By Molly T. Marshall
I regularly read the Abbey Banner, which is the publication of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minn. I spent a fruitful sabbatical there in 2000, and this Benedictine community remains of interest to me because of its vibrancy and leadership in ecumenical, environmental and educational issues. Perhaps more than any other religious community I know, St. John’s sought to live into the vision of Vatican II. Indeed, in many ways, the Abbey was pursuing liturgical reform ahead of the Council.
In the Spring 2015 issue, Abbot John Klassen describes what the emerging church will look like.
It will be browner and poorer, more sensuous and feminine, less clerical and more collegial and inclusive, less concerned about the works of charity and more aware of the need for change in structures, more multilingual and polycentric.
I find his words extremely hopeful, especially if the marginalizing impulses that arise from hierarchical structures are quelled. He is describing a major shift in all quarters of his ecclesial tradition, and his words are perceptive for the larger church.
I want to exegete his descriptors for our spiritual tribe, for Baptists are seeking to craft a new future. It is important that we believe a new church is coming and give our best energies to that pursuit.
It will be browner and poorer. Sociologists of religion are writing about the “de-Europeanization of American Christianity,” as the flow of immigrants now arrives from points of origin south of the U.S. border, the East and the Southern Hemisphere, rather than almost exclusively from Europe, as they did a century ago. The great majority of these immigrants are Christians, and their expressions of faith are already shaping congregational life.
Race will continue to be central in our conversations and actions as we learn how to respect identity and spiritual practice. We will need to be more intentional in noticing and naming the class divides that keep the poor out of view or make them the “object” of mission rather than redemptive partners collaborating for justice.
It will be more sensuous and feminine. Those who plan worship are learning how to engage the varied human senses. The use of arts, both visual and performing, tactile expressions and fragrance, all conspire to draw embodied humanity toward encounter with the Holy.
I would hope that the good Abbot also meant by “sensuous” a greater appreciation for human sexuality, a dormant topic in many congregations. Theologians and ethicists, some among our kind of Baptists, are writing thoughtful explications that move toward greater insight and inclusivity.
I delight in the strides women are making as pastoral leaders, and I do not fear the “feminization” of the church, which fundamentalist opponents warn against. Women are called and competent, and God is stirring congregations to recognize their great promise as leaders.
It will be less clerical and more collegial and inclusive. Churches are already discovering that pastor-centric churches do not deploy the array of giftedness within the congregation. As the economics of ministry require more conjoint or bivocational forms of leadership, it is possible that congregants will claim more stake in the ongoing life of the church. In my judgment, this can only enhance congregational health.
Empowering lay leaders to guide the mission of the church grants dignity to the vocational calling of all Christians to participate fully in the Body of Christ. It also garners wisdom gleaned from the diverse professional experiences of these leaders.
It will be less concerned about the works of charity and more aware of the need for change in structures. Faith and Leadership, an arm of Leadership Education at Duke University, recently featured a church that had moved from “services” or charity, to an asset-based community development. Rather than seeing their urban neighbors as needy, the church began to discern strengths in their community and invite these members of the larger community to teach their skills.
The church became something of a clearinghouse, or place of networking, and the boundary between congregation and community began to blur. The article describes this new approach as nothing less than the “death and resurrection of an urban church.”
It will be more multilingual and polycentric. Children and adolescents already know this multilingualism as they sit in classrooms populated by many whose first language is not English. Baptists are learning that global Christianity requires greater linguistic facility; we will not always be able to assume others will accommodate our limited range.
The thought of decentralization in the coming church is welcome. While the great centers of Christianity of the past will still hold historical value, there will be multiple centers that give shape to ecclesial identity. We know that we live in a post-Christendom context, and expressions of humility — learning rather than telling — are in order.
What does all this mean? It means that the coming church will better reflect the beauty and diversity of God’s trinitarian life. For this we can only give thanks.