Words to the heart...

I had a conversation yesterday that got me thinking, praying, and wondering.

The first was with a young friend who is doing some great questioning about her faith and life growing up in the church. I haven't had many of these since my youth. In fact, it reminded me of me in the 70's. She is looking at an eastern approach to her life of living in harmony and peace and there are real conflicts to a western approach that tends to deal with right and wrong. I loved the conversation and saw something in her eyes that I haven't seen in many nor in her in the past few years. She is peaceful, wrestling, but peaceful. Great questions of ethics and balance. I can imagine it is freaking out youth group friends and family but I think there is something wise about this path she is on. But it will be full of conflict and misunderstanding.

I think sometimes our Calvinism creates a thinking that overrides the heart of Christ, Beatitudes if you will, and puts it into an approach a Pharisee would love. Quantifiable righteousness. The church that seeks to build huge cathedrals or parking lots at the expense of the environment or slave labor is not in harmony with the "Way" of Jesus.

Sure a faith in Jesus' work on the cross is not in question. But do we mirror the Way of Jesus. Our treatment of children, born and unborn should be huge as well as reconciling the people of the diocese to one another. Churches are no longer in diocese accountability, responsible for the people of the area where it was planted. They have become like mini-marts on street corner of convenience and style. Going crosstown to a church because they are doing it right with music and child care takes the responsibility off of people to do the work in their neighborhood. Churches attract people who are easily attracted to stuff instead of people who love their neighbor, let alone people who know their neighbor.

Worship becomes about song selection and not about a deep adoration. We use terms like "community" when we do short time commitments to one another. The Word of God is displayed on a wall instead of in the lives of "believers." We spend more on improving parking lots than on youth director's salaries. Do our programs create programatic believers that reward participation instead of creating character of hope (Romans 5:3-5 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.)