The Distillery Church

Holistic Lives

“The missional church is messianic, not dualistic, in its spirituality. That is, it adopts the world view of Jesus the Messiah, rather than that of the Greco-Roman empire. Instead of seeing the world as divided between the sacred (religious) and profane (nonreligious), like Christ it sees the world and God’s place in it as more holistic and integrated.” (Frost & Hirsch 12)

I remember a time in my youth when I totally bought in to a dualistic view of the world. Like the music I sang in choir the world was easily divided into two distinct spheres. There was the “Sacred” sphere and the “Secular” sphere.

I had a very black and white view of the world back then and I think it served me well as a youth to stay on a path of safety and redemption. For instance, if a song on the radio did not mention the Bible or God favorably or at all, it was classified by me and my church friends as a secular song.

We would claim that if the song was not FOR God, then it must be AGAINST God. We went on to divide Television programming, books, other forms of music and art, as well as social environments, people and places up into the two spheres. We were allowed to partake in all of the sacred, holy and “godly” activities we could get our hands on, but a good Christian avoided all other things.

This meant that we avoided all “secular” activity. No music that did not “honor” God. No dancing to the same music. No hanging out with people that did. No smoking, drinking, or cussing. No television that alluded to sexual activity or movies that were rated R because of cursing, nudity, or other adult behavior.

We were HOLY, SET APART, SANCTIFIED, PURE, SEPARATE, CHRISTIAN. What we did not realize was that we did not create this standard of holiness. We were merely repeating what our elders taught us, and their elders, and so on. This dividing up the world into two spheres began with the Greco-Roman Church, and has been passed on through the ages from church to church.

It is one of the main criticisms of the modern church today. There is a certain presumption among Christians that we are somehow better than other people and things because we are Christians. We are better off, or more privileged than other people. We have a better way of life that is not easily corrupted by “The World.”

We have deemed “The World” to be BAD, and our churches and holy places as GOOD. We have lived like this for centuries. Jesus, never called us to live like this. Jesus never intended that the word “CHRISTIAN” would mean a certain type of marketing. The institutional church began this movement years ago to promote the institution of church and to be able to identify it’s unique product from among the other things, and we in the western world have taken this and run with it.

God is calling us back to viewing the world as one singular experience. The world is an integrated holistic environment that fuses together the sacred and the secular or profane. Life is that way isn’t it? Until we are able to integrate the two spheres into one world, we will not be able to effectively do what it is we are called to do here on planet earth.

God is responsible for all truth and beauty. God is the creator of all good things including music, art, storytelling, etc. He propels the artist to create for our enjoyment and expects that we will enjoy. He is behind every good movie (regardless of rating), every good song, every good concert, and every good beer.

What does the new church look like? It looks like a group of people who have expanded their horizons by enjoying all of the good things that God has created. It is a group of people who no longer see double-minded categorization as a way of life, but who look for God everywhere and see Him.

Turn on your television and watch the simplicity and complexity of life found in a good sitcom like Still Standing and laugh at the beauty of our dysfunction. Listen to Black Sabbath music and hear the intricate lyrics of the talented and experienced artist who may surprise you with his knowledge of God. Go to the local pub and drink a good beer while you listen to stories of real life that are unraveling right there and right then before your eyes.

Figure out what it is that you like regardless of label and just go do it. Do it with other people that are both sacred and profane. Each of us are an integrated whole that has both secular and sacred qualities about us. Learn about yourself and realize with me just how complex and simple we all are.

Join the integrated holistic world and take Jesus with you. You will be surprised by where He is willing to go.

Notes:________________________________________________________________________

Frost, Michael & Hirsch, Alan. The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st-Century Church. USA: Peabody, MA. 2003.

How does this look?

Being “in the world but not of it” takes on a whole new meaning when we see the world as one holistic experience. 

We go where Jesus would go. This means that some of us go to bars and partake in alcohol, but drink responsibly in an effort to make friends with the marginalized folks – the people that the church has ignored for some time now. 

We sit in a group of people who chain-smoke as we seek to build relationship unconcerned with the effects of the smoke. 

We work out our discipleship by GOING into the places we would normally not go, in order to meet people that we normally would never get a chance to meet, so that we can befriend them and work out life with them through both give and take experiences.