Missionary Zeal

Rev. Peter Friedrichs

January 13, 2008

There is an old joke in Unitarian Universalist circles that goes like this: What do you get when you cross a Jehovah's Witness with a Unitarian Universalist? Someone who goes around knocking on doors for no particular reason. Like most of the jokes that poke good-hearted fun at a particular religious or ethnic group, at least the funny ones, we enjoy this little jibe because we hear the ring of truth in it. There is a certain absurdity in the very thought of combining the religious zealotry of a Jehovah's Witness with the religious liberalism of a Unitarian Universalist. There is an equal absurdity if we try to picture ourselves unleashed on a residential street on a quiet Saturday morning, armed with pamphlets provided by the UUA - pamphlets with titles like "Soulful Journeys" and "Can We Find A Home Here" and "Is Our Church Gay?" - going door to door. What would we say to that young couple, or that senior citizen, or that single mother with three children, if they actually invited us in after we introduced ourselves and told them we wanted to talk with them about Unitarian Universalism? We never really worry about that, because facing such a situation is so far from the realm of possibility.

Why is that? Why is it so far-fetched to think that we might go out into our community and try to drum up some interest in our faith? Why is it that, when we're in a social setting and the talk turns to religion, we get that clenching feeling in our stomach and our throats, and we hope that no one asks what church we go to or, worse, what Unitarian Universalists believe? What is it that makes so many of us uncomfortable with the word, much less the practice, of evangelism? There are some, including perhaps some here today, who find the concept of evangelism abhorrent, and advocacy of evangelism from a Unitarian Universalist pulpit offensive. So at the outset, let me define what I mean by the term. I like the definition that Rev. John Morgan uses. He says that "evangelism" is simply "sharing our dream with others to transform the world." "Sharing our dream with others to transform the world." By this definition, then, we have a dream, a vision of how the world could be, and we want to share it with others, make others aware of it, in the hope of bringing about the change we dream of. When you free it from its fundamentalist Christian context, the term "evangelism" doesn't seem all that objectionable, does it?

And yet, still, you'll find that most Unitarian Universalists are either reluctant to share their dream with others, or feel that it's somehow inappropriate to do so. In his essay The Bold Witness, from which I took this morning's reading, Rev. Harvey Joyner, Jr. states the question this way:

There are probably as many reasons for our reluctance, or perhaps revulsion, with evangelism as there are people in this room. Perhaps you grew up in a faith that required you to do just what I'm talking about, to proclaim your gospel to the world, and you've had doors slammed in your face or vicious dogs unleashed at you for it, and you were scarred by the experience. Or, perhaps, like Harvey Joyner, you were accosted by a "boardwalk preacher," or you were on the receiving end of a visit from a couple of young men from the Mormon church, or a Jehovah's Witness, and your experience was less than positive. Perhaps you were raised in a family or a culture where it was "unseemly" even to talk about religion in public, much less to "go tell it on the mountain." Perhaps you're still not sure whether or not this faith is for you, so you're not invested heavily enough in Unitarian Universalism to even consider evangelizing for it. Or perhaps you're an adherent to the proclamation that "by their deeds shall ye be known," holding out the hope that simply by engaging in service to the community (without overtly identifying yourself as a Unitarian Universalist, of course!), people will, through some sort of spiritual osmosis, learn about our faith.

One of the reasons we're reluctant to publicly witness to our faith, I think, is that we believe that by evangelizing we are violating one of the bedrock principles of Unitarian Universalism: religious freedom and tolerance. Our liberal religion permits and encourages a wide diversity of expression of religious beliefs, and, to use the words of our principles directly, we affirm and promote "a free and responsible search for truth and meaning." Consciously or unconsciously, many of us translate this phrase to mean that each of us is on his own in that search, that it's up to the individual to discover her own personal path to faith. And somehow this means that if we tell our friends or colleagues about what happens here on Rose Tree Road we are engaging not in evangelism, but in proselytizing. There is, I'll remind you, a significant but perhaps subtle difference between the two.

When we evangelize about our faith, we are simply sharing our own good news, the gospel of Unitarian Universalism, if you will. We are offering it up for consideration, and doing so in a way that respects the beliefs and commitments of others. Proselytizing, on the other hand, is the act of seeking conversion. It is advocating that our path is the right path, that it is superior to all others, that whatever your beliefs may be, if they're not like ours they're wrong. It's the classic missionary tale that we read about in history books or novels, where Christian zealots travel to distant lands to convert indigenous peoples from their heathen ways to follow Christ. This is the image we hold in our minds when we think about evangelism, an image that stands in clear contradiction to the principles of our faith.

I'll submit to you that it's an old and outdated image, and one that provides us with a convenient answer to why we are not evangelists for Unitarian Universalism. "We're not like that. We don't do that," we say, pointing to this picture of a colonial-era missionary in Africa, forcing conversion down the throats of the native population. I ask you, though, to consider your own experience in discovering Unitarian Universalism. Unless you are one of the few who were born to this faith, it is very likely that either you came across us purely by accident, as I did, or you were told about it by someone you knew. With very few exceptions, each of us in this room today is here because someone we knew - a family member, a co-worker, a classmate, a friend - had the courage to tell us about this incredible place where you meet other people who are exploring questions of deep meaning, without fear of judgment or dogma. A community that accepts you, all of you, for who you are even though you haven't yet figured out what you believe. A place that teaches your children that difference and diversity are high values, and that encourages them to discover their own personal expression of faith. A group of people who work together to tip the balance in favor of peace, love and justice for all. When we think about what we have gained by discovering our Unitarian Universalist faith, we realize the debt of deep gratitude we owe to that person who first told us about this place we never knew existed, something that calls itself a church but is like no church we'd ever heard of. Where would we be had Dave or Joan or Sarah or Sam not told us about this saving faith? As a matter of fact, let's take a moment right now to offer up a silent prayer of thanks to whomever that person was in our lives. Close your eyes and picture their face in your mind. And offer them your gratitude for leading you to Unitarian Universalism.

Harvey Joyner offers up another explanation for our reluctance to become evangelical Unitarian Universalists, what he calls our lack of "spiritual clarity." "The fuzzy-headedness of blenderizing 'a little bit of this, that and the other,'" he writes, "makes for poor evangelism…In order to be bold witnesses within the larger community, we must move beyond a generic faith to a religious literacy and spiritual grounding in our own chosen faith."^[2] A Unitarian Universalist congregation can be a bold and spicy stew, flavored by dynamic spiritual exploration, meaningful relationships, and even healthy controversy, or it can be a bland and tepid gruel made up of non-descript and unidentifiable ingredients that happen to have fallen into the same pot. To be successful evangelists of our faith, we need to be clear about who we are as spiritual beings, about what we believe about life's most important questions, and we need to be able to articulate those beliefs to others. To gain spiritual clarity is to take seriously another of our principles, our commitment to encouraging spiritual growth, in ourselves and in others. We here at UUCDC are beginning to see an awakening in this area, with an expanded range of adult religious education offerings that include chi walking, classes on death and dying, and our upcoming series on Building Your Own Theology. We're even taking an adult Unitarian Universalist Heritage Trip to Boston in April to rediscover the historic roots of our faith.

While our diversity adds the spice to this strange stew that we call Unitarian Universalism, it can also be viewed as a barrier to talking about who we are and what we stand for. When someone asks us "What do Unitarian Universalists believe?" the truthful answer is that no two of us actually believe the same things, or to put it another way, we all believe in the right to believe different things. This can no doubt be confusing to someone unfamiliar with our particular brand of religion, and many of us here are probably still trying to figure that out for themselves. Not only does effective evangelism require spiritual clarity, as Harvey Joyner says, but it requires a clarity of identity, intention and purpose as well. In contrast to churches in most other denominations, Unitarian Universalist churches operate independently from one another and free from the dictates of a central authority. The UUA's proper name is the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, and although it provides services to its member congregations, it has no control over them. This leaves each congregation with the enviable task, and the responsibility, of developing its own identity, its own character and its own sense of purpose.

Just as no two UU's are the same, so are no two UU churches. The character, quality and competencies of each congregation are determined by its own unique history, its accomplishments and failures, and by its membership. Those of you here who have belonged to other Unitarian Universalist congregations understand that, while we are all the same within the broad parameters of our principles and purposes, each congregation is a unique entity unto itself. Like the individuals who comprise them, some congregations are progressive and forward-looking while others are steeped, or even mired, in an illustrious past. Some consistently man the ramparts of social revolution, while others are places of quiet introspection and deep spirituality.

Regardless of its particular orientation or emphasis, I believe that our congregations fall into one of two broad categories: those that claim, with intention and clarity, their identity, their purpose, their reason for being, and those that don't. And I can tell you that, in my experience, those congregations that possess a clarity of purpose are a whole lot more dynamic, exciting and fun to be a part of than those that don't. Robert Latham, former minister of the Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church in Golden, Colorado warns that "Congregations that persist without an imperative sense of religious mission become victims of incestuous intrigue and iconoclastic illusions while their professional leaders become caretakers of impotent inertness and ingenious irrelevance."^[3] "Impotent inertness and ingenious irrelevance." In other words, to become evangelists for our faith we must have a clear understanding of the mission of our church, our own particular congregation. In this context, "mission" means purpose. Our mission is the answer to the questions: Who are we as a congregation? Why does UUCDC exist? Why are we here? and What are we called to do?

You see before you today two images. These are collages that were created by members of this congregation during the Discovery Café's last fall. They represent the collaborative efforts of eight or ten members of UUCDC who, through words and pictures, have attempted to capture their vision of our church and our reason for being. More than 100 people participated in the Café's, generating some 20 collages like these. The vision of our future is beginning to take shape. We have begun to articulate our mission. To answer those critical questions of who we are, why we're here, and where we're going.

Less than two weeks from now we'll hold our "Soul-Storming Summit," where all of us will have a chance to add our voices, our perspectives and our responses to those critical questions, and where we'll have the opportunity to hear what others have to say as well. From the work of the Discovery Café's and the Summit, we'll generate a mission covenant that will give us a clear statement of our purpose. I invite you…No, that's too nice a term…I exhort you. I cajole you and I compel you to come to the Summit so that your vision of what UUCDC is, and what it could be, is included in the picture. Members of the Mission Covenant Task Force are here today to sign you up to attend, and you'll hear more directly from them at the Congregational Meeting following the service.

Rick Warren, the founder of Saddleback Church in Orange County California, has written the books The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church. There is much in these books that I take issue with, but one point on which we wholeheartedly agree. Warren writes that "Nothing precedes purpose. The starting point for every church should be the question, 'Why do we exist?' Until you know what your church exists for, you have no foundation, no motivation and no direction for ministry…Growing, healthy churches have a clear-cut identity. They understand their reason for being; they are precise in their purpose. They know what their business is and they know what is none of their business."^[4]

Now, don't worry that we're turning into a Christian mega-church, or that we're going to be sending teams of you out into the community with a truckload of pamphlets or down to the shore to walk the boardwalk proselytizing for Unitarian Universalism. But maybe, just maybe, once we have a clear understanding of UUCDC's mission and purpose, you'll want to take your light from under the bushel basket and tell a few folks about us.

^[1] Harvey M. Joyner, Jr. in Salted With Fire (Skinner House Boston 1994) 74.
^[2] Salted With Fire, 75-76.
^[3] Robert Latham, Moving on From Church Folly Lane (Wheatmark Press Tucson 2006) 222.
^[4] Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church (Zondervan Grand Rapids 1995) 81-82.

Closing Words:

The words of Universalist preacher John Murray:

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