It is subtle how we inherit our culture and incorporate it into the church. Ideas creep in, and before we know it, cultural norms replace kingdom norms. Our Western worldview is one that links formality with importance. One only has to look back to the Victorian era with its pomp and ceremony to see where it came from. Dress it up, throw in grand music, set the atmosphere and scene, and you have the makings of a formal ceremony that carries great importance.

In the church, we have adopted almost the opposite viewpoint, namely that if it's not formal it's not important. As the church, and certainly not in the post-charismatic movement, would we confess to consciously subscribing to that idea --- however I believe that a careful look reveals that we have indeed inherited this worldview. We have linked formality to importance and have blended the two until they have become inseparable. Thus, if we meet as the church in an informal setting, it can be seen as less important than a meeting that may have taken place formally.

If we think about life, we realize just how narrow this world view and perception is; our formal education is based upon a formal "lecturing" system, but how much does that really contribute toward what we know? Sure, we learn about facts; we can name the capital of this country or learn the skills for a job - but formal knowledge by and large does not equip us to deal with the challenges that life confronts us with. And this is where the crux is - the church living as the expression of Christ on earth does not really need to know that the capital of Honduras is Tegucigulpa, but certainly should know how to love their neighbour - something not usually taught in a formal setting...

This concept for me is well set out in Leviticus 11:19, where the Israelites are exhorted to the teach the word of the Lord; " Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up". This is an informal setting described in the Bible to teach eternal issues.

The point is that a world view, where knowledge is related to formality and only that which is formal is important, results in a life where only a small portion is spent learning about eternal issues. Some of our most important and defining moments as individuals take place in the mundane backdrop of domesticity, where for example the dinner table can take the place of the most important college, or a cup of coffee with a friend can bring about a revelation we thought only fitting at a formal conference.

What did Jesus model? An examination of His teachings will often show them to take place in mundane settings, on hillsides, mountains, in homes, boats and occasionally in the formal setting of the Temple courtyards. Even when He reveals Himself to the disciples as the risen Christ, it takes place amidst the informality of a campfire on a beach - hardly high on the formality rating scale if you were wanting to influence the lives of men who were about to change the world. Thus, if we had to subscribe to the worldview that importance is linked to formality, most of the teachings of Jesus could be relegated to a footnote in history. 

If we are to successfully shepherd people in the informal backdrop of homes, streets, shops and any other place that the church should gather, we need to dispel the myth that the dinner table is not the setting for the divine, or that the domesticity of our daily lives cannot hold the ingredients of eternity.