Who is the Church?

It is interesting to read people's comments to your posts. So here's some props to Shannon Marden who had the best comment to my last post - thanks to everyone else who commented too...good to know there are some others who have the similar twisted (although very sane to me) thoughts.

Shannon in the trenches and is still positive (some people in the trenches can get pretty jaded). I think it is great that someone other than me sees the glass half-full when it comes to the church. Many people are negative toward the church (a lot of time for good reason!) and then just check out of the whole thing. I totally acknowledge the way the church has screwed up and is still screwing up (see my last post), but change starts from the inside out. If all those people who are discontented and want change bail, then there is no hope and the baby goes out with the bathwater. The reason we bail really isn't about what was done to us, but rather a misunderstanding about who the church really is.

If we truly believe that the church is the people of God and not not a building, and not a company (most of us say this but do we understand what we are saying?), then we have to cut each other some slack. It is impossible for any of us to go through life and never offend anyone; all of us are dysfunctional at some level. We are deluded if we think the problem is everyone around us.

So yes Shannon, we do live in a day and age where things are exciting for the church. Exciting because, as you say, we are returning to what we should be. So, thanks to everyone who involved in God's church. You are changing things and making a difference in your families, communities and the world around you. I think we underestimate the little part each of us plays, in the grand scheme of things but all those little parts add up. All of our little parts fit together to create big change.

We become critical of the church when we see it as only an institution, an organization, or a corporation. Who isn't critical of all of those things these days, ha! But Scripture is pretty clear about what the church is. Search the word "church" in the Bible and see what it says about it - you won't find reference to any of the three things mentioned above. These are very exciting times. We are heading toward a clearer understanding of the essence of the church - Not mystical, not superior, not faultless - just normal people.

Believing Barna???

George Barna (US church pollster) says that America's faith community is changing (no kidding....does he think we have been asleep, I suppose some are). The reason he gives for this is that "there are more than twenty million adults who have dropped out of church, not because they've lost interest in spiritual matters or are disconnecting from God, but because they want more of God in their lives. These are believers who are less interested in attending church and more interested in being the church" (A New Kind of Church, Baker Books 2007).

I read this on the weekend and it reminded me of Wednesday night. One of the guests at our home group this week asked how we all got involved with the church. Did we grow up in it and if not, how did we get here? It was interesting to hear everyones stories. A few of us were brought up with the church as an important part of our lives, others of us had been involved in the church and had given up for various reasons, and still some others had not much history with the church at all. There was a common thread that ran through each story - the reason why they are actively involved in the church now is because they feel they are learning more about Jesus and less about the church.

Isn't this the whole purpose of the church's existence? To follow Jesus' command when he said "go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you" (Matthew 28:19-20, NLT).

Am I blind or something? Because I don't see it saying go and make disciples by teaching them rules that will set them above everyone else and church politic so they will eventually run themselves ragged and be driven into the ground. I understand that these are done under spiritual words, such as "holiness" or "commitment." We make ourselves feel better about doing these things to people if we can somehow find an obscure Scripture that "supports" what we are doing.

I believe in holiness, commitment and the church. But we have taken Jesus, his teachings, and his people and turned them into a strange religion where we decide to play God. The truth is we are not playing God because God wouldn't do these things; we are playing puppet master with God's people.

Instead of telling people what to, we need to value their relationship with God and trust God to speak to them and trust them to listen. If we can help people to listen to God and do what he tells them, isn't that the biggest thing we can ever teach. I know people who have done a lot in a church building, and who appear to have it together on the outside, and then flame out miserably. And then I know people who others might look down because they do certain things or look a certain way, and these people have gone on to be huge influences for God in their families and communities. So we never know...and so it's best not to pretend to know...and best to play our parts and not the part of God.

Yippee For Wesleyan World!

...I never thought I'd say that...

I was encouraged when I read this quarter's Wesleyan World magazine. The concept of partnership between countries and between churches is beginning to be lived out. For so long we have paid money to send people to other countries who don't speak the language and don't know the culture - and that worked in our context for a while. We have often sent them to a country where the local church is already doing a fantastic job. (Don't get me wrong, missionaries from here are still needed where the Church is struggling, but for equipping and support instead of actually doing the ministry). Short-term teams are a great way to encourage and support the local Church worldwide. I am sure that if they had the financial resources, they would want to bring people here to encourage us as well.

I am so glad that we have done away with that superior North American attitude that says we have cornered the market on how the Church should function. Last I read, the Bible was the final word on what should be done in the Church. The whole concept of being in partnership with other countries is more in line with the Scripture than a type of parent/child relationship(there was no heirarchy - Galatians 3:28, an often quoted verse by good card carrying Wesleyans). The Church in other parts of the world would put us to shame.

This partnership thing has been in the works for a while. I think the first I heard of it was 2000, so to seven years later to see it lived out and to see that an International Conference of the Wesleyan Church (made up of various nations, not just North America) would meet in 2008 made me very happy. It is about time we visibly demonstrate what we say. If we believe that all people are created equal, it goes without saying that they should have authority over their own governance and their own future. It is about time that we show we truly do value different cultural perspectives.

And...yes Druh Noj it would be Sregor Anwahs but I think Anwahs Sregor has a better ring to it.

Stupid Kids And Their Stupid Internet! What Do You Want To Know? I'll Tell You Right Now!

Ok today I'm going to crack techie code talk. So if someone has ever told you anything about a computer and then walked away and you still had no idea what they were saying, then this blogs for you.
So here's the translations...

"I can fix that. It will only take a minute" - means you better have five hours to let me play around with it and I may or may not find out the problem.
"That's your anti-virus interfering" - means I have no idea what the problem is but I can't admit it.
"You'll have it back in a couple of days" - means it will be a couple of days before we get around to looking at it.
"Oh that's bad" - means you better start shopping around.

Can you tell my computer is ready to be thrown out the window??? I have absolutely nothing spritual to say today.

On a different note, one of our friends writes their name backwards on her emails. Mine looks really weird - Anwahs Sregor

A New Kind of Ministry...Period.

Here's a quote from the book, A New Kind of Youth Ministry by Chris Folmsbee (Zondervan, 2007):

"If young people are to practice faith when they "graduate" from youth ministry, the most important gift the church can give them is lifestyle faith instead of program faith. Of course, that doesn't mean that Christian programs don't have a role to play. But young peple aren't looking for programs; and when the church makes faith into "one more thing to do," we turn the gospel into an extracurricular activity, one among dozens, and in so doing we gut it of its transforming significance" (p.50).

I believe that this is true for adults, children and teens; people of any age. Who needs something more on the list of their already busy schedule? I would rather spend my days living like a Christian and meeting people through my job than worrying about whether or not I have enough people to staff a program, whether or not my idea is interesting enough, or always feeling like I have to top what I did before so people don't get bored. Doesn't just living life as a Christian and making a difference in the lives of people around us sound a whole lot easier and more natural?

Why I Think Blogs Are Stupid

Ok so I've given in... I used to think people who blogged had no lives and nothing better to do and some probably don't.

However, I really enjoy reading a blog from a pastor from Wisconsin. He has changed my mind because his entries are thought provoking stories that I have enjoyed. So, I figure if people like him can share their little gems with me, then I should share mine with them. Only time will tell how often I will use this thing. It is my hope to keep it interesting by ranting about things I think are important and by providing things that other people can use.

Now I need to go and think of something deep to write in this space so that I don't prove my own theory about bloggers having no lives to be correct!