Shaping the future

from an article written by Alan Jamieson, in Reality Magazine...

What if today's post-church groups are liminal groups, groups that give indications of a shape of the future? It wouldn't be the first time.

Walter Brueggemann3 points out that when people in the Christian community are asked about the model of the faith community in Old Testament times, they tend to refer to the faith community based on the monarchy and the temple in Jerusalem (dating from 1000 BC to 587 BC). He states that contrary to popular belief this was not the only model, but was in fact preceded by the exilic model which began with Moses and led up to the time of David (1250 BC-1000 BC) and followed by yet another model after the collapse of temple dominance and the exile of Israel under the Babylonians (587 BC).

The post-exilic community is the one in which the synagogue (which is 'the place of the text') began, as well as the formation of the Beth Midrash ('house of study'), and eventually, the appearance of the rabbis who are teachers of the tradition. These sprung up because a new community demanded new forms of the faith.

Could it happen again? Are the post-church groups of today forerunners of new forms of the faith in our own rapidly changing society? Certainly there are many people looking for a spirituality and a faith that makes sense of their lives, connects them with the reality of God and provides them a place to belong - their own Turangawaewae. Yet they are walking right past the institutional church in their search. Maybe God is allowing a new thing to grow.

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