 | You are viewing the community ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} christianleftLog in Create a LiveJournal Account Learn more | Explore LJ: Life Entertainment Music Culture News & Politics Technology |
christianchange
And 71 percent acknowledged "confusion" over same-sex sexual attraction by age 14-15. That's according to the study "Listening to Sexual Minorities on Christian College Campuses”, conducted by researchers Mark Yarhouse, Stephen Stratton, Janet Dean, and Heather Brooke, had 104 "sexual minority" students at three schools within the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities complete anonymous surveys about their sexual desires. (Alas, it's unclear what researchers used to define a "sexual minority," but we believe it's safe to assume it means all things LGBT.)
jubilant
curious“And he sold all that had had and followed Him”
Yesterday I met a man with amazing faith. He is only a bit younger than I am but he accepted a “call” and with his family, is making a gigantic leap of faith.
This man had his life changed by a Christian residential treatment and retreat center in New Hampshire. Over the years he has spent weekends and long weeks working at the facility as a volunteer, handling the duties of the Center's working farm, sawmill and buildings.
Now by the end of the summer, he and his family will have sold their home, sold off excess possessions and moved to New Hampshire. The job includes use of a home.
The same day I met this man, I received a worrisome letter from our parish church's Finance Director. Our little Parish was decimated a year ago when a bulk of the parishioners left is protest over our stand on certain social issues. Now it seems, after a promising start at rebuilding member, our church is running out of funds. While the letter did not say this outright, it is quite apparent from looking at the numbers that unless sometime miraculous or unforeseen occurs, we will be broke by the end of the year.
I'm balancing these two events in my mind. We both have great faith, but the man heading to New Hampshire's faith is strong. Speaking for myself, my faith in the parish's ability to survive is shaken.
The man going to New Hampshire is taking a giant “leap of faith”. What comes to me is that our parish needs to do the same. We in parish leadership need to spend time in “prayer and fasting” even as we work our regular jobs and go about our daily and family obligations.
People arrive to a place where there is no church and “plant” one there because they feel compelled by God to do so. 25 years ago, a small city parish in Sacramento made the decision to leave its inner-city location and move to where it is today. It took a giant leap of faith and purchased a ranch house with a large “great room”
Today that “great room” is our sanctuary. This church started as a seedling 25 years ago and has grown to what it is today. Tomorrow night, at a Vestry meeting, we need to talk seriously about it's future.
If you are reading this, and if you're so inclined, please offer a prayer for St. Mary's parish. Please help us find our “leap of faith”.
I have been asked what challenges the church faces at the present time. This is a difficult question to answer. I gave this some time before I posted it.
I would say that churches, for the most part, are reflections of a fearful, self-righteous and consumerist culture. They are tools for political and social ideologies that are opposed to the Gospel. This has occurred because we have forgotten or ignored the Gospel and have translated its message to suit ourselves rather than allowing it to challenge us.
I would say that churches are business ventures consumed with the bottom line. They view people as means to an end. They are obsessed with survival, money and attendance. Discipleship is not in their vocabulary. They give very little real thought to God or the challenge of the Christ. They have lost their souls.
I would say that we a nearly broken beyond repair. I think Jesus is looking for people who are open to him and He will find them whether they are in what we call the church or in the world.
We are wholly owned subsidiaries of a political and religious ideology which is conservative in the worst sense of the word. We are not interested in transformation but in the preservation of the status quo. We have lost our passion for people in our lust for power and prestige.
We have made the Gospel of God a statement about OUR distinctiveness and OUR values and in doing this we have prostituted the Gospel to serve our interests.
What is the way out of the downward spiral? We must again submit ourselves to the discipline of the Word of God. We must approach it with a humility which recognizes our sinfulness and complicity in brokenness of the world and the church. We must repent and recognize that the Gospel is about God; what God has done, what God is doing, what God wants, what God is calling us to become. It is never about us or our survival or glorification. It is about God’s glory and His agenda.
Until we reject our mercenary use of God and his Church we will continue to be largely ineffective and irrelevant and we will continue to wander through the wasteland of our culture as a false oasis. We will continue to be ineffective. We will continue to have an identity crisis.
We must become a compassionate society rather than a competitive one. We must become a giving culture rather than a consuming culture. We must be taken out of ourselves so we can see the need of those around us. Only then can we navigate with clear vision.
And we must understand that the Church is not in danger of failing or disappearing. We are in danger of failing and have virtually disappeared. God can and will raise a new Church. He may even be in the process of doing so as we speak. Let’s join him. Let’s repent. Let’s get on our knees.
Peace