Jason Clark » You’ll never find the church your looking for
…The reality was that people can easily list the things they say a church should be and do, but even if their is a community near them that is all those things, they still won’t by and large get involved. It’s easier to be a critic than to participate.
And in our desire to re-examine church, to adapt and change in the face of our changing world, under a vital missional mandate to do so, I keep reminding myself that relevance is greatly overrated. We can (and I think we should) strive to be kingdom based, break down sacred and secular divides, be communal with our experiences and learning, listen and be open to outsides, serve our communities without hidden agendas, foster a habit of participation and creativity, value ancient, modern and future, be networks rather than hierachy.
And still people will say no thank you, handing my life over to Jesus and serving the Mission of God with others in my community, doesn’t fit my consumer lifestyle and requirements. And maybe whilst we strive for those changes, we’ll stop beating ourselves up over not acheiving them all…
There are some voices within the “emergent church” movement which I find refreshing. Jason Clark is one of those. His attitude of constant discussion and ciritical evaluation (without forgoing orthodox Christianity) is refreshing.
Church shopping is wrong. Why? Jason gets it. What we find in the visible church on earth is hardly ever what we want. First, it is corrupted by our sinful nature. There are always flaws, errors, heresy, and conflict. Yet, we should not be concerned that God is not present there. Where we gather around his Word and Sacrament, he promises to be present. Second, the visible church isn’t a manifestation of the the true Church. In such ways, we Lutherans believe there to be Christians in other denominations. (Jokingly we say “they confess like Lutherans, the just don’t know it or won’t admit it.”)
This is not to say we shouldn’t strive to correct the misdirection of the church on earth. We should and must. We shouldn’t lose heart when we fail to correct heresy. We try, try again. We place our assurance in his promises and not our membership in a particular church, heretical or not.
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Thank for dropping by my blog. I only really discoverd Luther last year, in terms of my own reading :-)
I confess that I find the place and manner of the birth of the Protestant Reformation, not to mention its birthgiver to be quite ridiculous.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10/22/wlav22.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/10/22/ixportal.html
The seat of the Reformation
By Kate Connolly in Wittenburg
(Filed: 22/10/2004)
German archaeologists have discovered the lavatory on which Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses that launched the Protestant Reformation.
Luther frequently alluded to the fact that he suffered from chronic constipation and that he spent much of his time in contemplation on the lavatory.
Experts say they have been certain for years that the 16th century religious leader wrote the groundbreaking Ninety-Five Theses while on das klo, as the Germans call it.
But they did not know where the object was until they discovered the stone construction after recently stumbling across the remains of an annex of his house in Wittenberg, south-west of Berlin, during planning to plant a garden.
“This is a great find,” Stefan Rhein, the director of the Luther Memorial Foundation said, “particularly because we’re talking about someone whose texts we have concentrated on for years, while little attention has been paid to anything three-dimensional and human behind them.
“This is where the birth of the Reformation took place.
“Luther said himself that he made his reformatory discovery in cloaca [Latin for "in the sewer"]. We just had no idea where this sewer was. Now it’s clear what the Reformer meant.”
What makes the find even more fitting is that at the time, faecal language was often used to denigrate the devil, such as “I shit on the devil” or “I break wind on the devil”.
Prof Rhein said: “It was not a very polite time. And in keeping with this, neither was Luther very polite.”
The 450-year-old lavatory, which was very advanced for its time, is made out of stone blocks and, unusually, has a 30cm-square seat with a hole. Underneath is a cesspit attached to a primitive drain.
Other interesting parts of the house remain, including a vaulted ceiling, late Gothic sandstone door frames and what is left of a floor-heating system.
This presumably gave Luther an added source of comfort during the long hours he spent in contemplation.
Luther, who was professor of biblical theology at Wittenberg University, nailed his theses to the church door at Wittenberg, attacking the corrupt trade in indulgences.
The act led to his excommunication but he was protected by Frederick II of Saxony and was able to develop and spread his ideas, which he saw as much more than a mere revolt against ecclesiastical abuses but as a fight for the Gospel.
Prof Rhein said the foundation would prevent the 80,000 visitors who arrive in Wittenberg each year in search of the spirit of Luther, from sitting on the lavatory. “I would not sit on it. There’s a point where you have to draw the line,” he said.