Hello, we have just got back from 2 weeks holidays on the Mornington Peninsula. We had a great time of beaches, craft markets, and big breakfasts!! - ah well, off to Dietsville we go....
While we were on holidays, I decided to visit a local pentecostal church that I had heard about. I have a pentecostal background, though it has been about 4 years since I last stepped in one, so it was a bit of a flash back for me. I don't mind the Pentecostal Church, in fact, a lot of my theology and belief systems stem out of there in some form or fashion. Having said that, there is a lot of ugliness in the Pentecostal Church, just like there is in every other denominational stream... every church has its own errors or idols and this blog is not about bagging the Pente' tradition, these observations probably span across every denomination out there...
I went to the Church with a sense of optimism and openness, I have a tendency towards cynicism, a tendency that I am slowly learning to curb, but this day I was not feeling cynical at all. The church service formula was to be expected, the choice of choruses, stemming from Hillsong and other similar places was no surprise, the pastors attempt to stir up the congregation into spiritual fervor was something that I had not experienced for years, but again no surprises here, it was a Pentecostal church after all... The thing that struck me, time and time again, no matter how much I tried to shake it, was what could almost be described as a vision, especially if I wanted to get all Pentecostal on you all...
What I saw at this church was quite a graphic sight, it was the sight of half a body, a human body really cut right down the middle, one leg, one arm, half a head, one eye, one ear, half a nose... you get the idea...
It was a church that was really only interested in peoples souls, it was all about being saved, being born again to be more specific, this was the ultimate goal, and in many ways nothing else mattered. Prayer was also important, there were a number of prayer requests;
"This ladies grand daughter who is not born again is suicidal, lets pray for her..."
"This young man has been diagnosed bipolar, lets pray..."
"This young family are in financial trouble, lets us pray..."
Living in a community that cares so much for one another, that tries to meet the needs of anyone in need, at a physical level as well as a spiritual level, I saw this half body ignoring the fact that it was incomplete, that it was only half there, and as a result probably dead*. It was busy dressing itself up & applying makeup to its malformed, incomplete body. The pastor boasted about how they had seen over 100 souls come to the Lord, a boast that when looking around the congregation did not seem to add up. Obviously it was simply the decision that mattered, not ongoing growth and discipleship.
My heart ached, as I sat there, listening to the pastor all but predicting the rapture and return of Christ for 2007, I wondered about that suicidal girl, the bipolar man and the struggling family... would anyone come along side these people, would they help them out in the here and now???? or would they simply offer up a prayer and go on living their own lives.
I wondered about the 100 souls, where were the bodies attached to these souls, most of them were not in the church (not that church building attendance is at all what it is about - but certainly for these guys it was). How were these 100 souls traveling, were they being discipled, supported and loved, or had they simply been immunised against Christianity.
I sometimes worry that I have become too liberal in my social action based theology that I now live by, but I realise now that I have not, I still care for souls and want to see them enter the Kingdom, but I realise that these souls also have a body, and that the needs of the body need to be met also, without it, it is only half a gospel, a deformed gospel, a dead gospel, that leads inevitably to a half church, a half body deformed and dead.
There is a saying here at UNOH, that goes something along the lines of "the soul is not the price of our friendship" meaning that we do not only get into friendships with people to see a convert, but that we build a friendship because we see a need. Sure we care about these peoples souls and would like nothing more than to see them enter the Kingdom, but we are not only in their lives for that purpose, nor do we simply let them flounder around on their own if they do make the decision, going onto a new unsaved project... Jesus certainly demonstrated a concern for a persons physical and spiritual health, at times he only focused on the physical, just like at times he focused on the spiritual, but one thing can truly be said - he met the person at their need, he was not concerned with the sinners prayer, altar calls or baptism in the Spirit, and he called us to "Go and do likewise" Have we gone to far, have we taken Paul's teaching on the sinfulness of the flesh too far and fallen into some sort of gnosticism??
*I don't want to go that far, I don't know if is superstition in me that keeps me from being too harsh towards the church or if it is the Spirit, whichever it is, this church is not beyond fixing its problems and becoming whole, so I am not condemning it in calling it dead, it is simply the impression that I got.
While we were on holidays, I decided to visit a local pentecostal church that I had heard about. I have a pentecostal background, though it has been about 4 years since I last stepped in one, so it was a bit of a flash back for me. I don't mind the Pentecostal Church, in fact, a lot of my theology and belief systems stem out of there in some form or fashion. Having said that, there is a lot of ugliness in the Pentecostal Church, just like there is in every other denominational stream... every church has its own errors or idols and this blog is not about bagging the Pente' tradition, these observations probably span across every denomination out there...
I went to the Church with a sense of optimism and openness, I have a tendency towards cynicism, a tendency that I am slowly learning to curb, but this day I was not feeling cynical at all. The church service formula was to be expected, the choice of choruses, stemming from Hillsong and other similar places was no surprise, the pastors attempt to stir up the congregation into spiritual fervor was something that I had not experienced for years, but again no surprises here, it was a Pentecostal church after all... The thing that struck me, time and time again, no matter how much I tried to shake it, was what could almost be described as a vision, especially if I wanted to get all Pentecostal on you all...
What I saw at this church was quite a graphic sight, it was the sight of half a body, a human body really cut right down the middle, one leg, one arm, half a head, one eye, one ear, half a nose... you get the idea...
It was a church that was really only interested in peoples souls, it was all about being saved, being born again to be more specific, this was the ultimate goal, and in many ways nothing else mattered. Prayer was also important, there were a number of prayer requests;
"This ladies grand daughter who is not born again is suicidal, lets pray for her..."
"This young man has been diagnosed bipolar, lets pray..."
"This young family are in financial trouble, lets us pray..."
Living in a community that cares so much for one another, that tries to meet the needs of anyone in need, at a physical level as well as a spiritual level, I saw this half body ignoring the fact that it was incomplete, that it was only half there, and as a result probably dead*. It was busy dressing itself up & applying makeup to its malformed, incomplete body. The pastor boasted about how they had seen over 100 souls come to the Lord, a boast that when looking around the congregation did not seem to add up. Obviously it was simply the decision that mattered, not ongoing growth and discipleship.
My heart ached, as I sat there, listening to the pastor all but predicting the rapture and return of Christ for 2007, I wondered about that suicidal girl, the bipolar man and the struggling family... would anyone come along side these people, would they help them out in the here and now???? or would they simply offer up a prayer and go on living their own lives.
I wondered about the 100 souls, where were the bodies attached to these souls, most of them were not in the church (not that church building attendance is at all what it is about - but certainly for these guys it was). How were these 100 souls traveling, were they being discipled, supported and loved, or had they simply been immunised against Christianity.
I sometimes worry that I have become too liberal in my social action based theology that I now live by, but I realise now that I have not, I still care for souls and want to see them enter the Kingdom, but I realise that these souls also have a body, and that the needs of the body need to be met also, without it, it is only half a gospel, a deformed gospel, a dead gospel, that leads inevitably to a half church, a half body deformed and dead.
There is a saying here at UNOH, that goes something along the lines of "the soul is not the price of our friendship" meaning that we do not only get into friendships with people to see a convert, but that we build a friendship because we see a need. Sure we care about these peoples souls and would like nothing more than to see them enter the Kingdom, but we are not only in their lives for that purpose, nor do we simply let them flounder around on their own if they do make the decision, going onto a new unsaved project... Jesus certainly demonstrated a concern for a persons physical and spiritual health, at times he only focused on the physical, just like at times he focused on the spiritual, but one thing can truly be said - he met the person at their need, he was not concerned with the sinners prayer, altar calls or baptism in the Spirit, and he called us to "Go and do likewise" Have we gone to far, have we taken Paul's teaching on the sinfulness of the flesh too far and fallen into some sort of gnosticism??
*I don't want to go that far, I don't know if is superstition in me that keeps me from being too harsh towards the church or if it is the Spirit, whichever it is, this church is not beyond fixing its problems and becoming whole, so I am not condemning it in calling it dead, it is simply the impression that I got.
1 comment:
Good stuff Pete + Naomi, fascinating vision and a very simple but effective illusration of the issues you've raised. It's amazing how many times Jesus linked our mission and obedience with basic physical care (as well as issues of sin and repentance of course). it's fantastic that you guys are fully on the UNOH trip... gotta say, I really admire the families doing it... I know it adds a whole new dimension (that was meant to be a blog idea for you there...)
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