Buh-buy, Siloed Spirituality

Last updated on: November 18, 2012 at 6:38 pm by Michelle Van Loon

Buh-buy, Siloed Spirituality 2012-11-18T18:38:39-06:00 Michelle Van Loon

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Though the suburban Chicago landscape is cluttered with far more strip malls than silos, it was the image of those tall, self-contained round storage units that seemed the best image to describe the problem. Get out of the city, drive through this region’s farmland, and you’ll see one or two silos marking most every agricultural property. Each self-contained silo holds similar contents, but none have any visual connection with the others around them.

The Evangelical churches in our area were like those silos. Congregations warehoused inside their own buildings, bunkered inside the four walls of their square silos. After we moved back to IL in 2004, Bill and I got involved in a regional prayer ministry. Through that ministry, we met others who were not satisfied with encouraging churches to simply build bigger silos, but instead cared about cultivating relationships between believers in those silos. I volunteered to begin communicating prayer answers, needs and events between congregational prayer champions. I connected with a woman who’d been involved in organizing quarterly concerts of prayer for our area, and with a fledgling organization called Catalyst Lake County. Catalyst Lake County (no relationship to the conference organization) was launched as a result of conversations a local mega-church pastor began having with a few other local pastors as they began asking together “What can we accomplish together that we can’t do alone?”

From 2006 onward, I had the privilege of being involved in helping to shape communications strategy for this organization – documenting stories of God at work (I wrote probably close to 200 of these accounts), and working with others to develop an e-newsletter designed to share those stories, along with information, inspiration and event listings that went out to a mailing list with 3,000-plus names on it. It was extremely gratifying to see the way that regular communication facilitated connection. And those involved with Catalyst Lake County, which would eventually become Christ Together Chicago, watched as connection of all kinds began to “de-silo” the churches. Catalyst Lake County brought Pastor Bill Yaccino to this area 6 years ago to nurture these connections, serve church and faith-based not-for-profits, and cheerlead the Church while encouraging her to think in terms of kingdom instead of silo. Kingdom thinking led to relationships being built and, in some cases, repaired between pastors serving the same geographic areas. food drives, shared building projects, urban gardens, backpack drives, prayer gatherings, and county=wide learning/worship/networking events (like this, this, this, this, and this). From this groundwork, 10 pastors in one town took things in a new direction as they launched the Go! Project, where small groups comprised of members from many churches living in the same neighborhood were formed in order to reach out to their not-yet-believing neighbors.

Local leaders hope to facilitate the Go! Project model among pastoral networks across Chicagoland. And the organizational guy involved in starting Catalyst Lake County nearly 10 years ago has connected with others involved in trying to spur city transformation across the country.

Christ Together Chicago in its current form is no more. It has been an honor to serve, first as a volunteer, then for the last 3 years as a contracted Communications Director. I’ll miss the relationships, and I’ll certainly miss the work, but I think the thing I’ll miss the most is seeing people come out of their silos and connect in new ways with the Lord and one another. I am changed because I have had a front-row seat that’s allowed me to catch glimpses of what the answer to this prayer of Jesus might look like:

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, hat all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. –John 17:20-23

My experience during the last six years has ruined me for life back inside the silo. That kind of ruin is another glimpse of the answer to the prayer of Jesus. As the mission goes forward in new formats and with new leadership, I am praying that many others – both inside and outside the church, glimpse how very lovely, how very John 17, life outside the silo can be.

Faith

Previous Post

November 16, 2012

Praying for our friends

Next Post

November 26, 2012 I was wrong about you, Beth Moore

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Baggage Books Calendar Church and Ministry CVID Ecclesiology Everyday Christian life Faith Falling Upward From The Margins Housing Jesus Movement's Unintended Consequences Midlife Midlife Survey #1 Midlife Survey #2 Moments and Days Out To The Margins Pilgrim's Road Trip Regret Seminary Spiritual Formation Uncategorized What's A Nice Jewish Grandmother Like You Doing In Seminary? When The Heart Waits Writing

Select a Month June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian group commonly practices foot washing as a religious act?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Methodists Mennonites Presbyterians Episcopalians