10: WE Is Bigger than Me
Some people “like Jesus but not the church.” “So how did we get to this point where some good Christians think church is entirely optional …” There are two challenges that come from whisperers.
FIRST WHISPER: FIND THE PERFECT CHURCH. Roger Williams, the Puritan founder, was big on separation of church and state. That is a good thing, but has led to freedom of choice and so religion has become like a buffet. Find what you like and go there. When your tastes change, or the church changes, find one that matches your tastes better. But, the NT shows us, the church is a messy family. Bonhoeffer said it well, “Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest, and sacrificial.” “The church is a hospital for sinners, not a retirement center for the perfect.”
SECOND WHISPER: YOU ARE ONE YOUR OWN. Thoreau made us think we are on our own and glorified that life style. “For all the good Thoreau has done for Americans in spurring us all to find ourselves, his life embodies a kind of American individualism that cuts sharply against the grain of the church. His message is whispered in the ear of each American, and when one of us combines Roger Williams with Thoreau, we’ve got bigger Me’s than most We’s can contain.”
CHURCH WISDOM: WE IS BIGGER THAN ME. “… far too much of Christianity is obsessed with that which is personal, individual, intimate, devotional, and private. In other words, the Me.” “The slogan “I’m spiritual, but not religious” is what happens when Thoreau merges with Roger Williams.”
WE SHARE LIFE. The best word for the church in the NT is fellowship which means we share life with one another. “What are the marks of our shared life in our new fellowship?
- We listen to the apostles.
- We share meals with one another.
- We sing, pray, confess our sins, and worship God together.
- We share resources with one another.
- This happens through God’s power at work in us.
- New people enter into this fellowship through gospeling.”
Quotes from: Scot McKnight. “A Fellowship of Differents.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/9W9u1.l