Blogging is a funny thing. I mean, I write and I post and then I have no idea if anyone out there is reading what I write or if anyone really cares. It’s like yelling into an empty cave. And then some of you wonderful people who have actually been reading what I write let me know. You tell me face to face or over the phone. You post comments. You email me. You should know that I (and I suspect other bloggers) appreciate that very much. Keeps us going.
And along those lines—keeping going—I have to tell you that my mind has been all over the map for the last few weeks. I’ve been doing a lot of deep thinking about fairly basic things and I haven’t really come up with much yet. Funny how that works.
Here’s my dilemma: I have come to the unsettling conclusion that there is considerably more to “discipleship” that I grew up knowing about. We talk about being good Christians and all and praying some and occasionally reading our Bibles, and all that stuff is fine and good, but that’s not being a disciple. The art (for it is an art) of discipleship has been lost to most of us and we have settled for something less. I don’t mean to sound cynical, but we have.
The presence of Jesus in a person’s life ought to change them in a deeply profound way. I’m afraid that we’ve turned Jesus’ presence into a self-help technique. Maybe we don’t really want transformation. Maybe moderate enrichment is better. But that’s not what those guys who put together the New Testament were writing about. I mean, Paul says we’re supposed to be so different with Jesus in our lives that it is as though the person we used to be is dead and someone else is walking around in our bodies. People should be looking at me going, “Where is Adam? You look like him, but you’re not him.” This transformation should be so complete, so thorough that we find ourselves thinking with the mind of Christ. Can you imagine that?
But here’s the thing—I honestly don’t believe that’s what most Christians (or at least most American Christians) are out there looking for. Whew! Big stuff, I know, but hang with me. Again, I don’t mean to come across like the guy who’s willing to slam everyone while he thinks he knows all the answers. I am not that guy. It’s just that, looking across the landscape of the American church, I don’t see a people who are devoted to suffering, submitting, giving, sacrificing, forgiving, tolerating, caring and, well, dying. (You know—“take up your cross and follow Me” kind of living.) I see folks who want to do good, yes, but who don’t go about the task of “doing good” the way Jesus did. He ran from power, at least earthly power, and we claw at each other for it.
And I say “we” because I’m just as screwed up as the next guy. Looking at myself, I don’t see what I would like to see.
What does it mean, being a disciple? It has to mean something more than what I see. Surely the transforming power of Jesus Christ is something more than the theological equivalent of Dr. Phil’s How-To-Be-Happy Guide.
What do you think it means to be a disciple?
As a number of us here seek what it truly means to be a disciple of Christ, to die to self and allow the Holy Spirit to then guide our lives, some interesting problems arise. These are things that I am dealing with now…
The corporate church appears to have little interest in exploring this direction or much less seeking accountability in this arena. I’ve been told the church would dwindle to zero.
Sure, we give fancy sermons about too many toys, killing your television and putting “fill in your idol here” before God, but a lot of times I think we just sermonize to hear ourselves speak it. It sounds good, but we don’t really expect you to practice it. Heck, the paid church staff doesn’t practice it, so why should the congregation?
So, as a leader in the church, how do we move the corporate body towards this self sacrificed life? Do we? Are we all called to this, or just the fortunate few from whom God demands more? (This is not an elitist statement, and is said very much tongue-in-cheek. For those of us who have stumbled to this point, I dare say by the nature of your postings and my daily thoughts, everything, and I mean everything we say, do, own, etc., falls under the weight of significance for God.) Is everyone meant for this?
If not, or even if so, how does one remain relevant to the body that has not reached this point in their spiritual lives? How can someone “playing the fool” not help but look ‘foolish’ to even their Christian brothers and sisters? How do we remain integrated, how do we avoid the ‘ascetic’ label? Should we? I mean, I’m considered weird already.
I’m not sure we have to do animal skins and eat bugs and honey all John the Baptist style, but these words isolate people all the same. The stories that result from living out a faith to the hilt make for interesting reading (see your own booklist) but seldom seem inviting to the regular Christian person.
So what do we do? Is this an isolated thing? Are we destined to be loners, outcasts of even the church we love so much? I mean, that’s biblical really. And then what? How do we then preach, teach or reach? And even still, how do you encourage people to fill every minute, every action, every relation with God?
BLAH!
left by ray on 10.09.2006 at 11:51 am