Church: A place of safety

An increasing problem in Church, it seems to me, is not that of personal sin but the fact that leaders are increasingly encouraging their members that they are 'somewhere safe' with regard to their faith when it is obvious that many are very far from being safe!

I challenged a colleague over this and was told, "The members don't want to be told they're wrong all the time, do they?" And of course they don't but they should surely expect, and welcome, gentle correction, shouldn't they? Anything else is merely leaving people to their own devices. My colleague, with typical humour (or was it resignation?), told me that there were, "Many Christians who welcomed their errors and shortcomings being pointed out and worked on by the Vicar. The problem is that none of them come to this church!" Wherein lies the problem!

Another minister I know views Thomas (the doubter) as the, 'Cancer that destroys the Church!' When it comes to doubt or areas of unbelief they are animated and rather vocal in calling upon members to believe because anything else is the path to separation from God and the demise of the Church. "Put aside your doubts and live in freedom," was their mantra. But is is true? It is odd that this same person also tells people they are' safe' because they come to church and 'do stuff'. 'Safe' is indeed a moveable, and variable, feast!

If I tell people that they are safe and that all is well then I'm sure this will leave them happy and will mean that they live in the peace (at all levels) that those words bring. But if it is a false peace then what I am doing is sowing seeds that, when the harvest comes, will bring a healthy crop of weeds. Worse still is that if I am telling people that all is well when perhaps it isn't the issues that need to be addressed and remedied will remain untouched and I have perhaps condemned them (and surely condemned myself by my complicity) to live in sinful situations.

We are called to carry each other's load (Galatians 6.2), to restore those 'caught in sin' (Galatians 6.1) and to let our 'Yes be Yes and our No be No' (Matthew 5.37) and this means that we provide a place of honesty and love. The problem is that we live in a world where people, thinking they're being 'kind', offer what they think is supportive and kind words when, instead, God calls us to tell the truth in love (Ephesians 4.15).

Church should be a place of safety but for it to be this we need to make it a place of loving honesty and openness; something I have in times past been guilty of not always doing choosing 'peace' and 'keeping members' rather than bringing loving correction.

Now I am very aware that this is not the easiest of areas to discuss because those outside the Church will see hypocrisy (when it's merely being human) and those inside the Church will . . .

Will what?

Cry out to be told they're doing it wrong, or at least could do it better?

Move somewhere else if you point out, however gently, that they are in error?

Welcome an honest leader trying to fulfil their role with integrity and love?


You tell me - and tell me how you would like to have it as a member and as a minister.

Inclusive not permissive
Loving not condoning
Seeing not ignoring

Pax

Praise - not always easy

But truly and most assuredly essential!

It's so easy for us as Christians to issue forth with the trite little statements, especially when, for others, the fan has become the target for some of life's excreta! You probably know what I mean, those little, 'Well praise the Lord anyway,' moments.

Praise is easy when things are running well and life just keeps on being good and yet more often than not the self same people who 'encourage me' and exhort  me to praise are the very worst example of how not to do it right when it's their turn in the stocks of life. It's never easy to find that those you thought were part of the family never were or to have people who should know better proving they know little of what Christianity should be or how they ought to behave.

The dark moments when people you thought we're friends turned out to be anything but and the struggle to live in that place where their 'not being friends' doesn't become 'being enemies', the confusing moments when instead of tending our wounded - we shoot them!

In the middle of our struggles we find Hebrews 13.15 and the call:

'Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.…'

Regardless of the situation before us, we need to 'count our blessings' and to see past the immediate struggle - putting it into perspective and rather than get lost in the mire, rise about the situation, the people, the follies and foolishness and focus on what is good. Philippians 4.8 hits the nail firmly on the head:
' Finally, brothers,
whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable

 if anything is excellent or praiseworthy

 think about such things.

May this truth be ours, and in those around us, today and every day of our lives.

Pax

Finding one God less than You

Another cool image that made me smile today:

An interesting thought indeed!

Atheists and Christians - Both Fundamentalists?

This made me smile and so I thought I share it with you in the hope that it brightens a cold and wintry Spring day: