Self-Service Christianity

"but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:43-45



I had no intention of blogging about the lectionary this week - don't want to become too routine - and then it happened again! I had my shower epiphany about the subject for this post and while looking for the Isaiah passage referred to later, I read the gospel pericope for this coming Sunday and to my wonderful surprise, the author of Mark was saying many of the things I was thinking!

Anyway, do you remember when self-service gas pumps were first installed? Do you remember the first Automated Teller Machines were up and running 24hrs a day? And, when Aldi Foods broke us in on bag your own groceries? I may not be forty yet, but I do remember all of those early ventures into the self-service world that we now have come to accept and expect. Some of us even prefer the U-scan aisles over the live cashier at our favorite shopping spots. We select the item, we scan it, we pay without passing our method of payment to a person, we bag it, we forget to take our receipt and we carry it to the car. It is truly all about us. And, we are so proud of ourselves for being able to do it ourselves - like toddlers in potty training - "look mommy, I can do it all by myself."

While our culture may have rapidly adapted to the self-service mentality of business, the church has at least drug her feet kicking and screaming, or has she? Many churches have adapted quite well to the self-service mentality - providing multiple options of times and styles of worship experiences, installing ATM machines, bookstores and cafe's to cater to a parishoner's every need. In many cases, even the gospel has been adapted to the self-service mentality. Follow Jesus and you will be saved - you will defeat the power of death, stay out of hell and achieve your personal salvation. And, what about the church budget as it relates to the mission and ministry of the church? The maintanence of the building and the staff chaplains nearly always overshadows the community outreach and justice ministries of the church.

Last Saturday, Teri and I were fortunate to attend the Mid-Nite at the Oasis celebration and fundraiser at the newly renovated Knights of Columbus hall downtown. We were invited in part because Central Christian Church was a recipient of an award for being one of the top three supporting religious organizations for the Oasis Day Center for the homeless which opened ten years ago this past April. I have been blessed to represent Central on the Oasis Advisory Board since 1998 when CCC gave Oasis - then just a vision of a marvelous collaboration of folks - a major gift from undesignated bequest funding. One of the highlights of the evening for me was when my tablemate, Grady Wilkinson former CEO of Heritage and visionary of the day center, looked at me and said, "Can you believe, ten years?" Grady and I met many times back in 1998/1999 when we were searching for funds to operate the day center. We met with a handful of influential business folks in Decatur, took them on tours of the then storefront operation, and shared the vision of a safe day shelter that welcomes folks unconditionally and offers them opportunities to connect with services to improve their lives. Well, it worked and one of those business folks remains a champion for Oasis yet today. I have always thought of Oasis as an example of how Isaiah's vision is made real in our midst: "The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing...Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there." (Isaiah 35)

Oasis is a blossom in a desert of despair for so many folks who get lost along the way in our self-service society where community health and wealth are far behind the improvement of self. Oasis is a safe way in the midst of dangerous life intersections and super-highways for so many who are vulnerable prey for those who choose to condemn and exploit others for their own personal benefit. Oasis is an example of the gospel of serving others. We are truly the redeemed when we seek to serve rather than to be served, when our faith is about communal well-being rather than personal salvation, when we no longer participate in self-service Christianity.