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<\/a><\/p>\noriginally posted August 16, 2010<\/p>\n
How different can you ‘do church’ from traditional models? \u00a0So far the answer is a resounding ‘somewhat’.<\/p>\n
Here’s the thing: we want to share power<\/strong>. \u00a0We don’t want to replicate any kind of hierarchy. \u00a0We named ourselves Circle of Grace because all the points on the circle are on an even playing field. \u00a0In theory that translates to equal or shared power. \u00a0 In practice, people are often uncomfortable with the thought of exercising power. \u00a0Maybe they are afraid of being ‘wrong’ or maybe they are afraid they will have to ‘bring it’.<\/p>\n In our model everyone has a voice. \u00a0That’s a good thing. \u00a0What’s difficult (I’ll refrain from saying ‘bad’) is that not everybody is willing to exercise his or her power. \u00a0As feminists, we redefined power. \u00a0For us, power isn’t ‘power over’ anything. \u00a0Power is what we share. \u00a0For some of us it is uncomfortable – but we agree it is important.<\/p>\n This breaks down pretty significantly when commitment and responsibility are iffy. \u00a0It is a pretty big trade off. \u00a0For some reason, in hierarchical power structures those with power are able to require <\/em>a certain amount of responsibility. \u00a0 Not so much in a non-hierarchical situation. \u00a0In my bad moments, I hate that. \u00a0I hate that we don’t have a structure I can wrangle to get something done quickly, without discussion or dissension. \u00a0Sometimes I hate it that everyone has a voice but not everyone has the inclination to do the work that needs to be dome.<\/p>\n So how different are we from more traditional churches? \u00a0Sometimes not at all. \u00a0Sometimes power lands in the lap of a few because of lack of interest. \u00a0Kind of like state and federal elections. \u00a0We have the power to vote, but too many people don’t give enough of a damn to exercise their power. \u00a0As pastor, I am sometimes left with too much power by default. \u00a0(Default: no one else wants to do it) \u00a0Fortunately, I don’t want the power even when I have to exercise it.<\/p>\n Sometimes we are very, very different from traditional churches. \u00a0There is no power of ‘right thought’ or ‘right belief’. \u00a0One of the most challenging aspects of being in our community is that we are not bound by shared belief. \u00a0There may be someone who believes in substitutionary atonement and another who vehemently does not (in fact most of us don’t). \u00a0We have had times of members who opposed abortion and those who worked for choice organizations. \u00a0We have learned to make room for one another.<\/p>\n That’s the wonderful part. \u00a0It is wonderful enough to balance out the trials of a lumpy sharing of power. \u00a0How different can it be? \u00a0Different enough that we\u00a0keep on trying to figure out how we’ve been socialized and work against what is easy or comfortable. \u00a0We know we are on a huge learning curve. \u00a0I guess that’s how different it is.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" originally posted August 16, 2010 How different can you ‘do church’ from traditional models? \u00a0So far the answer is a resounding ‘somewhat’. Here’s the thing: we want to share power. \u00a0We don’t want to replicate any kind of hierarchy. \u00a0We named ourselves Circle of Grace because all the points on the circle are … Continue reading retro- Wednesday- How Can It Be Different?<\/span>