My faith is like shifting sands,
changed by every wave.
My faith is like shifting sands,
so I stand on grace.
+ Caedmon's Call +
In the midst of evangelical church-community upheaval, it is difficult to tell if and where the roots and the branches connect. Or, if you like, it is hard to tell where the foundation and the roof connect.
My church said goodbye to her pastor this past month. The most frustrating thing about this loss is not the absence of the pastor, but rather the diaspora of members into the surrounding church-communities and the comfort of their own homes.
In this context, Christ seems like a somewhat abstract foundation. Where is He? Is He in fact supporting His church? Where has everybody gone? Is it still the same church without them? Is He supporting their leaving? What if He is? What if He isn't?
How do we get from Christ to persons? Is the best thing to let Him speak to all individuals separately? Or do we need to be together to hear God together?
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2 comments:
Hey Matthew,
I think it is yes, and yes to your questions at the end. I think you surround yourself with individuals wanting to hear from God themselves and then as a group you listen together. I don't know if that can include an entire church body. I have been through too many church splits to put much faith in that large body. I had to come up with a managable philosophy of church that i can actually live in, which is that I find a group of individuals that are listening to God and then we listen together. that way if there is trouble I at least have the option of hashing it out with them based on our journey together. i am almost sure this is not the best approach, as it resigns itself to low expectations of God's people. so if anyone has any other ways of seeing it i would love to hear them.
Heidi
Ok, just one more question. Do you think the global church has these kinds of issues? like pastors being asked to leave, or churchs splitting down the middle etc.? Do you think there is a place in the world where the church itself is a sacred entity that the people belonging to it would not bring it harm? I mean, it doesn't help us here except that maybe we could figure out how much of our trouble is cultural and reject that influence. just wondering.
heidi
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