SABBATICAL, Day 67

[Becky]

“Where, then, is the authority?” This is Phyllis Tickle’s Big Question for TWINE* She postulates that the sources of authority have been different for the various eras and expressions of the Church. According to Phyllis, as a consequence of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century, those who left the Roman Catholic church traded a human pope for a paper one: the Bible. That didn’t mean that there was no more pope, or that what the pope had to say wasn’t important; it just meant that the pope was no longer the primary source of authority for those who embraced the change. Phyllis says that what seems to be happening in the 21st Century is another shift – this one away from the “paper pope.” When the familiar structures of authority are being called into question, the temptation is to clamp down and reassert the legitimacy of that which has worked in the past. As a result, just as with the prior epochal change, the questioning of authority happening today is causing tremendous anxiety, anger, and backlash. But the structures would not be being called into question if they were working really well! In fact, the change is already happening right in front of our eyes, as people try to find new and more appropriate structures and authority for these times.

This is a very important consideration in something as carefully structured as a hierarchical church, and both the Lutheran and Episcopal churches are – to varying degrees - hierarchical. In these churches, what is the role and function of authority of those in positions of authority? What are the preferred attitudes and motivations? Is it to make sure as little as possible changes? Or could it be something else?

Now, why am I thinking about such weighty matters early on a Thursday morning in Charlotte, North Carolina? Because I’ve been listening to the story of a faith community called Church of the Beloved (CoB) founded by Derek and Clifford King Harbin. These energetic, creative and faithful pastors planted and nurtured one of the first emergent congregations in the Episcopal Church, beginning nearly 10 years ago. But CoB has ceased to be, and in my opinion it is because the hierarchy had no idea how to be the kind of authority that was able to nurture an innovative, mold-breaking endeavor. Essentially, the old-style authority, in the name of “accountability” and control, kept picking the young plant out of the ground to check how its roots were doing, instead of, in the name of “trust”, protecting it and leaving it to do its deep work.

Just what is the role of authority? When I was raising my children, once they got out of the highly vulnerable toddler stage, I used my authority to give them a safe space to figure out the world for themselves, not to tell them what to do every step of the way. I was there to fend off the forces that sought to harm them, but I did not try to prevent them from making mistakes, from trying things I never tried, or even from getting hurt. I was there to kiss the bruises and discuss the consequences, to wash off the dirt and advocate for their dreams. Mostly, I trusted them as they developed into unique people created in God’s image, not in mine. As a result, my adult children do not look like I do, think like I do, or live like I do. They are also very, very different from each other. But both of them are self-giving, interesting people who are showing me a thing or two about a life worth living, and now I am also learning from them, and they learn from each other.

If a simple woman from Ohio can do this with a couple of children growing up in this changing world, could not the Church do this with people with some new ideas on how to create authentic Christian community among those very same kids?

*TWINE: That Which is Now Emerging. See blog for Day 17