by Diana Butler Bass. HarperSanFrancisco, 2006. ISBN 0-06-083694-6. Hb., 336 pp. $23.95.
What excited others and me was that these congregations were renewed by the Spirit by being their “best”- selves, not by becoming like some other congregation often from another denomination that seemed to be more vibrant or growing. They became their best selves meaning they practiced hospitality, discernment, healing, contemplation, testimony, diversity, justice, worship, reflection, and beauty, which, by the way, are the names of the chapters in the heart of the book. Diana calls these the ten signposts that pointed the way to an active, vital Christian way of life. And even though there were some differences in how each congregation began, the one aspect that kept standing out for me was that each took Christianity as a serious way of life. Faith affected what the members did Monday through Sunday. Christianity was not a Sunday program or a Sunday morning exercise. It is a way of life.
When I began reading the book, I simply could not put it down. It opened like a novel with stories of the church as Diana remembered it as a child. Then she moved with ease and clarity to the changes in the culture and neighborhoods. Diana refused to be gentle with mainline denominations, saying that in the 50s, 60s, etc., mainlines essentially capitulated to the American culture. Mission was basically secular like the work of the United Way or Rotary. Congregations did many good things but did not pay attention to people’s spiritual lives.
In the churches she studied she found a balance between building a spiritual community that forms people in faith and living the classic traditions of Protestant liberalism. For instance, she observed church members walking for the homeless and walking the labyrinth; speaking out for a living wage while living the Benedictine rule; attending to inclusive language and delving deeply into the Bible. The inward-outward rhythms of Christianity were visible and most of the congregations were growing. People were coming back or coming for the first time. They exhibited a hunger for biblical knowledge, worship, and prayer while also wanting to serve and change the world. Both new members and old alike desired to make a difference that made sense in a way that transformed their own lives. They did not want the church of their childhood.
She found three interrelated characteristics in these religious communities: tradition, practice, and wisdom. By being their best selves from the past (whether that is weekly Eucharist or the use of icons, etc.) and by practicing the faith by learning how to pray, obtaining biblical knowledge, etc., they obtained wisdom. Tradition and practice brought the wisdom of knowing how to live without certainty, with ambiguity, with knowledge of God. Diana found deep spiritual communities in these congregations where life is lived in such a way that the lives of others are being changed for the better.
A quick overview of the heart of the book, the ten signposts:
– Hospitality: not changing people but offering space where change can take place.
– Discernment: deciding on a course of action that is grounded in God.
– Healing: living without rancor, division, or anger, which manifests salvation.
– Contemplation: finding God in silence as do monastics or practiced Quakers.
– Testimony: verbalizing experiences with God.
– Diversity: finding deep community in a rich diversity of theology, music, politics, etc.
– Justice: addressing wrongs, which is a deep spiritual practice.
– Worship: opening souls to the transcendent experiences of God.
– Reflection: looking for theological themes such as sin, redemption, mercy, and reconciliation in everyday life.
– Beauty: knowing God through art, music, drama, color, architecture.
The book not only reads well but it gives hope to all of us in mainline congregations — hope that renewal is not only possible but happens when we are authentically who we were called to be.
Betty Meadows is general presbyter of the Mid-Kentucky Presbytery.
