you can't start a church

From Josh at Called to Rebuild, a post called "The organic nature of the church."    In which he says:

The local, corporate expression of Jesus Christ must be born, just as the individual Christian must be born, of the Spirit. Contrary to all the talk you hear from men about “starting a church”, you cannot start a church anymore than you can start a Christian. Both must be born, for they are not mechanical things but living organisms. This takes time and travail, not to mention one heck of a revelation of Jesus Christ. And that revelation must be a sustained revelation… it must be continuous, on-going. It must be kept fresh and up-to-date-a living, daily experience of Jesus Christ-or else whatever experience and expression of the church there is will fade away and die.

Wow.  Well said.

Read the rest of the post, too.  And the comments.  Great conversation!

wanting answers to your "why" questions?

So many "whys" in life.  So much that doesn't make sense.  So many wonderings about the purpose (or not) of events.  So much wishing for easier understanding.  So many unanswered questions.

God, why don't you answer my whys?  How many times I have asked that!

Jeff McQ at Losing My Religion has explored this in an excellent post called "God doesn't have to explain Himself."

A couple of points that really resonate with me:

I think sometimes that's why God doesn't always answer right away--because we asked a question for which we had no grid to appreciate the answer, and He must first grow us to a point where we can handle the answer.

And....

God doesn't seem to be in a hurry to answer those who demand an explanation, but He does seem to be willing to reveal more of Himself when He sees a heart that truly longs for Him.

Not a list of "easy answers" to the "why" question...  but some helpful and encouraging direction.  Read the whole article here.

Contradictions and paradoxes and other confusing things

Again on the topic of what we believe, Roger Olsen has written an intriguing post called "Is it possible to believe a paradox?"

I know that when a lot of people hear the word "paradox" their eyes kind of glaze over, and they instantly want to change the subject, because they feel like anything paradoxical is totally confusing.  The same thing happens when someone brings up apparent "contradictions" found in the Bible.   I've been there myself, and sometimes I'm still there.

If you're feeling that way, I highly recommend reading this post.  In it, Roger Olsen starts out by defining "paradox" in relation to Christian beliefs.  He gives examples.  And he goes on to discuss paradoxes and contradictions and mystery and analogy and proposition.  Are your eyes glazing over yet?  Don't hit the delete button just yet.  Read the article .  You may not agree with the writer's theological position on each example he gives, but you will come away with a clearer understanding about these various terms.  Which will certainly help to keep your vision clearer the next time they come up!  :-)

why do you believe what you believe?

We all believe certain things about God.  But have you ever wondered where you got the beliefs you believe?  Are you sure about your theology?   Dan Allen at The Ekklesia in Southern Maine has listed some questions worth asking when you are trying to understand and interpret the Bible.  Briefly, he lists the following: 

Are there other views on the subject?
Does my understanding depend on culture and current events?
Do I believe it because it is or is not popular currently or throughout history?
Do you believe it because your theological heroes or favorite pastor believes it?
Are you looking to the Spirit to teach you?

I know for myself that I have often felt confused because many very intelligent people throughout the history of the church have held some quite different viewpoints about what we as followers of Jesus believe.  I have wondered how I can know what to believe when these "great saints" can't agree. 

Why not read this article by Dan to see what he says about each of these questions.  What do you think?  Have you believed things for reasons that you maybe need to re-examine?  What (or Who!) is the source of Truth for you?

becoming a child, even a baby

At Losing My Religion, Jeff McQ writes a post Coming as Babies in which he describes in detail about the stripping-away in his life that God has been doing.  Jeff says:

Jesus came as a man--but not as a grown man. He didn't launch His mission as the self-proclaimed expert of all things spiritual. He came into this world the same way we all do--as a baby. A helpless, vulnerable, non-potty-trained baby. He didn't come with all the answers--that came later....

On a personal level, I think I've struggled for a long time with my deconstruction. Although I've definitely been thankful for the sense of freedom (and wouldn't ever want to go back into bondage), I also have felt such a sense of loss because at the very least I had a strong sense of direction, and when things dismantled, I felt there was nothing to replace what I'd had. I think I'm finally going to be okay with that now. I think I can fully embrace this time and place, knowing that the previous stripping was necessary in order to step into this mission in the right way.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and He changed the world. I believe that if I embrace the same idea, enter this mission as a baby, and have patience with the process, I can at least make a positive difference. 

I can really relate to this.  I spent so many years in "religion,"  feeling quite confident that I was a "good Christian."  After all, I was deeply involved in all kinds of programs, and enjoyed plenty of pats-on-my-back.  I was confident about my knowledge about the Bible.  I was confident about my training and "success" as a teacher.  And on and on.

In the past few years, my confidence has been battered down.  Stomped on in the mud.  At first, I felt that I was being moved from a "Martha" position to a "Mary" position.  Probably I was pretty proud of that :-( ... But in the past while, that's been stripped away from me too.  I have been brought into a place where for the most part I have really felt like  "a helpless, vulnerable, non-potty-trained baby."  And no, I haven't enjoyed it all that much.  Lost my answers, lost my sense of direction, lost my self-confidence.

But I think Jeff has it right.  This is where I need to be.  Not Martha rushing around serving.  Not Mary sitting at Jesus' feet.  Not even a child sitting on Jesus' lap.  But a baby.  Totally dependant on Jesus. 

And yes, permanently dependent :-)

(Now, go read the rest of Jeff's post!)

It's not about my ability at all! What a relief!

Quote from Surprised by the Voice of God by Jack Deere:

“So humble people put their confidence in the Holy Spirit’s ability to speak, not in their ability to hear, and in Christ’s ability to lead, not in their ability to follow.”

Wow.  That is such a relief!  It's not about my ability at all.

(Check out some other great quotes and books worth reading here at Mary Demuth's blog.)

struggling with and questioning God

As anyone who reads this blog knows, I do a fair amount of questioning, wondering, arguing, struggling with God.  Sometimes I feel kind of guilty about that.  But today I read a blog post that posits that having some "chutzpa" in our relationship with God is actually a sign of active faith and relationship - and, in fact, God does a fair bit of struggling with us, too.

At Leaving Salem, Ronnie McBrayer writes:

More times than we care to admit, our relationship with
God is not a Harlequin romance, wrapped in a tidy package
with a bow on top. It is more like a game of tug-o-war.
God speaks and pulls and we pull back. He yanks again and
we curse and shout across the mud pit at him. He shouts
back. It goes on like this for a long time – most of our
lives even – and sometimes God wins and sometimes we do.
Why is it this way? Because God isn’t after blind,
robotic faith, we behaving as androids receiving signals
from above transmitted to our spiritual antenna. No, God
is after a relationship with us, for us to genuinely know
him. And sometimes to know this God we must wrestle with
him.
When we give up on listening, struggling, wrestling, and
protesting – when we lose our chutzpah – we have given up
on faith, and the only thing left is atheism or cynicism;
hardness toward God or disbelief in him. The struggle
means the relationship is very much alive.

What about you?  Have you and God been struggling lately?