Scot McKnight: April 2007 Archives

Lauren Winner, author of Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, and Real Sex, was at North Park Theological Seminary last week and the seminary was kind enough to make the lectures public -- so my two classes gathered in the seminary chapel for her two talks -- one on Trinitarian Spirituality and one on Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity. I'll focus here today on her "theology" lecture:

Lauren is now done with her PhD (from Columbia) and teaching at Duke. She saw three implications of the Trinity for Christian spirituality ... and I'm guessing these are some points from a class lecture or the makings of a new book.

Her big question: How do we inhabit "Trinity" and (1) not just talk about it and (2) avoid our ever-present danger of being Deists or Unitarians? Now, what about your thoughts on Trinitarian spirituality: where does a belief in Trinity, where does our inhabiting Trinity, lead us in terms of spirituality?

1. Prayer is to be seen as participation in the ongoing dialogue of love of the Trinity. If A.C.T.S. is the normal instruction in prayer, it tends to emphasize that we initiate the conversation and enter into a conversation with God. No, she says. That conversation is endlessly ongoing -- a conversation about redemption and grace and love and peace -- and when we pick up the phone (my trope) we simply participate in that conversation.

2. Trinitarian spirituality images a difference without subordination and without violence, so once we inhabit Trinity we enter into the ontology of peace -- and she discussed both politics and gender. Peace, she claimed, is more controversial than war.

3. Trinitarian spirituality models God's hospitality within GodSelf and reveals an essential relationality. Community, therefore, is participation in the Trinity.

Stan Friedman's summary of the lectures.

There are an assortment of churches -- megachurches, megachurch wannabes, big churches, small churches, house churches, missional churches, cafe churches, neighborhood churches, village churches. Some change constantly; some are the same as they were when Grandma and Grandpa were baptized there by the pastor whose grandson is now pastor.

Some in the emerging movement toss criticism at all things megachurch; and some megachurch pastors think their church happens to be the first one to have figured out what "church" is supposed to be. Some liturgical churches look down long, traditional hoary noses at small church creativity; and some spontaneous churches haven't a clue that most Christians have been more liturgical than creative. I could go on ... you get my point.

After three years of speaking hither and yon, I've come to where I like all churches (or most churches). I like big ones and I like little ones; I like the cafe church and I like the missional churches. I think we ought to get along and participate together in the redemptive work of God in this world.

Which brings me now to my post for today ... it's about a megachurch, Willow Creek, and its superstar pastor, Bill Hybels, and this is not an open invitation for you to take potshots at megachurches, Willow or Bill Hybels. But, I would like you to think with me about his latest "vision."

Some of you may know that Bill Hybels has not been healthy for a few months, and his sermons carried a little melancholy as he struggled with his health issues. But, this weekend Bill was at his best -- back to his vision-casting and motivating and creating vision. Here are the three new elements of Willow's vision as it moves on. This kind of vision is the kind of thing megachurches do well; and do often.

Essentially Bill lives with this vision from God: "The destiny God has in store is far beyond what even your faith can imagine." And Willow is reaching now for "multiplied impact." Here are the three elements of this new vision:

1. Raise your level of risk to reach people far from God.

2. Recoach people on how they grow -- so they become "self-feeders" as they mature.

3. Unleash unprecedented amounts of compassion and justice for our neighborhood and world.

I've never been at a Willow service when so many people "participated" (saying things, clapping, "Yes").

Personally, I don't think the term "self-feeders" is the best of terms and I really don't think it expresses what Bill was getting at -- the need for mature Christians to become more personally responsible for their theological development, and not expecting the church to do it all. Maybe some of you were there and heard what he said and have some thoughts ... and some of you weren't and have thoughts.

The young shepherd lover continues his delight in his lover by cmparing her to his own garden of delights, a garden locked so that only he and she will enjoy that garden:

12 A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a garden locked, a fountain sealed.
13 Your channel is an orchard of pomegranates
with all choicest fruits,
henna with nard,
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
with all chief spices—
15 a garden fountain, a well of living water,
and flowing streams from Lebanon.

So moved is she that she interrupts him with this invitation:

16 Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden
that its fragrance may be wafted abroad.
Let my beloved come to his garden,
and eat its choicest fruits.

He answers back:

5:1 I come to my garden, my sister, my bride;
I gather my myrrh with my spice,
I eat my honeycomb with my honey,
I drink my wine with my milk.

O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people; Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We are saddened to announce that Bob Webber (1933-2007) has passed away.

Thine is the Glory

Thine is the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son;
Endless is the victory, Thou o’er death hast won; Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away, Kept the folded grave clothes where Thy body lay.

Thine is the glory, risen conqu’ring Son,
Endless is the vict’ry, Thou o’er death hast won.

Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
Lovingly He greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
Let the church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing; For her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting.

No more we doubt Thee, glorious Prince of life;
Life is naught without Thee; aid us in our strife;
Make us more than conqu’rors, through Thy deathless love: Bring us safe through Jordan to Thy home above.

Thine is the glory, risen conqu’ring Son,
Endless is the vict’ry, Thou o’er death hast won.