Jesus' Community:
will follow the example of Jesus
will equip all followers
will move outward to serve others
understands that worship is a whole-of-life exaltation of Jesus
practices the presence of Jesus
insists that we need to be continually re-evangelized
learns and lives the values of Jesus
devotes itself to scripture and the exercise of spiritual gifts
Sound
refreshing? Compelling? Good News? Michael Frost and Alan
Hirsch assert that this description of Jesus' Community in fact is THE Good
News, gleaned right from their reading of the Gospels. They claim this
kind of community would develop naturally from people who followed the example
and teaching of Jesus and left behind dry, obsolete and hardened rituals and
ways of the church.
I must admit, some
of the language of Re-Jesus smells of the the all too familiar
"right" reading of the Biblical text and "right" theological
view that is espoused all too frequently in the Christian church. I do
find it quite ironic that almost all the 'little Jesus'' that are highlighted
within Re-Jesus are people who were formed by the very church of ritual and
domestication that the authors are proclaiming needs reformation. Despite
these reservations I cannot help but to be drawn to the list above.
That is the life I
want, I want it for my kids, I want it for my church, I want it for the
community I am called to serve as a pastor. I find the reminder that
Hirsch and Frost are giving to us refreshing and necessary. It is good to
rethink Jesus considering where we have added our baggage to the seminal
character of all history. It is a must from time to time for all of us,
individuals and the Church to step back and inspect where we have read our
lives into the story of Jesus and covered the values of God evident in the life
of Jesus with our own.
Whenever I do
this, including now as I read this book, I am reminded of the same scathing critique
of the Church -- the Church never seems to get it right. The Church has
always insisted, throughout history, for orthodoxy that does not necessarily
conform to Christ but always conforms to the Church. I think though, in
my own life and ministry, I have become bored with this realization, argument
and critique. Of course the Church never gets it right because the Church
by nature is an organization and the primary purpose of every organization must
be to preserve the organization at all costs. The argument then always
turns to a movement versus an organization, but this does not work all that
well either because every movement that has legs and lasting power must also
organize itself for the good work it is about and thus another organization is born.
So, an organization is bound to fall short and a movement (at least one worth
joining) is bound to turn into an organization......so what's left?
In the moments of
life (brief as they may be) that I align my life....my ministry......my
discipleship with Jesus I am reminded of the same simple truth -- Jesus always
cared for the next individual in his path, and then the next, and then the
next. I have come to believe that the only part of Christianity that can
truly be Christ like on a regular basis is the individual disciple of Jesus
Christ. Yes they are moments when we get it right as a team or a church
or The Church, but those are moments, fleeting at best. But an
individual, that is a different story. As a local church pastor I am
always looking for signs of the real Jesus and seeking the continuation of the
redemption story we find in the meta narrative of scripture. Most often i
don't find it in the work of the organized Church, rather I find it in the
lives of the individual disciples who make up the church.
I see individuals
develop relationships with others who are inexplicably different in every way
and yet a bond is grown that mirrors the sacrificial living for others of which
Jesus was so good.
I see individuals
who give of their time, talent, finances and so much more in a way that it is
clear they don't just understand but are living the Jesus lesson about heart
and treasure.
I see individuals
exhibit a grace to others, that I can only hope to attain someday, and yet I
know this grace ought to be the striving of my life because this is the grace
of which Jesus taught and with which he lived.
I was just
reflecting the other day amidst an All Saints Service how fortunate and blessed
I was to have known the stories of the people who's names were being read
amidst this annual ritual of the church. To some in the room they were
the beloved and to others they were just a name in print but as the pastor I
had a special view into their lives. In the same way I count it a great
blessing that I get to hear and experience the behind the scenes stories of how
individuals in my congregation became little Jesus' for a moment in their
lives. The Church rarely seems to accomplish this incarnational nature,
but the people of the church so often surprise me in the ways they become God
incarnate for the other. So while I share the angst of Frost and Hirsch
over the state of the Church I am also humbled to see the many individuals who
make up the Church living in real, relevant and powerful ways that bring the
reality of Jesus to fruition in the lives of so many. In the end I cannot
help but to find hope.
-- Rev. Dr. Brian T.
Parcel is a husband, father and Elder in the United Methodist Church and a
graduate of the Claremont School of Theology (M.Div, D.Min, 2002). Over
the past 14 years he has served as Lead Pastor of three congregations in the
California Pacific Conference, all three having experienced multiple factors of
growth under his leadership. He has also provided leadership
for clergy training opportunities through the Board of Congregational
Development and the Board of Ordained Ministry.
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