5. By calling ourselves progressive, we mean that we are Christians who know that the way we behave toward one another and toward other people is the fullest expression of what we believe…
Beliefs and doctrine vs practice and way of life. Is there one that comes first…? Does one become a Christian by behavior first…and then eventually start believing some of the Christian doctrine? There are many Christians who I think put a huge emphasis on what is believed – on the dogma of the faith – the propositional truths, the mission statements, the statements of belief, creeds, etc. But you could potentially meet them and wonder if they had ever read the gospels or any words of Jesus. (Obviously, the opposite is also true: one could meet someone who exemplified every aspect of Jesus and his life and teachings, and have no knowledge of any "Christian belief" — however, I’d be much more inclined to say they probably had a pretty good idea of what it meant to be a Christian without even knowing it).
Another thing I thought of while reading this was something I first read about in a McLaren book (not exactly sure which one it was though; he may have mentioned this idea in a few books) – the idea of belonging before believing. A lot of this idea is to fight against the "we’re in and you’re not" mentality that, unfortunately, many who visit today’s churches experience. Unfortunately, this mentality is prevalent in too many churches today, whether it’s because of an archaic or Christianese-language-driven liturgy or service, a lack of feeling accepted, or because one of the first things we want new people to sign up for is the membership class or the "Presbyterian 101: What does it mean to be a Presbyterian" course that’s just been started up by Betty the Elder.
Why can we not simply accept people into our community…? And not just accept them, but welcome them fully into the participation of our community, as we seek to bring the kingdom into fruition here and now.
So what does this look like? What does a truly progressive Christian church look like? Well…I’d be foolish (and a bit conceited) to claim that I had that answer – but I think I have glimpses of what that might look like. A community of people who are open to all…(see point #4), a community who welcomes all of those people into full participation of the life of the church. So, you may very well have someone who really doesn’t know what they think about Jesus collecting the offering. Or maybe you have a few youth group leaders who are struggling as to what they "really" think about the Trinity…they’re not really buying it, but…maybe. Perhaps there is a lesbian couple who insist on serving communion by intinction, even though one of them believes wholeheartedly in transubstantiation, and the other…well, she just thinks it’s a nice little ritual done, but doesn’t really see any true spiritual significance. They attend the church because they’ve never experienced a feeling of acceptance and love as they do at this church – they are experiencing God. I suppose this looks like a real mish-mash kind of thrown together, syncretistic community of strugglers…? Hmm…
But it wouldn’t even have to be so drastic. The key is to see that people are going to know (or should know, rather) that we are Christians primarily by our actions; and not because of the dogmas we claim to believe and hope to encourage others to follow. It is through our actions of love, acceptance, challenging others, transformation and welcoming…it is through these actions that people will truly see the example of Christ being shown — and perhaps, after that, after they are drawn to the love of Christ…to the strange wooing of the Spirit…perhaps it is then, after having been loved, drawn in, and having lived (& belonged) within the community…perhaps it is then that they start asking some questions about the Trinity, about the Sermon on the Mount…on issues that are important to Christ-followers, but not as important as our witness and actions in the world…