Outchurched

Hey guys, NASA Janet and I were googling ourselves in a most selfish kind of way when we stumbled onto this gem. We love the concept and are quickly trying to catch up with the shows. We’re kinda on the other side of the pendulum, swinging upward, but have seen all sides of the clock, if you get the meaning of my ridiculous metaphor. This is an important discussion you’re having, and we’ll definitely be listening, if not participating. We certainly find ourselves nodding our heads a lot.

On a separate note, have you guys heard of the Scripturizer plug-in for wordpress? http://dev.wp-plugins.org/wiki/Scripturizer — it will convert any scriptural references to links to the Bible Gateway … may be helpful for your posts and our comments!

Anyway, liking the show so far … thanks again for linking us!

‘Gem,’ eh? Thanks for the compliment.

Yeah, I’d seen the Scripturizer plugin, but hadn’t gotten around to installing it yet.

We’d love to have you and NASA Janet on an episode of outchurched.

The clock metaphor… is that a veiled reference to drug use? I don’t get it. Is that like the blind men and the elephant?

The Scripturizer sounds cool, thanks for the tip! We’re happy to link to Illinoise! It’s good stuff! :)

I’m getting tired of being disappointed every time I come to this site. Podcasts fellas. I needs me some more Podcasts!

Blame God… or the universe… or technology… or whatever… seriously.

We recorded a podcast on Monday and unfortunately encountered a problem with corrupted audio that the tools we tried weren’t able to fix. The plan is to re-record it tonight… which means it will probably be posted Friday (barring technical difficulties, etc.).

Ryan and I are discussing ways to get new shows up/posted faster. The current process is a bit labor-intensive, and there are likely more efficient ways to do it. It may require a bit of a reduction in fidelity, but I don’t think our podcast is about fidelity… it’s about the content. :)

Sooooooon, sooooooooon.

I didn’t know where to put this, so I just put it here. I just read this article and since it mentioned religion and Ipods, I thought of this site. there is nothing incredably profound about it but here it ist is:
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050412-121457-4149r.htm

Thanks for the link James… I found that to be encouraging.

I have been reading and thinking/searching a lot about the outchurched (philosophy/beliefs/frustrations?). A lot of it resonates with what I have seen and felt. However, I have been living in Eastern Europe now for about 8 months and it seems to me that much of it is not applicable here. There are not really any outchurched people here, there are not really many Christians here period. The churches that are here do reflect much of what the outchurched reject, at least from the organizational structure aspect. Yet people are coming on contact with Jesus at these institutions and their lives are being transformed in a meaningful way. Another words, here (in Eastern Europe) the church institution “works”. So this is my question/dilemma, Is the outchurched phenomenon something unique to America and I’m sure Western Europe? If the Church as an institution is working in a particular place to bring life, should it still be destroyed? Another words should the outchurced way of thinking be universal? I have lots of questions but I will stop for now. If any body has any thoughts on this, I’m sure it would be helpful with my searching.

Being Outchurched as an American Revolution

There’s a comment on the Sticky Post at outchurched.com that says, I have been reading and thinking/searching a lot about the outchurched (philosophy / beliefs / frustrations?). A lot of it resonates with what I have seen and felt. However,…

Hey, you guys made Business Week.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2005/tc200505250375tc211.htm?campaignid=rss_techn

I have a response for James….hi my friend…how is Bulgaria?

I think that you are right about the difference between the cries of the outchurched in America and the church in Europe. In fact, I think that even Western Europe is not in the same dilemma as America. Even in England, the plague of American evangelicalism is not significant. The political parties have not hijacked the church to be used to support a political party. The church of England is in a bad spot…dying on the vine; but it is not the same crap that we have here. Why? Maybe because America has a hard time exporting anything of its culture lately. If no one wants American culture, they are unlikely to take American cultural christianity either.

But, I have a question: Do you think that the Eastern Europeans are actually finding Christ, and capable of leading a genuine life of introspection? Challenging the systems? Creating a breed of faith that is truly their own?

I have seen some photos of the nice people of Eastern Europe, and tend to see them trying to mimick our American “canned christianity.” They wear ties and suits, meet in silly buildings, and have meetings that follow the same implied liturgy of American evangelicals. Are you sure that they are not just thirty years behind us? Will they find themselves asking the same questions in thirty years? Can we pass along the faith without passing along the baggage? Do you still “do church” the same way American evangelicals do? I’ll bet I can guess the songs you sing, the format of your “church services” the special christian words and phrases that are used by the people who attend your church. If I can guess correctly, then you (we) have imported more than is necessary to create a dynamic faith in the lives of Eastern Europeans.

Charles,

Almost all your observations are correct. And some of the churches do reflect American Christianity and will end up asking the same questions. However the one thing that seems to be different here, is their sense of community. Even though there is the same old building and music, etc. There is a stronger sense of community and feelings of being brother and sisters. I think this is partially due to the persecution issues. Even though Protestantism is now legal it is still only one percent of the population and is shunned by the community. The Orthodox Church and the media paint Protestants as a cult and feed misinformation. Because of this it is harder for Christians to become lazy/self-centered.
So even though they have “American” structures, they don’t seem to matter. Christians really just want to hang out with each other, wether at church or in a park or in bar. The structures are just window dressing.
However your point is right on in one particular group. Pastors are very into buildings. This is something that defines a church. I think this is an influence from the Orthodox Church. This is one of the areas where I am trying to make a difference. With the people that I am/will be discipling I am trying to show that the building doesn’t matter. We will see how they respond to it.

Charles and James,

Having spent some time in Europe and Eastern Europe I have to say I agree with Charles. But I think you are only partially right (how’s that for a politician’s answer?). Having spent time in Ukraine I can say that there ARE alot of outchurched there. The thing is that they have mostly been shunned by the church (in a very literal sense). I am communicating with a group of people that dont feel they have the luxery to just leave the church they are in, mainly for cultural reasons, so they stay where they are nearly abused. I know one girl in particular that has considered leaving all organized religion becuase of this. Of course the manipulation that occurs when she suggests this to Ukranian christians is horrendus.

As for an American version of Christianity…I spent some time in Corsica (France) last year and was AMAZED at how the protestants there had become Americanized Christians. The French culture is steeped in Catholicism (sp?). Yet since protestants are on an official list of cults, they pride themselves in being as “Hossanna Integrity” as possible. It was really sick. When I asked why they do not have churches that reflect French culture they said that those kinds of chuches get closed down because they are considered cults and any protestant church that would not disavow the catholic faith is not “really a Christian church.”

Just my experiences….But I have found there to be MANY Outchurched…It just seems to me that they are Outchurched but still within the church for fear of being ex-communicated from their community.

Hey guys,
I just wanted to say that if you love Christ (truly), you will love the Church.

If you’re not a member of a local church, you shouldn’t consider yourself a Christian.

“I just wanted to say that if you love Christ (truly), you will love the Church.

If you’re not a member of a local church, you shouldn’t consider yourself a Christian.”

guess i’m not a christian then. thanks for clarifying that for me god.

Which scripture do you take that from? I was unaware that Andrew was a book of the Bible. Thank you so much for bringing to light this hidden truth that up until now had yet to be revealed.

By the way…When do we get to hear another episode of Outchurched?

Waiting with baited breath!

Andrew, thanks for contributing to this blog with the same mindless, unbiblical rhetoric that marks American evangelicalism.

OUTCHURCED…WE NEED YOU. Please? Pretty please…cant we get at least a Final episode?