A well-known figure among us warned me years ago I need to maintain a position in the middle of the road so people won't shoot at me. He wanted me to shift to the center of mainstream. I think that's an odd request noting the walk of Jesus seemed to fail to align upon this man's vision. We love to quote the verse advising against men-pleasers yet rail against those who don't please us.
Mainstream isn't in the Word. Yet, it is carefully sought by a host of claiming believers. Lukewarm is in the Word and we all know how that goes. Mediocrity and safety have become two of mainstream's icons. Don't look out of step. By all means don't become the C word; controversial.
Staying out of trouble is the goal of mainstream. Not too radical and not too anemic Baby Bear's porridge seems to fit in the church; just right. If we get communion just right, worship just right, and baptism just right mainstream regards us as in like Flynn. Dying for others, teaching others, giving to others, standing up for the whole truth, rescuing the injured, and freeing the imprisoned; this is optional to mainstream while central to Main Street.
I don't like trouble. I'm too big of a chicken to want it. Yet our Jesus certainly called us to Main Street where the weird, the disoriented, the poor, and the imprisoned walk. His was not a ballot cast by church attendance but rather a ditch where the wounded met the Healer. He has requested and required we do the same.
I find in the church blind roosters and hens whose feet and hands are lethargic with disinterest. They aren't in trouble; they are safe. The church has atrophied and can't help but decline. The trouble with this pattern is the mainstream Church of Christ has taken on characteristics of cowardice entirely different from what the Christ expects of us.
Main Street; that's where we want to set our sights. Live or die, we will try to walk in his shoes with the understanding we will take substantial hits. Jesus is not the agreeable politician many in churches wish to make him. He turned his back on mainstream and they ripped it with whips. If we think we will escape ridicule and attack we may be hiding in the stream rather than marching on the street.
6 comments:
Terry, My hubby and I do a co-op column each week for the congregations bulletin. This was last week's...we think alike! EWE’S MUSE
BY VASCA
I’ve always been afraid of things that go bump in the night or sometimes even in the daylight…all those things I can’t see ~ like monsters in my closet or worse, under my bed. Silly huh? Then came “Jaws” and that man-eating shark really acted up…talk about ‘going bump’…ouch! This scaredy-cat didn’t appreciate things under the surface of the water. Even when fishing in Alaska I wondered what was going on down under…no sharks but believe it or not I helped reduce the fish population! Fishing in Lake Michigan? Absolutely no sharks and wonder of wonders, I continued reducing the fish population in a big way! Stop laughing…these are honest to goodness real fish stories and there’s nothing like success to scare the frights away! Wondering where this is going, are you? Well, there’s a twist…while writing about ‘under the surface things’ my heart stirred and I realized there’s a ‘me’ that I don’t want you to see and one that I turn away from! Marcus Aurelius said, “Dig within. Within is the wellspring of Good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig.” So what about it? Here’s what…I’m digging, digging and in doing so I discovered the real me is buried way down deep…underneath the surface. Too often, my glasses get so smudged that I don’t see well…just don’t take time to clean them! Well, I’ve cleaned my ‘God glasses’ and oh my, I definitely don’t like the me I see. Can I do better, be better? Please God, say yes! Here’s the rub; w/the ‘in crowd’ I feel hypocritically comfortable. On the other hand, being my own person can get testy in a heartbeat. If challenged, do I stand on my own convictions or do I take the non-confrontational stance? I dislike rough water but I know I can defend, even disagree in a gentle, kind way ~ like Christ. It’s no longer a game of ‘’will the real Vasca stand up’; I’ve opted for the honest to goodness me! This is a God thing with me, not a person thing. Can I risk the slings and arrows of church, family, and friends’ by revealing feelings that might cause tremors? Do I sit on the fence…in the middle of the road…the safety zone? Personally, I don’t believe that’s where God wants me…sure it’s risky but He never said His way was risk-free! Emma Goldman penned “If love does not know how to give and take without restrictions, it is not love, but a transaction that never fails to lay stress on a plus and a minus.” Let’s face it, He gives and gives, He loves and loves ~ with no restrictions! Dig it?
Excellent! Both yours and Vasca's comment. Sadly, though, walking on Main Street will get one in trouble with far too many church goers, and even more sadly, with far too many elders.
Mediocre is safe, but very bad in God's eyes. The man with one talent, that kept it "safe"...he was called "wicked" and "lazy".
In 2 Peter 1:5 ff, if we grow in the qualities listed, we avoid becoming "ineffective" and "unproductive". And yet if we do not grow, we are "nearsighted" and "blind", and have forgotten our salvation.
These are God's descriptions of mediocrity, safety, and stagnation. And at that, this is BEFORE we even THINK about heading off into some deep, dark world of sin. These are certainly NOT the words I want for God to think of me as, and should scare every Christian that has even the slightest sense of satisfaction with how good we are.
Thanks so much for the encouraging post Mr. Rush.
Thanks for the challenge.
Thanks again, Terry, for your heart.
I love you.
Good thoughts. I'm taking hits without even wanting to be in the fight. Perhaps I'm lukewarm. I keep getting misidentified as "progressive," and after this past week I'm sorely tempted to accept the label.
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