Post-charismatic 2: the DIY ethic

When I was in high school I made several short video projects for a media class. It was probably the best creative fun I had in high school, besides writing and performing music in the band I formed. We recorded on VHS tape, and used two very expensive (at the time) VCRs to edit our footage and do voice-overs, etc. I was amazed that I could make my own movies, but of course I had to spend a lot of time in the editing room itself.

Now I have some $100 software that does the same thing the VCRs did,
with a lot more features and a lot higher quality. Almost anyone who
wants to can save some money, buy a DV camera, a computer and some
software and make their own movies. Primer,
a wonderfully haunting thriller/time-travel mystery of a movie that
came out recently, was created with a DV camera and Final Cut Pro for
$7000 by an engineer in his spare time. It’s a stunning piece of work
from someone with no Hollywood connections and no prior professional
experience in film. And with the Internet, podcasting, blogs, etc. it’s
becoming easier and less expensive all the time to not only create good
things, but also to make your creativity available to a very wide
audience.

I want to pick up this kind of thread in thinking about charismatic
theology (this could apply to any evangelical theology, too, I
suppose). It’s the DIY ethic (Do-It-Yourself), as opposed to the LTPDIFY ethic (Let-The-Professionals-Do-It-For-You). In my previous post
on this subject I wrote about the idolization of charismatic "rock
stars" and how it undermines the New Testament doctrine of the
priesthood of all believers. People tend to seek out the "really gifted
people" and go hear them speak, watch them heal people, hear their
prophecies, and the spectrum of people actually expressing spiritual
gifts gets thinner and more shallow.

This tendency naturally leads to the LTPDIFY ethic, because when
people compare their first halting efforts to the charismatic rock star
who gets it "right" every time, they give up. "I’ll just leave ministry
to the ‘real ministers’ I guess…" They see the slick, well-packaged,
wonderfully nuanced "product" of the professionals, and see no value in
their "product," because it isn’t wrapped up in as nice a package, it’s
not slick or well-designed. It’s somewhat misshapen and lumpy. They
throw it away and consume the slick product. It’s less work, it tastes
better… why not?

But the DIY ethic in charismatic theology would be an ethic of
valuing those beginner attempts, placing a premium on people stepping
out and trying something. Valuing a DIY ethic means that leaders create
safe places for people to fail when their product is lumpy or
misshapen. It means that people learn to see the beauty of "homemade",
earthy spiritual gifts, learn to value "in-house" spirituality and
expression, instead of always looking to the professionals to prophesy
to us, write songs for us, heal us, give us new programs for
evangelism, etc.

Essentially the DIY ethic is important, not because we’re trying to
create the next slick product "in-house" so we can sell franchise it to
the church at large. The reason we need a DIY ethic is because the
"product" is really not the point. The goal is not to become the next
Benny Hinn or T.D Jakes or something. The goal is a process of
transformation that happens when people engage in their own
spirituality instead of out-sourcing it to others. Something happens to
people when they begin to let God’s love and power flow through them to
touch and heal those around them. The goal is not that we would all
have really slick ministries and web sites and worship music, etc. The
DIY ethic values the fact that people are doing it more than how
slickly they’re doing it.

A small country church full of farmers doesn’t need to be singing
David Crowder’s songs (for example). The DIY ethic is an extension of
the priesthood of all believers, in that the purpose of spiritual gifts
is for the edification of the church. It is a poverty that there can be
400 believers in a room, and only two (pastor and worship leader)
engage in edification through spiritual gifts. The DIY ethic demands
that we find ways to release spiritual gifts being expressed among the
body, in a natural and normal way, so that people can grow from
gift-consumers into gift-givers, and people can value and receive from
anyone in the church, not just those up front, so people come to
meetings ready to edify, not just be edified.