Sub-contextual. I am pretty sure I just made that word up. I may have stolen it from someone smarter, but I don’t remember doing so, so I am claiming it as my own.
But, I think that’s the best way to describe our church, The Well. You see, we are a church in the heart of suburbia and, well, we aren’t very contextual for this culture.
We’re not really very refined. We meet in an ugly warehouse (at least on the outside). We don’t cater to consumer mentality very well (we somehow miss the church-shopper circuit in Bucks County). We don’t have a super polished worship service (though it is awesome) and we certainly don’t have slick bulletins.
You see, people who find a home at The Well are usually the people who don’t quite fit in suburbia. We generally are a haven for artists, creative types and people who are not satisfied with the consumer driven, fast-paced, disconnected lifestyle that suburbia is usually defined by.
Really we’re contextual to the sub-culture of suburbia.
I like to call that “sub-contextual.”
Great, just what we need, another snobby, missional church term…
Chris Chappotin said...
1Are you connected to folks who grew up in consumer-oriented, information-based, Sunday-driven churches who have intersected with The Well because they are looking for an opportunity to participate in missional church? (although they may not describe it as such)
If so, how are they helped into a subcontextissional way of church/life? (…a poor attempt, I know, but I couldn’t help it!)
09/2/09 10:07 PM | Comment Link
Todd said...
2Chris, there are bunch of folks like that in our community (including me). For some of us, to live a more “sub-contexualized” lifestyle it takes a lot of relearning old habits and priorities but mostly a lot of patience.
anytime someone is trying to make such a major shift, i think we have to be careful to give things what they need most, time. change in perspective and habit often comes slowly.
09/2/09 10:15 PM | Comment Link