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garrett
brown
ShoreLife
Church
1.
we ask this of everyone, how do you define the postmodern/emerging
conversation in relationship to the church?
I
think the part of the conversation that attracts me most in relation to
the local church, and maybe the part that is most over-looked is the
listening component.
As shepherds and church architects, we are supposed to be listening
to Christ, to our local community of his followers, and to culture.
I’m no expert, but from what I’ve experienced in the pomo
dialogue is the impulse for people to participate in learning and
discovery.
People I hang out with within and outside the church thrive in
environments where they dive in, lash out, and come to grips.
The postmodern/postChristian church is listening to these people,
and providing communities for them.
2.
being caught between san fran and san jose, how does ShoreLife
operate in the culture of the area?
I
asked this question to a few people inside and outside my church.
Many of the responses I got back had more to do with reacting to
the negative aspects they experience in the culture: the transient nature
of people here, the self-indulgence, the high cost of living, the
spiritual coldness… But we live here for a reason!
This is an incredible place, and there are reasons to celebrate the
culture of the peninsula.
There
is a diversity here that is unmatched.
I live a few blocks down from Oracle’s world HQ – it might as
well be Epcot Center – the nations are almost literally at our doorstep.
The
peninsula boasts a well-educated bunch of people.
There is a sharpness and wide-range of learning around these parts
that forces us to engage not only the heart, but the mind – to love God
with all our mind.
And
there is a spiritual hunger – it’s subtle but you can hear it in
conversation, you can hear it in frustrations and emptiness.
The Church on the SF Peninsula needs to embrace these things and be
listening for the hunger cues in people’s lives.
ShoreLife doesn’t always operate well in this culture, but
we’ve got about three years worth of knowing what doesn’t work
on the peninsula in terms of transforming lives in Jesus Christ.
3.
how different is "ShoreLife 2.0" form "ShoreLife
1.0" and the other churches in the area?
We
upgraded from SLC 1.0 to SLC 2.0 because 1.0 wasn’t working!
Seriously, we recently came to the understanding that there was a
huge gap between what we stated we were about, and what we actually were
about. ShoreLife
2.0 is an attempt to rally behind the original DNA of the church.
In doing this we took all the non-essentials off the table: we
stopped our weekly worship gathering, we put a hold on our small groups
and other expressions of the church.
For three months we decided to focus on the apostles teaching,
fellowship as a body, breaking bread together, and prayer.
We did this as a de-centralized church, meeting in three house
churches.
Coming
out of this, and re-launching our weekly gathering, we have a fresh
responsibility to our purpose and mission: We exist to experience God, and
whatever doesn’t serve that purpose is not worth doing.
This is all about him, and not about us.
He is the I AM and we are simply, like Moses, the I am not.
SLC 2.0 is our frail attempt of practicing that.
4.
what elements do you use to bring people into the community life of
ShoreLife?
It’s
all about relationships.
I applaud the churches that have success with direct mail,
Halloween carnivals, and sky writing, but we have really only ever had
success when there is a trusting relationship involved.
We have a weekly worship gathering and a battery of small groups.
We are just pushing out with some “side door” options too.
But we decided from day one that spiritually healthy community only
works in genuine relationships – you can’t fake it.
For a church plant, that is a risky move – it doesn’t bring in
the droves – but being a small church is cool if we’re part of a big
thing.
5.
what would you say are the top four "uniqueness" of
ShoreLife?
Kind
of a tough question, because I certainly don’t need to be the kid that
stands out just to stand out.
If other churches are hitting on something that serves the Kingdom
better – I’m all for adopting that.
But I’ll offer a few thoughts about what it means to be us:
Change:
SLC has always been fluid, has always embraced changes.
Our motto is “If you can find us, you’re welcome to worship
with us” – we are currently gearing up for our fifth move in under
four years (not including the house church).
But more than location change, we mess with format, structure,
expression, and we see people change.
Life on the Shore is about shifting sands and rising tides.
Change and creativity go hand in hand, and I believe they are both
hallmarks of spirituality.
Relationships:
I know… no fair to claim this as a uniqueness.
But we truly operate in a people-driven model.
When we’ve detracted from this, things flop.
Last winter we sold or gave away 280 tickets to The Passion
film and packed a theater.
In our follow-up attempt we did a Sunday series with a small group
discussion tie-in.
Not one soul from our 100+ visitors to the film came on a following
Sunday or to the small group.
But countless conversations occurred around the lunch table, little
league field, and back porch with SLC people and their spiritually seeking
friends following the film.
Relationships work.
Periphery:
By this I refer to the hazy outside edge of the church.
The combination of the above two “uniqueness” has resulted in a
Christian community that is not defined by church events or buildings.
So much of what is good about this flock happens on the edge –
out in the margins of ShoreLife where people who are experiencing God are
sharing that experience with others.
A couple I just met had only recently tried out our worship
gathering, but they’ve been anonymously involved with ShoreLife for some
time by reading the blog on our website.
Certainly not adequate Christian community, but it was the
peripheral expression of the church that allowed them to press in further.
Fun:
If you hang out with ShoreLife for any period of time, I would hope
you’re having fun.
When God’s people are growing, worshipping, serving, and even
hurting together there should be joy and winsomeness.
The other week one of our elders was preaching, and the story he
told at the end of his message was (unintended by him) so funny that the
worship leader opted to skip the heavy, reflective song that he was going
to do coming out of the sermon.
He just allowed people the chuckle and ended on a high note.
If church is boring, we’re telling the world the Gospel is
boring.
6.
it seems that experiencing God is key to a life at ShoreLife, how,
and what, do you do to help people experience God?
Nothing
fancy here: God has revealed himself through his word and within the Word.
We invite people on a daily basis to explore the mysteries and
depth of God’s grace through scripture.
We emphasize worship as a community and encourage worship within
the individual.
We use ongoing small communities of people meeting in homes and in
the workplace to share, grow, build, and struggle.
We look to the ancient church as a model for what it meant to
experience God together – learning together, serving together, and
striving together.
Paul tells the Philippian church that there is a surpassing
greatness of knowing Jesus that comes through surrender, perseverance, and
suffering.
7.
what do you see as the major shifts ShoreLife will be needed to
take in the next 5 to 10 years?
I
think one of my weaknesses as a leader – and maybe a tiny bit of
strength – is that I have no idea what major shifts are coming!
I don’t operate in the realm of what’s gonna happen when
there’s so much to be excited about now.
I heard an old Southern spiritual recently: I can see you in the
future, and you look much better than you look right now.
I’m not a future thinker, but the promise of the Gospel is that
with trust and obedience, we all will change and grow, and look better
then than we do right now.
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