Once a wonderful, vibrant woman named Faith married a man, who in his younger years, had been kind of a rough individual. But, Religion was on the road to recovery and Faith could only see the good in him. For a long time they had such a wonderful marriage that people actually started to have trouble telling the two apart. "Is that Faith or Religion?" some would ask, while others would reply, "There is no difference. They are one in the same." Together, they did great things for people. They gave away their possessions to people who had nothing, fed the hungry, healed the sick and even raised a few people from the dead. I don't know how they did it, but they did. Faith informed me that this happened, so I have no reason to doubt it.
However, sometimes Religion falls back into his old ways. He is in recovery from an addiction to a very dangerous drug called power. So, sometimes Religion tells Faith he's going on for a pack of smokes and doesn't come back for a very long time. He stops by some of his old hangouts and gets high on power. Then he will go on a binge of doing really bad things. He's killed, raped, stolen, lied, oppressed and so on. When Religion is on one of his binges he convinces people that there is only one way to salvation: himself. He gives people very difficult if not impossible tasks they must accomplish before they can be saved.
Fortunately he doesn't stay on these binges. Eventually he sobers up and goes back to Faith and begs forgiveness. Of course she takes him back because, well, she's Faith. The two become inseparable again and people again find it hard to to tell the two apart. They go back to doing the things they're known for doing like taking care of the poor and broken. They bring people to Christ and help them turn away from their former lives.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
I haven't blogged since September when I decided to write about what I see as a growing problem in American Christianity (and possibly in other places too). Since then my wife and I have decided to begin attending Southland Christian Church, which is one church I never thought I'd visit let alone want to attend regularly.
What I've seen of this church is that they offer a lot of programs and ministries, or as my wife puts it, "They seem to put their money where their mouths are." Another thing that I cannot overlook is their lack of legalism. I've been involved in liturgical/sacramental churches with both eastern and western flavors and I've studied all the rules. I've looked down my long John Lennon-like nose at those who ate the wrong foods on the wrong days or who didn't visit the confessional before receiving Communion. It seems that its never enough for some people to follow their path without trying to force others to follow it exactly right too.
I've talked about religious addiction before and people doubt that there is such a thing. However, I truly believe that cutting out authentic faith can lead to religion becoming as addictive as a drug. Sometimes I wonder if I might be a religious addict or have some RA tendencies. I don't like me on religion, but I need to have a relationship with God. A relationship with God of course means that I must attend church.
Community is a necessary thing for a healthy Christian life. I recently heard Jon Weece, lead follower at Southland, talk about the error of looking for a God who will save me without any expectation that I would have any relationship with others. I find that community that requires everyone to live out their spiritual lives in the same exact way each and every day often stifle true spiritual growth. I'm not a morning person for example, so expecting me to get up and read certain passages from the Bible and to have a time of morning prayers before eating breakfast and heading out the door isn't something I can handle. I'm lucky to get up, get dressed and actually get out the door on time. What works for me? I set aside some time for reading the Bible and for prayer, and I am hoping to add more time to that.
It surprises me when I see people who I used to attend those sacramental/liturgical churches with and that they're still going there. It surprises me when they still attend those churches and some of them are actually training to be the next generation of clergy. I want to ask, "Aren't you tired of that yet?" But, I guess that is just me trying to force my own opinions and experiences on others.
What I've seen of this church is that they offer a lot of programs and ministries, or as my wife puts it, "They seem to put their money where their mouths are." Another thing that I cannot overlook is their lack of legalism. I've been involved in liturgical/sacramental churches with both eastern and western flavors and I've studied all the rules. I've looked down my long John Lennon-like nose at those who ate the wrong foods on the wrong days or who didn't visit the confessional before receiving Communion. It seems that its never enough for some people to follow their path without trying to force others to follow it exactly right too.
I've talked about religious addiction before and people doubt that there is such a thing. However, I truly believe that cutting out authentic faith can lead to religion becoming as addictive as a drug. Sometimes I wonder if I might be a religious addict or have some RA tendencies. I don't like me on religion, but I need to have a relationship with God. A relationship with God of course means that I must attend church.
Community is a necessary thing for a healthy Christian life. I recently heard Jon Weece, lead follower at Southland, talk about the error of looking for a God who will save me without any expectation that I would have any relationship with others. I find that community that requires everyone to live out their spiritual lives in the same exact way each and every day often stifle true spiritual growth. I'm not a morning person for example, so expecting me to get up and read certain passages from the Bible and to have a time of morning prayers before eating breakfast and heading out the door isn't something I can handle. I'm lucky to get up, get dressed and actually get out the door on time. What works for me? I set aside some time for reading the Bible and for prayer, and I am hoping to add more time to that.
It surprises me when I see people who I used to attend those sacramental/liturgical churches with and that they're still going there. It surprises me when they still attend those churches and some of them are actually training to be the next generation of clergy. I want to ask, "Aren't you tired of that yet?" But, I guess that is just me trying to force my own opinions and experiences on others.
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