The church in all its technical correctness... or in the power of the cross

THE CHURCH IN ALL ITS TECHNICAL CORRECTNESS… OR IN THE POWER OF THE CROSS…

5 March 2010

A friend on facebook wrote on his status: “If we preach ‘the church’ in all of its technical correctness, we will never find it, but if we embrace the power of the cross we will see the church spring up around us in all its glory. When the cross is in its rightful place in the lives of the believing community, the church as God ordained will flow from that.”

And I responded… I agree, absolutely… so why is it so hard for us to leave the technical behind and embrace the cross alone? We talk about it, we sing about it, we preach about it... but we continue so often to "cling to the old rugged technicalities"... and their slivers dig much deeper... and have no resurrection, just permanent death, associated with them... oh dear...

I'm trying so hard to be patient, and trust God to change hearts and bring understanding, but my tummy is sick (aka ulcers) watching people chew each other up over interpretations of the technical. I come home and rest in Papa, and find joy and trust and yes, physical healing from the tummy pain ... and then I go to work and have to listen to hours of vitriol, day after day... and I come home sick again... Thursday at 1 pm has become the hour I long for all week because it's the beginning of my "weekend"...

I hear they have some coming to interpret the bylaws to them - again! - and I wish they'd just burn the bylaws and turn to Jesus!

Sorry for venting... I don't know who to talk to... well, I've talked and talked and talked to Papa... and I've learned so much... trouble is, the more He shows me and encourages me, the more DIScouraged I get back at work... I say "work" because it IS about technicalities, and "doing", and rules and regulations... about working and works ... and while there are lots of individuals there who are "part of Jesus' church" (probably all of them are part of it, at their varying places on the journey: I truly do think they do want to know Him, and yet... sorry, I'm just boggled....), it just seems some of them aren't willing (or not able, not understanding it at all) to "be the church together" ......

Maybe I just have to learn to be patient, God's work on hearts takes time, He's patient, not in a hurry - lol, witness how patient He has been and continues to be with me, just to start with!

And I keep wondering... am I doing anything positive here at all... or, by "staying in the room" am I just exacerbating the situation... or at least being "party to it" ???

Father???

(PS… Just got Sheila Wray Gregoire’s latest email blog… and she writes: “As the idea of objective truth has grown passé, it’s been replaced by the ultimate idea that our feelings are the proper arbiter for the goodness or rightness of anything. Truth is what feels right to us.
At one point, people believed in a higher morality… People gave generously, or volunteered, or lent a hand… [not] because it would make them feel good about themselves; they did it simply because it was the right thing to do…
We no longer believe in “the right thing” as much as we believe in “the right thing for me”. I am the reference point, and everything revolves around me…
When we stop looking so much at ourselves, and start looking at others, perhaps then we will make a brighter day, and a brighter world.”)