here's something interesting from todays reading
the story goes that a public sinner was excommunicated and forbidden entry to the church. He took his woes to God.
"They wont let me in God, because im a sinner"
"What are you complaining about?" said God. "They wont let Me in either."
Often hobbling through our church doors on Sunday morning comes grace on crutches- sinners still unable to throw away their false supports and stand upright in the freedom of teh children of God. Yet their mere presence in teh church on Sunday morning is a flickering candle represetning a desire to maintain contact with God. To douse the flame is to plunge them into a world of spiritual darkness.
There is a myth flourishing in the church today that has caused incalculable harm: onc e converted, fully converted. In other words, once I accept JEsus Christ as my Lord and SAvior, an irreversible, sinless future beckons. Discipleship will be an untarnished success story; life will be an unbroken upward spiral toward holiness. Tell that to poor Peter who, after three times professing his love for Jesus on the beach and after recieving the fullness of the Spirit at Pentecost, wasw still jealoujs of Paul's apostolic success.
Often i have been asked, "Brennan, how is it possible that you became an alcoholic after you got saved?" it is possible bcause i got battered and bruised by loneliness and failure; because i got discouraged, uncertain, guilt-ridden, and took my eyes off Jesus. Because the Christ-encounter did not transfigure me into an angel. Because justification by grace through faith means I have been set in right relationship with god. not made the equivalent of a patient etherized on a table.
some people have asked me what im looking for in a church
i tell them, im not only looking for a church
if i answer honestly,
i think it would be something along the lines of a church where the preaching is intellectual and theologically sound enough, while still being entertaining,
where the worship is loud, uninhibited, while still being techinically sound, and full of great riffs, in-tune gifted singing, and talented musicians not full enough of themselves such that they contribute but dont over do it
and a sound system that kicks ass, and makes all the talented people sound better
where the people there are beautiful, but not in love with themselves, they are deep but not too beyond reach,
and the frienships are fast, strong but not clingy,
where the people all love each other on so many levels but dun end up cliquey
and the table talk is fun, full of rubbish half the time, but the other half, serious meaninful objective, brilliant and enriching and touch the issues so close to the depth of our hearts
no seriously
what i really want now is to find a church
where i can live in, grow in, contribute to, and just really encounter God in
where if possible, i can find some like minded friends who will push me on
where i wont mind pourng my sweat and blood into again,
i want to find a place that wont reject me, just because i sin, or because im tied down by certain vices that im unable to give up at the moment
who wont label me bad or wrong just because i believe in slightly different things or thing differently
who preach about the victorious life, but at the same time now how falliable i am and teach me how its all about Gods grace, not about how holy i manage to keep myself, not about how many hours i manage to pray while staying awake
a place that will help me find my destiny,
even if its quite outside the archetype of a revivalist or an evangelist
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