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Q: "Should Friends seek to grow?"
A: "I don't believe in growth for growth's sake."
I've had (or overheard) exchanges of this sort several times among Quakers and other church people. I always have this perverse desire to say "Well, I do!"
To be fair, I think I know what those skeptics mean: they don't believe that a statistical increase in numbers, without attention to quality or ethics, is a goal worth chasing.
However, I doubt that anybody believes in pure statistical growth without regard for people. I'm eager to see people added to our numbers anytime that it's a result of those people hearing about our faith, coming to check whether we live by that faith, and gaining enough hope in our trustworthiness that they've decided to remain, at least for now.
That criticism of "growth for growth's sake" may be a polite way of saying, "I'd just as soon operate a chaplaincy for the people already among us, and those sufficiently like us to float into our orbit on their own steam." However, let's take the phrase at face value, and continue the conversation: "Then, what kind of growth would you favor?"
If I honestly believe (backed by experience) that ...
- Quaker faith and practice is a way of knowing and following God;
- Our communities are trustworthy, leadership is based on spiritual gifts rather than social distinctions, and the pathways for new people to become members and leaders are made clear;
- We have a message and a practice that is very different from the toxic agendas of white Christian nationalism and other distortions that have brought the word "Christian" into disrepute;
- I have found healing and hope in this faith and the community it has shaped...
... then, shouldn't I feel an obligation to care about growth? I believe so. It seems urgent to me to work toward ensuring that our faith and the communities formed by that faith are accessible to anyone who might need that kind of community.
There is nothing about this obligation that requires me to exaggerate Quakers' virtues, or to conceal our defects. I certainly don't need to claim that no other faith communities are equally trustworthy or equally capable of healing and giving hope.
By this logic, however, I could argue that we can continue to deny the importance of growth. Since we don't claim superiority (do we?), we can just assume that someone else will meet the needs of those who seek healing and hope. Instead, let's remember how important growth might be, not just for those who might find a place among us, but also for those of us already here.
The dangerous alternatives: we risk becoming stagnant; elitism and Quaker exceptionalism can creep in; we too often allow conflict to become personalized; we lose the urgency of paying attention to what God wants to say and do beyond our own tiny community, through us; we forget how to communicate our faith to those who don't understand our peculiar language; we reduce the chances of someone visiting to verify that our practice matches our faith.
Let's grow, for good growth's sake! (Or, let's at least continue the conversation.)
Related: Decline and persistence. Evangelism or proselytism? Adria Gulizia on spirit-led evangelism.
Hello from Spokane, where Judy is speaking on Sunday morning at Spokane Friends Meeting. Here's a recent local article on Spokane Friends.
Rachel Lonas reviews The Understory: An Invitation to Rootedness and Resilience. Not yet sure I'll get the book, but I certainly enjoyed the review. Have you seen this book yourself?
Amalia Zatari (BBC) on the new far-right in Russia. (Russian original.)
Since books definitely helped me survive childhood, I was drawn to this article: "‘Books saved my life’; the founder of Semicolon Books wants to close the literacy gap."
"Christianity is not a notion but a way." Stuart Masters on "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6) and the various ways Friends have approached related questions of exclusivism, universalism, and interfaith dialogue.
Timothy Jones on the young botanist Emily Dickinson.
Blues dessert: Canadian content! Jack de Keyzer, "I Can't Hold Out."
2 comments:
At my monthly meeting here in Birmingham, I have heard it said by a Friend that he didn't want any growth at all. That may have been because we are such a small meeting that the group dynamics would drastically change with increased membership. Maybe that's why people are averse to growth. He does have a point, but I'd gladly accept more membership, regardless of what changes it produced.
Hello, Kevin! You bring up some interesting points.
First, at least the question has come up, even if one Friend made it clear that he didn't want growth. Growth is risky, so Friends should be ready to discuss all the implications. If a small meeting loves the quality of their community, it might be a very fertile discussion to consider what is the source of that quality and how that source might still remain open when new people come.
Second, there may be fellowships that are actually called, in view of special circumstances, to remain more or less at their present size. Their discussion of growth might include such alternatives as deliberately setting up another meeting, seeded by Friends who would be willing, at least temporarily, to participate in both meetings. Another alternative: seeking out a relationship with another existing meeting, so that together they can encourage each other in questions of growth as well as safety. Maybe that partner meeting needs the prayer support of the meeting that feels called not to grow.
A third, and rather delicate, point may be the question of meetings that are coming to the end of their life cycle. They may well have discussed questions of growth but feel led to acknowledge that they themselves have a different kind of stewardship: the thoughtful process of laying the meeting down.
I'm sure there are other ideas out there....
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