Transcript for March 29, 2009 by Ian Lawton

It’s very good to be back with you this morning. While I was in England, you were treated to three incredible Sunday mornings. I followed closely from afar and wished I could be here with you for the wonderful music programs and sermons of the past weeks. In fact, a few people have warned me that this morning I have three hard acts to follow. I was so intimidated by this possibility that I thought long and hard about what I could possibly do that would stack up against the quality of recent weeks. I decided that I would have to pull something out of the bag. So in that context, I’m pleased to announce that the topic for this morning’s sermon is…….. “sex”. It’s a surefire winner.

I’m kidding of course. We had fun with that topic a few weeks back when I shared with you my favorite positions (theological positions), playful puns and sacred and sexy euphemisms. One euphemism I didn’t mention that day is one that is not well known in America. It grows out of Victorian England. When a young girl was prepared for the duties of marriage, she was told that when the time came to submit to her man, she should lie back and think of England. So now “lie back and think of England” is a phrase that signifies doing your duty even if it’s unpalatable.

Lessons from England

All week I have been thinking long and hard about England. What did I learn in England that would encourage and inspire you? I was surprised by how many kindred spirits I met; wonderful people who are doing creative work and are fascinated by our C3 programs. I arrived at one church and was handed the bulletin. Blow me down if there weren’t large chunks of the welcome statement that you have seen on the back of your c3 bulletin for several years. Like c3, this was a church that accepts people for who and where they are, seeks personal transformation and works at making a difference in the world. Then in another place, I was asked to participate in a liturgy. As I read over my piece of the prayer, it struck me as being Kleinheksel-esque. It had Kleinheksel all over it, literally. It was taken from one of Bob’s weekly prayers.

There are hundreds of people around the world, more than any of us know, who use resources from C3 programs. Many people look to us to be a radical edge. Partly because we are independent of any denominational structure, we are looked to for leadership. While many of the people I met are seeking to offer a radical inclusiveness from within their respective denominations, they see C3 as having a unique opportunity; to be a liberated, free thinking, open hearted community for people who never imagined the church had anything to offer. C3 is seen by many as the church of the future. So take a moment to celebrate the amazing community that you are, and the incredible evolution from being a reformed church to being a free form church.

Religion in England is dying at a rapid pace. Less than 7% of the population is in church on any given Sunday. The average age is so advanced that there is serious doubt about the short term future of the church. More importantly, progressive churches are not growing. They are struggling because once people have found the freedom to question the limiting beliefs of the past, they bypass the progressive churches for the open pastures of Sunday soccer fields and cafes. Many of these people who are not in church are our kindred spirits. They are deeply spiritual people, who want to live meaningful and responsible lives but don’t feel the need for religion.

It’s a fascinating phenomenon, and it’s not all that different in America. The decline is not as advanced, but the pattern is clear all around the world. The evangelical churches are solid, but progressive churches are struggling. I wish the evangelical churches well. They will meet the need of some and I’m glad for it. But I’m not happy to give up on the kindred spirits who have bypassed progressive churches. The clear answer is for communities such as ours to be bold alternative to church as usual. It’s not enough to rearrange the furniture from the old days and pass church off as vaguely modern. What is required is nothing less than a radical reframing of spirituality that is everyday, real and impassioned.

Do You have to be Religious to be Spiritual?

Now, we have been together for long enough now to know that not all religion is counterproductive for the spiritual journey. They are not necessarily opposed to each other.

Duncan Littlefair gave an amazing sermon many decades ago in Grand Rapids. His topic was “Do you have to be religious to be spiritual?” He gave his usual eloquent and fascinating address that mostly avoided answering the question he had posed as his topic. He got to the very end and almost as an afterthought, summed up his sermon by asking the question, “So, do you have to be religious to be spiritual?” He paused for a moment, then said loudly, “No!” Then as he began to walk away from the pulpit, he leaned back in to the microphone and said, “But it helps”. I love the image.

For so many of us on this amazing spiritual journey, seeking meaning and depth in life, religion is no longer essential. It’s not essential for salvation or to mediate an experience of God, nor to guarantee the favor of God and an afterlife. There is no religious package to which you need to subscribe, and your life can be full and profound without religion. If you never knew any religious language, you could live a happy life and be a force for good in the world. But at the same time, religion can help. Gathering in communities of kindred spirits where you are challenged and sharpened, where you can practice being human and create grass roots movements for change, helps in your spiritual journey.

So you see why I am passionate about C3, and why people around the world follow our progress. We are modeling a new way to be spiritual community. We use religious language that is meaningful. We use some of the forms of the past that enhance our experience of life. But religion is a tool in aid of spirituality and not the other way around. Spirituality is the journey. Spirituality includes all things. We all seek the spiritual. We all participate in the spiritual at all times, whether we know it or not. Religion offers some particular bridges to the spiritual. The bridges are important. They connect the past and the present as well as paving the way forward. The problem with religion is that too often it keeps people stuck on the bridge rather than crossing over into the open spaces of life unencumbered by “shoulds” and “oughts”. Another image is that religion is a finger pointing to a wider experience of life. The problem with religion is when we suck the finger rather than following where it is pointing us.

The Hole in the World

The need for free form communities such as C3 are stronger now than ever. There is a deep hole in the world. The global financial crisis is a symptom of the hole. The massacre in German a few weeks back is a symptom. Fundamentalist religious violence is a symptom. The Austrian man who imprisoned his daughter, now standing trial, is a symptom. These are all symptoms of a far deeper hole. It is the hole of human despair; meaninglessness, a lack of a higher purpose, a deeper order.

So how might we fill the hole?

An ancient Chinese story offers some clues. A donkey that was being used to transport sand to fill a well, accidentally fell in the hole. As hard as the villagers tried to free the donkey they couldn’t. They gave up and decided that they would have to continue filling the hole themselves and sacrifice the donkey who would surely be buried alive. At first the donkey wailed in desperation. But then the wailing stopped. The villagers assumed the donkey had died. They looked in the hole. A surprising sight greeted them. The donkey was alive and well. When the sand tumbled down on him, he shrugged it off, and then stamped around until it was tightly packed below him. This formed solid ground that lifted him a bit higher each time. Eventually, the donkey got high enough inside the hole. With one powerful leap, he jumped out of it. Amazed, the villagers watched as he trotted off with his head held high.

You fill the hole with your own life. Your life, lived in the most holistic way, is the antidote to despair in the world. You can’t always control the circumstances around the symptoms, like the financial crisis. But your life, lived with self responsibility and service, is the way you can fill the hole. You pack around you the various challenges and setbacks, like mounds of sand, and then stand on them. Let them lift you up until you can see clear to jump out of the hole, and your example will automatically liberate others to do the same. You rise on the back of your own courage and wisdom, learned through tough experience.

At the time of Jesus, the temple was the sign of religious stability. The fall of the temple was the symbol for complete cultural despair. Jesus said, “tear down the temple, rip it to pieces, and I will raise it in three days.” Think about this for a moment. The number three was used for a reason. It was the symbolic time between death and new life, the resurrection of life. Jesus was saying something incredible here. He was saying that he would fill the hole left by the loss of the temple with his own life and body. The death of Jesus that we remember at this time of year was an act of self responsibility and service. The resurrection is a reminder that the fruit of self responsibility and service is resurrection, or new possibilities. They aren’t always the new possibilities you hope for or expect. They often surprise you. But they are all around you.

Partnerships for Peace

Last Sunday I spoke at a church near London. It was a small, progressive church. Half the congregation was made up of a community of immigrants from Zimbabwe. Many of these Zimbabweans bore the scars of the country they had left behind, with their broken dreams and shattered ideals. The trauma in Zimbabwe is another symptom of the hole in the world. One of the Zimbabwean Immigrants lit a candle to begin the service. He said something that stuck with me. He said that although we gather from all corners of the globe, the light of the candle is the same.

There we were; an Aussie speaker in an English church full of Zimbabweans. Each shines a light that illuminates the whole. And so it is for you. You have your own uniqueness. Each one shines a light that illuminates the whole. Your spiritual path is to fill holes with your whole life; that includes your mind, heart, soul and strength. I honor the light in you; your presence, humanity and life. Namaste.