I am writing this from Spokane, WA, where I am attending Jubilate, a yearly music and arts in worship festival. The keynote speaker, Presbyterian pastor Ron Davids, is working with us on the concept of worship that transforms… or to put it another way, transforming worship so that it can become transformational. On the first day, he hammered home the point of authenticity being absolutely crucial to passionate, thriving, transformational worship.
Authenticity. Not always an easy goal, in any area of life. Authenticity requires us to be radically honest about who we are. It requires us to take risks to speak what is true for us even when it is hard. It requires us to be vulnerable and candid about our rough edges, the areas where we are hurting or in need of maturation. Being authentic is challenging. It can be difficult and sometimes even painful, but the rewards are great.
For too long, American culture—that culture in which our church is undoubtedly saturated—has thrived on folks not being authentic with one another. “How are you doing?” we ask, and if the answer is anything but “I’m doing well, thanks! You?” we become nervous. We avert our eyes when we pass someone who has a disability or looks visibly poor or homeless. When confronted with someone in deep emotional pain, our first instinct is often to run.
We don’t seem to know how to be authentic, and we really don’t know how to handle it when other people are authentic with us, showing us their pain and struggle. We have not been given social instruction in how to be present with someone in pain; actually this is probably the reason I have a job. If we could be truly honest and authentic with ourselves, the need for counseling would drop dramatically.
But hiding behind fake niceties, hiding our rough edges, pretending that all is well when it is not do not lead to communities that thrive. Our denomination is facing the reality that right now we are at a crossroads, and we must “change or die.” This change doesn’t have to have anything to do with whether our music comes from the Hymnal or from the projection screen. It doesn’t have to have anything to do with whether we have communion weekly or monthly. The change is that we must learn to be authentic with one another.
This is what young people—the Facebook generation, sharing our lives online with friends, family, and acquaintances—crave. We want authenticity; real community. We don’t want to show up on Sunday morning and hear a nice message that makes us feel good but doesn’t challenge us, shake a few hands and eat a few cookies and then go on our way. We, the young and the old, the cradle Methodists and those new to the faith, all of us, need a community that is saturated in trust, compassion, safety, respect, and authenticity.
This is only the beginning of what needs to be an ongoing conversation, but we can start with today. What are you going to do today to live your life more authentically? What small change will you make the next time you are at church, whether Sunday morning worship, committee meeting, or music practice, to be more authentic with your church family?