From the Jailer's cell... an article worth reading - intended to provoke thought and discussion.
I've been struggling much with church lately, that is, the local body and its programs, requirements, and presumptions. To complicate things, I like our home church's sequential exponential preaching and nourishing lectures. I totally like that it strives to exalt Christ... but have a problem with attending. (I know, right? *scratches head*)
I also know that the superficiality that I wrestle with is due, in large part, to my own dang fault. The rest I have yet to figure out. I think my drawing would look different, though. But I'm not done thinking yet. So, with all that garbage out of the way...
I reflect on the Jailer's thoughts and his drawing:Does the healthy church nourish the public culture by exalting Christ in word and deed, making and growing disciples? What if the dominant culture will not be nourished? Is the public culture growing more dominant because the church reflects much of its values, or does the church reflect so much of the dominating culture's values because said culture refuses to be nourished? Is the church to nourish the social culture or its own body? A starving church is not necessarily the cause of a flourishing counter culture. A starving church may just lack bread - bread that the culture won't eat. A church that is full of bread and quite fat may still not be able to feed or even force-feed the culture (or color its dying leaves) if culture's society will not have it - or rather, if God has not planned it. Yet, it's getting quite hard to ignore that our (yes, our) church reflects the dominant culture ad nauseam (and I'm not even talking about the big moral issues).
Maybe my drawing would show two trees: One sick and dying tree (social culture) with rotting roots (values), mere timber fit only for burning yet thinking and priding itself to be luscious and looming. The other tree would be a stately tree attached to the root of all Life, thinking itself puny, shrinking and dying because it has forgotten what it is and whose it is and from whence all its help and nourishment comes. Maybe my problem is that we make too much of our brick and mortar churches with the faithful who warm the pews and the eager who paint the leaves, while we make much too little of Christ who is its sustaining head and heart and king.
I also see the church as a sheep fold with a door - a safe haven within a dangerous world - with ample bread and faith to nourish itself as well as those who brave the thorny brambles in order to rescue His still lost sheep. And, although it is a fold with a door, it's not stagnant but moving; not a set of rules on a stick but mercy flowing - moved by Him and for Him; not a set of programs but Christ; not shrinking but growing; not self-absorbed but absorbed by grace; not afraid of death, dying, or dead but alive and victorious for ever.
Still thinking....
Nothing can altogether overthrow and destroy [the church]. Its members may be persecuted, oppressed, imprisoned, beaten, beheaded, burned; but the true church is never altogether extinguished; it rises again from its afflictions; it lives on through fire and water. When crushed in one land it springs up in another. The Pharaohs, the Herods, the Neros, have labored in vain to put down this church; they slay their thousands, and then pass away and go to their own place. The true Church outlives them all, and sees them buried each in his turn. ~ J.C. Ryle
Oh, and thank you...
... thank you for your prayers. You know who you are!
Photo source
Shepherd
Thoughts and discussions are welcome here too, but remember that our dear Jailer started it. :-)
I absolutely agree -- the Church (and by that I mean the Church universal) IS a sheep-pen. Nowhere in Scripture do I find it as a gathering place for the lost or a podium for politicians. We are the "ecclesia," or "called out ones." We are to nourish believers in the faith, and equip the saints to go out and evangelize the world around them. THAT is how culture is changed!
ReplyDelete"And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to tthe unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."
With all my heart I believe that this is a primary cause (though not the only cause) of the weakness of our churches. We must, we must, we must nourish our people; we must equip the saints for the work of ministry.
(Sorry. I'm pretty passionate about this issue, AND I've been thinking a lot about it lately. I guess you could call it "the perfect storm." ;o)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! I have been tweaking my thoughts to make better sense - was still editing while you were commenting. I have quite a hard time expressing my thoughts. I also have a hard time with church attendance, although I agree with everything you say. Well, except maybe... is culture really ever changed? Yes, the lost sheep change after they've been found, and the found sheep suddenly stand at stark contrast to culture... and like Christ, must overcome it. Hence, you are so right: "We must, we must, we must nourish our people..." Blessings to you!
DeletePetra, I understand your frustration with the state of the church. Yet I think it is best to find joy and comfort where it may be found. I see the light of glory shine in the lives of those who follow Christ faithfully--or more faithfully than before, and I find encouragement. Of course we see the church in decline in our culture, but it is not dead. I know it well by name ... well, by names. Many come to mind even as I type--those whom Christ has saved and grown and set apart for ministry. Perhaps the church will reawaken in our time or perhaps another, but the church is not dead and the Spirit of God shall not be defeated.
DeleteMay the corporate worship of our King tomorrow--in all its messy, 21st century American imperfection--yet lift you near Him, for where are two or three are gathered ...
I treasure your friendship, though we have never met.
Petra oh how I have missed you! I am finally back to a tiny bit of blogging and reading blogs and I have been thinking about you Sister for several days. I find you talking, thinking and wrestling with the same thoughts I have had for about 6 months. I got very sick and missed about 3 months of Church. I had a lot of time to think, and I still have a hard time attending now. Things changed, politics and so many other things being discussed there and I wanted no part of that. Jailer is right, in the past few months I have come to the same conclusions. The Church is not dead, it's a mess in many ways but it's not dead. I am going to read through all of this again, this was of such benefit to me! Love and miss you and hope to stop by here much more often <3
DeleteI updated my post to link to this one, and to add a few clarifying thoughts, namely:
ReplyDelete"Let me just add by way of clarification: I don't believe the church's chief mission is to change the public culture. The point of the above is that much of the church gets carried away with chasing this idea ("coloring the leaves"). Still, I do believe that the culture may be changed for the good as a natural by-product of the church carrying out its primary purpose, as stated above: to exalt, faithfully represent & make/grow disciples of Christ. After all, when there is more salt, and that salt has not lost its saltiness, it cannot fail to flavor the earth (Matthew 5:13)."
Dear, Jailer, thank you for sharing your thoughts in response to my thoughts and for the link-back. I respect you and thank God for you because it is evident that you, as part of the church, flavor (salt) each part of your journey as you remain rooted in Him.
DeleteHence, I agree that the healthy church can and will influence culture. It just doesn't always do so positively, leaving us (or other believers) to make bricks without straw or to write letters of encouragement while shackled or imprisoned, because culture rebels against God's life-giving, Christ-exalting nourishment.
Furthermore, I agree with you that "the church’s primary public responsibility is to exalt Christ; to clearly, lovingly and boldly represent Christ in word and deed; and to make and grow disciples of Christ."
My knee-jerk reaction was mostly in regard to: "When healthy, the church nourishes the culture by faithfully performing this mission. When unhealthy, the church merely reflects the dominant culture, providing limited nourishment."
I believe that the healthy church must nourish and encourage its own to equip them to brave thorny thickets and wolves, to save and to change the lost, regardless of whether the culture agrees, cooperates or throws rotten eggs. When healthy, the church exalts and glorifies God! The healthy church is Christ who came to save the lost... and still does. Christ saved, loved, and fed Peter so that Peter would be willing to feed His sheep and able to endure the gall of his culture, which had neither appetite for His nourishment nor love for His sheep. Besides, I know of very unhealthy churches that do not reflect the dominant culture at all but only their limited, sickly and prejudiced selves.
The awesome thing I gathered from your deployment to Afghanistan, was that God used you to find and nourish His lost sheep in spite of the cultural or moral indifference or dangers that kept us on our knees on your behalf. Culture does not always respond favorably, and when lost sheep are found, saved, and changed they suddenly find themselves at odds with the world and with their culture, which refuses to be fed. Saved sheep have their eyes opened and see what is wrong with their culture. A saved sheep feels suddenly alienated and alone and then some... (ask me how I know) and must be fed with better food in the nourishing and nurturing warmth of His sheepfold! But to what end? To nourish the culture it has been saved out of? To give dogs what is precious or to throw pearls to the swine? Sheep must be nourished by the bread of heaven, not to grow fat, but to grow in faith.
And here, as I continue to think, emerges my beef, I think. Our church feeds and nourishes, nourishes and feeds... and here we are - am I - one fat sheep of many a fat sheep - one proud sheep of many a proud sheep because I've been so thoroughly nourished (taught).
Yes, yes, I know, we can't all go out unto the ends of the world.... Somebody's got to stay and entertain the children (or whatever). Yet, the only place I go - the only place I am sent to go - is church, to be fed more. (Yep, I think I'm fed up.)
The fat sheep notice who's missing from the pews, but they don't notice what's missing! They notice the empty chairs as they discuss the importance of church attendance and draw pretty diagrams of how to best disciple others. And they, we, I forget that we are not nourished to become fat, proud sheep who know it all so that we can sit around and raise "How to make better bricks without straw" and "Effective leaf painting" committees because, during all our munching, we've forgotten that God is in charge and that His plan isn't always comfy. Given Grace has summed it up very nicely: "Reason makes moral pharisees but mighty poor disciples."
So, Jailer, thank you for your love and patience and for allowing me to share my thoughts and exaggerations freely. I'm not done thinking yet and by the grace of God I will understand this church thing more, maybe even grow to like it more. Hopefully I will grow in faith and find others who are done growing fat and ready to brave the briers. I know they're out there somewhere. Until then be blessed my brother in Christ!
DeleteMy dear, dear sister! Be strong and courageous, my friend. And it can never hurt to pray Psalm 73 every night for a week!
DeletePsalm 73
Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.
And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
I understand your frustration. I also have with my church. But as long as our Savior Jesus openly/ right is preached I'll love the church. Prayer and courage fail me. So my first step is: to pray again.
ReplyDeleteLove this post and the openess here!
Prayer and courage fail me too. "So my first step is: to pray again." Thank you, Jedidja! ♥
DeleteYou sure you haven't been listening into our home lately...this conversation has been going on and on in our home between my husband and myself. I wonder sometimes if that is part of our age.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, where do you live? ;-)
DeleteHi Petra,
ReplyDeleteThere is so much to say on this, and to try to sum it up in a few words....at the moment words completely fail me. I do know that the church shines best when it is under intense persecution. The most true converts grew out of the soil sprinkled with the martyr's blood. Today church goers have it easy, like you say. Most just go through the motions, fat sheep herded this way and that just to eat deliciously and get more fat. I know that the national cathedral isn't the Lord's "true church" however I do believe that what is happening there is a huge warning that things are about to get really ugly here... "the $#!+ is about to really hit the fan" if you know what I mean. Good time to have your oil lamp trimmed and burning brightly. :)