Bird Cages or Bird Baths – Some Late Night Musings
Some years ago the idea that the church should be a centered set rather than a bounded set. The latter is like a bird cage enclosed by metal bars and entered only through a small opening. The point is to get inside the metal enclosure and every effort is expended to police that entrance to keep the unqualified out. The former is like a bird bath. It has open boundaries at its edges. Those who enter move to the center where the deepest, coolest waters are to refresh and clean themselves. Helping those at the boundaries move to the center is the action desired here. Closed or barely permeable boundaries and clear differentiation between who is in and who is out or open boundaries with movement to the center by those who may or may not have clear commitments at the point of entering the bird bath. The church in America has been largely a bird cage church. Getting people in and making sure their commitment is sound has been the norm. However, the day for this kind of church here is ...