Response is not an Answer
Apple News caught my attention yesterday with a title, “The Mega-Church of the Mega-Famous.” I followed the link. It ended up being an article in a magazine that I would never read otherwise, Marie Claire. I think that’s a fashion magazine! The original is titled, “Will Worship for Likes.” Sounds like Facebook language. Okay, intriguing. So I read the quite lengthy article.
It’s about Judah and Chelsea Smith and the mega-church they pastor in Hollywood, CA. They call it Churchome, and it attracts all sorts of celebrities, most of whom I don’t recognize. It shows you how out of touch I am. But these two definitely are not out of touch and they know how to tailor the Christian message to the audiences they attract. It’s an interesting article and it does not resort to sarcasm or criticism. What struck me the most is one fact near the end of the article. The church has an app. I guess an app is essential these days, especially for megachurches, where social media are very much part of the message and how the message gets communicated and shared. Anyway, the Churchome Global app has a section of videos “Question and Response”.
Note: They call it “Question and Response” – not “Question and Answer.” That got my attention. Churches and pastors and priests are in the business of providing answers. People look for answers, and even non-believers sometimes will turn to churches for answers. This happens during times of crisis for example. I watched the movie Thirteen Days last week. I had seen it in the theatre when it came out back in 2000. It dramatizes in very realistic details the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962 when the US almost went into nuclear war with the Soviet Union. As the crisis intensifies, one scene shows people going into a Catholic Church open 24 hours for confession and prayers. One of President Kennedy’s chief advisers passes in front of this church and stops. He looks at the sign, hesitates a bit with skepticism and then decides to go in. He is Catholic, but perhaps not much of a believer. But in the midst of the crisis, as solutions to the crisis are running out, he decides to follow the crowd into the church.
Did he go into the church for answers to the missile crisis? Of course not. People looked to him for answers! But maybe he went in there for some kind of response, some sign that there is something or someone beyond the president and the military might of two superpowers. I think Judah and Chelsea Smith are on to something. I don’t subscribe to their version of Christianity, but I like the way they named this part of their ministry: Question and Response. Many times people will say it clearly: I don’t expect an answer from you, I’m not looking for an answer, I just want you to hear me. And a response usually comes from hearing.
You see, answers don’t involve much hearing, much listening. You take out your mental inventory of questions and answers and you roll out the appropriate answer. You don’t have to understand the other person to give an answer. Answers can be technical and impersonal. You don’t invest yourself in answering someone’s questions about any of our church practices, for example. Someone wants to know what they have to do to baptize their baby, I send them a list of what they need. I don’t even need to know the person who is asking! Although of course I get to know them after I send them the answer to their question.
And that is the difference between answer and response – at least for me. I think for Judah and Chelsea Smith it’s their way to appeal to Gen Z and millennials. But I like their terminology. Jesus always looked for a response. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked the blind man in today’s Gospel reading. By the way, Luke does not give a name, but Mark’s Gospel does. The blind man’s name was Bartimaeus. He called out to Jesus as Jesus was passing by. Though people told him to be quiet, he kept on calling until he got a response. Jesus responded and in turn asked him what he wanted, why he was calling. Bartimaeus responded. He wanted to see again.
It was always like that with Jesus. People called out to him; he responded. And when people asked him specific questions that needed specific answers, he rarely gave answers. But he did respond with parables and sayings that invited the questioner to search deeper, to see why he or she was even asking that question. It takes extraordinary insight to do that. And of course most of us church professionals – if you will pardon me using such a term – don’t have the insight to do what Jesus did. I will always remember many years ago getting a call from our niece who wanted help with a chemistry problem. So I started to go through the solution methodically, and after a minute or so my niece stopped me: “Oh, Kosta, just give me the answer!” Okay, I gave her the answer. She wasn’t looking for a response and I clearly was not good at giving a response. So I gave her the answer.
I was challenged by the story Apple News sent me. Church has become too much of a top-bottom entity. A bunch of men ordained and given authority to answer people’s questions about God and Christ and salvation. Where is the sense of adventure that Jesus clearly meant to be ours. “Come, and follow me” he said 2,000 years ago and he says it to us today. Come, follow me, he says. Don’t look for human answers which never really satisfy. See that’s the problem with answers – especially answers spoken with too much confidence. They never satisfy. And that’s the reason why people go church-hopping. Though they rarely hop in our direction. I will continue to answer your questions, it’s part of my job description. But the Jesus way is more about responding to people’s deep needs with understanding and humility.