Warning: In case you can't figure it out by the title, this post contains the "s-word." In fact is uses shit 31 32 times. If you are not offended, great you have watched a movie or television recently. If you are offended, good, I'm doing my job as a shit disturber (33 times); please continue reading.
When I was a teenager, I would often feel bad whenever my dad called me a shit disturber as it often came with a look of despair and shame. But as I have grown up, I am more likely to hear a laugh from my dad as he dubs me, yet again, a shit disturber, an agitator of the peace. Now I'm more likely to be called a shit disturber when I'm poking fun of him, most often about his age. Therefore, I proudly wear the badge of "shit disturber."
So what do I consider a shit disturber? It is someone who causes trouble but not just to cause trouble, but to create change in the environment. It is someone who breaks rules because sometimes the rules are fairly arbitrary and really are not helpful. It is someone who asks thought provoking questions and get you to not just think outside the box, but to throw out the box. It is someone who has fun doing these things because they realize the world is not going to end if things are not done the way that is has always been done, or at for as long as people can remember.
A shit disturber is a trouble maker; a bad kid; a prophet; an agitator; an essential part of the body of Christ.
At the Rethinking Evangelism conference when we were asked to go to assigned small groups and have a conversation with no more than 4 people, 8 of us went down the street to a bar to form our own small group and discuss evangelism over a few beers. When someone said jokingly that we are rule-breakers, and another said we are trouble makers, I responded "No we are shit disturbers." When I started to explain, one woman (who shall not be named to protect the guilty) immediately thought of the Pool of Bethesda in John 5.
People in need of healing, the invalid, the blind, the paralyzed, would wait beside the pool for it to be stirred, often by wind. Once it was stirred they would get in and wash themselves and afterwards many became healed. In the story, Jesus is a shit disturber because he healed on the Sabbath. And while angels are often cited as the one who stirs the pool of Bethesda, sometimes people would stir a pool or bath too.
In other bathing site, especially those with fresh water, a shit disturber was needed to keep the bathing area clear of debris. Literally a person was actually, physically stirring the shit that collected in the pool or bathing area, so that the scum, algae, leaves, debris and even feces would sink the the bottom or be skimmed off the top and therefore fresh water could be made available for people to bathe in.
The shit disturber was an essential part of the ritualistic bathing practices. Without the shit disturber, the water would be stagnate and cause disease instead of heal and cleanse. And shit disturbers today are an essential part of the body of Christ. Without the shit disturbers, the church become stagnate and causes despair instead of new life.
Unfortunately for a long time shit disturbers have not been welcomed in the church. The kid who asks too many questions in Sunday School or confirmation class is kindly asked to leave. The adult who stands up for an outsider is shun herself. The pastor who tries to push a congregation to grow and change either gets burnt out or run out of town. The bishop who...well let's face it we haven't had shit disturbers as bishops for a long time...until recently.
The church, especially the mainline church in America and Europe, has for far too long not wanted to disturb the shit. The church liked the pedestal of honor we were given in society and because we were on the inside looking out, it has taken us a long time to realize that pedestal has sunk into the ground. And just recently, in the past few decades, some pastors, theologians and church workers have woken up and realized that the church needs to change. Some Christians have realized that we are no longer acting as Jesus' hands and feet in this world but as a country club that thinks that everyone wants to join our exclusive membership but in reality no one even wants to peek in the doors.
Because we have not wanted to disturb the shit, the church has stood by and let tragedies like the Holocaust, apartheid, and wars go by without saying a word publicly so that we do not insult anyone. Because we have not wanted to disturb the shit, women are still not considered able to equally minister to God's people in many Christian denominations and for those in worship, Sunday mornings are one of the most segregated times of the week. Because we have not wanted to disturb the shit, many teens, young adults and even older adults have walked away from the church because they do not feel like it is a place where issues in their daily lives are being addressed.
We, as a church, need to reclaim the job of shit disturbers, and hold those people up. We need to lift up the kids who ask challenging questions in confirmation class. We need to honestly answer people who have thought provoking questions after a sermon instead of sweeping those questions aside (even if the answer is "let's get together for coffee later in the week and talk about that"). We need to realize that if we are not making people a little uncomfortable, we are not doing our jobs as preachers of the gospel and caretakers of the world. And we need to realize that shit disturbers are not a new thing.
We need to lift up biblical stories of shit disturbers, of people who told God's message like it was and as a result both preached God's message and made enemies of those who did not like what they had to say. Stories like of Nathan blunting telling King David "you are that man!" when after David had sex with Bathsheba, Nathan told David a story and King David was the one who said the man's actions are worthy of death (2 Samuel 12:1-14). Or the story of the healing of Naaman when Elisha's servant plainly told Naaman, who was complaining about how simple the cure to his leprosy would be, said "if the prophet has commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it?" (2 Kings 5:1-19). The prophets are a great place to find shit disturbers! And then there are all the moment when Jesus was mocking the Pharisees and Sadducees, including the famous line to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-42).
Yes Jesus was a shit disturber! And no I'm not comparing myself to Jesus. But I will proudly own the title shit disturber and know I'm in very good company.
*definition provided by Urban Dictionary
*definition provided by Urban Dictionary
Love it, I think this is a conversation that is happening in a lot of places. I think people of a church group don't realize that the talk needs to become action soon. Things happen rapidly these days and a church could fall just as quickly as the Blackberry. Sorry to those government employees or brand loyal people that still have them. But, we do need to start running along side the culture. We can't be the culture, we just have to co-exsist with the culture and join into that conversation. Have coffee hour be a place for politics, keep it local though so that those conversations can lead to action in the community. The church now is just a structure, what happens within is totally up to those who go into it (remember to do missional work outside the building). This job can't be up to the one shit stirrer of the church. They've started the fire, it's up to everyone to keep it going. This is a movement, not another plan, committee, or meeting. This is a good ol' American movement.
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