So long, and thanks for all the fish
"So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish." is the title from the 4th book in Douglas Adams "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy." trilogy. And the phrase has been floating around in my grey matter for a while now.
The title of the book comes from an incident in the story…… Because of the imminent destruction of the earth to make way for a new hyperspatial express route, all the dolphins depart. However one leaves behind it a message etched into the glass of its aquarium tank, ‘So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish'.
The person responsible for the dolphins and who had in fact been studying them until now, realises that the dolphins were in fact more intelligent than man and that they could have communicated with us. In actual reality the dolphins were all the time studying us humans and playing with us, instead of the other way around.
To me, this is a great picture of those who are leaving the “Church.” Let me put it this way...
The “Church” is intrigued by us “leaving types” (dolphins), they try to understand us, testing our intelligence, and trying to communicate with us. They even sometimes play to what they think of as our whims, to keep us in the fold. But when the “leaving types” do exit out of the “Church” their intelligence is called into question, they are considered backsliders, rebels or even individualists.
The “leaving types” know that Christendom has run its course and no longer has an influence on the Earth and that the “Church” is the last institution of that great age. “Leaving types” are in fact very social and we have tried to communicate with the “Church,” to help them to come to a new understanding of freedom in Christ. In the end we give up trying and just play along, accepting the tidbits we are offered, until we know it is time to leave.
…...“So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish.”
The parable further explained…..
'What is the difference between a martyr and a prophet?'
Earlier I referred to two types of groups, the 'Church' and the 'leaving type.' I will try to profile these groups a bit further.
The Church:
§ Entrenched still in Christendom.
§ Community is drawn to personality. Often talks of being a community, but fosters individualism.
§ Leadership = CEO, business models.
§ Worship = professionalism and entertainment.
§ Evangelism = marketing, programmes, consumerism, i.e. Seeker services.
§ Image = commercials.
§ One size fits all.
If you live within the modern Western world, it is very probable that the Evangelical /
Leaving types:
§ Want to belong to a community, not interested in personalities.
§ Spirituality is key to ones life, embodied in discipleship. Being saved is just the beginning, a desire to work out ones salvation.
§ Value participation, not a spectator role. Participation means more than raising ones hands, singing a few songs and being on the church roster.
§ Authentic.
§ Ministries based on a persons gifts and vision, not programmes.
§ Desire to be social, interactive, multi sensory. . .
The ”leaving types” become frustrated when in an environment controlled by the “Church”. The “Church” encourages them through ‘counsel' and ‘ministry' to become good Christians like every one else. Sometimes they are even slotted into positions of responsibility or leadership so they will feel they are contributing and participating. But for the “leaving types”, “Church” becomes all the more hollow as they struggle with the questions around their new insights.
The choices are difficult - if they do decide to leave, and go into self imposed exile, they are labeled backsliders. If they go to another church, they are church hoppers who will never settle in one place. Or if they find others of like heart and together explore something new, they are radicals, cultish, even heretical.
So it is back to the question at the beginning - 'What is the difference between a martyr and a prophet?' The answer: A generation.
Today there is more hope for the “leaving types”. The “Church” is slowly beginning to realise that for so long they have misunderstood the “leaving types” and are now beginning to recognise their prophetic voice.
The glory days of Christendom have come to an end and the world is best described as hostile to the Christian message. There is a mistrust of institutions, whether it is the Church or Governments. And yet there is a hunger, a deep longing for a meaningful spirituality.
Therefore I pray the “Church” will engage with the “leaving types” as they seek innovative ways to be the new ”Church” to the new age to come.
Two closing thoughts:
If the “Church” just batten downs the hatches and tries to wait out the storm, it is only going to end up blown off it's already uncertain course and find itself in the depths of uncharted sea, if not shipwrecked on a deserted island.
If you are a “leaving type”, don't hide your light. Shine, so that others can be drawn to you and together find innovative ways to help the “Church” interact with this topsy turvy world.
Jeff Haines (Originally posted as a blog on his blogsite.
Edited as an article. Used with permission)