how quickly can change occur?......Ghandi is known for saying be the change you wish to see.
yesterday i visited another congregation and it was the same old thing......songs, messages, announcements........during the message the pastor said a multitude of times in slight variations "go to church" and then went into discuss the problem of Sunday christianity and dividing our lives and relagating following Jesus to Sunday. there seems to be some cognitive disconnect....how else do would you like people to think about church and christianity it you're toughting it as a place that people "go to"? something that occurs when they gather at this building? you're telling them to change to be different and yet your language does not represent the change you wish to see.
Perhaps in cases like this where change is being sought and admonished from the pulpit the pastor needs to sit down to allow the prophet the place to speak, the pulpit. To come to the pulpit and use his words to paint the picture of God's kingdom, to cause unrest in the soul of the audience in his audacity and creative expression. much like the prophets of old, much like Jesus.
perhaps because it's not safe it's not being done. This may not be safe but i believe it could be good. In "the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe", C.S. Lewis writes: "Aslan is not a tame lion. Safe? No, he's not safe, but he's good." Aslon the Christ figure - it not safe but is good. When did following Jesus become safe? and when did we concern ourselves with being considered safe rather than good?
the movement of the Spirit is evident accross the globe, moving in incredible ways - but not so much in "main line" churches. Perhaps because they're more concerned about being safe rather than good.
i believe that if we're willing to be good change can occur overnight, if we're concerned about being safe change will occur in decades - if at all. i'm in a place where change is trying to be done "safely" i pray for it to be done with "good" leading the way and little concern for safety.
As an apprentice of the Master, i see him teaching goodness not necessarily safety.
3 comments:
ooh i think this is one of the most intriguing posts yet.
when i skipped church today to brunch with friends newly married (the day before and their families and friends) we were reminded by one of the girls that we were not skipping church, we were being church to each other.
the line about aslan is one i have quoted in a book i am compiling on risk. the american dream is obsessed with safety. (think about what parents even tell their children when they leave them- "be careful") which if you think about it is something you're only partially able to fulfill. you cannot change when your date with death is supposed to happen (though i know you can make good choices and avert poor ones). i think deep down the idea of fear is so deeply embedded into our culture that we see safety as a way of curtailing/destroying fear, but what it does is make us very sedentary, boring individuals who don't think, don't question the status quo. what makes the spirituality shift more feasible for non-mainline churches of people is they are already being revolutionary and counter-cultural by meeting outside of the status quo and trying to finagle their faith/spirituality/beliefs into something that looks like them while still looking like Him. they are taking risks, and with risk there is always a 50% chance that failure could happen and many people can't conceive that sometimes failure can be a good thing. i could go on and on. this would be such a good topic for a bulletin board... i'd love to hear other peoples' thoughts.
I think the issue of safety is a plague that is rather specific to the American church. Across the world, in places where Christianity is under persecution, safety is not a question. While we are in no way physically or legally threatened here in the States, the desire for safety is culturally and socially rampant. How does the church divorce itself from this?
That quote about Aslan is probably one of my favorites of all time. The Lion of Judah...Christ in the temple, overturning tables. Christ confronting the Pharisees.
Yancey wrote, "How would telling people to be nice to one another get a man crucified? What government would execute Mister Rogers or Captain Kangaroo?" Good, undoubtedly good, but not safe.
"you're telling them to change to be different and yet your language does not represent the change you wish to see. " We need to change our language!! One thing that i have learned, and it becomes more and more clear to me, is the strength and power of words, of language!
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." (Ghandi) Another of my favorites. We must be this change. We must live and grow this change. There is a generation coming up, a movement on the rise, God's spirit is moving!! A rebellion of sorts, a restoration! The desire of my heart is to see this take place...to be a part of this change. Seven-days-a-week God, continuous fellowship, continuous prayer, rejoicing, and praise! God as reality- breath, life, moving every moment in the kingdom, seeing every person through the kingdom. isn't this how you envision the early church??
Adam, this is where your dream plays part...the lounge/monastery. Men and Women of God creating spaces for seeking, searching, growth, and change!
Christianity has become a profane word in so many circles, surrounded by overwhelming negative connotation. James Baldwin wrote, "It is not too much to say that whoever wishes to become a truly moral human being (and let us not ask whether or not this is possible; i think we must believe that it is possible) must first divorce himself from all the prohibitions, crimes, and hypocrises of the Christian church." Justified or not, in so many peoples' lives and hearts, the idea of going to church to find anything holy is ludicrous. Whether it be the history of the church, the politics of many prominant Christians, or a personal run in with a judgemental individual, they scoff, and i think are terrified at the thought of Sunday morning meetings.
So let us move into the rest of the week! Into communities, neighborhoods, homes, coffe shops, lounges...people's lives!! I eagerly await and anticipate God's direction in all this!
Thank you God that your spirit constantly roams the earth, constantly works in our hearts!
Thank you for your love for your children, your church! With faith and trust Abba we hold ferverently to your promises, to your faithfulness!
as i was moving toward dream land last night i wondered: does playing it safe hinder the message of the gospel in america? does it make christianity less "appealing" to those who are seeking?
and just now this thought came to mind - the american church while playing it safe, is still trying to expand the kingdom so in our thinking let's move and speak in ways that uplifts and validates. walking along side understanding that it's a both/and world.
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