Church physics

Building on the idea of a decentralized community, there are a couple of analogies from physics that apply. One is centrifugal and centripedal forces. Centrifugal movement is outward from the center (think of a centrifuge or the game whiplash). Centripedal movement is from the outside toward the center (think of gravitational pull). A centralized church is centrifugal, spinning off smaller groups where people can experience intimacy and accountability. A decentralized church is centripedal, with groups coming together to form a larger identity, to interact with each other, and to engage in collective action. Neither force is better than the other; they just build spirituality in different ways.


The other analogy from physics is the ratio of volume to surface area. Imagine two balls, one small (say, a ping pong ball) and one larger (a basketball). The amount of air in a ping pong ball is much less than that in a basketball. Let's say it takes the air in 50 ping pong balls to equal the air in one basketball. (Stay with me here.) But now the amount of surface area of the 50 ping pong balls - the amount of contact with the outside environment - is much greater with the combined surfaces of the 50 smaller balls than with the one large ball. The point being that in the community of smaller communities that I imagine, there is a greater interaction with the "outside world" than with a larger, centralized church. More of the resources of a large centralized church go towards the functioning of the large institution: salaries, building, programs, and internal communications that keep the large center coordinated - the air inside the ball, if you will. 


Here again, we can't really argue that one is better than the other. However, people will have preferences for one over the other. With my passion for an active spirituality that makes God's kingdom more visible to all of creation, I prefer the collection of ping pong balls.