There has already been some buzz about the new United Church of Christ campaign called Still Speaking, and particularly the commercial which most of you have probably already heard about (if you haven’t, go to the Still Speaking site to see it). I think this is great for the UCC; it’s a pretty sweet commercial and pretty crazy that it got rejected by some major networks. I found out about it at Will’s blog. One of the slogans is “Never place a period, where God has placed a comma” as well as “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.” Shouldn’t this be the slogan for all of our churches?
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“Never place a period where God has placed a comma.” my only concern with that is that period was the resurrection, the establishment of the new life that is and is to come. too often, the quibbling over what is progressive and what is static forgets that, in its essence, the period was placed that makes the comma possible, but only in so much that the church will appear to be a comma in light of the culture around it. in other words, the church’s statement on the person of Christ, (the life, death, resurrection) is the baseline from which all “commas” can be understood. what the UCC ad, as i understand it, advocates is closer to process theology than true life of the Spirit. i could be wrong, but that’s how it strikes me, that as we understand more of the human condition by social sciences, we should change the church.
i’ll agree that social sciences influence how we understand Scripture, but what concerns me is the reversal of the two in such “comma” understandings of the Spirit. The Spirit is always doing new things in each generation, and the church should absolutely be following that lead; however, to absolutize “new” is the same as absolutizing “orthodox”: both become, as Pelikan said, traditionalism–the dead faith of the living.
there has also been a good discussion here.
I would argue that simply “letting people come to church” isn’t much in terms of real hospitality. I’m more interested in being invited to someone’s dinner table than encouaged to consume their religious goods and services.
All the talk about being a “welcoming” congregation that encourages the attendance of whatever minority group makes me think of the stereotypical posh socialite seeking to appear cosmopolitan: “I was talking to my (insert minority group here) friend this week, and s/he said the most darling thing…”
I think Kyle makes a good point in that “letting people come to church” isn’t the same thing as real hospitality. But it certainly is a start, and not the reality in many of our churches–including those that exclude not by policy but by perception. It is hard to imagine sitting down at table with someone if they can never make it in the front door.
I’m not sure if you have watched the UCC ad on their website, but it does not smack of posh elitism. It does, I think unfortunately, employ a cliche set of images and oversimplify a complex issue. But the point is well-made, and the UCC is genuine in its self-presentation. They really do, as a matter of practice, work hard to make sure no group is systematically excluded from their ranks. And so they show a church turning people away because they are different in some way, followed by a picture of what seem to be real people–including gay, racial minority, and disabled people–being happy together. It’s a 30-second commercial, so it’s cliche. But isn’t self-congratulatory or elitist.
I don’t think the intent of the ads is simply to attract people to worship. I think the ads seek to be a prophetic voice, a challenge to much of the rest of the American church in an age of increasing fundamentalism (even within some mainline denominations), and I use that word intentionally. The reaction of the networks that banned the ad would only seem to confirm the prophetic nature of the message.
And in response to Myles: I’m not sure the intent of the slogan is to absolutize “new,” and I certainly don’t think the resurrection is a “period.” Quite on the contrary, that’s the whole point: The resurrection is a beginning again, a continuation of life and ministry. This is not process theology–it is the eternal plan for life lived in communion with God’s ever-moving Spirit.
(I think maybe the resurrection should be an ellipsis, but that’s for another post. :-) )