Fear of the Ordinary

Are we afraid of the ordinary?

We are constantly reminded of the need to do something significant, achieve something, be successful, be somebody special, make our mark, follow our dreams, leave a legacy…

It seems like we’re always trying to escape the ‘mundane’ things of life.

If that’s what’s going on within each of us, then what does this mean for the church? It’s made up of people.

Have we created ‘church’ in our image?

Huge buildings, stages, spotlights, professional musical production, light shows, celebrity preachers, huge staff teams, endless projects… is this ‘church’ culture a reflection of our inner fear of the ordinary, rejecting the mundane and seeking out the spectacular moments, latest trends, the sensational experiences?

As I started out on my church leadership journey about 10 years ago, it seemed that my role was to create sensational weekly events where people could come and experience God— excellent worship music, excellent preaching, excellent ‘powerful’ words from God, etc.

Each time of worship had to be better than the previous. Every preach had to feed each person, or face the email or text message saying ‘I don’t feel I’m being fed at this church…’ The drive to experience more of these spectacular moments each week was unrelenting.

I knew something wasn’t right. I could see that we weren’t making disciples, but feeding consumers, but that feeling of ‘well this is what church does’ was always there, and there didn’t seem to be an alternative. So I got on with ‘doing church’.

In our lives we might seek out the holiday as a way to experience something amazing — to escape the mundane, boring 9–5 life we experience every day. So we long for that holiday. Dream about it. Put our hope in that being a sensational time, which will keep us going through our ordinary lives when we return home.

In the church we have been taught to find God in the spectacular weekly event, we learn to keep going back to where the spectacular is located. A weekly event. Then, maybe we go to the epic conferences for the even greater experiences of God. You might then buy the worship album to relive the experience.

“I am convinced that we have drifted from the true focus of God’s activity in this world. It is not to be found in the extraordinary, but in the ordinary, the everyday.” Horton

As I approached the reality of all this in my own life it caused months of deconstruction. Inherited beliefs, life rhythms, where I invested my time, how I prayed, my language… all of this and more was deconstructed as I asked questions, searched for answers, and allowed my inner desires and assumptions to be challenged.

I delved into scripture, books, sought out wisdom from friends and even tried following as many people on twitter as possible in desperation for nuggets of practical advice on how to change my reality.

Some of it helped. Some of it didn’t. My eyes were opened to some deep truths about myself. I learned to settle into life as a journey, rather than seeking a destination.

I made an incredible amount of mistakes as I pressed forward with my passionate desire to change things in my own life, and the church I led. More on that in future posts.

“Sometimes, chasing your dreams can be “easier” than just being who we are, where God has placed you, with the gifts he has given to you.” Horton

We are called to a commitment to an ordinary community of Jesus followers, who are committed to genuine discipleship, but instead we have traded this for commitment to a sensational church experience.

Just imagine the deep transformation in all areas of life if each of us realised that God is at work in the ordinary. The mundane.

Like every other area of life, we have come to believe that growth in Christ — as individuals or as churches — can and should be programmed to generate predictable outcomes that are unrealistic and are not even justified biblically. We want big results — sooner rather than later. And we’ve forgotten that God showers his extraordinary gifts through ordinary means of grace, loves us through ordinary fellow image bearers, and sends us out into the world to love and serve others in ordinary callings.