I wrote this whilst reading Brian McLaren’s The Secret Message of Jesus:
The hope offered by becoming a Christian is not simply a dream of a better future in eternity. It is not simply a sort of spiritual analgesic that reduces the pain of everyday life. Instead it’s a hope born of a revolutionary faith that promises, not only a glorious eternity after physical death but also, an involvement in the transformation of a fallen world into the Kingdom of God.”
———
This will be my last post of the year, so I wish all those who drop in on this blog a wonderful Spirit-filled 2007.
May God bless you all,
Graeme
Well the next step on the trail to officership is now official. In the post today I received a letter inviting me to an Assessment Conference on 16th - 18th February 2007 at Sunbury Court.
All I have to do now is accept the invite and write a short paragraph ‘of not more than 50 words’ under the title “And this is me”. Hmmm!
I’ve been thinking a bit more about the Pilgrim Church quote that I took from Gerard W Hughes’ God in All Things in this post. The thinking was helped by the comment that Martin put on the post, but also by some other thoughts I’ve been having for a while now.
Weber’s concept of the “Iron Cage of Bureaucracy” seems to be at work here. Weber put forward the idea that any organisation (and humanity in general I think) gradually puts in place a set of systems that protect the organisation at the expense of those it was created to serve. In a very simplistic way, if we look at the history of the Church and the various splits that have happened down the centuries within it, they are often to do with people being frustrated at the system that has conspired to stop them doing what they feel they should be.
I don’t think that its that the Church purposefully set up structures to put barriers between humanity and God. They have simply built up over the centuries as we have been battered by the rubbish that the world throws at us. We seek to reduce the damaging effect of the many battles and consequently have allowed temporary fortifications to become bases out of which we may make the occasional foray behind enemies lines.
This is why we need to be careful when we question the structures of the Church, because for many people they are extremely important and they see them as being part and parcel of their walk with the Lord. For a few these structures actually create the order they need to connect with God in an extremely deep and amazing way. This shows the value that structure can be for our lives.
The problem is though that, in majority of cases, these self same structures actually prevent most of us from connecting to God in the way that He wants us to. Many don’t even realise this is happening and may simply think that the shallow existence they go through is what Christianity is like, and that the privileged few are, at best, spiritual giants or, at worst, spiritual ‘nutters’.
How do we deal with dilemma? How long will it be before the new models (or vintage models) of Christianity start building up traditions that will in the end confine them?
I’m currently reading Brian Mclaren’s The Secret Message of Jesus which is an interesting read. It’s the first of his books I’ve read and he makes a number of interesting points.
As I’ve been reading, I’ve found my thoughts going off at a tangent at times as something Mclaren writes triggers another idea! As this blog is first and foremost a place to record my thoughts excuse me if this makes no sense!
The earliest Christians were of course known simply as “Followers of the Way” and for them it truly was a way of life rather than a set of rules to restrain life. It wasn’t about a life controlled by the fledgling Church, but instead was about freedom to follow the way of life that Jesus had lived and taught.
If we lived lives that mirrored this understanding then maybe our churches wouldn’t be emptying at the rate they are. We shouldn’t be concentrating on the eternity that comes at some point in the future, but on the new life that came at our point of conversion.
I don’t know about you but the time I’ve spent this advent preparing for Christmas has been in thinking of presents, cards and decorations. The amount of time I’ve considered what Christmas is really about is very small, yet this is supposed to be of expectant waiting and preparation for celebrating the birth of my Saviour. Once again I’ve relegated the important things to a secondary role.
However, I have been thinking a little bit, so here are some questions that I’ve asked myself over the last few days:
How far have Christians strayed from the original meaning of Christmas, which marks the birth of one who fought for things like social justice, equality, and human rights?
Why don’t we seem to worry about whether or not we’re modelling the servant attitude of the one whose birthday we claim to be celebrating?
Why have we allowed the central figure in the Holiday season to become a strange parody of a Christian Saint, rather than the Lord who was the source of the real saint’s faith?
It helps now and then to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection,
no pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
That is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects
far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything,
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter
and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between
the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen.
Archbishop Oscar Romero
Now that’s something to live (and die) for!
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