(Intro) Because conversation is so central to the idea of Bikemovement, we’ve decided to post summaries of our church dialogues here on the web, for the benefit of our growing online community.

A typical conversation with Bikemovement so far has started out with a sort of…group activity. Tim Shenk steps into the middle of the circle and invites everyone to participate in the creation of a living machine which answers, in each person’s own way, how they see church. When a new group of people arrived just as Tim had finished explaining this at Portland Mennonite, no one was sure what to do … until one man suddenly started to welcome the latecomers with a booming voice and hearty handshakes, all around. Not everyone figured out that he was simply playing the game, until he said something about a potluck afterwards that the guests should come to. Then Tim Showalter stepped into the circle and started silently worshipping; Kendra Nissley opened a notebook and started to sing an imaginary “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” from off the page; Jenny Hartwig walked around speaking Spanish, seeking someone who might understand her; Alicia Horst turned her back on the whole group, and crossed her arms. And so it went, everyone acting out “church” in very different ways—some positive, some negative, most traditional, some not. Here are a few of the comments/observations/questions/complaints that spun out of this activity:

• What everyone did in the “machine” was so expressive, so them—it was a contrast to what I see on Sunday.
• Everything enacted was community-oriented. Not doctrinal.
• Church is something comfortable among ourselves.
• Newcomers weren’t sure how to interpret things.
• Many of the things touched on, like potlucks or singing traditional hymns, are inside Mennonite things, not necessarily Christian.
• When my non-christian friends ask if they can come to my church, I dread it. Everything’s so foreign [to them]. But that [what people see in church] is not our faith.
• We can get so defined by our roles in the church. The emphasis of community has been lost. We need to help each other through struggles, be open and vulnerable with each other, walk alongside each other.
• Church should be a safe place to be yourself.
• The only reason I’m still a part of the church community is access to, and the benefit of intergenerational relationships. I can’t find that in many other places.
• There’s a big difference between our church culture and weekday culture, and I feel like there’s no connection with the people I see on Sunday. How do I worship/pray with these people? There’s a need for transparency and vulnerability.
• What keeps us from being open and vulnerable? Too big? Too formal?
• Lack of trust and interest! I don’t want to share myself with people who don’t care!
• Small groups are a better place for vulnerability.
• There are three sides to “church”: our experience, our idea, and our ideal of it.
• My ideal church is Bikemovement: so worshipful and God-glorifying, and yet not an institution. (It’s a movement!)
• What are my reasons for attending church? It’s good for community, but not my spirituality. I’ve lost touch with all the ‘doctrinal’ stuff, like Jesus’ blood, salvation, etc.
• Has that lost its importance with our generation? Do we only care about community? Or is that just a phase for young people, which we will grow out of?
• Our access to understanding about faith/salvation/etc. is because of community.
• Faith has become such an individual thing, though, not communal.
• People’s faith is sincere but only when it’s convenient. No one’s making time for a real connection with God and each other.
• Church is people journeying with me in an authentic way. My biggest frustration is when a church’s only focus is this superficial, utopian hope. Acknowledge the darkness! Why can’t we stay in the Garden of Gethsemane? Why must we always rush through the crucifixion, the three days Jesus was in the grave, to get right to the resurrection?
• I continually find hope in the Body of Christ, like my experience in Israel, where people are in touch with the reality of the world and yet have not given up hope.
• Church must meet the needs of the world in a real way. If our solidarity does not come in practical ways, it doesn’t mean anything! I need the church to be honest.
• Something needs to change in this country. There’s an imbalance between the church’s care for people’s spiritual needs and physical needs.
• Now there are reactionary churches that sprang up after the charismatic movements of the 70’s, which can’t talk spirituality or theology.
• There has to be a third way, which would reconcile this spiritual/physical conflict.