Leaving Pella Via the Emmaus Road

This article (below) really spoke to me. You can find it in the May 2007 edition of The Church Herald. I emailed Rev. Klaver and received permission to post it here on Initiate - Engage - Bless.
Thanks for stopping by - Keith

A Parable of Anxiety
by Dick Klaver
(The Rev. Dick Klaver is pastor of Ferry Memorial Reformed Church in Montague, Michigan.)


Two faithful RCA pastors were driving home from General Synod, discussing intently all that had happened. Just outside of Pella, they picked up a hitchhiker. He sat in the back seat, listened a bit, then asked, “What in the world are you guys talking about?” With a sigh, the driver answered, “You live near Pella and you don’t know what‘s happening in the RCA!” The guest admitted he knew little about it. So they proceeded to instruct him.
“Thirty years ago, we became pastors in the RCA. They told us we were a dying denomination. So we, pastors, were told to embrace ‘Relational Theology.’ Bruce Larson. Keith Miller. Amazing insights! The old doctrines were dead; this was new life! But little changed. Then we pushed ‘Lay Leadership.’ All Christians are ministers. Good theology! It helped generate some new programs but the zeal wore off.
“Then we heard we were lacking the Holy Spirit. We were relying too much on human effort. Oddly, the next wave was ‘Objectives, Goals and Standards’ for our churches. Talk about irony! Suddenly we were not measuring enough.
“Then…I can’t recall if that was the New Way before or after ‘Missional Theology.’ No matter…after the Spirit didn’t revive us, we embraced ‘Church Growth.’
“Yeah, Kenyon Callahan‘s Twelve Keys. Talking about dynamic worship, meaningful small groups, having enough parking spaces, sanctuaries must be less than 80% full. Good stuff! Early forms of Natural Church Development.”
“Natural what?” the hitchhiker asked.
“No matter, my church flunked NCD. Then we had ’Prayer Fire Conferences.’ But we didn’t dare to go.”
“Why?”
“Well, once we went to a Kathryn Kuhlman Healing Conference at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium. She was fascinating. Dancing around the stage in her white angelic robe. Organ music timed perfectly as people were healed and slain in the Spirit.”
“Could be miracles!”
“Could be. But one of us came down with the flu during the healing service. So our thought is, show up at a Prayer Fire Conference, one of us might spontaneously combust! Not safe!”
“Hmm. I see your point. Then what?”
“Well, we tried Praise Music. Blended Worship. Then, two distinct styles of worship services. That came at a price. Tensions about what is Gospel and what is culture. We have not really settled all that yet.”
“Those seem important questions. Who is God? What is the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection? How to read and apply the scriptures? What is the church and what is its purpose? Are not those your core questions for these days of cultural ferment? And what about this business of God’s sovereignty? What are the implications of that?
“Ha! We don’t know what church you come from but those are old questions we resolved long ago in the Reformed Church. Our questions are more about being relevant.”
“You people sound awfully anxious to me. Why would you want to be ‘culturally relevant? Is this rapidly changing culture morally neutral, or should the church be counter-cultural? Something new and different?”
“We don’t know friend. Some days our biggest concern is paying bills out of the General Fund. We just hope to get paid! Then, recently we heard that if we are not growing in numbers, we are disobeying the Great Commission of Jesus. To make disciples. Are we sinning against God? Wow! That haunts us! We are Calvinists. We major in feeling guilty. Add on this failure. We don‘t know what to do.”
“Sure. Jesus said, make disciples. Yet here is the question - what does it mean to be a disciple?”
“Well, interesting you should ask that. We are concerned this could slide into hustling converts more than shaping a people committed to Christ, living deeply disciplined lives. And…and what happens to being prophetic in the rush to make converts?
“Those prophets are not a happy lot, are they. Didn’t they call us to suffer? To do justice. That‘s not always going to attract the masses.”
“Then along came ‘Emergent Church’ folk. They say we have it all wrong. They rightly caution us about embracing the agendas of conservatives or liberals. Wow, they are really challenging our church culture.”
“Yeah, I tried that once. Challenging the traditions. Got me into a bit of trouble. Yet…
“Well, we’ve tried eliminating church jargon, making worship culturally accommodating. Times are changing… yet we wonder. Emergent Church Thinking strikes us as a bit arrogant. It comes off as if it has discovered God…and the ways of God… for the first time in history. We suspect it ignores its own weaknesses; its seeds of future failure.
“How so?“
“Some of its gurus seem to think the enemy is ‘the traditional church.’ Has God failed for the past 2000 years? It seems very reactionary. Useful in its critiques. Useful to moderate insensitive churchy habits. But perhaps not deep in theology. Not useful at core to sustain a church over decades.
“Don’t tell anybody, but we still love many of the good old psalms and hymns. And Grandma Pranger - her love of Jesus, her prayer life, her devotion to the church - still seems a great model of faith to us. What could be more relevant than simple love as Jesus taught us?”
“So, how far can you go making the Gospel relevant until you have made it irrelevant to God the Father.”
“Well, that’s just it. We have concerns.”
Suddenly the hitchhiking guest instructed them on faith, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, interpreting to them all the scriptures concerning Jesus the Christ.
Arriving at home, they offered, “That was quite the lecture, friend. Now you’ve piqued our interest…who are you? Would you like to stay for dinner?”

Passing the rolls, he took one, broke it, and gave a piece to each of them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened. And they said…
“Now we get it. Change the style of communion. Yeah, that might work. Instead of bits of bread, let’s use rolls and ask people to eat the whole thing. And how about jugs of juice. Yeah… maybe that‘s it. A new style of communion.”

And at that, he vanished from their sight.