Coming from the equator to northern Europe is a shock to the body. Almost like a defibrillator! We’re in Amsterdam now (technically Den Haag just south of Amsterdam). Rob and I are spending some time with my college roommate Justin, and his wife Jen. Jen and Justin are a part of this organization called Christian Associates, a church leadership development and church planting organization throughout Europe.
I’m really jealous of what they are doing here, because it’s at the heart of what I feel so powerless to do in the states. They really have a lot of freedom to be as challenging of what church looks like as they can, because there’s not a lot of human expectation put on them. They obviously stay true to church as defined in the Bible, but beyond that they have a ton of freedom to ask some hard questions, to take a look at what really has impact on communities and what doesn’t. And this network of church planters all do it differently, as what works in one culture may look entirely different from another.
When I say I feel powerless in the states, it’s not that I’m not given the power. It’s more that I feel the social expectations are so high that if one were to try anything different, it would look too foreign and take too much convincing that it really is still church. Again, this may be different from region to region in the states. Don’t ask me all the things that I’d do differently, because I’m not prepared for that debate yet.
Most of my time here in The Netherlands is intended on trying to process and reconcile what is effective here in Europe with what is being done in the states. If I can learn a little more of the model here, I think it might shed some new light on what I’m feeling about the American church and what is being done right and what is quite unnecessary. Now, there’s no way that I can spend two days hearing about a model and paradigm and have fully grasped it – and then be able to roll it out and form it into something else that will work over there. That would take much, much more time. But this can just get the ball rolling the in right direction.
The city is amazing here. Incredible archeticture, beautiful streets, and a much more “west coast” feel. I love that! Tomorrow is our last day on this trip, so we’re going to head up into the downtown district of Amsterdam. I can’t wait to get back to the states and update the blog with all of the pictures from the past few weeks. Stay tuned!
12/8/08
