I love "the Bride" in concept. I am devoted to "the body of Christ" in theory. Its the reality of them both that bites, sometimes. And I should know.
I'm all into loving my brother, until "my brother" is someone in my church who bugs me. I'm all about grace, until grace must be extended to someone who is so deeply under law they wouldn't know grace if it kissed them on the cheek...
Let's take New Testament Living to the next level (maybe even to "the third level", to borrow from the delightfully rambling and thought provoking blog of the dear Chris and Christine Welch) - that of actually living it past the point of our pain. Can we take it the extra mile, into loving others all the way past our doctrinal differences, sacrificing the sacred cows of our deepest hurts sustained in church life, dismounting our Holy High Horses? Whatever made us think that church life was warm and fuzzy? It never has been, and it never will be, not this side of eternity anyhow. In the words of one of the Great Dead Guys, Matthew Henry (I think it was) who said, "We do not yet live amongst just men made perfect...we live amongst 'just men' ", I'm thinking it is time that we get on with the program. No one is saying "get over it", I'm saying get ON with it, in spite of it. God's program, His "plan A" is still the local church.
Sure, there is a church universal. She's awesome. She's as terrible as an army with banners. She embodies all that God is about in this hour - which is to demonstrate His Great Goodness to a watching world, through what seems to be uninspired vessels - thereby bringing many sons into glory. Just as the God who dwells in unapproachable light came down from His greatness, into the womb of a woman....the church universal in all her splendor must become an approachable, human entity. The church universal is expressed and defined by each church local.
In church, tomorrow morning, I will tell myself, "This is the church. This is what 'church life' looks like." It may or may not be splendid to the naked eye.
That's called "bringing it home". That's called making our theology affect our biography. We all love the church universal. But try "having all things in common" with the universal church. Try imitating the faith of "those over you" in the universal church. (I suppose you could wear Kim Clement's hairstyle, or attempt Benny Hinn's wonderful accent, or try to preach like your favorite Christian Superstar...)
But try forgiving the universal church, bearing the burdens of it, and speaking only that which is good to the use of edifying....with the ethereal "church universal". How about simply "putting up" with the church universal? It can't be done. Much of Christianity gets lost in the translation without the church local.
And a group of people have to have more than a creed and a livingroom and their own insecurities in common to actually BE a local church. We may begin with nothing but a creed and a livingroom and our own insecurities, but we don't remain that way for years...not and be a healthy expression of the local church.
Most of New Testament Christianity cannot be actually lived, without the covenant relationships inherent in a healthy local church.
There. I said it. Let the games begin.
7 comments:
"Most of New Testament Christianity cannot be actually lived, without the covenant relationships inherent in a healthy local church."
Amen!
Tim, this woman needs marrying!!!!
Oh, you have!!!!
Sheila, that is excellent.That is really excellent.
By the way, Christine knows me as a rambler...she can crystallize me down to 2 sentences. It's very humbling for me though. I'd love to have a more distilled beautiful prose. Perhaps I just have to do more drafts.
Unfortunately I don't blog under the same anointing as when I prophesy. Terse isn't the word!!
YOU GO, GIRLFRIEND!!!! :)
Today I heard the testimonies of:
a couple who have been sober for 4 months because a LOCAL BODY held them, loved them, and graced them!!
A tired,lonely, old man who needed someone to invite him into their love and fellowship and "put a face on Jesus" for him because he was losing the battle with depression.
A 12 yr. old boy and a 60+ man who WON'T be having open heart surgery!!
Who is going to hold you when you cry, rejoice with you in your victories, and pray, laugh, aggravate, and grow along with you? There is something strange about the idea that God restored relationship with us through Jesus and yet it's not what He intended for us, His Body...I don't get it. The world will know who we are by our love: for them and EACH OTHER!!!
Anti-law doesn't equate to anti-church...nor do "institutions" put us in bondage, people do!!
Way to nail it!!! :)
Hi Liz! I'm so glad you are on Christmas break...how is the Journalism World treating you?
Chris - here in the states, in all the various home decor stores, you find little signs that can be hung on the walls of your house. Some of them are beautiful, others quaint or cute. (Hang in there with me, this does have a point...)
There is one I've been wanting for the longest time. It simply says, in flowing script:
"...All because two people fell in love..."
True words. TRUE, true words. I sit back sometimes, and look at these four children, this ministry and church God has given us to serve, this life...and it is really because we two fell in love. We are a *team*, to the core. I refuse any titles, and do not ever want to be thought of as "associate pastor". I'm a little too complementarian in my leanings for that.
But I don't sit silent in our church. I am very much involved - we both can counsel, preach, and teach, and lay hands on others in prayer. I stay away from church *government*. Don't want a thing to do with it. Just let me love the people, with Tim.
None of it would be worth as much to me, if I did not love DEARLY, this man who God has asked me to "help" for all our lives.
So I love what you said...it was delightful, and more profound than people realize.
Jamie - you said it even better, when you said, "Anti-law doesn't equate to anti-church...nor do "institutions" put us in bondage, people do!!"
Aw, MAN that was great.
One of my deepest longings is for all believers to love the "church local" - in REALITY, not just concept. The church local is people with names and maddening quirks, and histories, and people who are sometimes full of meanness, and people who are so, so easy to love.
God made it all people - all about the church.
You've hit on a passionate subject for me mom. Even just last night during our C.C.A. meeting, we discussed loving the church and loving others. What does that look like, and how are we to love it as Christ loves it?
hmmmm.
Your last statement so beautifully summed up what I know to be true and long to be a part of.
I too desire to live out New Testement Christianity and definetly see the relevance of a local graceful community to enable this end. I don't know why it is so difficult to find both but I am too stubborn, too broken and too visionary to settle for one or the other.
So how do you find these covenant relationships that are BOTH healthy and local? For most of my life I have been part of church bodies that are local but not entirely healthy in structure or belief. More recently,I have connected with many people that are healthy and/or growing in grace, but are simply too far away for the highly effective nature of close community. What does one do in this case?
Perhaps my expectations are too high? Perhaps my creativity too low?
"Silent Wings" - what was your inspiration for such a lovely blog name?
First of all - thank you so much for opening up and being transparent. I will do my very best not to violate your trust...you are safe here. Safe. That is a wonderful concept and an even better feeling.
As to your questions, my first thought is that you be very secure in who you are in Christ. We all bring our quirks and imperfections to the local church, but it is best, overall, that we don't show up with yawning caverns in our soul because we have not yet understood that we are accepted in the Beloved.
So you show up, knowing that no group of people will ever meet your needs or your expectations, nor will they ever love you like God does.
And when you find a local church whose fundamental doctrines line up with what you believe - mainly that you agree on what I call "the essentials" - and whose worship cracks open your heart, where the Word is preached uncompromisingly, yet with grace, and whose children's/teen/college ministry has leaders who DO NOT give you a check in your spirit. (Very important, no??)
Look for hospitality. I'll grant you - it is hard as heck to find. And it won't be expressed perfectly. But you want to sense a general openness in the hearts of the people.
When you find the above - - you commit. Pure and simple. You join hands and hearts and you go the distance, come hell or high water, and both will come. ACK!
Church life is hard. It just is.
Just like being married is sometimes maddening, and raising children can break your heart - but the rewards, however few and far between they might be, make every sacrifice worth it...so it is in the family of God. Don't expect it to be any different than your own family...full of skeletons in various closets, occasional conflict, boredom, or chaos. But OH HOW YOU HAVE COME TO LOVE THESE PEOPLE!
Show up ready to adapt. There is an Old Testament principle - - when the children of Israel encountered "the stranger in their midst" they were to love them, YES. But they were not to adapt themselves to the "stranger", the stranger was to adapt to the people.
And so it is when settling into a new church home. "When in Rome, do as those Romans do". You probably won't be able to change a thing - so don't show up with an agenda. Accept these folks as they are, and find out, over time, how they do things.
Expect to offend and be offended, to forgive and be forgiven. Expect to be loved and cared for. Expect the word preached to challenge your sensibilities, and know that you will never get a full sense of a man's ministry until you are a year or more sitting under it. So if a message or two or five are preached, that do not sit right with you, don't panic.
Maybe that pastor is "swinging a pendulum", using hyperbole, or generally hitting something hard to make the point. When a "hard right" or a "hard left" is preached...the outcome and result will not ever be that radical - the outcome always end up being a gentle curve in direction for the people as a whole - so do not worry. Sometimes if a pastor isn't on fire, no one listens. So let him blaze away, and rejoice over the idea that you are not getting watered down stuff.
Look for mommas in Zion - a healthy church will have a few. It takes time to find them, but they are waiting for you, I promise!
This is a start, and I hope and pray it helps you on your journey to finding a healthy local church. You are necessary to the body of Christ, dear one!!! We need your gifts and your love.
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