The following excerpt is taken from the writings of the evangelical theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer read during the ecumenical celebration in Saint Paul outside the walls. This is posted on the vatican's web site: http://www.vatican.va/jubilee_2000/magazine/documents/ju_mag_01022000_p-13_en.html
“In Christ there was re-created the form of man before God. It was not an outcome of the place or the time, of the climate or the race, of the individual or the society, or of religion or of taste, but quite simply of the life of mankind as such, that mankind at this point recognized its image and its hope. What befell Christ had befallen mankind. It is a mystery, for which there is no explanation, that only a part of mankind recognise the form of their Redeemer. The longing of the Incarnate to take form in all men is as yet still unsatisfied. He bore the form of man as a whole, and yet He can take form only in a small band. These are his Church. “Formation” consequently means in the first place Jesus' taking form in his Church. What takes form here is the form of Jesus Christ himself. The New Testament states the case profoundly and clearly when it calls the Church the Body of Christ. The body is the form. So the Church is not a religious community of worshippers of Christ but is Christ himself who has taken form among men. The Church can be called the Body of Christ because in Christ's Body man is really taken up by him, and so too, therefore, are all mankind. The Church, then, bears the form which is in truth the proper form of all humanity. The image in which she is formed is the image of man. What takes place in her takes place as an example and substitute for all men. But it is impossible to state clearly enough that the Church, too, is not an independent form by herself, side by side with the form of Christ, and that she, too, can therefore never lay claim to an independent character, title, authority or dignity on her own account and apart from him. The Church is nothing but a section of humanity in which Christ has really taken form. What we have here is utterly and completely the form of Jesus Christ and not some other form side by side with him. The Church is man in Christ, incarnate, sentenced and awakened to new life. In the first instance therefore, she has essentially nothing whatever to do with the so-called religious functions of man, but with the whole man in his existence in the world with all its implications. What matters in the Church is not religion but the form of Christ, and its taking form amidst a band of men. If we allow ourselves to lose sight of this, even for an instant, we inevitably relapse into that programme-planning for the ethical or religious shaping of the world, which was where we set out from.”
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Liminality: Be As Small As Jesus Wants Us To Be!
Greetings from Texas as we are here in north Dallas suburbia visiting family. (Oh by the way the road trip went well. Callie did great! We just took our time, stopping when we needed too enjoying the road.)
My thought for you this morning is the nature of the Church here in the lone star state: large. Every building is huge and seems like an attempt to over top the mega-church down the street (or toll way or farm road—nothing in the way of mid-sized roads).
Now I know there are smaller churches and, from talking to my brother-in-law, people here who “get” grace and being missional. My observation; however, is that the culture down here does not lend itself to liminality. Liminality is the process of being push to the periphery through isolation and re-assessing one’s identity. This process is done by a tribal boy who leaves his mothers hut and, depending on the culture, goes out on a quest to kill some wild game or smoke some dope and see his spirit guide—when he comes back to the tribe he is a man.
We as people go through liminality, as groups we can go through liminality (sound familiar Edge friends) but liminality can also be experienced in large groups as culture changes i.e., the evangelical church as society in the States becomes more post-modern. Historically speaking, before the enlightenment the Church held the center of society controlling politics, morality and individuals. During the enlightenment project reason was the center of society informing politics and the like—and the Church began the process of being marginalized. Now with our changing post-modern sensibilities the idea of a center has been replaced with a “do as you wish” mentality and for the Church the process of liminality has begun. Will the Church strive to re-claim a non-existing center—as is it appears to be here in Texas—building bigger buildings with slicker programming and performance based excellence (I have read you can call this a broadcast church) or will the people of God be comfortable being relegated to the periphery?
It is not to say that broadcast church cannot be missional and understand grace, but it is mighty hard in a corporate culture to not be about the institution. Now is this just the end of the Bible belt so this observation means nothing for other regions? Possibly, but at the very least it is good to re-evaluate motives of the people of Jesus gathered: do we depend on being valued by the world, which I think leads to human-driven effort; or do we depend on being directed by Jesus, which is to say that we live in grace being missional?
Granted we might fall somewhere in the middle of these poles, but I pray we fall into the arms of Jesus no matter what cultural paradigm we use. As we experience isolation and the re-assessing one’s identity, as life is often cruel enough to throw us, I pray that as an expression of the deep seeded belief in Jesus’ sovereignty we will put our trust in Him and not live by our own plans and in our own strength and not be about building bigger buildings but humbly be OK with being as small as He wants us to be.
Blessings,
Dustin
My thought for you this morning is the nature of the Church here in the lone star state: large. Every building is huge and seems like an attempt to over top the mega-church down the street (or toll way or farm road—nothing in the way of mid-sized roads).
Now I know there are smaller churches and, from talking to my brother-in-law, people here who “get” grace and being missional. My observation; however, is that the culture down here does not lend itself to liminality. Liminality is the process of being push to the periphery through isolation and re-assessing one’s identity. This process is done by a tribal boy who leaves his mothers hut and, depending on the culture, goes out on a quest to kill some wild game or smoke some dope and see his spirit guide—when he comes back to the tribe he is a man.
We as people go through liminality, as groups we can go through liminality (sound familiar Edge friends) but liminality can also be experienced in large groups as culture changes i.e., the evangelical church as society in the States becomes more post-modern. Historically speaking, before the enlightenment the Church held the center of society controlling politics, morality and individuals. During the enlightenment project reason was the center of society informing politics and the like—and the Church began the process of being marginalized. Now with our changing post-modern sensibilities the idea of a center has been replaced with a “do as you wish” mentality and for the Church the process of liminality has begun. Will the Church strive to re-claim a non-existing center—as is it appears to be here in Texas—building bigger buildings with slicker programming and performance based excellence (I have read you can call this a broadcast church) or will the people of God be comfortable being relegated to the periphery?
It is not to say that broadcast church cannot be missional and understand grace, but it is mighty hard in a corporate culture to not be about the institution. Now is this just the end of the Bible belt so this observation means nothing for other regions? Possibly, but at the very least it is good to re-evaluate motives of the people of Jesus gathered: do we depend on being valued by the world, which I think leads to human-driven effort; or do we depend on being directed by Jesus, which is to say that we live in grace being missional?
Granted we might fall somewhere in the middle of these poles, but I pray we fall into the arms of Jesus no matter what cultural paradigm we use. As we experience isolation and the re-assessing one’s identity, as life is often cruel enough to throw us, I pray that as an expression of the deep seeded belief in Jesus’ sovereignty we will put our trust in Him and not live by our own plans and in our own strength and not be about building bigger buildings but humbly be OK with being as small as He wants us to be.
Blessings,
Dustin
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