Its been a long time. I thought instead of some pretentious bull shit about moving and change or about not blogging for a long time and begging for your affirmation, I would just tell you that I am at an impasse. Having been a Christian for over fifteen years now, with a degree in theology (from what I honestly believe is probably one of this country’s finest Christian colleges), and one week away from starting seminary, I still don’t know how to tell some one about Jesus.
Tonight I hung out with a friend with “special needs.” My friend sustained serious physical and mental debilitation from a childhood accident. He spends most of his time listening to heavy metal, playing video games and thinking about what life would be like if he had a girl friend. He is friendly and I have to admit fun (though he can be obnoxious and overbearing at times). But he is angry and a good deal of the time he is depressed that he is a very lonely, sexually frustrated man who can do little for himself in a world where charm and beauty are considered anything but deceptive or vain. It doesn’t take that long having a conversation with him before such feelings come out in the form of sarcastic remarks or inappropriate humor.
To tell my friend that Jesus loves him more than any girl ever could and only Jesus will really make him “happy” would be little better than a slap in the face. What I need to do is to love my friend like Jesus would (does). But I don’t know how. I have not been trained to. Or maybe I am just too lazy or apathetic to really put in the time and effort that would require. I really don’t know. A bit of all of thee above I suppose. All I do know is how to spot what wont work, bitch about it and talk a good game about “relational” or “community oriented” evangelism or other related hot topics that those of us in the who study this Jesus stuff like to talk about. But cynicism is getting old. Mine is about as thin and veiled these days as my friend’s is about his disability.
Above is a famous “evangelism tool” called “the bridge illustration.” I honestly believe that such so called evangelism must make Jesus just as queezy as it makes me. There are few things worse than “evangelism explosion“, bullet point proof text (like those in the bridge illustration above), “the Romans road,” or evangelism tracts. I believe this. I can think of few Christian efforts I think are more misguided.
But one thing comes to mind thats probably far, far worse: not sharing the faith at all. My friend who I hung out with tonight knows I am a Christian. We have talked about how I have worked at church, am looking for a new job in a church and am going to school to eventually work full time in the Church. We have talked about that. I know that he doesn’t much like church although he appreciates the sound of the music and the aesthetic of pretty girls in Sunday dresses. We have talked about that too. But we’ve never really had a conversation about the gospel. And I don’t know how to.
I am someone who you could say has been through a lot of stages in my spiritual journey. As a fundamentalist I was comfortable wearing a dog tag that read “Jesus Freak.” I wrote letters to friends with explanations of the gospel that read a lot like the examples above. But Jesus gave the people who gathered around him anything but all of the right answers with proof text and bullet points to back it up. He often gave them parables, virtual riddles and more questions. He left people uncomfortable and unsettled.
I was also a proponent of “seeker sensitive” Christianity for some time. But again if anyone was anti-seeker sensitive it was Jesus. He told people to sell all they have and follow him; and he wiped away their tears and demanded no less than “go and sin no more.”
I came to where ever it is that I am now by way of the emergent movement. Now please hear me. I really think the emergent movement or “conversation” has done a lot of good, especially with shaking up the sleepy and stagnate fundamentalism which birthed most of the movement’s leaders. But unfortunately - at least in my experience - the theological and practical alternatives offered in the the “conversation” are just rehatched liberalism. I am encouraged just to love people where they are at (which is great advice) but I have been encouraged to do little beyond that. The emergent rejection of an over-intellectualized version of the gospel which rests solely on accepting a the “correct propositions” resonates well with me. I am even comfortable and happy to join in the conversation reevaluating the meaning of things like Heaven, Hell or substitutionary atonement. But as far as I can see the “conversation” has yielded little more than many age old questions without offering at least some tentative answers. The problem with that is no one ever talked about the kingdom of God/Heaven or Hell and judgment or laying your life down for your friend more than Jesus. So if we are to call the pat answers and trite explanations of the gospel that we’ve been given into question in the name of conversation we best be just as eager to get to the heart of what the gospel really is.
The writings of Lesslie Newbigin have been instrumental in reminding me that the gospel is not simply a matter of individual salvation. Rather, it is the story of what God has done for all humanity. Therefore, the gospel is communicated through people and to people living in communities. In his book The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, Newbigin writes,
Since the gospel does not come as a disembodied message but as the message of a community which claims to live by it and which invites others to adhere to it, the community’s life must be so ordered that it “makes sense” to those who are so invited. It must as we say “come alive.” Those to whom it is communicated must be able to say, “Yes, I see. This is true for me and my situation”(141).
Later Newbigin adds,
True contextualization happens when there is a community which lives faithfully by the gospel and in that same costly identification with people in their real situations as we see in the earthly ministry of Jesus. When these conditions are met, the sovereign spirit of God does his own surprising work (154).
I think that this is probably a pretty good explanation of what good evangelism is. But honestly I know very little about what that looks like because I have not really lived it. I hope to.
Long before Newbigin, the apostle Paul - probably implementing much of a hymn of the early Church - wrote,
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life (Philippians 2:1-16a)
I hope the next three to four years of spiritual formation and learning in the seminary setting does more than help me to identify bad evangelism technique and theorize about good technique. I want to live it. I want to bear Christ’s image so deep within me that it becomes obvious - even with all of my faults and blemishes - to those with even the most limited capacity that I am a follower of Jesus and they should be too.
Shalom,
Wayne
Interesting take on Emergent. The folks I know are all reading Newbigin. The folks I know live out this kind of community. Not all, but many.I think it will be hard for you (or me) to live in this kind of community while in seminary because how our lives will be organized. I believe that community takes great effort. I believe that it takes a long time. But in a world of happy meals and what-not, we don’t have time for real, true, passionate relationships. Americans are selfish and I see little hope in our future of breaking away from it. I only hope that someday I can live in a community that represents Christ well.
Wayne,
I too have passed through the stage of self-imposed evangelism “quotas” (sort of). I used to always be very concerned with how much I was evangelizing, or if that person was saved or not or if I didn’t need to work on him or whatever. It was quite stressful.
Now I’ve come to the point where I’ve begun to realize the fallacy of “The Way of the MAster” style evanglism, “did you know that…?” evangelism. Evangelism that says “Hello, my name is _____ I have figured it out, and I’m hear to convince you that I have and my way is the best, and more than that, but if you don’t allign yourself with me, you’re damned to hell. Because I know it all.”
Rob Bell has this NOOMA (perhaps you’ve heard of them) called “Bull Horn.” It’s about that sort of evangelism and you may be interested in watching it. I haven’t actually seen it but a preview on YouTube, but I saw a longer Way of the Master “response” to it. This guy used an analagy of a doctor to convince us that style evangl is better.
He said this: One Doctor is doctor Love (his words), when he comes to the patient with the terminal illness, he comes and comforts him and listens to what he has to say, and builds a relationship, but he never tells him that he has a terminal illness and he’s going to die. The Way of the MAster guy tells us that that is not loving at all!
The second doctor he called “Doctor Reason” who comes to the patients and tells them they are horribly sick and they need treatment immediately. He says that’s the real loving way.
Now that makes sense. Of course the second Doctor is more loving. But it’s funny because the patient comes to the Doctor, because the patient recognizes the Doctor’s credentials.
Now think about this in an evangelistic sense: you come to someone and say that they are sick. You are asking them to accept your credentials and trust your diagnosis without ever knowing you before. Furthmore, you are not allowing time for them to talk at all either, not very humble of you. You know that you’re a doctor, so how do you convince someone that you have the cure?
I think the key is that philipians. One thing my dad once said to me was this: “Jesus never asked us to have the answer to everything. He only told us to love, because love is the answer to all.” The thing is, Jesus has nothing to offer someone who is well, what business does a Doctor have with the well? I believe that when a Christian comes into the world denying himself, his cross taken up; when he comes as Jesus, people come to him. Because everyone needs Jesus. They need the Jesus who will deny himself to come after you, listen to you, enter your pain, consider you better than himself all because he loves you with the love that lays down its life. That Love is what everyone needs and wants and will readily admit it. And that’s exactly what and who the God of Israel in Jesus is.
I see that everyone on Earth needs love; they need to give it and receive it, and everyone is searching for this goodness. All the religions of the world seeking goodness, morality, it’s all pointing towards this God of Israel. Everyone is reaching towards the Gospel. So what a Christian must to is be the Gospel, and the people around him will reach in his direction.
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” (Zch 8:20)
The world is turning towards Him, because he is the source and our only need. As far as the “good announcement” (grk: euangellion eu = good, angellion = message [similar to angel]), through Jesus we have been made into it, and as we abide in Him, He abides in us, and therefore the people gather and grap hold. Praise God.
shalohm,
tim
Hey guys thanks for your comments.
Christian. I am with you in rejecting the method of ‘here just accept this set of propositions and say this prayer.’ I am with you in believing that true Christian community is to be a communal experience. But most non Christians I know do not live in a place where they are regularly exposed to Christian community. My friend that I talked about in the post I see a few times a year. We live nearly an hour apart. There are about 5 or six different townships in between us. When we do hang out we usually do something fun: rent or watch a movie or go out for pizza. I do not really ‘live in community’ with him geographically or spiritually speaking. But surely as one of the only Christians I know of in his life I do have the obligation and privilege to hold out the light of Christ to him. Surely there must be more to being the hands feet, ears and lips of Jesus to him than just talking him out for dinner and talking about sports or movies and being really nice to him. If thats all there is to being the light of Christ to someone then seminary would be a big waste of my time right?
Tim, thank you for all of your input as well. I am with you in sharing a distaste for the Ray Comfort “Way of the Master” style evangelism. I am also with you in rejecting the “i have it figured out” attitude and with sizing people up an and basing relationships on who we think we need to “work on.” But I still think we have the obligation and privilege to be the light of Christ to everyone we meet. And I am fumbling in my efforts to do that. I am not sure that I believe all of the world is reaching for Christ and we just have to be there. It seems that if this were true the rich young ruler would not have walked away and hung his head after meeting Jesus. The world would not have hung him upon a cross. Christ still comes to that which is his own and they do not recognize or they reject him.
I guess what I am saying is this the gospel has with it a proclamation - it always has. Jesus didn’t just hang out with people and love them though he did a lot of that. But he also brought a message; he spent a lot of his time teaching. Otherwise all we would have in the gospels is a collection of stories about Christ’s miracles and the parties he went to but we have so much more. We have been entrusted with his proclamation about the kingdom.
How do I proclaim that message to my friends who do not know Christ? I know it starts with living a more holy and set apart life more representative of Christ and loving them better. I am really trying to work on that. But even so, many, like my friend are not reaching out for Christ or the Christ in me. They are reaching rather to fill the ‘God shaped hole’ with anything but God. In my friend’s case it is music, pornography, or my car because he can’t drive and he wants to go see a movie.
How do I proclaim Christ to him? It seems that broadly speaking in our (evangelical Christian’s) shift from a fundamentalist gospel in bed with modernity to a postmodern (whatever that is) articulation of the gospel that is focused on community we have also shifted from a gospel of mere words to a gospel of merely doing the right thing. If that is the case we have moved little beyond the fundamentalist/liberal controversy; and I would have to have to say I have no interest in either approach.
Blessings,
Wayne
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life (Philippians 2:1-16a)
write these words on your door frames and put them in your heart…..enough said
too much talk of systems and questions and theories and theologies and doctrines…….call me ignorant but the words above have to be enough for us with no intro or outro of humanness to taint it, that being said I to fail at it all the time, but it has to be the source we dwell on.
Oh, Jimmy always the disdain for theology. But that passage from Philippians is loaded with theology. It is one of the most important theological articulations of the early Church: Jesus is God and we can have life in him.
I am not sure what you mean about the “humanness” thing but it sounds a little bit gnostic. The thrust of that passage is that God saves humans exactly by lowering himself and becoming human and that the message is carried on by human beings reflecting Christ’s example.
I could not agree with you and the Shema more, that we need to have such truth written on our ‘door frames’ and in our hearts. But the question is what does that look like to live such a life. And if we do live such a life do we still need to ever verbally proclaim the message to those who are not participants in such a life. And if so what is the content of that message?
Blessings,
Wayne
Hey Everyone,
i think that Jim is on to something. there is a temptation to look for a particular theory that will work in every situation. the emergent folk seem to think the answer is really a question, the fundamentalist seem to think that the answer is living like a good American. to be honest, i don’t care about questions and answers right now.
what is the gospel?
what is a Christian?
what does it mean to follow Christ?
there are so many people trying to answer those questions that one can not help but get lost in the mix. try reading the saints. look at their lives look how they loved people. forget the whole emergent game and leave behind the meaningless wanderings of liberalism. St John of the Cross in a letter to a nun once wrote, “where there is no love, put love and you will draw love out.” those words contain more wisdom than all of the emergent searchings for relevance can ever produce. the heart of the gospel is not really that complicated. like making a good golf swing. when you start off you need to know a thousand things, legs straight, head down, etc.. but when you become a golfer you simply swing. likewise, if you want to communicate the gospel then do it with words do it with actions. theology is a service to the church not a burden.
one last thing, there seems to be a pressure to close the deal when dealing with non-believers. this pressure then manifests itself in self doubt, fear, and anxiety over what it means to spread the gospel. Saint Augustine once wrote, “Love, and do as you will.” so i guess if you are wondering what to tell your friend (Shoe) then tell him about Jesus and then take him to a movie because by taking him out you are loving him (which is what Christians do) and perhaps by so loving you will open him to the grace of God.
Matt your words leave me with a peace that the word love is and can still be more than a word no matter what a fallen path has tried to degrade it into. God is love, as cliché as that has become I still have to state it. I believe that we as Christ followers have to and that we are first reminded in that phrase of the power and grace that love is and will always be because it is God!(we have grown to state that with too much ease and christianies speak, but there is so much force in that!) I think love regains a little bit of its power when we just have the courage to remind our selves of that simplicity. In a world where love doesn’t mean much we also have a task and a sense of urgency in that statement too. As Christ followers I think that statement calls us to have and show a love that is visibly different than that of any other imposter form of love being offered. I also think this naturally comes through when we call on God and it comes through in an effortless real sense not a sales pitch, just love as an holy selfless action.
I am not and never will be against any form of God designed theology Wayne-o, I did like how Matt put it though: “a service to the church not a burden”.
I just think in all of our quests we have lost a little of what the simplicity of the Gospel has to offer too, and how that simplicity in action brings about anything but simple results, it brings healing and restoration to a broken world.
I love how one of you put it a couple months ago, basically saying “it’s all there, and it’s always been there, and it has to be enough!”…….. I believe it shouldn’t be new versions of the truth and how do we sell our faith and who has it right?….. But instead what would it look like if as Christ believers we just asked how?…….how, of the clear call that is “loving your neighbor as yourself and loving God with all of your heart soul and mind”…. you are kind of doing that here Wayne …….but we have to do it collectively and visibly and powerfully together!. From the fundy to the seeker sensitive, to the come as you are guy and across denominational borders and from the scholars to the whatever…..I think the Gospel is clearer than we give it credit for and that we have to come together and ask how do we carry out this love God has called us to? How do we give it to a broken world? and then turn back to the Gospel for that answer, not answer it ourselves with our current theological viewpoint.
Love the conversation and all involved, thanx:
JB
“there are so many people trying to answer those questions that one can not help but get lost in the mix. try reading the saints. look at their lives look how they loved people.”
I like and agree with this. Nice comment Mathedraft. There is much to learn from these wise men and women eh?
I would disagree that the gospel is easy. The reason I say so is that so many have muddied the waters (including me at times)of what it is. I think our tendancies have been to simplify the gospel (see original post by Wayne on the summary of the gospel). I am skeptical of anybody that can sum up the gospel over a coke or before a movie. it will be a partial gospel wich is no good news. That’s why we are saying that the gospel is lived out. Wayne, you are lving the gospel when you spend time with your friend. I personally don’t believe that you need to speak Jesus’ name when you are with him.
The gospel must be organic and natural and flow from natural conversation and life in general. I don’t think that we need to have a spiritually intimate relationship with every person we know. Or even with most people we know. We are spiritual beings. It is buily in us. We are spiritual whether we discuss things spiritual or not. I’d say wayne is doing more good at this point by spending fun time with his friend than if he forced dome kind of spiritual conversation. Jesus met the needs of the people and at times challenged their way of thinking afterwards. His harsh words were nearly always for the religious.
I would agree wholeheartedly with Jim about just the simplicity of the gospel in action. Perhaps the difficulty comes when we try to explain why and how. I think many times responsible, Christian action is often clear (but certainly not always), but simple definitions as to Jesus are very hard, that’s why we are disciples, because we are learning.
“The gospel must be organic and natural and flow from natural conversation and life in general”…. Christian
I guess this is what I meant by simplifying, thank you for choosing better words.
Also sorry for the redundancy, but I think we must, as Christ followers, also be looking for ways we can steer conversation toward they way of offering words of spiritual love and encouragement to a hurt world or friend. We can do this non-abruptly or evasively; in fact it should just happen naturally because we do care. Second (and again redundant) I think whether or not it’s just hanging out or in some deep discussion, we as Christians must always be projecting a love and a demeanor and attitude that is visibly, natural yes, but visibly different because it is God breathed. Just us in these organic natural relationships and everyday life should make people ask where are peace and love come from and how?……that doesn’t call for selling our faith door to door or being a radical evangelist, it just calls for us baring the light of whose we are!
I agree the Gospel cannot be told fully over a coke, but a seed can be planted and as cheesy as it sounds we should drink a coke with our lost world and be luminous. We have a peace like no other, we have a love like no other, and we belong to a God of miracles!….. We don’t need to blab that off all the time is should shine out of us like stars!
“They need the Jesus who will deny himself to come after you, listen to you, enter your pain, consider you better than himself all because he loves you with the love that lays down its life. That Love is what everyone needs and wants and will readily admit it. And that’s exactly what and who the God of Israel in Jesus is.”….Tim F
I think Tim is on the right track here…..But I think it our task to emit this love from our beings and that’s how a lost world breaks down to admit they want that kind of love. It should be when we come in contact with people that the peace and love we carry begs of them honesty and reflection into their own life to then ask themselves and us what we have?
Thanx……and honestly on the same token, “sharing your faith” has a bad, bad rap and sometimes I thing we use that bad rap as a justification or excuse for not sharing……but I don’t think it’s all bad to share what God had done for us and I know that it sure did happen biblically, some just tainted the process, but we cant throw the whole thing out.
JB
Wayne,
I am often horrified at the thought; that if I were to have meet Christ two thousand years ago I may have rejected his often jagged and offensive sayings. And like you, I have no idea how to offer this seemingly peculiar gospel to an unbelieving world.
I only pray that I will someday become “that person,” like my mentors who inspired me. The kind of person who is so driven and walks so closely with Christ that others begin want the life that you possess. In essence, living out the narrative of Christ. The burden of that life is so heavy and yet I find myself longing to obtain it.
Hang in there man; I believe that life of excellence is being formed in you right now.
Hey everyone,
Thank you all so much for your input.
Matt, thank yo for the words from St John of the Cross. There is so much wisdom to be found in the saints that have gone before us. I want to communicate the gospel more with my words and my actions. I will continue to do these movie nights and hopefully you can join us next time.
Tim, thank you for the reminder that we are all disciples and we are learning. I am so glad to have you and your input as a fellow traveler on this journey.
Jim, I think you are so right that we ought to be more active in sharing our faith in Christ in both word and deed. I think that even talking about doing that is scoffed at in certain circles because of stuff like that which I was talking about in this post (cheesy tracs, superficial summaries of the gospel etc) or because of the “marketing Jesus” mentality that it sounds like Christian and Tim are rightly fed up with. But I think that you are absolutely right that we cannot as use those misguided efforts as justification for not sharing verbally what Christ has done.
Christian I really do agree with you that the “gospel must be organic and natural and flow from natural conversation and life in general.” But regardless of the fact that it may sound too evangelical or cliché if we are consumed with life in Christ it should naturally flow into our conversations.
Eric, Thank you for your input. It looks like you chimed in a few days ago but you comment got sent to spam for some reason. But I just approved it and you should have no problem in the future. I too am praying to be formed more in the image of our Lord and more like those who have been bearers of Christ’s presence in our life.
I feel what all of you have had to say about the gospel as simple or complicated or as privilege or burden or what have you. I think depending on how we qualify ourselves there are biblical warrants for saying both. Our Lord has charged us with the task to take up our cross and follow but he has also told us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Honestly, I have to say I really like Matt’s golf analogy because I think it really resonates with both of those biblical concepts and with how the New Testament presents salvation as a new life in Christ. The task is incredibly difficult and the burden more than anyone could bear but praise God that in Christ we can take part in the very life of God’s son and live a life pleasing to God. Thank you all for your input as we all try to live a life more faithful to that which we are called.
I think thats it for me on this one. I will try to post something new soon.
Shalom,
Wayne
Insightful post. Many participants in the emerging conversation are willing to criticize tract evangelism and open air preaching, yet all they offer in exchange is relational evangelism, which is what every Christian should already be engaged in. A problem I’ve experienced with relational evangelism is it is difficult to gauge when it is appropriate to share the gospel. Sometimes its better to just put it out there no holds barred.
After nearly a decade of backsliding, it was a dirty Jamaican man with a tattered Bible preaching the gospel on a subway train that reminded me of Christ’s love. There are pros and cons to all forms of evangelism, yet ultimately we need to remember that it is good news we are sharing. I’ve been a critic of handing out tracts for sometime simply because they seemed hokey and patronizing. But on July 23 I was compelled to write a tract for the Rastafarian community (there are many Rastas and West Indians where I live). I’ve since found that when I hand a tract (which has the Ethiopian flag on the cover) to a dreadlock Rasta it is easy to engage them in dialogue and after our conversation they still have a gospel tract to read. I’ve formed genuine relationships this way. I actually just wrote a post about the tract and the reggae festival my wife and I will be attending this Sunday.
Lastly, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society is a great read. I first heard about from your site a few months back. I always appreciate book suggestions. Peace & Grace!
More fire!
Jason
http://www.morefire.wordpress.com
Thanks for the input Jason.
I think one of my biggest problems with tracts is when people just leave them with someone or just in some random place. It is so detached and it seems encourage (if anything) an individualist picture of the gospel. However, I do find it encouraging that you are using such things to build conversations with people.
And I am glad you liked the Newbigin book. That has been a formational one in my life for sure. And thanks again for chiming in on the discussion here.
Peace,
Wayne
I came across this thread looking for the meaning of the Paul Simon song Bridge over troubled water. This song reminds me of my sister who passed away last year. She used to play it when we were kids. Today was the first time I played the song again and it was very emotional. It took me back to my youth with her. It also reminded me of the church we went to as kids, a church that as we grew up, turned out to be filled with narrow mindedness and genuine hatred for those that didn’t fit in.
I am a spiritual person and have since married into a loving Christian family. My resentment for the Church is slowly fading but I still consider it to be a closed bastion of righteousness. That is how the churchgoers were to me years ago and it seems that I need a lot of evidence to the contrary.
I have seen this evidence in the daily life of my wife and her family. They radiate goodness, and their goodness roots in faith. They lead by example, seemingly unknowingly, and because of it I am slowly getting more comfortable with regaining my lost faith.
Wayne, like your friend life has scared me terribly and I also seek refuge in cynicism. But the utter goodness, humility and love of the (Christian) people around me has put me back on the path of finding my faith. I’m not there yet but at least I’m moving forward.
Reading about your struggle nudged me on my way some more. Thank you. In your struggle I see the openness that I wished for before. You and the other people above exemplify an inviting Church, a church where people know they don’t know and are ok with that.
Your friend would probably be helped best with knowing that you strife to be good and not just do good. And that you are struggling with it. It helped me.
Vincent