown Blues for a great post called All paths don't lead to the same mountain. that starts off about a talk by Brian McLaren, one of the emergent church's most prominent pastors, and goes on to talk about a recent Quaker outreach at a large East Coast liberal Friends meeting:
I was distressed to hear speaker after speaker extol Quakerism for what it is not: not oppressive, not judgemental, not elitism, not closed-minded, not fundamentalist, not doctrinaire... very few spoke of what makes the faith distinctive or spiritually powerful in its own right.
And then he delivers the punch line:
A couple of my friends, a same-sex couple who had expressed keen interest in exploring Quakerism were so appalled by the self-congratulatory smugness on display at that newcomers' breakfast, by the implicit condemnation of all of those other, "less evolved" faith traditions, that they never came back to the meeting.
He hits on so many true things here: that Quaker smugness, the claim we've transcended human biases, the negatively-stated identity.
Seekers try out a religious tradition because they think there might be some truth in its teachings. We do them a disservice when we meet them at the door with a watered-down gruel. And we do our meetings a disservice, as those seekers who have come looking for a positive Quakerism go elsewhere while the newcomers that do stay come because they liked the refugee religious attitude they were presented with.
The coincidence in all this is that last night Bill Samuel commented on the blog. Bill has been one of the most tireless Quaker outreach voices, most lately with Quakerinfo.com, but a few years ago he left Friends to worship at Cedar Ridge Community Church, an emergent church pastored by?.. Pastored by Brian McLaren. And he wrote that he knew other Friends who had left their meetings to join Cedar Ridge.
McLaren is good at articulating a positive vision of church, something Friends could once do too. I've visited one of Philadelphia's emergent churches a few times, though I'm not quite ready to join Bill as a "post-Quaker." Still, how many important once-Quakers and almost-Quakers have been lost with our fear of self-identity?
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About Martin
I’m a Quaker from
South Jersey with a love of
outreach and ministry.
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I struggle with Friends who give a watered down version of Quakerism to newcomers. I hear, "we're against war", "we believe the Light of God is in everyone", etc. But who are we? I think that only by returning to our roots that we will be able to articulate a Path that will resonate with seekers. The Quaker Path is not easy...you have to listen, you have to be willing to change and you have to do all of this in community.
Sounds a lot like primitive Christianity restored, huh?
Peace Martin,
Craig
I can't help but sigh about the post-Quaker phenomenon. Most of the Friends I know are convinced Friends, so somewhere we are attracting some people, not all of whom are just looking for refugee status.
God has further plans for the RSoF, we just don't know what they are, I'm convinced.
Thank you Friend for your post!!!!!!!!
Bring a Person of Color and a religious minority ( Christian) among unprogrammed Friends can be a struggle at times!
Part of me wants to fit into ethos of the larger Unprogrammed
Quaker community and a growing part of me struggle against
assimilation.
You said,A couple of years ago I attended a newcomers' breakfast at a large local meeting. The breakfast was billed as an opportunity for those new to the meeting to learn about Quakerism from "seasoned" Friends, members and longtime attenders alike. I was distressed to hear speaker after speaker extol Quakerism for what it is not: not oppressive, not judgemental, not elitist, not closed-minded, not fundamentalist, not doctrinaire . . . also not Catholic, not Episcopalian, not Baptist, not (horrors!) Evangelical, not even necessarily Christian.
Two things I have found that works for me is,
1.When folks start going negative
in are Meetings around race,
gender, class, sexual orientation.
yes Christianity.
We who are or allies need to
interrupt the that negativity and
come out of closet, yes speak our truth.
I am Unprogrammed Friend because
this where I have found Jesus!
Try that at a "newcomers' breakfast"
2. Circles of Support
Quakers of Color all over country
we have created circles of support
for each other.
In my article in Friends Journal
A Call for Racial Justice Among Friends, I said "In sharing our stories, people of color have found that we are not alone-that this Quaker faith is our faith, too.Coming into our own power is important because it calls us to speak truth about who we are".
And finally I belive the corporate worship of Friends transforms us from a crowd of people into a family of faith; from separate individuals into sisters and brothers, from a wandering mass of people into the People of God.
I love these words from theRoman Mass,
In this great sacrament you feed your people and strengthen them in holiness,so that the human family may come to walk in the light of one faith,in one communion of love. We come then to this wonderful sacrament to be fed at your table and grow into the likeness of the risen Christ.
This great sacrament for me is
the The Meeting for Worship.
God comes to us which is a more sacramental approach to faith then the individualism of Protestantism.
God not me is transforming,
White Quakers, Christians Quakers,Universalist Quakers,Quakers of Color,into the presence of God’s child the Eternal Spirit of the living Christ.
This sacramental approach
has help me to value diversity among Friends.
Because it is God not me who is at work in the diversity ……………..
Yes, God calls us sometimes to participate in the work of transformation of God’s people
but at the end of day we need to remember this is God’s work not are work….
Blessing,
Paul