There are many reasons why I blog, but one of the foremost reasons is to provide information, discuss issues, raise questions, etc. I do this as a “service” to my students, as well as others who may come across this blog. I also do it to engage in dialogue on certain issues. I also think it’s important to provide information, or discuss issues that we may agree with, or disagree with at times. Part of my purpose in blogging is to provide a variety of views and resources. Why do I bring this up?

Mainly because of the reaction that certain words give people who read my blog. The reactions tend to be fear, or jubilation. And some of these words are the words, postmodern, emergent, and, um, let me see. No, those are the ones. Some read those words and see some of my links to their resources and are so ecstatic because they feel that I am becoming emergent, or are emerging, that they can hardly believe it. Some read them, and become frightened, all of sudden questioning my orthodoxy, and the views I hold. Now both of these people are in a small minority, but I want to say this.

I think it’s important, that as a Christian, that I stay attuned and informed of what is going on in theological/church circles. I also think that as a Christian it is important that I explore all sides of an issue, conversing with those in the know.

So I guess I am giving a sort of position here. I am someone who considers myself as part of the emergent conversation. Meaning, I have been to two conferences, I have read the books, I have met the people. I am fascinated by many things they do and by many of the questions they are asking. And I am also concerned about some things, and am wanting to explore more some topics related to certain issues.

But I will tell you this. I have never been in an environment….Christian environment that is….where I felt more freedom to be myself, and ask tough questions, without feeling like you would be judged, or looked at in a weird way, like you weren’t a Christian because you ask such a question. Do you know what I mean? And I am also very intrigued by emergent’s views on leadership, which stresses a horizontal style of leadership. I like their views on this issue, and I agree with a style of leadership that moves away from strictly hierarchal positions. Hierarchy in leadership is necessary at times, and even beneficial, but I am beginning to think that a more Biblical view of leadership is less about hierarchy, and more about multiplicity in leaders, humility, servant leadership, etc. I am most drawn to Henri Nouwen’s vision of leadership in his book, In The Name of Jesus. One where the leader leads from within. Where he or she leads within the crowd (did you notice I said he or she…yes emergent also thinks that women and men have both been given the gift of spiritual leadership…as does my denomination and church…not just men…so if you agree with that, then you like some parts of emergent), not outside of it, or above it. This leader is one that leads in humility, like the image we see of Christ in Philippians 2:5-11. It is true servant leadership that does not pride itself with the desires to be popular, powererful, or relevant, as Nouwen so aptly discusses.

Anyways…I am on a tangent. But if you want to know more about emergent stuff, then read the blog links I have off on the side. And if you want to know more about some other topics, please let me know. But emergent issues are very relevant right now, and if you are not asking questions about it, you probably will be soon. Whether you see yourself as a part of that conversation, or whether you do not.

Also…to know more on this issue I have been doing some more reading.
I have recently been reading a blog from one of the newer professors at Fuller Theological Seminary, Ryan Bolger.

I really liked this question that was posed to him by a student:
Do I have to become a liberal to be ‘emerging’?

This answer will give you some insight.

I have been hitting some tough passages as of late. Bonhoeffer, as you know, if you have read him, is a tough and slow read. He says so much in such short amounts of space. His mind is unbelievable. But what do I expect from someone who wrote their doctoral dissertation at age 21 by writing Sanctorum Communio by age 21, and then, three years later, published Act and Being as his thesis, to allow him to teach. Unbelievable.

Today, I was taken by this passage particularly. Here is an excerpt:

Jesus Christ stands between the lover and the others he loves……Because Christ stands between me and others, I dare not desire direct fellowship with them. As only Christ can speak to me in such a way that I may be saved, so others, too, can be saved only by Christ himself. This means that I must release the other person from every attempt of mine to regulate, coerce, and dominate him with my love. The other person needs to retain his independence of me; to be loved for what he is, as one for whom Christ became man, died, and rose again, for whom Christ bought forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Because Christ has long since acted decisively for my brother, before I could begin to act, I must leave him his freedom to be Christ’s; I must meet him only as the person that he already is in Christ’s eyes. This is the meaning of the proposition that we can meet others only through the mediation of Christ. Human love constructs its own image of the other person, of what he is and what he should become. It takes the life of the other person into his own hands. Spiritual love recognizes the true image of the other person which he has received from Jesus Christ; the image that Jesus Christ himself embodied and would stamp upon all men.

Wow! What to say?

This reminds me of something one of my favorite professors used to tell his class, regarding love. He would tell us that he had been married to his wife for about 57 years now. And that she was still a mystery. Sure, he knows things about her after 57 years. What she likes. Dislikes. Etc. But that she is still a mystery. That if he tried to coerce her, and dominate her, and know everything he could possibly know. Or if he tried to shape her into the woman he wanted her to be….then he would have taken away her freedom to be who she was in God’s eyes, as created by God. We were all blown away by this. Of course, it was much better coming out of his mouth, then my blog.

But I wonder after reading Bonhoeffer, how much we try to coerce, manipulate, regulate, dominate, etc., people in our lives. Maybe not overtly, but the same nonetheless.

Do we do this in our church community? Coercing people to behave in certain ways, and then regulating them to maintain a certain life?

Do we do this in our marriages, or relationships? Do we as Christian men try and dominate women at times, twisting Scripture, and forgetting the part about mutual submission? How many guys have I sat around and heard tell stories about how they just need to get their girl to do this, then she would be more spiritual, etc. And that works the other direction as well, with woman coercing men at times.

How do we treat people in our community?

Is Christ our mediator? Do we see all people, all relationships through Him, rather than through our own desires and ambitions?

What about retaining independence from the other person? How many relationships do we strain the life out of because we want to take away their independence, only in hopes of making them more ours?

Reminds me of the beautiful quote by the German poet, Rainer Maria Rilke:

Love consists in this, that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other.

Or of the beautiful passage in The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran:

Then Almitra spoke again and said, “And what of Marriage, master?”
And he answered saying: You were born together, and together you shall be for evermore. You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days. Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be spaces in your togetherness. And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

This would change everything I believe. Christ as our Mediator.

I am just continuously impressed with Bonhoeffer’s insight into Christian community. Reading his book is both refreshing, and alarming, at the same time. Refreshing because I think he hits the nail on the head so many times, and he gives insight into what community, and sharing life together is really about. Other times it is alarming, because some of his statements are so radical, that you have to ask yourself sometimes…..really? And alarming because you find yourself guilty of those things that he talks against.

Yesterday, we saw that in his opinion, Christian commmunity, and life among Christians is not to be takend for granted. Jesus lived his life amongst his foes, and so shall we. Bonhoeffer is concerned with the wishful thinking that takes place in many Christian communities, and what happens when those wishes are not fulfilled.

In Chapter 1 on Community, he continues:

Innumerable times a whole Christian community has broken down because it had sprung from a wish dream. The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christian life together should be and to try to realize it.

How true this statement is. How many times have we come into a church, or a Christian community, and complained that the community was no good; or that the teaching was no good; or that people weren’t friendly? How many of us move from fellowship to fellowship searching for the perfect community to meet all of our needs? One of the biggest complaints that I often get as a college director is on the issue of our community. “People aren’t friendly enough.” “I don’t connect.” “You don’t have this, and my old church had this.” And has our community broken down at times because our ideas have come from a wish dream. Because we have come to The Quest, or another church with our own agendas, constantly comparing places and experiences. Bonhoeffer continues:

But God’s grace speedily shatters such dreams. Just as surely as God desires to lead us to a knowledge of genuine Christian fellowship, so surely must we be overwhelmed by a great disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and, if we are fortunate, with ourselves. Be sheer grace, God will not permit us to live even for brief period in a dream world.

I suppose that one of the advantages of growing up in the church, as my dad was a pastor, and being behind the scenes, is that it afforded me the opportunity to see the Church, and community from a different angle. I have no illusions (which is probably not true), that the Church will be some garden of roses, where everyone prays all day, and gets along with everyone, and everyone is on a spiritual high. Rather, I have seen the craziness that takes place, the fueding, the disappointments, etc. But that has made Church, and community all the more joyous to be a part of. Because it is real tough work. It is the bringing together of many people, and learning to function together. If it was so easy, then the Apostle Paul probably wouldn’t have needed to pen most of the letters in the NT. The sooner we realize our own wishful thinking, and deal with the reality of Church, and life in community, the sooner we can go about really being in community, and allowing God to transform it, and us.

Every human wish dream that is injected into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.

How have I hindered the work of God at The Quest, or in other Christian communities? What dreams, wishes, and ideas have I brought with me, and expected them to be realized? What about you? Bonhoeffer continues:

God hates visionary dreaming; it makes the dreamer proud and pretentious. Whoa! That’s hard to swallow. How often do we talk about visionary dreaming in our churches? He continues though:

The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself. He enters the community of Christians with demands, sets up his own law, and judges the brethren and God Himself accordingly. He stands adamant, a living reproach to all others in the circle of brethren. He acts as if he is the creator of the Christian community, as if his dream binds men together. When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure. Whe his ideal picture is destroyed, he sees the community going to smash . So he becomes, first an accuser of his brethren, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself.

How many of us our guilty of such things? I know that I am. Believing that I am actually responsible at times for the community and how it has taken shape. Just because I am the pastor, does not mean that I set up community, or determine what form it takes. That is a divine task, of which I have no qualifications. And how do we measure success in community? Is success determined by what I want it to look like? No. Actually, it seems that we are more successful when it looks nothing like I had wanted, planned for, or imagined.

Because God has already laid the only foundation of our fellowship, because God has bound us together in one body with other Christians in Jesus Christ, long before we entered into common life with them, we enter into that common life not as demanders but as thankful recipients.

I am struck by a few things. One, God has already laid the foundation, so who are we thinking we can add to it, or change it, or improve upon it. It may not look how we want it to look, but it is what it is. Two, the phrase that we enter into that common life not as demanders but as thankful recipients, really strikes me. It seems that all we do is demand things in life. And the church is no different. We demand that they play this style of worship. We demand that the preacher preach this way. We demand that they provide activities. We demand that they meet all of our needs. And on, and on, and on. When we demand, we cannot receive and be thankful recipients.

I hope that The Quest ministry, and those involved, especially me, can enter into this next school year as thankful recipients. Thankful to receive, and not demand.