anthropology

So, I just got back from the Edge Conference and, while I had a wonderful time and am finding myself refreshed, I have to say, I don't think "edge" is the right word to describe the conference or the group. Let me explain.

Each year as a part of the gathering, we have a chapter from a book that we read, discuss, question how it applies to our ministries, and then discuss some more. This year, it was a chapter from a missionary anthropology book on what we mean by the word "Christian" and how we categorize someone as such.

Basically the author of the book suggested that there are two sets of terms that we use to categorize everyone. One set of terms would be intrinsic or extrinsic. As the word intrinsic would imply, we look inward in our categorizing. For example, an apple is a semi-round, red or yellow fruit that comes from a certain kind of tree. Extrinsic categorization happens when we define something in relationship to some thing else, such as categorizing Anita as my wife or Robbie as my son. The other set of terms would be bound and fuzzy. Bound would basically mean everything is black and white (it is an apple or it isn't) while fizzy would mean that there's a gradient (the shift from day to night). So, this means we have four ways to categorize things: intrinsic-bound, intrinsic-fuzzy, extrinsic-bound, and extrinsic-fuzzy.

intrinsic-bound: When we categorize ministry this way, there are obvious traits and ways to measure someone's faith, be it the old school "they don't smoke, drink, chew, or go with those who do" or a newer version where it's all about music, clothing, and number of hours spent volunteering at church. Whatever the qualifiers, there are those who are clearly "in" and those who are clearly "out".

intrinsic-fuzzy: In this set-up, it's harder to tell who's "in" and who's "out". I see this happening in the liberal church where the goal is to be so unclear that anybody can fit "in" at some level.

extrinsic-bound: In this setup, there is still a clear "in" or "out" labeling, but it's all about a person's relationship with Christ. I think this is God's view of the Church. He knows who has faith and he knows who doesn't, but we can't see it.

extrinsic-fuzzy: This is where I'd say we live in our congregations. Being "in" or "out" doesn't have anything to do with our internal, rather, it's about our relationship with Christ (or better yet, Christ's relationship with us). However, from our view, we can't see that relationship in others so it's near impossible for us to know who is "in" and who is "out" (sure their are signs, but you can show all the signs and not have faith or have faith and not show any of the signs), rather, we're just left with including everybody and lifting up the name of Christ, proclaiming the Gospel, and allowing him to come into relationship with people.

So, according to all this, why isn't the Edge Gathering all that edgy? Well, the LCMS is, on the whole, an intrinsic-bound group of people. We love to measure stuff like dollars given, attendance, political views, dress, and all kinds of other characteristics of a person to determine whether they are "in" or "out". Now, the challenge to us this week at the conference was to move towards being more extrinsic in our thinking which would be away from the center of LCMS thought and therefore be edgy (or, in my opinion, be more rooted in Scripture and the Confessions understanding of Church and thus more theologically Lutheran).

However, after our study was done, discussion of developing cohort groups came up and the number one challenge is the inability to find mentor congregations, that is, church plants that have been around 5 years or more, have growing attendance, and a number of other intrinsic-bound qualifiers that makes them "in" as successful church plants. In other words, it's the same old, same old, just with a new set of intrinsic values, which makes it anything but edgy.

I love getting together with the guys at the Edge Conference. The stories shared are inspiring, the prayer time in small groups is a blessing, and the fun is refreshing, but, in the end, it's the same philosophy with a different set of values and, from where I see it, it's the philosophy and not the values that need to be changed.