Things I Think…
1. It seems to me that my whole Christian life…online and off…has been obsessed with what it means to be a Christian and how the gathering of Christians as the church should and should not function. Perhaps…more succinctly, what my expectations of both should be. I confess to being more confused than ever around the difference between my expectations and reality…
2. Way back when…I thought the church would be the safest place on earth…a place where people that believed in the works and words of Jesus congregated to heal and help one another….led by humble and broken people who were there to serve, not be served. Suffice to say that I have been strongly disabused of this delusion, though some can be found in the wild…
3. The biggest delusion I labored under was that everyone who called themselves a Christian was sensitive to the Holy Spirit convicting them of sin…it seems that God doesn’t give me a moments peace when I blow it…He doesn’t seem to affect others in the same way…maybe I’m just neurotic…
4. My Christian walk has also been a constant battle of the wills…I’m constantly tempted to do things I know are in opposition the the commands of Christ and His demands on me…eventually He wins, as He ought…this applies not only to what I do, but to what I want to think and feel…
5. Having said all that…where we are today in terms of both acceptable behaviors personally and corporately has left me both confused and depressed…I know there is a remnant, but it is scattered and quiet for the most part…
6. I always thought God would take care of me if I tried to do the right things…I still think He will, but probably not in this life. That’s the actual witness of Scripture and history…
7. I confess there is a huge gap in my theological understanding…between the expectations of what life would be like now and only having hope in the eschaton…or maybe there isn’t…
8. I just saw another writer say that he’s going to keep going until he knows what he’s doing…my plan is similar…
9. The one thing I do know is that despite all my (very) cynical thoughts about Christendom…the Scriptures and tradition know nothing of unchurched Christians…I do not know how to resolve this…
10. At some point we need to have some discussions on what it means to have a body and be a Body…but that will have to wait for another time…
#3 – Scott Peck described a mental health continuum:
He stated that Psychopaths blame all their problems on others and Neurotics blame all their problems on themselves. Being Normal meant a healthy balance of blame and guilt.
I’m wondering if as many pastors were psychopaths 40-50 years ago? Or the office becoming more about platformed celebrity than humble shepherd of God’s sheep.
Terry,
I think the internet and social media have both exaggerated and exacerbated the problem…but I suspect the seeds have always been there.
3
When I came to faith and started going to a church, I was soon befuddled how some of the people in my small group (a single’s group) could call themselves Christians and turn around and constantly belittle people. Of course I thought I was above that all, but if people say my life outside the church walls…
Da – tis I Dan from Georgia LOL!
Dan,
I think it’s a sin common to humanity…but we should try to do better…
I think the church reflects the problems in a world, but the church fails to address them. If I read the Scriptures right, we are saved, but we still have the capacity to sin (Romans 7-still at school in study hall). And, Scripture seems quite clear that some of the church are not believers, but just problems to be mitigated (wheat and the tares, for example). The churches that I have been in that have been solid have pushed discipleship and strict adherence to leadership qualifications for anyone in the pulpit or on the board. Again, those churches may not have been the biggest, but they definitely had members that were more dedicated to Christ and His cause. I bring my own problems to any church I join, and when I become a member, I expect them to do “soul care”-which means I need to be open to correction and challenges to change. I think many of our churches have traded discipleship for the strong man in the pulpit who does all the thinking for them, and wreaks havoc because he is never brought under control. The church I’m currently in encouraged a pastor to move a decade ago because he couldn’t get his act together and he would not accept help for his emotional issues. I respect that kind of elder board.
Linn,
Well said, as always.
#4 – Yes. All it takes is a commute across town to realize how far from sainthood I am. Following Christ starts and ends in the mind and heart. Everything else flows from there. If we don’t have mercy and help from Jesus in this battle with ourselves then I’m hopeless.
Oh yay, the ads are back.
Oh yay, the ads are gone!
I vote for #8, except I’ll be teaching!
#9 – Still mulling this one over. We are in uncharted territory. But it has me thinking of all the wolves Paul had to deal with causing trouble within the church, only we have these outside influencers impacting those within.
I don’t have the visceral dislike of political pastors that prevails on this blog but I believe these pastors and their followers are mistaken. They look at the collapsing civilization of the western world and believe the solution is a return to Christian values whereas I believe the Christian values they want to return to helped cause the situation in the first place.
I see people promoting Christianity as the salvation of western civ but it is a secular, not a spiritual salvation they want whether they realize it or not. Drawing more people into pseudo-Christianity for the purpose of putting an end to the Woke Agenda is not genuine Christianity because the focus is not Jesus Christ Himself but an attempt to use Him as a tool to, for example, get biological males out of women’s sports, etc.
The thing is, if everyone (will never happen) were to follow Jesus for Jesus Himself and not for any ulterior motive, society would improve as a side effect. A side effect, not the main goal. That’s where some of these pastors go wrong. The goal must be to allow Christ to transform us as individuals, not to transform society as a whole. If most of the people in a nation are genuine Christians, society will improve but again, that’s a secondary effect.
Still, we must resist the Agenda the best we can while remembering who we are- people who follow Jesus foremost, who obey his commandments. As Michael says here, Jesus didn’t command Christians to fix the Roman Empire, he commanded us to love God first of all and to love our neighbors. “Loving one’s neighbors” might result in how we vote.
So these pastors are, I believe, well-meaning and I don’t know how they conduct their personal lives which might be saintly; as I say, I don’t know much about them and nothing at all about their private lives. But I think they are well-meaning: they see societal collapse and blame it on godlessness, the taking prayer out of school, etc. etc. The REAL problem is a failure to teach their congregations what is actually expected of a Christian and this is because they believe the Christian disciplines and all that goes with it is Salvation by Works and they are plastered like a barnacle on an old boat to the “Faith Only” mantra which is heresy.
It is not easy being a Christian. It’s a lot of work and it involves giving up a lot of worldly stuff that is holding us back. If we aren’t holy, or at least striving for holiness, we are just as much to blame for societal collapse as the liberals we want to blame for everything.
As I have always said here, if we are upset because of today’s wild sexual perversions becoming the norm, we Christians only have ourselves to blame if we support Hollywood and the music industry and book publishers that print “soft” porn which normalized all this garbage and we excused ourselves by saying “it’s just entertainment” or “I have freedom in Christ,” This is what is being taught in many American churches under the guise of Faith Alone. This is what Calvary Chapel taught and is why I left them.
So…. some of what I just wrote contradicts itself here and there. It’s hard to know how to think consistently about all these things. It’s chaotic out there. Satan is a chaos monster and he loves it when it’s tricky to be consistent at all time. He wants us confused. I might have this great philosophy (LOL) which I contradict by my own actions, as I am sure someone here will point out. I don’t blame you, I am not consistent. But there are things I know for sure and I need to hang onto those things for dear life.
Anyway, if you made it to end, you are a patient person.
God bless,
Love, Xenia the Inconsistent
Gosh that was long! Forgive me!
Xenia with many good things to say. I especially like the comment that “the thing is, if everyone (will never happen) were to follow Jesus for Jesus Himself and not for any ulterior motive, society would improve as a side effect. A side effect, not the main goal.”
I was a missionary in Colombia from 1985-1992. At that time, we had relative freedom to publicly share the gospel. But that was not true for any Protestant groups in the 1930s,-early 60s when many of my colleagues had arrived (only Catholic worship was allowed). Evangelizing was done individually or in family groups. People came to faith. They needed to learn to read so schools were started in churches. Then they needed a Bible school and seminary because they needed pastors and teachers. A hospital was created because Catholic hospitals did not take non-Catholic patients. Believers lived healthier lifestyles because they weren’t getting drunk, they were reliable employees, and their standard of living improved. Towns with well-attended Protestant churches tended to be more prosperous because a strong work-ethic prevailed. They followed Jesus, took him and his church seriously,and life changed.