Settlers and Pioneers

I am getting a late start on today's post.  The new baby in the house has everything up in the air in our household.  The midwife just came to check on baby and mom.  Everything looks excellent.  I remain deeply thankful and relieved.  

As a father, all I can think about as we approach birth is all that could go wrong.  Truly there is nothing I can do to help the process.  I know that getting excited/worked up about the coming birth does not help, but I cannot help it.  Now that the baby is here, I feel such relief and thankfulness!

Because I am not getting quite enough sleep to think clearly, today's post will be work from someone else.  Several months ago, I posted a difference between settlers and pioneers (April 18).  I attributed the idea to Lyle Schaller when he calls it the difference between pioneers and homesteaders.  As I prepared for birth by getting my books ready to take with me (yes, I am a geek!), I picked up off my shelves Brennan Manning's The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus.  In chapter two, he give a great and long description from Wes Seeliger's work Western Theology.  I will bet this is where Schaller got his ideas.  Anyway, here is Manning's take on settlers and pioneers (pp. 43-45).

"There are two visions of life, two kinds of people.  The first see life as a possession to be carefully guarded.  They are called settlers.  The second see life as a wild, fantastic, explosive gift.  They are called pioneers.

These two types give rise to two kinds of theology: Settler Theology and Pioneer Theology.  According to Wes Seeliger in his book Western Theology, the first kind, Settler Theology, is an attempt to answer all the questions, define and housebreak some sort of Supreme Being, establish the status quo on golden tablets in cinemascope.  Pioneer Theology is an attempt to talk about what it means to receive the strange gift of life.  The Wild West is the setting for both theologies.

In Settler Theology the church is the courthouse.  It is the center of town life.  The old stone structure dominates the town square.  Its windows are small, and this makes things dark inside.  Within the courthouse walls, records are kept, taxes collected, trials held for bad guys.  The courthouse is the settler's symbol of law, stability and- most important- security.  The major's office is on the top floor.  His eagle eye ferrets out the smallest details of town life.

In Pioneer Theology the church is the covered wagon.  It's a house on wheels, always on the move.  The covered wagon is where the pioneers eat, sleep, fight, love and die.  It bears the marks of life and movement- it creaks, is scarred with arrows, bandaged with bailing wire.  The covered wagon is always where the action is.  It moves toward the future and doesn't bother to glorify its own ruts.  The old wagon isn't comfortable, but the pioneers don't mind.  They are more into adventure than comfort.

In Settler Theology God is the mayor.  He is a sight to behold.  Dressed like a dude from back East, he lounges in an overstuffed chair in his courthouse office.  He keeps the blinds drawn.  No one sees him or knows him directly, but since there is order in the town, who can deny that he is there?  The mayor is predictable and always on schedule.  The settlers fear the mayor but look to him to clear the payroll and keep things going.  Peace and quiet are the mayor's main concerns.  That's why he sends the sheriff to check on pioneers who ride into town.

In Pioneer Theology God is the trail boss.  He is rough and rugged, full of life.  He chews tobacco, drinks straight whiskey.  The trail boss lives, eats, sleeps, fights with his people.  Their well-being is his concern.  Without him the wagon wouldn't move; living as a freeman would be impossible.  The trail boss often gets down in the mud with the pioneers to help push the wagon, which often gets stuck.  He prods the pioneers when they get soft and want to turn back.  His fist is an expression of his concern.

In Settler Theology Jesus is the sheriff.  He's the guy who is sent by the mayor to enforce the rules.  He wears a white hat, drinks mild, outdraws the bad guys.  The sheriff decides who is thrown into jail.  There is a saying in town that goes: "Those who believe that the mayor sent the sheriff, and follow the rules- they won't stay in Boothill when it comes their time."

In Pioneer Theology Jesus is the scout.  He rises out ahead to find out which way the pioneers should go.  He lives all the dangers of the trail.  The scout suffers every hardship, is attacked by the Indians.  Through his words and actions he reveals the true intentions of the trail boss.  By looking at the scout, those on the trail learn what it means to be a pioneer.

In Settler Theology the Holy Spirit is the saloon girl.  Her job is to comfort the settlers.  They come to her when they feel lonely or when life gets dull or dangerous.  She tickles them under the chin and makes everything okay again.  The saloon girl squeals to the sheriff when someone starts disturbing the peace.

In Pioneer Theology the Holy Spirit is the buffalo hunter.  He rides along with the covered wagon and furnishes fresh meat for the pioneers.  Without it they would die.  The buffalo hunter is a strange character- sort of a wild man.  The pioneers never can tell what he will do next.  He scares the hell out of the settlers.  He has a big black gun that goes off like a cannon.  He rises into town on Sunday to shake up the settlers.  You see, every Sunday morning, the settlers have a little ice cream party in the courthouse.  With his gun in hand the buffalo hunter sneaks up to one of the courthouse windows.  He fires a tremendous blast that rattles the whole courthouse.  Men jump out of their skin, woman scream, dogs bark.  Chuckling to himself, the buffalo hunter rises back to the wagon train shooting up the town as he goes."

Tomorrow I will continue with Manning's take on settler and pioneer theology.  In particular, we will cover some of the theological consequences of these basic theological differences.

Do you think these illustrations have any merit?  As I read through this section, I wonder how much our disagreements in churches and in denominational bodies arises from the differences between the settler and pioneer approach to life, theology, and ministry.  The illustration is not perfect because who is completely a settler or pioneer, but it is insightful.  What do you think?