- 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.
Agreed. However, this is a difficult concept to bring about in an already-established congregation with a culture not receptive to change. Hence, a leading reason that our denomination is declining at the rate that it is (and other mainlines, as well) but that does not mean that it should not be attempted. After all, if we're already bleeding members anyway, what's to lose?
ReplyDeleteThe two churches that I'm appointed to have grown 8% and 15% a year perspectively to which I give God all the glory. I feel that He has granted us success as result of reaching out to our often divisive community in ways that had never previously been done. We are attempting to be His genuinely loving arms, hands and feet. It hasn't always been easy to shift the cultural inertia of these two congregations to a new focal point of ministry (outside the church instead of inside) but the new members have helped dilute some old mindsets. In short, God will grant success for those who are faithful in doing His will, rather than those congregations who just pursue their own willfulness. Yes, it is time to deconstruct the (denominational) church as we know it. The trick is getting people to stick around for the rebuilding process...
- Shalom -
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Eric! I love that your churches are growing. I agree that when we look beyond ourselves and our own church walls and help our neighbors in a spirit of love that growth will occur. Keep on keepin on, brother!
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