"Often we hear the remark that we have to live in the world without being of the world. But it may be more difficult to be in the Church without being of the Church. Being of the Church means being so preoccupied by and involved in the many ecclesial affairs and clerical "ins and outs" that we are no longer focused on Jesus. The Church then blinds us to what we came to see and deafens us to what we came to hear. Still, it is in the Church that Christ dwells, invites us to his table, and speaks to us words of eternal love. Being in the Church without being of it is a great spiritual challenge."
-Henri Nouwen
Thanks for the challenge Henri! I feel like this sometimes. I know that me and my friends get caught up in church affairs as pastors that we spend all our time talking about what we are doing. "I've got this program doing, this is what i think i'm going to do with small groups or youth group or whatever group." And we spend very little time talking about what Jesus is doing. I can't remember the last time I said, "here is what Jesus is doing in our Church." I need to refocus!
I would add, that sometimes we get so caught up in the Church affairs that we do not have any time for anyone or anything outside the church which is just as much of a problem. I have had to ask myself this question, "How many friends do you spend time with that are not yet followers of Christ?" We can get so sucked into the vortex of Church that we don't have or make time to spend with anyone else but those in the church. It's time to cancel some programs and start spending more time out!
7 comments:
i'm with jeff on this one.
i think it is also important for church leaders to apply the spirit of this passage not only to their own lives, but also to those who participate in their community. it is always a temptation for us to draw a correlation between spiritual maturity and church attendance. moreover, we often call only those who are "of" the church into leadership and integrative forms of ministy. in my experience, these tendencies arise out of our insecurity and often keep us from participating in many innovative forms of ministry.
i repent of this tendencies in my life.
whats funny is that because churches have structured themselves to be like social clubs with membership and activities at the forefront of what we do...we actually promote people and families spending all their free time at church. that is not the way to impact the communities we live in.
Good stuff.
Yeh, just the word "programs" in a church setting always raises flags for me. They're not always a bad thing. Not necessarily red flags. Maybe orange-ish.
I have a post it note on my monitor that says "Adam don't get so wrapped up in "doing" church so that you can "be" the church. That is a very hard thing for a minister to do. Then we get so wrapped into programs we forget that we acctually love these people but never show it except in bad situations.
I love Nouwen and was blessed to visit with him one very special evening long ago! Your post reminded me again of the heart of the Gospel...not to create a community in the catacombs of a cave far away from humanity, but to forge a community among the lives of ALL of God's creation. I confess that comfort pulls me toward those who share my world view while my calling thrusts me out into life. This tension is unavoidable for me, but part of the process of God's grace penetrating to the core of my life.
Thanks for the reminder!
Henri Nouwen is dead and I slept in his room.
The above is a true statement.
I'm not kidding.
Maybe your right, the tendency of groups is to herd together...one of the reasons why we are constantly refered to as "sheep" the "groups" or "functions" seem to huddle together keeping eachother warm and don't ever seem to reach out....what causes this? fear? rejection? selfishness? could be any one of these things but the fact remains...jesus said go out and make deciples...he did not say make as many converts as you can. what does this mean?
It means yes reach out but don't forget who (not a notch under your belt but a person to teach and help develop spiritually)and how you reach out to (how did you reach this person effectively).
Church tends to forget that. I can't help refer to the slimy saleman on the used car lot, Alot of non-christians tend to see us that way. The question is how do we lose that image and all the other harmful images we seem to have accrued?
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