It's been a while, I thought I should post, well, something. I've not been a very good blogger of late. :-P
I've been busy with things other than posting of late. I just don't have anything on my mind, so I fill my schedule with other things. Actually, the truth is closer to I've had big things on my mind that I've been avoiding an not knowing how to post about them, I've shrunk back into other minutiae.
I've had thoughts of posting on some stuff, but not many. There are several, many actually, blog posts that I've been meaning to link to as well. Maybe later.
I've spent the last couple of years chasing answers on big questions:
- What is church?
- What about Kip?
- What about the UP?
- What about discipling?
- etc.
Throughout all of that, and intertwined with it, is the big questions of What is Christianity? and Who are Christians? After all these years, I'm still not quite sure how to treat or think of those outside my historic Restoration Movement circle. I once knew exactly what to think. "If you're not for us your against us.' summed it up. Judgemental, condescending and harsh are other words for it.
Yet in my retreat from those ways, I feel as though I've lost something. It seems most folks who claim the name 'Christian' take it at face value when others do as well. I learned not to do that from the ICOC, but to look for some sort of evidence. Actually, we would assume that you weren't until you passed all our tests. Clearly, many who claim the name aren't, but it's not my job to say who, but I simply can't just take it at face value when someone claims the name of Christ. Judgement is not good, but discernment is. But what does that look like?
So, where I am now is that I've come to grips with the fact that I just can't know all these answers. It's not my job to draw lines in the sand or build walls. I've come to terms with that truth. I don't think I've emotionally let go of it quite yet, but I'm there intellectually.
What I haven't come to terms with or figured out is what am I supposed to actually do. Thousands and thousands claim Christ and I know some of them and meet some more all the time. Some are clearly in the wrong, either misinformed or in denial. I'm most certainly one of them as well. What do I do about it? I can't in good conscience sit on my hands (although I have been) and yet I'm not sure it's my place to speak. Who am I, imperfect and wrong as anyone, to say anything?
My response has been to slowly back away and sit down in the corner and watch. The questions still swirl in my head, but no answers are forthcoming. So I fill my time with the trivialities of life and ignore the nagging uncertainties.
Hi Doug,
I can certainly relate to your perspective. I just wish I could fix the whole thing. But I can't. Only God can do that.
I can talk to folks who, in my view, are missing something important in their Christian faith. But I can't make even one of them accept what I'm saying.
Only God can open people's hearts. I think we need to accept that as a fact of life. We should teach what we believe to be true. We can pray for others. And then we need to leave it in God's hands.
On the flip side, we need to be open to learning something ourselves. And we need grace to cover our own errors.
What about the UP?
Ok...being where I'm from, my first thought was "what about the Upper Peninsula? Come on over to Michigan and you'll see how wonderful it it!"
;-)
UP 'round here refers to the ICOC Unity Proposal.
BTW - Care to identify yourself? I'm curious who in MI is reading my blog. Email me (link at upper left) if you'd prefer.
Hey Doug, Ive had similar feelings over the past year. I ended up as part of a mainline church in Ithaca, NY.
Ive learned a few things in the 3 months I was there. 1) There are a lot of similarites, and there are a lot of differences. I try to relate to the similarites and learn from the differences, resolving to know nothing but the core of the gospel. 2) I try to look at "the church" from God's perspective- as if He knows who are His, and since he knows, I dont have to split hairs figuring it out. 3) I miss a lot of the close relationships I had in the church I was converted in (NH). But I think given time I could make similar relationships anywhere- it may take a little longer but it could happen. 4) I have seen a lot of changes in the ICOC church in syracuse NY after joining Kips group. Not all of them good, but I wont say anymore.
The Bottom line is to your priorites straight. In my opinion my personal relationship with God should be first, wife second, friends in church/relatives/neighbors, then co-workers etc (it gets fuzzy here). But again thats how I try to look at things, but not always successfully.
There have been a lot of heavy hearted changes in my church building but that is just a building and I have to make a choice to follow God or let that darn building take up my energy. It isn't about the man preaching or the decisions that were made despite my input. Yes a CoC woman spoke up, nothing too new for Milly. It's about shaking man's work off and worshiping God.
Praying for the ICOC brothers and sisters
I think many of us seem to be on that same track. I think it's good to ask the questions because we need to figure them out for ourselves. Many have told us what it is to love God but those things were based mostly on humanistic thinking. Understanding that we don't know the answers is fantastic. Too often we were taught that we were good at giving advice cause we were placed "above" people spiritually. Looking back it's just lunancy to think we are great marriage counselors, drug rehab specialist or even parol officers because we were all of a sudden appointed.
I don't know the answers but I think one of them is always going to be "I don't know" because were not supposed to.
I think Milly really hit it: it's about worshipping God.
These days, and for quite some time now, my daily prayers are that I can bring honor to him in all I say and do and to help my friends and family have faith in him. Frankly, that's pretty much all I want to do spiritually.
Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
I know us ICOCers used to read that and see Jesus telling us to invite people to church. Of course, that's not what he says at all. Loving God and the folks around us is just so much bigger than an invitation to church.
Ok, he said a bunch of other things, too. :)
The same Jesus who is recorded to have said "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters" (Luke 11:23) also said "Whoever is not against you is for you" (Luke 9:50, Mark 6:40). To me, the difference is as much in the pronouns as it is the intent of the saying."
There is no taking Jesus casually, or shrugging Him off. You're either for Him or against Him.
There is merit is assuming that those who are not against His followers may well be for them - because there's not that much difference between us: only the awareness and acceptance of grace given us at the price of His life.
I'm not part of the ICOC, so my initial reaction is to suggest considering "What about Christ? What about His prayer for unity in John 17?" - and that just sounds condescending. I'm troubled by some leaders and the kind of unity they insist upon in my branch of the Restoration family tree, too - and ask myself "What about them? What about their proposals?"
I've come to the conclusion - right or wrong - that we don't and can't and won't ever believe everything exactly alike. That God gifted us differently so we would talk with each other and try to see things through each others' eyes (the presumption underlying the golden rule). That we would love each other anyway, convicted of our mutual imperfection and common need for Christ (the underlying presumption of His request that we love each other as He has loved us).
If He can forgive me, He can forgive you and Kip and Mother Teresa and Jeffrey Dahmer. And that fact - whether we are comfortable with it or not - brings us a level of unity that we need to pray His help and His Spirit to build upon.
Questions I think we all have ask and probably struggled with. Growing up in the "mainline", the church was basically defined by the Yellow Pages under Churches of Christ and, in parenthesis, it better say "non-instrumental". Being a part of the ICOC it was defined by if you were in the ICOC. And now possibly by the UP and back in the "mainline" it still seems to be the Yellow Pages with consideration of dropping the "non-instrumental". In my struggle to find all the answers I found that the Bible didn't emphasize the "what" as much as it emphasizes "Who". And the Who was Jesus. When I focus on the What I always end up with a list and then my sinful nature takes the list and becomes legalistic with it and in the end I have missed the Who of it all. When I just focus on Jesus and just talk about him, that Seed determines which soil is good and which is not. If it is good then it produces a harvest and that person becomes a Christian. If they become a Christian the Bible says God adds them to the church. If that church isn't found in my part of the Yellow Pages, then so be it because I know God does not add people to the wrong church. And after they become a Christian if we keep talking Jesus to each other, somehow, "discipling" takes place. Oversimplified? Maybe - but for my simple mind - Jesus is the answer.