Deconstructing the Church so we can Reconstruct the Church

"If our love of God does not directly influence, and even change, how we engage in the issues of our time on this earth,

 I wonder what good religion is." 

- Richard Rohr 

A few weeks ago I spent several days in silence. And it was good and scary and it brought things to light that I have been avoiding. 

While sitting in silence I began to see clearly what has been dormant in my mind and in my heart for so long. I look at church in America (the universal church not any particular church) and I see anger and a desire to control and I see a lot of things we are against and not a lot of what we claim to be for. I see my own denomination falling apart because of petty arguments (falling apart as in losing 50,000 members a year) I see us ignore what is happening to our planet as we bicker and fight over politics and theology. I see thousands upon thousands of people leaving the church because we have lost sight of ourselves and of Jesus and what is left is a hollow and a poor imitation of what we should be. 

Somewhere along the way we have lost ourselves. Instead of being an organization that welcomes all people and that is on the front lines of social justice we have become an organization that oppresses. Quoting scripture, knowing all the rules, but having no love in our hearts does not the body of Christ make. 

For weeks I have felt disillusioned. I have raged and struggled and spent a lot of time in prayer and spent time talking through all of this with people close to me.

And through my anger and disappointment this came to light - It is very easy to deconstruct the church. It is very easy to look at it and to say "Man, this place is jacked and I am outta here." But, what's hard is trying to reconstruct. And reconstruct we must.

Are you dissatisfied with the church? Do you look at the landscape of Christians in our country and feel like we aren't loving people as we should? Then lets do something about it. The time for sitting in silence or just giving up on the church as a whole is over. Transformation only comes when we are ready and willing to move forward.

Deconstruction is necessary. Reconstruction is necessary. Getting back to loving people, living humbly and caring for those who don't have a voice is necessary.

The church has no business in politics and we certainly have no business being in debt up to our eyeballs. We have no business acting as the morality police.

Our business, our one and only business is to love.

And love is gentle. Love quietly helps others. Love turns the other cheek. Love ensures a better future for all of us because it takes care of the planet and every inhabitant. Love inspires. Love encourages a dialogue with people who are different than us. Love welcomes all. Love is invitational. Love listens. Love is for humanity. Love creates.

I love the church. I love the idea of a community of people living life together. And so I am committed to work for change. Even if that makes me unpopular. Even if that drops this blog readership down from 6 to 2 :) I will move forward with love and with hope.

There are already many people and congregations out there who are living all of this. Who are saying no to the status quo and who are bringing change to their community. If we all do what we can with what we've got then there will be widespread rebuilding.  There is hope for the church, there are wonderful people moving in the Body and in every death there is the chance for resurrection.

The time for reconstruction is now. It starts with you and I holding on to love, letting go of  what was, so that we can become what we were created to be.

After the Mud

I was able to go on a silent retreat this past week. It was refreshing and Holy and also shook me up in ways I can't yet properly express.

Silence is something I know that I need. And yet it is very rare that I seek it out. It's hard to be silent. It's hard to be open and vulnerable before God. It's hard to set down my agenda and just be.

It is so vital to our faith life though. Jesus models this need for silence many times in scripture. He knew the importance of being silent and of recognizing the Holy. He sought out this silence even though it was difficult and it didn't make sense to others. He did what he needed to do to be Present.

And so, last week I found myself driving from the Panhandle to Palestine with two grumpy toddlers, with a pit-stop at my parents house to deposit said toddlers on the way. It was hard for me to get there and I thought several times about not going. Valid excuses like distance, cost, and finding people to watch the kids kept coming to my mind,

There is always resistance when I'm headed somewhere deep.

In spite of the journey and all the mundane details that had to fall into place I found myself in Palestine on Tuesday, tired but thankful that I'd made it.

Wednesday morning I woke in silence, excited about the day. I set out right after breakfast to walk a trail around the lake. I love this trail. The scenery is beautiful and I was looking forward to seeing all the wildflowers in bloom and just communing with God in nature.

Not long into my walk I came upon about a 20 foot section of the trail that was flooded.

I stood there for a while thinking about what I should do. I'll admit I was pretty put out by all the mud. That trail is a favorite of mine and I had really been looking forward to my walk. Sadly I turned around to head back to my cabin. It came to me then that I was letting a little bit of mud stop me from something I really wanted to do. Why was I letting something so inconsequential interrupt my morning? Yes, I would get muddy but I'd also get to where I wanted to be. So, I rolled up my pants and kept going. 

  

My shoes got muddy, my pants got muddy, I almost busted it several times but I made it through. And right after the trail dried out I came upon just about every wildflower you could imagine. I saw deer and birds and butterflies. I had a wonderful, beautiful refreshing time with God in the midst of creation. And I almost missed it because of some mud. 

Maybe today your journey is looking pretty muddy. You could turn back to avoid getting dirty, that would be the sane thing to do probably. Or you could just roll up your pants and trust that on the other side of the mud are wildflowers.

May you continue on your path in spite of the obstacles. And may you be blessed by the beauty and the wisdom and the mud from your walk.