For Evagrius Pontus, to be a theologian is to "know" God not just know doctrines about him."If you pray truly, you are a theologian." (Evagrius Pontus).
I wonder how our measuring metrics need to change for the word Christian too? I think that for the vast majority a Christian is a person who goes to church.
What if being a Christian were simply defined as someone who "Knows" and follows Jesus? I think that is Jesus' point. He said follow him.... But we measure "Following him" by so many other things, other than following him.
I remember when I was making the transition out of Traditional Church in a building...to simple church movement (I was a paid preacher, minster, pastor, and missionary to Africa for 20 yrs). There was a time I had been part of a smaller church gathering outside the building for several months and my Mother came over and blasted me... "You are supposed to be a Christian.You should be ashamed of yourself for not taking your wife and kids (all out of high school) to church".
Many simply can not accept this other stuff as proper church.... it's too invisible for them... they do not know how to "measure".... "it". (My mom gets it.... and we have a great relationship. But from time to time she falls into the box... because she still attends that stuff.. and she says something. And more and more people are starting to embrace that church can be something else now)
However, I had been studying the word and praying on average 3-4 hours a day each week, all week. Not because I had to, because I wanted to. That is just me. Not to mention that this conversation came only two months after my wife and I just returned from working (The only workers -we go every year for 4-6 months) among an unreached Islamic group in North West Africa, with no believers among them. A region so hard no one else will work there. We went there to bring Jesus, and to love the people, and it's working, and yes, it's the hardest, but most rewarding Africa work we have ever done.
However, all this is not measured by my Mother.... and the majority of people in the institutional church (I know because I was a leader of growing churches) because the real measurement we have for success... for a "good Christian" is... I showed up at building church faithfully. It's hard to measure transformation, one has to look differently.
The 95% of people who go to church, and then go home and never pray, crack a bible, who have Jesus as just a rare distance thought, not a real person I know or follow or even like....are all better Christians than me..... because they are going to a "building church" every week. So that is how we measure is it?
It sickens me that we have reduced "Knowing" Jesus to this....
I'll say it again.... you have to gather with other believers... I want to, love it, and do.... Just not in a building with pews, a parking lot, and a shingle out front. Sometimes I do.... but lately I mostly don't..... Get over it...
I'm not going to be a cog in the "churchy program machine" like I was before.... like I made others to be as a church leader. I'll fellowship, I'll teach, I'll discuss.... But I'm not managing events and shows... and I am not studying 30 hrs a week so people can go home and not.....Which is what we have in church now. I'm walking and working with people who stand up and wish to take the journey of "knowing" Jesus.
The best advice I ever received was from my Sister-In-Law Laura (Not a believer as we know it). who, from the outside of church, could see how church leadership was sucking the life out of me, and her "Double Masters in Mission and Church Planting" brother.
She said... "Andy, you can't work hard enough to compensate for other peoples lack of interest or inertia."That hit me like a ton of Bricks.... I'm afraid that this faulty idea IS the basis of all that we do in institutional church... It was the unspoken thought process driving every meeting about growing or revitalizing church for my twenty years of ministry.
If I could only....(be a better preacher, better stories, illustrations) If we could just do this better, longer, slicker, flashier, ..... they will come and eventually they will get it... If I work harder, and harder, and harder.... and do more for them... offer them more opportunities....the coddled attendees will change an get on fire for Jesus.... Ah....no! That is the cycle that burned us all out over and over again.The problem with church attenders is not a lack of opportunity.... it's a lack of interest and inertia.
Their Christianity is "Going to church". Only they can transition their Christianity to become "knowing" Jesus. We can't begin that process for them. It is not shoved in from the outside (though it's how we operate as church), this can only comes from deep inside of a person as they listen to and permit the Spirit to Work. We can "deny" or "try" that any time. Our choice.
This is why all the people who gather in our "simple" church groups must follow along in the HOME bible reading of the groups choice that consists of 4-5 chapters a week. and EVERYONE (Even older elementary kids) is to share what THEY learned in THEIR study, how it impacted them, and how they see Jesus moving them through it, and then ask any questions about things they did not understand. We are all studying the word...This has been a healthy, refreshing, and fun transition. Now church is a gathering of people on the journey to "know" Jesus.
No matter where we park our ass on Sunday, if we are not on that journey of "Knowing" Jesus.... we are not really part of (being) the "church" anyway...
No comments:
Post a Comment