The Christian Synagogue

[Jason]

Matt, I like your comparisons in this essay. Greg Boyd has gone from calling his Sunday service "church" to a "weekend seminar." A few weeks back I heard Francis Chan (megachurch pastor in CA) say, "This isn't church. You're not sitting in church today. I don't know what this is but it isn't church." (paraphrase)

Some people are coming around.

[mattrose]

That's interesting. I wasn't aware those either of those guys (though I'm familiar with them) was thinking like that. Not very surprising in Boyd's case I suppose. Don't know enough about Chan to have guessed. Thanks for the update!

[darinhouston]

Looks like Woodland Hills (Greg Boyd) is still calling it a "worship service."

http://www.whchurch.org/calendar.asp

[mattrose]

I got an A- (minus) with some helpful feedback...

Matthew: this was a very good paper. It was refreshingly different and I commend you for taking on a project of real value. I think this sort of material is going to be vital for the church going forward; I may have mentioned this to you before, but I think this is the first serious attempt I’ve seen to justify the megachurch model while still respecting things like the role of sacraments, etc. It was an attempt to build a whole different ecclesiology for the church growth model, one that takes seriously the need for Christian nurture beyond evangelism while still respecting the important evangelistic work that church growth churches do.

I liked it, and I’m not even sure I agreed with it!  I agree with you that the status quo is that the church is a de facto synagogue, but I wonder about baptizing that reality. Not sure it’s so desirable that we should seek to perpetuate it.

There are all sorts of questions that need to be sorted out with your model, not the least of which is what happens to theological education. Is there one track for synagogue leaders and one for church leaders? Or is church leadership shared and communal?

There are a few points that I think would strengthen your paper. One is that, as I mentioned, you’ll need to prove more firmly the secular character of the 1st-century synagogue. I think you’re on to something, but a bit more research could really have benefited that point, as it does kind of make your thesis rise and fall.

Another is that your evidence for the general laxity of the American church is largely anecdotal. I agree with you (seven years in the pastorate gave me plenty of anecdotes, one actually named John ), but your points would be helped greatly by citing some studies about the similar lifestyles/giving patterns/sinful behaviors between professing Christians and others.

Still, I liked the bravery and originality of your paper a lot and think there’s a lot of valuable stuff there. You are a fine writer which also is a great help to your work.

It was a pleasure to have you in class this fall and I hope I see you around next semester!

[steve]

Good! Now you can submit it to "Christianity Today."

[darinhouston]

I agree with the suggestions as to research and background -- however, he seems to assume none exists, yet both Barna's studies and those of Willow Creek seem to have put some meat on those bones. I think his reactions to seminary betray how deeply this mindset has penetrated evangelical church -- "how could we have a system without proper seminaries?!"

[darinhouston]

Good! Now you can submit it to "Christianity Today."

Definitely! I'd love to see it there, and it's exactly the sort of thing they'd likely run with (perhaps even a cover piece?)

[SteveF]

Hi Matt, I thought you'd like to know that the "church" I'm part of follows a very similar model to what you proposed. I don't usually attend the “synagogue” meeting since you can hear the message on-line but I do attend the “church” (house) fellowship. They encourage the house churches to practice communion and baptism (since, as they say, “the house church is where church really happens”). These sacraments are rarely practised (once a year?) at the synagogue meetings.

I envision the general (synagogue) meeting as group of people setting up a sound system at an outdoor park and inviting anyone to come by and hear about God, the bible etc… The only difference being that most synagogue meetings are inside a building.


I also wanted to ask about one of your comments. You mentioned that at one of your meetings they practice “a heavy dose of patriotism.” Could you clarify what this means? My imagination is running wild!

Thanks
Steve

[mattrose]

Hey Steve. Thanks for the comments.

You asked about my 'patriotism' comment...

Since the ancient Jewish synagogue was in many ways a community hub, it also tended to be somewhat patriotic in the sense that there was a sense of local pride.

I find that a lot of fundamentalist-like Sunday morning services are quite patriotic too. As I mentioned, the American flag is in the front of many churches. Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, etc don't go by without a Sunday morning mention (or, perhaps, a whole service devoted to the theme). Our senior pastor tends to refer to the goodness of America's heritage quite often. And he complains about the current states of politics in America a lot too. In my opinion he spends a bit too much time on such themes. But I think this sort of dialogue is at home in the Christian synagogue.