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March 04, 2005
Seeking a better expression of Christianity
A general theme of conversations I've had with students this week has been: you know, Christians are just generally lame lately.
We believe in Jesus, still. He was who He said He was. And to accept that Jesus of the Bible really did die and resurrect from the dead - you have to face up to the fact that there is real power behind resurrection.
So where is that power in our lives? Why aren't our churches growing - either in number or in the real expression of Jesus in our lives? Why does our supposedly Christian campus have a rumor mill that rages with such intensity that everybody knows of the campus Grapevine? Why is our worship music so cheesy? Why are so many believers so desperately depressed? Why are the people who claim the Christian faith the most forcefully the very ones that drive us away?
Picked up a Christianity Today tonight and skipped past the Eugene Peterson article on first pass - but, after a spell, I turned myself around and determined that I really did need to have another look.
Hammer. To. Head.
If you read the saints, they're pretty ordinary people. There are moments of rapture and ecstasy, but once every 10 years. And even then it's a surprise to them. They didn't do anything. We've got to disabuse people of these illusions of what the Christian life is. It's a wonderful life, but it's not wonderful in the way a lot of people want it to be...
We've all met a certain type of spiritual person. She's a wonderful person. She loves the Lord. She prays and reads the Bible all the time. But all she thinks about is herself. She's not a selfish person. But she's always at the center of everything she's doing. "How can I witness better? How can I do this better? How can I take care of this person's problem better?" It's me, me, me disguised in a way that is difficult to see because her spiritual talk disarms us...
I think relevance is a crock. I don't think people care a whole lot about what kind of music you have or how you shape the service. They want a place where God is taken seriously, where they're taken seriously, where there is no manipulation of their emotions or their consumer needs.
On and on it goes.
I put the thing down and walk away from the magazine rack thinking to myself: "Somehow, someway, I need to get fellowship going like this."
Some mumbleteen years ago, when I was an undergraduate, I fell in love with dorm life. I didn't fall in love with dorm life because my dorm was especially clean, neat, comfortable, welcoming, anything of that sort. I fell in love with dorm life because, at a point in my life when I felt like it was all too much, and I was just screwing up at a pace that was far, far worse than standard, Dave and Chris were right there in the room with me. Or I could call up Tim or Brett or John or Dave or Clint or Loopy and walk down the hall or across the road and talk to them for a spell. And what we got right was what we shared, as young men figuring out Christianity together.
I miss that. Hardcore. I've been fighting to get something like that back for mumbleteen years. I might even be able to connect my depression to my frustration at not being able to share my picture of real Christian fellowship with others.
So much of what we see in this world and connect with people being Christians is facade. It's a front we throw up of being good church people, or good witness people, or Good Shiny Pleasant People Who Would Never Say A Cross Word About Anyone Ever Oh No. That type of front is a lie. I know full well I'm not that person. I'm a first-class jerk most of the time, and a lazy slack-boy the rest of the time. I'm a hypocrite. A fraud.
And I need a Savior.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
The fellowship doesn't work unless we can hold our hands up and say "Yeah, that's me. I suck. I need help. Can you watch my back and make sure that I don't suck as bad tomorrow?" (It will help us a great deal, mind, if we can be specific about the ways in which we suck - but that's another post for another day.)
If you're reading this, since I really haven't started publicizing this widely, you probably know where to find me. If you're interested in this type of fellowship, talk to me. We need to do something about these things.
Oh, one more thing from Dr. Peterson:
I've been a pastor most of my life, for some 45 years. I love doing this. But to tell you the truth, the people who give me the most distress are those who come asking, "Pastor, how can I be spiritual?" Forget about being spiritual. How about loving your husband? Now that's a good place to start. But that's not what they're interested in. How about learning to love your kids, accept them the way they are?
If you want real spiritual life, listen to this. James' words will work too.
Posted by Chuck at March 4, 2005 10:06 PM
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Comments
Brilliance. I like the way you use words, man.
That kind of fellowship sounds good--the "keep me accountable because I am so faulty" kind, the "I'm really having a bad day, can I lean on your shoulder because my legs are not strong enough" kind.
L'Engle has what she calls her "Goody Book," a book of quotes that she's copied down over the years, and she uses them frequently in her nonfiction works. She doesn't know half of the sources--she knew perfectly well how to cite, but didn't care to. Here is one of the many quotations in "Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art":
"The saints (and artists) are those who not only accept, but rejoice in the incongruity and so learn that laughter is holy. The infinite disparity between God's love and man's deserts is an indubitable fact; the saint embraces it for joy. The greater the incongruity, the more wonderful the love and mercy of God. THE SAINT DOES NOT CALL HIMSELF A WORM BECAUSE HE ENJOYS BEING WORMY, BUT BECAUSE THERE IS SIMPLY NO OTHER WAY GRAPHIC ENOUGH TO EXPRESS THE RICHNESS OF GOD AND THE MEAGRENESS OF MEN..."
Posted by: Rachel at March 4, 2005 10:54 PM
Yes. Agreed on all accounts.
I am getting a transcript, hopefully, of a sermon I heard tonight at the CBF of GA conference... it is full of things people at Shorter need to hear.
I would like to ponder God and fellowship with you as well sometime. Rachel, let me know when to join you.
Posted by: Catie (Rachel's Twin) at March 4, 2005 11:02 PM
If only to be a former English major like Rachel so I would have the words to say...
I don't talk much around people I don't know very well (and at the moment, you fit in that category), but I would very much like to be a part of any discussion that may happen. Rest assured that if I feel the need to contribute I will, but I will not just ramble on and on as I am apparently doing here so I'm going to stop.
Posted by: Celestia at March 5, 2005 10:45 AM