But for a few people, church has never been anything other than a collection of elderly folk who each Sunday morning seem to seek respite from a world which they no longer comprehend or like. It's an experience where excitement and sharing are pretty much non-existent, a place where conflict and tension have been avoided at all costs, a community which does not seem capable of looking out.
For some of us, there comes a point at which there appears to be no option but to avoid the place completely, because we find our awe of the Creator God and our excitement in Jesus incompatible with the weekly worship sandwich, because we find our questions and our enthusiasm causing too much discomfort for the elderly saints who make up the congregation - a point where we stay away even though we are acutely aware that the church is the physical Body of Christ on Earth and that there is no such thing as solitary Christianity.
Yes, we can shop around in the great religion smorgasbord, but the menu seems to consist of (a) much of the same, or (b) traditions which we find alien or (c) great music, strict instructions and "do as I say, not as I do" sermons.
At 10:35 15/10/2004, Amelia wrote:
I actually shake my head when it comes to the pessimism I hear. What I see is God doing amazing and wonderful things, but they are hard to interpret if we have a fixed view about what God should be doing.
Most places I get to go to experience:
- aging membership
- "declining church systems" (see Thomas Bandy "Kicking Habits" for a definition)
- conflict and confusion about what it means to be Church
On the other hand, in those same places, you can also see:
- people stepping out for the first time to share their faith
- people who are discovering how exciting it is to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ and who are "into" developing "thriving" discipleship (see Bandy again for definitions of "thriving")
- conflict, tension and seeking for clarity about what it means to be the Body of Christ
All is not doom and gloom! In fact, I think God is doing something very exciting that we need to catch up with...
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