Rowboat Church, Sailboat Church

I am not a sailor.  I do not even play one on TV.  But even I know the difference between a sailboat and a rowboat.


Either a rowboat or a sailboat can take you places.  Both types of boats require effort to move.  The difference is where the primary energy comes from to move the boat.  Rowboats are driven entirely by the energy of the person rowing.  Sailboats involve the energy of the sailor (after all someone has to put up the sails and move them into the proper position) PLUS the energy of the wind.

The wind makes all the difference.  When you’re in a sailboat and you're sailing with the wind, there is a definite sense that you are participating in something larger than yourself and your own power. With a sailboat, the wind does the Big Work; the sailor's work is all about harnessing and riding on the power of the wind.

With a rowboat, on the other hand, it's all up to you. 


What is intriguing to me are the parallels between these two types of boats and two different ways of living our lives and being the church. Joan Gray has written a powerful book entitled, Sailboat Church: Helping Your Church Rethink Its Mission and Practice (available from amazon.com or thethoughtfulchristian.com), in which she utilizes the metaphors of "rowboat" and "sailboat" to analyze the state of the church in North America.

Across North America, we may find many "Rowboat Churches" - where everyone works really hard and tries to accomplish a lot, but they feel like they are doing it all on their own.  Some of these churches may be accomplishing big things, but even in those congregations, you can sense a heavy pressure to perform and achieve.  Often, there is not a sense of joy and delight in the power of God, but rather a sense of obligation to "do something big."

Living a “rowboat life,” or being a "rowboat church," can utilize a lot of energy, and when things are going smoothly, it can look really impressive.  Any credit for the rowboat’s success goes to the rower!  “Look at that person go!  He/she is a really strong rower!”  "Look at that church!  What an impressive church!"  But when things aren’t going very well for the rowboat, the only available answer is “row harder.”  In life, this means that we must pull harder, work harder, sleep less, stop resting, push yourself harder, harder, harder.  It’s no wonder that rowing can become exhausting.

For all of the "Rowboat Churches" out there, there is always the possibility of becoming a "Sailboat Church." Even if you and your church have been "rowing" hard for a long time, and have been thinking that "no one else is going to help us, so we've got to work really, really hard," it is possible to change.  It is possible to begin making small shifts to being a "Sailboat Church," where you will begin to experience the energy of the Holy Spirit moving you, guiding you, and giving you energy.  There will still be a need for energetic participation; there will still be plenty of work to do, but the work will be oriented towards following the Spirit of God, being led by the Spirit, and feeling the support, energy, and strength of the Spirit.  

Everything in a Sailboat Church will be undergirded by prayer.  In the words of Joan Gray, "Prayer saturates the lives of leaders and members in a Sailboat church.  It is deeply and broadly woven into the church's culture.  More than anything else, prayer serve to make life in the Sailboat church a transforming experience for individuals and communities."  Gray writes that this is because "God has chosen prayer as the main way God's power flows from heaven to earth."

When we live our lives with the Spirit of God, we do not try to accomplish everything on our own.  We invite God into our work.  We rely on God during our work.  When we are having a conversation with someone, we listen for God’s leading in the conversation.  What does God want us to say?  Does God want us to speak more?  Does God want us to listen more?  When does God want us to share an opinion?  When does God want us to keep that opinion to ourselves?
 
In what ways are you living a "rowboat life"?  What would it look like for you to begin living more of a "sailboat life?"