The Practicing Congregation

Diana Butler Bass, Alban, 2004

With a grant from the Lily Foundation endowment, church historian Diana Butler Bass set out to find new ways for mainline Protestant churches to be faithful in a changing world.

Bass looked at 50 churches from six mainline denominations in the United States where new things were happening and people were growing deeper in their faith. Recently, there has been much discussion about “emerging” churches, part of a new postmodern model.

The churches that Bass studied represent the emerging shape of mainline Protestantism. Perhaps they are better identified as re-emerging churches, congregations that are moving into the future by adapting the best techniques from their past. Emerging Christianity is about change. It is about, in Bass’ words, people changing from spiritual tourists to pilgrims. She found that Protestant churches are eager to remain faithful to their traditions while developing as vital spiritual communities.

A new type of mainline congregation has emerged since the early 1990s that Diana Butler Bass calls The Practicing Congregation. These are congregations that have experienced new vitality through innovative engagement with traditional Christian practices.

They focus on one or more of the following aspects of congregational life: worship, spiritual practice, faith formation, community life and mission. In organizational style “they possess a sense of dynamism, movement, fluidity, and flexibility in structure, leadership, shared ministry, and worship” (page 18). These re-traditioned congregations are finding new focus and meaning in a highly diverse range of expressions of congregational life. There is no emerging common way for being a practicing congregation, but these congregations are all discovering greater purpose and meaning, and through this, more vitality. It is not a program, nor is it a church growth method. It is a choice to find what Jesus offered: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). This being said, many of these churches are experiencing growth as a consequence of becoming practicing congregations. This can be seen as the Mainline Protestant contribution to the emerging church paradigm. They are ways in which mainline Protestant congregations have responded to a changing culture.

Christianity for the Rest of Us

Diana Butler Bass, Harper San Francisco, 2006

In this follow-up book to The Practicing Congregation, Bass begins by asking what has happened to the neighborhood church. In a reflective and very relatable manner, she reports that neighborhood and churches have not just changed in the last 40 years, they have completely vanished. She discusses how mainline Protestant churches are discovering ways of being faithful in a changing world. Along the way, she debunks the myth that only the Evangelical and Pentecostal churches are growing. Bass offers a how-to approach for churches interested in remaining true to their tradition while becoming vital spiritual communities.

Although there is no single approach for practicing congregations, there are signposts which can help them develop their own unique practices. There are 10 characteristics shared by vital congregations which are moving forward in faith.

The Ten Signposts (Practices) of Congregational Renewal

Hospitality – welcoming strangers . . .

as we ourselves have been welcomed by God through the love of Jesus Christ. It changes both the host and the guest. In many ways these roles appear to be reversed.

Discernment–listening for truth . . .

is hearing with our hearts and our souls. It serves as a spiritual compass. It is the capacity to hear, see, touch and feel God. It is the practice of asking God questions instead of I questions. By asking where God is in your ministry, you shift your thinking from what we are doing to what God is doing.

Healing–entering Shalom . . .

is expressing God’s harmony. It is overcoming division, hatred and discord by mending that which is displaced or broken. When we long for healing, we desire shalom. Through it, we receive God’s healing grace and power, and being changed by it, we offer it back to the world.

Contemplation–opening your heart for prayer . . .

is listening to God in silence. Contemplation leads directly to God’s divine presence. In rediscovering silence, these churches are rediscovering God. They do so by celebrating weekly communion, using Taize chants, Ignatian spiritual exercises, by offering all types of prayer: centering, contemplative, meditative, bodily, healing, thanksgiving, by knitting prayer shawls and building Habitat for Humanity houses. These churches are not open to prayer. They are open for it.

Testimony–talking the walk . . .

reinterprets the Christian practice of giving testimony. Unlike the Puritans and revivalists who focused solely on the transformative power of God, often following a formula, mainline Protestant testimonies are more like faith stories. In these, people are surprised by the transformative power of God. They reflect a spiritual pilgrimage and a journey to faith. In their testimonies these people do not claim to have all the answers, but they ask many questions. They are seen as a way of telling and sharing our faith stories.

Diversity–making community . . .

can be seen as a foretaste of heaven. It is practiced when people of many backgrounds and ages encounter a God who is alive, personal, powerful and full of love for all people.

Justice- engaging the powers . . .

The church is called to the work of reconciliation. In this the church stands against injustice. Justice is spirituality, not a political platform or a denominational position on social issues. It is a pilgrimage, working towards the ideals of God’s reign on earth. It is part of being a Christian.

Worship- experiencing God . . .

inviting people to experience a sense of openness and attentiveness. Worship needs to be an experience of God, rather than a reflection about God. It needs to embody the full range of emotions from sorrow to joy. There is no particular style of worship or music that contributes to congregational vitality. Rather innovation and experimentation matter the most.

Reflection–thinking theologically . . .

reflecting on life. Instead of wanting answers, people in the emerging mainline are looking for places to ask questions, to learn new questions and to be accepted by others in their faith community. They do this by thinking theologically, by using language, metaphor and insights from scripture, hymns, sermons, poetry, and literature. They look for themes to connect with their own lives: sin, redemption, mercy and reconciliation.

Beauty–touching the divine . . .

knowing God through art, music and drama. It is engaging more than the mind. It is a rediscovery of ancient mysticism where the remarkable elegance of the Trinity, the virgin birth and resurrection are seen with mysterious beauty. Congregations faithfully craft beauty through the arts, using gifts that open them to a way of understanding God that is beyond words.