Could it be that the institutional church is coming back to its founder?
And if that’s the case what will the church of the future look like: where are we going? Over the past fifteen months I have felt like a fish out of water grasping for water-air and finding neither. I’ve struggled with past teachings; however, when I’ve made the connection, my role as shepherd over a couple hundred people has brought even further agony. It’s one thing for me to grapple with spiritual concepts and life: it’s quite another to pass it on to others. Jesus felt the sting of rejection. What makes us think we can avoid it?
What used to work for me no longer does- hasn’t for a long period of time to be exact. Five adjectives that had been hammered into me as words descriptive of Christianity no longer held any life: literalistic, doctrinal, moralistic, exclusivistic, and after-life centered. German theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher called his generation the “cultured despisers of religion”. And we have somehow fallen into that same ditch.
But, alas, in the last half year, I have found some “friends”. I have found that what I’ve been HEARING, many others have as well- long before I but in close proximity. I am coming to a conclusion that the Spirit of God is speaking more loudly, more often, and more specifically to those who will LISTEN! The sacred is real, the Kingdom HAS (past tense) come, and to all who would embrace it, life will be transformed!
But, does anyone want their life changed?
We say we do, but we have our idea of what that means which is NOT what Jesus was proclaiming. Additionally, embracing the Kingdom is exactly the opposite of where the culture that we are swimming in is headed; and also a long way from church culture as well. We’re taught that we can “have it our way”, and to “look out for #1″, and that life is about going for the “gusto” and “being all you can be”, which means get, get, get!
The Kingdom is about give, give, give!
Who among us wants to go “there”? In the thought world, the world of sentimentality, it sure sounds good. But, in the real world it’s not all that appealing. It is even made less appealing because everyone around us is doing “their thing”, and so what’s the point with us bucking the trend? The point is WE WON’T! We won’t UNLESS we are shown the reality and the benefits of the Kingdom. I believe that’s what the Holy Spirit is saying to those that will LISTEN. I also believe that the pain is only in that brief transition phase. Once we truly taste the reality of the Kingdom, we could care less for that life we once thought was so important.
Are you listening, ready for the transition?
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