The church we dream of…
January 7, 2008
Some authors that I read (and respect), seem to be at their very best when they’re critiquing the church.
And they’re often right, much of the church is not in good shape right now and we do need to be able to name and own up to our weaknesses.
At the same time, we need to remember that the church is still the bride of Christ and she has been beaten up enough as it is.
One quote I love from Shane Claiborne goes along the lines of…
let’s stop complaining about the church that we see, and set our hearts on becoming the church we dream of.
What do you have to say about that?
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January 7th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I think there’s something to that idea because any schmo can deconstruct, it’s a wholly other thing to take part in a constructive project. That’s hard work and takes more than letting everyone know how disgruntled we are.
January 8th, 2008 at 2:06 am
I heard Alan Roxburgh (today actually) say something along the lines that the shouldn’t be the object of our focus. When we do, we become inward focused, not outward focused. Not sure I totally get that yet because I think we do need to talk about the church. But I agree with you that we often beat the church up and don’t do much work to actually bring healing to average Christians and pastors who are simply feeling disoriented in this culture.
January 9th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
absolutely Jason, tearing things down is the easy thing to do…
good call on bringing in what pastors are going through… i’m sure many pastors find themselves often affirmed in the disgruntled literature out these days, but it’s a whole other thing moving people towards where Jesus is actually going…
January 9th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Hay,
I’ve just found your blog and it is great to see someone with a heart and passion for church planting. I’m leading a small, but growin church plant in the UK. Why not check out our site at http://www.christcommunitychurch.co.uk. I’ve also just taken the plunge into the world of blogging http://illumineuk.blogspot.com/ . How’s the plans shaping up for the church plant?
February 11th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Great blog man. I like the way you think.
I appreciated this post in particular. I too am planting a church and have been guilty of criticizing the state of the church. I have that “holy discontent” and it’s easy for me to sometimes use that to fuel my passion.
The truth is the church brings a message of faith, hope, and love. I’m to bring good news of Jesus not the bad news of the church.
Great reminder. Thanks dude!
February 14th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Adam - I don’t know how I missed you rcomment. Thanks for checking the blog out. Church planting’s going far slower than I’d like it… I’m still in quite early stages, and can’t wait till things ramp up. The church link doesn’t seem to be showing up for me, is your church plant a full-time gig right now?
Hey Jason, thanks for chiming in!
holy discontent is awesome… I guess I have some of it too. Many people swear by it. I know it’s necessary for vision. Sometimes, I wonder if we’re a bit reactionary. I wonder what it would look like if our lives were driven more by deep satisfaction with God than our dissatisfaction with the world around us… I’ll be tuning into your blog as well.