Scot McKnight--Recovering Community

I'm attending the Willow Creek Conference on small group ministry, titled the "Ancient Future Community." Scot McKnight, professor at North Park University, gave the opening session entitled "Recovering Community." Author of the best selling "Jesus Creed," he had some really excellent points to make about the need for group life to be focused on the creation of and living in the presence of Jesus among us. As might be expected, he is an excellent communicator, and his opening story of the blue parakeet was the metaphor that was used throughout the message effectively. The story: as a birdwatcher, McKnight once observed what happened when the sparrows in his yard were joined by an escaped blue parakeet. At first, the sparrows didn't recognize it was a bird, and fled whenever it approached. Eventually they began to see that it was a bird, and within an hour or two, wherever the parakeet went, the sparrows followed. His point: we (spiritual leaders of people) need to be those who help sparrows see and accept blue parakeets as fellow birds. I'm not telling it well at all, but the idea of accepting those who don't seem to fit into our spiritual sphere was the thrust.

Best concept: Our ability to accept others ("table fellowship" in Jesus' time) often breaks down along purity lines. The Pharisees attitude was, "We're clean, and if you are clean, then you can eat with us." The driving question was "Are you clean?" Jesus' attitude was, "Come and eat with me no matter what, and the fellowship can cleanse you." Jesus' driving question was "Are you hungry?"

As you can see from my links list, I have read his blog with interest, in large part because so many see him as a representative of the "good" end of emergent thinking. Overall, there was not much about his presentation today that sounded uniquely "emergent." One bone I would pick, though, was his use of a few illustrations that seemed to undermine any sense that convictions on any issues was a good thing. Twice, he expressed what he identified as difficult situations or questions where answers or understanding seem beyond easy response. One was a girl struggling with whether or not to drive her friend to an abortion clinic, after not being able to dissuade her from pursuing abortion. The other was wondering why a pastor would struggle with the someone's lesbian friend who loved Jesus. In both cases, I sat there saying, "these are real and messy questions, but there are clear answers to be given in both cases." It almost seemed as if there was a sense that having answers and ministering within community were not compatible.

Were these examples meant to prove messiness or to suggest that we have no clear answers to give? I don't know, and it may be that my antennae are too sensitive about such things, but since there was no opportunity for me to ask that question, I'm left wondering. But I'm grateful to have heard McKnight in person, and was encouraged to think by what he shared.