The quest for relevant religion took on a rather practical application for me and my family over the last month or so. We recently relocated to Central Oregon after spending just under a year in Vancouver, Washington. After a week or so getting settled in our new home and region, we decided it was time to take on the rather Herculean task (or so it ended up feeling) of pin-pointing a community of faith to be a part of here. In the end, this journey was a revealing and transformative experience in itself.

At first the task seemed simple enough (please excuse the consumerist overtones): sit down at the computer, punch in some variables pertinent to the brand of Christianity we relate to, wait a couple nano-seconds for the results, punch in the appropriate co-ordinates with Mapquest, and come Sunday morning- off we go! Well, as things turned out, the process was not so simple. Let me explain.

As I scanned through our list of possibilities a disappointing thought began to occur to me. Each of the churches on the list seemed rather, now here's a word for you- denomi-centric. What I mean by that is that each of these churches believed very strongly in their particular branding of Christianity. And to be honest, as a postmodernly-sensitized believer, that "let's define ourselves by how we differ from the others" seemed rather outdated and obtuse. As minutes turned into hours I grew tired of clicking on the "what we believe" tabs of these various church sites, only to find epic lists of hair-splitting "faith statements".

As I continued to read through these lengthy lists of prescribed behaviors and intellectual articles of ascent, I began to realize the degree to which these belief systems are very much control systems. Dallas Willard has written about how control systems (i.e. any set of cultural factors that define "the norm") will seek to crush opposition- without mercy and without exception. It's not even a conscious thing on the part of those who exist within the infrastructure of the control system. It just happens. Yes, it is a remnant of modernism- but it is a fact of life still very much in play. It's true in the overarching societal meta-narrative of relativism, and it's true in much of 21st century Christianity too.

Anyway, in the midst of my fuming about this issue, my wife asked me a very revealing question. She asked me if what I was looking for was a church that endorsed all the ideas that I currently subscribe to- nothing less, nothing more? This was an important question to ponder; because if I was looking for this then I was of course no different than any other of these ecclesial "bullies". As I searched my heart for answers I was able to boil everything down to a few key factors that define what it was I was seeking. They go something like this:

1.) I desire a community that celebrates diversity. That means that I DO NOT want to be surrounded only by a crowd of middle-class, university educated, media-savvy Gen X and Y postmoderns like my wife and myself. I don't think this would be good for us. And neither do I think it is what Jesus intended.

2.) I desire a community that embraces mystery. That means not just grinning and bearing it, but actually seeing Divine Mystery (i.e. the Cloud of Unknowing, the Numinous, etc.) as a celebrated Christian tradition; where questions are as celebrated as answers.

3.) I desire a community that is not afraid to contend with the fact that life is complex and ambiguous. In other words, what I call "the grays of life" must be acknowledged. We need not be afraid, but we must be real with each other. Faith is not endorsed ignorance.

4.) I desire a community that, in spite of life's complexity, is still passionate about God's active roll in our lives, and passionate about His ongoing, astoundingly redemptive plan for the planet and for the Cosmos.

5.) I desire a community that believes community is about doing life- together.

Was this too much to ask?

Well, in the end- it was not. The good news is that we four Kings did find a community of faith that approaches life in a way similar to what I describe above.

But to be completely honest, it was not until we actually partook in a community gathering or two that all of this clarity came upon me. In other words, God brought revelation about what was really important to Him and to us- in mid-stream; which is so like Him to do! This reminded me once again that growth never occurs in a vacuum.

Anyway, here's to community; community that is messy- but not ugly; community that is real- but not cynical; community that is unified- but not homogenous.

And thank you, Lord for the destination of journey.