A friend of mine recently challenged me to dig deeper into what it is that God's called us here to do--to give congitive flesh to the yearning that God's placed in my heart. Each of us hopes and waits for something, he said. That "something" doesn't look like everything else. Specifically, if I've heard him correctly, he's describing an expression and incarnation of faith that is authentic and genuine: we know it when we see it, and consequently we're drawn to it.
The Church, (and by "Church" I don't mean the Institution, but rather the Body of Christ, i.e. the life of the Holy Spirit lived out within those who call themselves Jesus' followers), is the nexus of this yearning hope and incarnate expression. It embodies (or ought to, at least) the Kingdom of God here on earth. Too often it (we) fall short. This "falling short" induces in many of us the yearning described above: we long for the fullness of salvation and relationship (with God and others) for which God created us.
When I say, "Design Your Own Church" I'm asking what does the Church that fully embodies the Kingdom of God look like for you. In these intial stages of exploration and definition I've simply come up with a list of words that at least hint at what I believe it is.
Trinitarian
Worshipful
Christ-centered
Mysterious
Explorative
Open
Belonging before you believe
Genuine
Authentic
Confessional
Healing
Devotional
Historical
Eucharistic
Celebrative
Imaginative
Spirit-inspired
Life-giving
Journeying
Safe
Fellowship
Hopeful
Inclusive
Forgiving
Beautiful
Relational
Comprehensive
Color-blind
What do you think?
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3 comments:
What would you do if you had to pick two or three words to describe it?
I think I'd go with a couple of yours - Eucharistic and Authentic. And then I'd finish off by summing up the goal of it all...Loving...
Interesting question, though
Good question, Joe. I think you hit the nail on the head. I might add Trinitarian to the mix because there's something about the Trinity that's invaluably formative for our faith.
Don't know how I missed loving.
Our Pastor wants us to become more and more the following a ......
Missional
Equipped
Devoted
Inclusive
Community
M E D I C for short.
Pretty hard to argue with any of these.
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