even disagreement .
If you attended an Anglican , Lutheran or a Charismatic church here in L . A . and visited one of those congregations in a different part of the country , it is very possible that your experience would not be that different . Those expressions of the Christian faith are designed to provide an experience of continuity . This is not true of Emergent gatherings . Not only is each Loft gathering different from week to week , but it would be very different than any other such gathering around North America . Emergent gatherings in Texas , Minnesota , British Colombia , North Carolina and New York are as different from each other as they are similar . This is due precisely to the nature of emergence thought ! The complex system ( congregation ) is comprised of the smaller and organic material and organisms that give rise to it .
What this means in practice is that
only 60-80 % of any Loft gathering is prescripted . The songs , scriptures , prayers and conversation starters are planned . Depending on who is present that week and what they bring to the table , the conversation takes on a life of its own . There is no guarantee that everyone will agree , come to the same conclusion or leave with the same “ take away .”
Each gathering is a live event that emerges from the elements ( stories , experiences , contributions ) that individuals
Wherever you go , there you are .
A friend shared this Buddhist concept with me while we discussed the lengths to which people go to be whole . They will run miles for that fulfillment , only to discover that there ’ s no way of getting away from their entire selves . The fears and hurts travel with them during the ongoing search for happiness and peace . Yet one day they realize : it ’ s all right here .
I spent many years on that search , pushing to be that faithful giver and servant . I thought I had found the answers in the mega-churches , only to find the main point was about overcoming sins and reaching out for material blessings . When I moved back to L . A ., I knew I needed more . It took me a year and a half . That ’ s when I found The Loft . ( Or perhaps The Loft found me .)
While I still had reservations , I was intrigued . I wanted to know more about a church that wanted to transform the view of faith through conversation in an evolving community . The prospect of setting fire to the layers of beliefs that had made me numb to my own realities felt ultimately empowering .
As a Lofter , I ’ m beginning to embrace my faith for where it is – with its limitations and questions – as opposed to where I think it should and can be . I have begun to feel a certain peace in understanding the true meaning of Psalm 46:10 : ‘ Be still , and know that I am God .’
— Monee Fields-White
who are present provide and which take on a life of their own to form the larger and more complex thing called the community . This community then turns to the environment outside the walls and seeks to engage and interact with our
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neighborhoods , work spaces and relational networks .
It is certainly a different way to do and be the church . The hope is that by interacting with our unique cultural environment in West LA , that a new conversation will begin and that faith will emerge .
Bo Sanders is Westwood ’ s Minister to Children and Youth and one of the staff leaders of The Loft . bosanders @ westwoodumc . org