I think I should be paid a commission by the General Conference for the publicity I provide for its blog.
-----------
The October 25, 2019 CGGC eNews introduced the newest member of CGGC staff, the first ever Director of Strategy/Director of Developing Leaders, Trent Grable.
The article was no surprise. The announcement had already been made on Facebook.
Mr. Grable seems like an impressive guy. I've heard, independent of Facebook and the eNews, that he is.
Having said that, I've been on a bit of a micro journey over the course of the last few days.
It actually began with "Unknown" and his/her comment on my Lawrence Metzler post.
When the eNews arrived, I'd just come up with the questions in the "1835" post and was thinking about the "WWJWD" question, and I was also thinking about how we are now, in our decline and how we were then in the midst of the Lord's blessing.
I read the article and as much as I'm predisposed to think of Trent Grable as an impressive and gifted man, it strikes me that the fact that he's been, well, hired for the job at all reeks to me of same old, same old and suggests that, in spite of the man's impressive credentials and gifts, we're in for more decline and decay.
I'd just finished telling Lawrence that we've always had good people in positions of institutional authority. Few, if any, CGGCers will argue that point with me.
So, we've added another fine person to the hierarchy.
It seems to me that, in the CGGC, we do hierarchy better and better all the time, yet the rate of our spiritual decay increases.
Our problem, it seems to me, is clear. The way we think is wrong.
Hiring Mr. Grable is built on the conviction that what we need is a stronger institution. We've been seeking to solve the problem of our decay by expanding and updating the institution since we restructured and launched 35,000 X 2000, nearly 30 years ago.
And, truly, the CGGC institution is in better shape than it's ever been.
Yet, with each tweaking of the structure and with each new amazing hire, we lose ground.
In the 1830s and 1840s, the Church of God faced serious challenges. The growth was so amazing that deciding what was the Lord's will for our future expansion was a serious problem.
Can you imagine the men and women who started our movement attempting to devise an institutional answer to our struggles in their day!
Early histories of the Church of God note that John Winebrenner arrived at his vision for the ministry of our movement by reading the Scriptures on his knees.
That's the old paradigm. Back in the day, we didn't devise institutional solutions to ministry challenges. We humbled ourselves and read the Word.
We need to think differently than we do now. We must repent.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
A Very Nice "Moment" with Mom
My mom has Alzheimer's.
The categories are fuzzy when you're close to it. Generally, the disease is charted as progressing through seven stages, Stage 1 being mild, Stage 7 the most severe.
In the past six months, mom has entered a higher stage. I'd probably put her in Stage 5.
Two characteristics describe the worst of it for her.
First, her memory is very bad. She still knows everyone, but she constantly repeats herself and, really, has no sense of the immediate past so, that mere minutes after we've visited her, she'll think she hasn't seen us for a year. And, that's sad because it increases her loneliness.
I've noted this before: A character on a TV show we watched observed that, at this point, you can't make memories, you can only create moments.
Second, mom's ability to hold on to the barriers in the mind that determine what is appropriate behavior is completely shot.
During our last visit, she told me that I look old and went on and on and on about my ugly beard and my saggy eyes and bad skin. Trust me, I have no problem being amused and it's a good think she did that with me. Others in the family wouldn't have accepted her commentary in as lighthearted a fashion as I did.
Anyway,...
...we visited her yesterday and found her in a public place, where people walked by and some women were nearby playing a game of cards.
Mom sat down and, for some reason sang the line from the Hank Williams song, "Hey, good lookin', what ya got cookin'? How about cookin' something up with me?"
Mom's from what could be described as an Appalachian area of Pennsylvania...more West Virginia culture than southern Pennsylvania.
She was in her teens when Hank Williams was at the height of his career. And, to be honest, I really like Hank Williams myself, though he'd died before I was born.
So,...
...I got out my phone and found a video of Hank singing, Hey, Good Lookin..." and mom was in heaven. She remembered all the words and sang along.
So we found, "Your Cheatin Heart." She sang along again...louder.
I love Patsy Cline, so we switched directions and played, "I Fall to Pieces." And, mom got really wound up.
Btw, mom is a really, really, very lousy singer. And, she either doesn't know it or, with the Alzheimer's, no longer cares.
Then we did another Hank classic, maybe, "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." There was no stumping mom on the lyrics and she was getting louder with each song.
I don't think I've seen her that happy in years, certainly not since dad died.
But, she'd really turned up the volume. And, the concert was clearly disturbing people around us.
So, we suggested that we continue up in her room, which we did.
By the end, she was rattling the windows and we did lots more of Hank, Patsy Cline's great Willie Nelson song, "Crazy," and others from Patsy, some Patty Page, and others and mom didn't want to stop.
I could see some of the teenager in mom.
For Evie and me, it was a sweet memory. I'll always cherish it.
For mom, it was a nice moment that has almost certainly already been forgotten.
The categories are fuzzy when you're close to it. Generally, the disease is charted as progressing through seven stages, Stage 1 being mild, Stage 7 the most severe.
In the past six months, mom has entered a higher stage. I'd probably put her in Stage 5.
Two characteristics describe the worst of it for her.
First, her memory is very bad. She still knows everyone, but she constantly repeats herself and, really, has no sense of the immediate past so, that mere minutes after we've visited her, she'll think she hasn't seen us for a year. And, that's sad because it increases her loneliness.
I've noted this before: A character on a TV show we watched observed that, at this point, you can't make memories, you can only create moments.
Second, mom's ability to hold on to the barriers in the mind that determine what is appropriate behavior is completely shot.
During our last visit, she told me that I look old and went on and on and on about my ugly beard and my saggy eyes and bad skin. Trust me, I have no problem being amused and it's a good think she did that with me. Others in the family wouldn't have accepted her commentary in as lighthearted a fashion as I did.
Anyway,...
...we visited her yesterday and found her in a public place, where people walked by and some women were nearby playing a game of cards.
Mom sat down and, for some reason sang the line from the Hank Williams song, "Hey, good lookin', what ya got cookin'? How about cookin' something up with me?"
Mom's from what could be described as an Appalachian area of Pennsylvania...more West Virginia culture than southern Pennsylvania.
She was in her teens when Hank Williams was at the height of his career. And, to be honest, I really like Hank Williams myself, though he'd died before I was born.
So,...
...I got out my phone and found a video of Hank singing, Hey, Good Lookin..." and mom was in heaven. She remembered all the words and sang along.
So we found, "Your Cheatin Heart." She sang along again...louder.
I love Patsy Cline, so we switched directions and played, "I Fall to Pieces." And, mom got really wound up.
Btw, mom is a really, really, very lousy singer. And, she either doesn't know it or, with the Alzheimer's, no longer cares.
Then we did another Hank classic, maybe, "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." There was no stumping mom on the lyrics and she was getting louder with each song.
I don't think I've seen her that happy in years, certainly not since dad died.
But, she'd really turned up the volume. And, the concert was clearly disturbing people around us.
So, we suggested that we continue up in her room, which we did.
By the end, she was rattling the windows and we did lots more of Hank, Patsy Cline's great Willie Nelson song, "Crazy," and others from Patsy, some Patty Page, and others and mom didn't want to stop.
I could see some of the teenager in mom.
For Evie and me, it was a sweet memory. I'll always cherish it.
For mom, it was a nice moment that has almost certainly already been forgotten.
The Companion Question: WWJWD, in 2019?
The other day, I posted questions about how current General Conference and CGGC Regional holders of institutional authority would have fit in in the day that the Church of God movement was exploding say, in 1835. And, about who, who are among us now, or who have been among us recently, would have been valued in our movement days.
(I invited comment and have received a small response.)
Almost as soon as I posted those questions, the logical companion question occurred to me:
Where would John Winebrenner fit in if he showed up among the people of the CGGC today, i.e., What Would John Winebrenner Do?
I, of course, have my own thoughts, still this post is about the question, not my opinion.
I will say that I think that this question is an important one and that the more I think about it in a big picture way, the more interesting and more important it becomes.
(I invited comment and have received a small response.)
Almost as soon as I posted those questions, the logical companion question occurred to me:
Where would John Winebrenner fit in if he showed up among the people of the CGGC today, i.e., What Would John Winebrenner Do?
I, of course, have my own thoughts, still this post is about the question, not my opinion.
I will say that I think that this question is an important one and that the more I think about it in a big picture way, the more interesting and more important it becomes.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Two Questions about Lance, and Others, and 1835?
These are, by no means, rhetorical questions and there's no agenda here.
But, if you read me regularly you know that I'm deeply concerned that the CGGC of today is not the Church of God in its movement days.
--------------------
1. If Lance, and other current CGGC staffers and the Regional Directors (and their staffers, if applicable) e.g., Phil Scott, Earl Mills, etc., were part of the Church of God in its movement days, in say 1835, when the movement was exploding, when there was no institution, no headquarters buildings, when our best and brightest were riding circuits and preaching in fields, starting gatherings in frontier cabins and living on a subsistence income, what would Lance and Phil, Earl, et.al., be doing as part of the dynamic movement? That is, without an institutional job to do, as influencers in the body, what can you see these people doing as part of a dynamic movement?
(Again, nothing rhetorical here.)
2. If this were 1835 and the movement was exploding, who, among our people today, including people who left us in the last, say, 15 years, would be rising to positions of influence?
--------------------
As always, I'll accept responses on and off of the blog.
But, if you read me regularly you know that I'm deeply concerned that the CGGC of today is not the Church of God in its movement days.
--------------------
1. If Lance, and other current CGGC staffers and the Regional Directors (and their staffers, if applicable) e.g., Phil Scott, Earl Mills, etc., were part of the Church of God in its movement days, in say 1835, when the movement was exploding, when there was no institution, no headquarters buildings, when our best and brightest were riding circuits and preaching in fields, starting gatherings in frontier cabins and living on a subsistence income, what would Lance and Phil, Earl, et.al., be doing as part of the dynamic movement? That is, without an institutional job to do, as influencers in the body, what can you see these people doing as part of a dynamic movement?
(Again, nothing rhetorical here.)
2. If this were 1835 and the movement was exploding, who, among our people today, including people who left us in the last, say, 15 years, would be rising to positions of influence?
--------------------
As always, I'll accept responses on and off of the blog.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Text of My Comment on Lawrence Metzler's eNews Guest Article
Last Friday's CGGC eNews was what I believe to have been a very important guest article contributed by the new CGGC Ad Council President, Lawrence Metzler.
After all these years, I think that many people misunderstand my take on who and what is at the top of the CGGC mountain.
Lawrence's article prompted a response which, as I look back on it, allows me a chance to clarify my take on many things that lead to the bottom line that numerical decline and spiritual decay have been taking place in the CGGC for generations...and continues to this day.
What follows is a paragraph from Lawrence's article (in bold), then the text of my reply (in italics).
As you will see, I explain that I actually have a great deal of respect for the people on our mountaintop.
In truth, I've said that many times. My sense, though, is that even my most supportive readers either don't pick up on that, or, perhaps, don't believe it because I am almost always so passionately opposed to what they do.
Anyway, here's the relevant paragraph from Lawrence, then my reply.
If you haven't read it on the CGGC blog, I hope you will read Lawrence's full article.
At another time, I may add more commentary but, for now, this is it.
Thanks, as always, to Mike Martin, blog moderator, who always publishes my comments, no matter what their content.
---------------------
After all these years, I think that many people misunderstand my take on who and what is at the top of the CGGC mountain.
Lawrence's article prompted a response which, as I look back on it, allows me a chance to clarify my take on many things that lead to the bottom line that numerical decline and spiritual decay have been taking place in the CGGC for generations...and continues to this day.
What follows is a paragraph from Lawrence's article (in bold), then the text of my reply (in italics).
As you will see, I explain that I actually have a great deal of respect for the people on our mountaintop.
In truth, I've said that many times. My sense, though, is that even my most supportive readers either don't pick up on that, or, perhaps, don't believe it because I am almost always so passionately opposed to what they do.
Anyway, here's the relevant paragraph from Lawrence, then my reply.
If you haven't read it on the CGGC blog, I hope you will read Lawrence's full article.
At another time, I may add more commentary but, for now, this is it.
Thanks, as always, to Mike Martin, blog moderator, who always publishes my comments, no matter what their content.
---------------------
In my view from the chair, we have the right team in place for this season of CGGC ministry. Let me tell you what I saw: I saw CGGC Staff members willing to resign their positions if that’s what it takes to move into uncharted territory. I saw a group of men and women in passionate dialogue over issues of race, gender, and next-gen values. I saw an Executive Director whose heart is full of hope for the future but also whose heart breaks for those who resist the necessary changes to go there. I saw a Seminary President willing to make hard institutional changes in order to meet the challenges of theological education. I saw a University President give a glowing report on the progress of the University of Findlay and its valued partnership with the CGGC. I saw a UF Campus Pastor report on an ever-growing ministry with UF students. I saw our Global Reach Directors excited about expanding field opportunities accompanied by deep concern over the spiritual battles raging in certain parts of our global communities. I saw Regional Directors give some of the most positive reports I have ever heard about new churches, new initiatives, and new life. I saw incredible hope for our future together!
--------------------
Lawrence,
Thank you for sharing this optimistic view of the prospects of the CGGC. Thank you, also, for your personal commitment to the future of our body. We are all blessed by the gifts and passion you bring.
However, in regard to the statement, “In my view from the chair, we have the right team in place for this season of CGGC ministry,” I’m not certain what the definition of “team” is.
If, by that term, you are referring only to the people who hold staff positions and who serve as Regional Directors and are elected members of General Conference Administrators Council, I agree with you.
While I have often pointed out that the CGGC continues to decline numerically and decay spiritually, I have always thought that the people who hold these positions are people of character and integrity who sincerely love the Lord.
In all of my many years in the body, we’ve always had good people in those positions. Always!
Yet, as much as I share your assessment of the character and integrity of the people in positions of institutional authority in our body, today’s group isn’t, in my opinion, superior to the men and women whom they’ve replaced.
Good people who genuinely love the Lord has never been our problem.
Nevertheless, for several generations, we’ve been in steady decline.
Clearly, having good people in positions of institutional authority in an(d) of itself doesn’t make a good team.
If, on the other hand, by team, you mean the people as well as the positions they fill, I disagree.
Our current institutional structure is based on a business model which, I believe, still describes the General Conference Executive Director as our “Chief Executive Officer.”
Our current structure came from the same mindset that produced the “More and Better Disciples: 35,000 in Worship by 2000” program, which defined a disciple as someone who contributes to the annual average worship attendance of a church.
As we know, that program failed. And, the numerical decline and spiritual decay of our body has, if anything, increased since then.
There was a time when the Lord was blessing the Church of God so powerfully that the men and women who served it struggled to keep in step with His blessing.
In recent generations, especially under our current institutional model, the Lord has not blessed and the men and women who propose to LEAD us have struggled and, well, failed.
If, by the word team, you mean our good people in the positions they are in, I disagree. In that case, we do not have the right team in place for this season of CGGC ministry.
The history of recent decades makes that clear.
With the recent adoption of our first-ever CGGC Strategic Plan, we actually abandoned a mission connected to our founders’ vision to focus our ministry on what they called, “the New Testament plan.” We now have another statement of mission.
In my opinion, we need to recapture our founders’ innocent and radical commitment to the Word, not replace it and move on from it.
The right team, in my opinion, would be men and women of character and integrity who love the Lord and who submit to the New Testament plan in the way our people once did.
Thank you for your service to our body.
Blessings.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Have You Actually Read the Strategic Plan?
I was e-chatting with another member of the CGGC yesterday. That person was a part of the approval of the first-ever CGGC Strategic Plan and, therefore, knows much more about it than do I.
We were chatting about issues relating to the primary emphasis of this blog, that is, the importance of all disciples of Jesus being His hands and feet in the world, not mere attenders of a church's Sunday Morning Show and listeners to this week's sermon.
I knew that one of the values in the Strategic Plan is "Total Participation." So, I asked, "Total participation in what?
Later on, I opened the pdf of the Strategic Plan on cggc.org and began to read through the booklet that has been prepared to give an "overview" of the plan and to lead discussion of it among our people.
Below I will paste three passages from the booklet into this post. The first is from the section on values. That's where I went to find the answer to my question, "Total participation in what?" The others are typical of the whole booklet.
--------------------
A number of years ago, I left my position on the staff of the seminary to be the, well, pastor of a CGGC congregation. When I arrived, I met wonderful people who, clearly, were on a spiritual journey. Most of them, however, were rough around the edges.
Most of them had very interesting pasts: Alcoholism. Drug abuse. Crime. Imprisonment. Divorce, certainly. Numerous failed shack up relationships. Premarital motherhood, and fatherhood. Not one of them had a college degree. Few of them, in fact, had even finished high school.
Two facts about those people strike me as being important:
1. They were probably somewhat less polished and educated than the typical CGGC congregation, but not by much.
2. They were the sort of people the CGGC hoped to reach back then...and still does hope to reach.
--------------------
The passages quoted below are representative of the whole Strategic Plan booklet. If you doubt me, read it.
As I read the booklet, I thought of the rough-around-the-edges people I met when I left the seminary. And, I experienced a number of emotions, the most powerful emotion being anger. I begin by quoting the section defining values, then move on to two other typical passages.
Imagine the people I've just described using the CGGC Strategic Plan booklet!
Values are the shared convictions that guide your actions and reveal your strengths. They are springboards for daily actions and filters for decision-making. Values represent the conscience of the CGGC. They distinguish your philosophy of ministry and shape your culture and ethos.
Vision proper is the living language that illustrates and anticipates God’s better future. It is important to keep the distinction between mission and vision proper clear. Mission is simply a compass; it informs about direction. Vision Proper is a travel brochure; it inspires as a picture of the future that no one can see yet. Vision Proper does things that no other part of the Vision Frame can do.
Strategy is the picture or process that demonstrates how the organization will accomplish its mission on the broadest level. It also sets the expectation of involvement for all members.
The strategy is like a container that holds all of your activities into one meaningful whole. Without this picture, churches within the denomination will forget how each component fits into the mission. They will be lost in a programmatic soup of good but random activity.
Think of strategy as a pattern of participation or engagement. It reveals places and rhythms of being involved. It is the denomination’s operational logic.
--------------------
Many of you know that I have more formal education than most people do. I'll happily confess that I had to reread some of this stuff several times to begin even to guess what it means.
Imagine presenting this booklet to the leaders of the typical CGGC congregation.
And, because one of the CGGC values is Total Participation, now imagine presenting it to all of the people!
If you doubt that the passages I quote are typical of the whole booklet, go to the website and read for yourself.
--------------------
In the spirit of the booklet, I'll offer two questions for discussion.
1. What does this document reveal about the people who consider themselves to be CGGC leadership?
2. Can you offer explanations as to why people in CGGC leadership inspire almost no followership?
--------------------
We must repent.
We were chatting about issues relating to the primary emphasis of this blog, that is, the importance of all disciples of Jesus being His hands and feet in the world, not mere attenders of a church's Sunday Morning Show and listeners to this week's sermon.
I knew that one of the values in the Strategic Plan is "Total Participation." So, I asked, "Total participation in what?
Later on, I opened the pdf of the Strategic Plan on cggc.org and began to read through the booklet that has been prepared to give an "overview" of the plan and to lead discussion of it among our people.
Below I will paste three passages from the booklet into this post. The first is from the section on values. That's where I went to find the answer to my question, "Total participation in what?" The others are typical of the whole booklet.
--------------------
A number of years ago, I left my position on the staff of the seminary to be the, well, pastor of a CGGC congregation. When I arrived, I met wonderful people who, clearly, were on a spiritual journey. Most of them, however, were rough around the edges.
Most of them had very interesting pasts: Alcoholism. Drug abuse. Crime. Imprisonment. Divorce, certainly. Numerous failed shack up relationships. Premarital motherhood, and fatherhood. Not one of them had a college degree. Few of them, in fact, had even finished high school.
Two facts about those people strike me as being important:
1. They were probably somewhat less polished and educated than the typical CGGC congregation, but not by much.
2. They were the sort of people the CGGC hoped to reach back then...and still does hope to reach.
--------------------
The passages quoted below are representative of the whole Strategic Plan booklet. If you doubt me, read it.
As I read the booklet, I thought of the rough-around-the-edges people I met when I left the seminary. And, I experienced a number of emotions, the most powerful emotion being anger. I begin by quoting the section defining values, then move on to two other typical passages.
Imagine the people I've just described using the CGGC Strategic Plan booklet!
Values are the shared convictions that guide your actions and reveal your strengths. They are springboards for daily actions and filters for decision-making. Values represent the conscience of the CGGC. They distinguish your philosophy of ministry and shape your culture and ethos.
Vision proper is the living language that illustrates and anticipates God’s better future. It is important to keep the distinction between mission and vision proper clear. Mission is simply a compass; it informs about direction. Vision Proper is a travel brochure; it inspires as a picture of the future that no one can see yet. Vision Proper does things that no other part of the Vision Frame can do.
Strategy is the picture or process that demonstrates how the organization will accomplish its mission on the broadest level. It also sets the expectation of involvement for all members.
The strategy is like a container that holds all of your activities into one meaningful whole. Without this picture, churches within the denomination will forget how each component fits into the mission. They will be lost in a programmatic soup of good but random activity.
Think of strategy as a pattern of participation or engagement. It reveals places and rhythms of being involved. It is the denomination’s operational logic.
--------------------
Many of you know that I have more formal education than most people do. I'll happily confess that I had to reread some of this stuff several times to begin even to guess what it means.
Imagine presenting this booklet to the leaders of the typical CGGC congregation.
And, because one of the CGGC values is Total Participation, now imagine presenting it to all of the people!
If you doubt that the passages I quote are typical of the whole booklet, go to the website and read for yourself.
--------------------
In the spirit of the booklet, I'll offer two questions for discussion.
1. What does this document reveal about the people who consider themselves to be CGGC leadership?
2. Can you offer explanations as to why people in CGGC leadership inspire almost no followership?
--------------------
We must repent.
Friday, October 11, 2019
Being People of Jesus, not Mere Churchmen (and Women)
Gang,
Below is a portion of an exchange I had recently with a CGGC friend.
I've copied portions of it here because my friend makes points consistent with the theme of this blog, points dear to my prophetic heart.
As you can see from the first paragraph, what I say is in italics. My friend's words are in bold.
--------------------
You're wrong on my take on church, at least partially. The concept was important in the Old Covenant. There was even a verb that corresponded to the noun. However, the nature of the New Covenant, laid out in Jeremiah 31, necessitates that community will function differently in the New Covenant. I think that I've said to you in the past that I believe that the starting point for many things we think and do has to be the differences between the Old and New Covenants. The initiation of the New Covenant is something that we celebrate and remember every time we take the cup in the Lord's Supper. I think we overlook its significance and, clearly, the New Covenant redefines community and what the church is.
That lens of looking at what's different is good. I've been looking at Matthew and it's interesting to discern what's the continuity and discontinuity between the old and the new. His gospel kind of sits as a hinge between the two canonically and in and of itself. Particularly interesting is the idea of what it means to fulfill.
Ben Witherington NT prof has written well about how as the church became more institutional they essentially brought back priest temple and sacrifice instead of living into the fulfilled new fulfillment’s of them.
Elders etc. became priests. The Lord's Supper as sacrifice of sorts could only be handled by the priests and could only take place it the temple - thinking about sanctuary language.
But the old covenant ideas aren’t abolished in Jesus and the apostles but are rather fulfilled. The priesthood is all believers under Jesus the high priest and the temple is the collective of God's people. And those OT images are everywhere in the NT.
But God's people always seem to want to go back to Egypt.
It is a profoundly sad reality that issues such as these never get a sniff on the eNews.
--------------------
As can be seen in the bold print, serious thinking is still alive in the CGGC.
And, my frustration with the CGGC mainstream is obvious in my comment about the eNews.
It struck me, reading this exchange, that what we get from the General Conference is 100 percent church, church church.
Church, not Kingdom.
And, church certainly not Jesus. Never Jesus.
My friend and I were in the midst of an exchange that ended up touching on the point that I repeatedly make that in the Gospels, Jesus barely mentions the church and that the word "church" is absent from three of the four Gospels.
And, I clarified my own understanding of church.
The truth remains, though, that, as the Spirit inspired the Gospel writers, the concept of church warranted very little attention.
The truth for the CGGC, and for 21st century Western Christianity, is that we must stop focusing on church and become obsessed with Jesus, the Lord of the church.
Notice my friend. Even in discussion of the church, Jesus is the subject. Jesus is the High Priest, disciples are the Priesthood.
For Christians, Christ, not church, must be all, and in all.
But, that's not what we're getting in, for example, the eNews. There it is truly church any time and all of the time.
And, of course, we declining and decaying.
We need to stop being churchmen, and women.
It's time, again, to be Christians...people, not of church, but of Jesus. We need, all of us, to be priests living under the authority of our High Priest.
My friend says, "But God's people always seem to want to go back to Egypt."
We have done more than that. We are back in Egypt.
We must repent.
Below is a portion of an exchange I had recently with a CGGC friend.
I've copied portions of it here because my friend makes points consistent with the theme of this blog, points dear to my prophetic heart.
As you can see from the first paragraph, what I say is in italics. My friend's words are in bold.
--------------------
You're wrong on my take on church, at least partially. The concept was important in the Old Covenant. There was even a verb that corresponded to the noun. However, the nature of the New Covenant, laid out in Jeremiah 31, necessitates that community will function differently in the New Covenant. I think that I've said to you in the past that I believe that the starting point for many things we think and do has to be the differences between the Old and New Covenants. The initiation of the New Covenant is something that we celebrate and remember every time we take the cup in the Lord's Supper. I think we overlook its significance and, clearly, the New Covenant redefines community and what the church is.
That lens of looking at what's different is good. I've been looking at Matthew and it's interesting to discern what's the continuity and discontinuity between the old and the new. His gospel kind of sits as a hinge between the two canonically and in and of itself. Particularly interesting is the idea of what it means to fulfill.
Ben Witherington NT prof has written well about how as the church became more institutional they essentially brought back priest temple and sacrifice instead of living into the fulfilled new fulfillment’s of them.
Elders etc. became priests. The Lord's Supper as sacrifice of sorts could only be handled by the priests and could only take place it the temple - thinking about sanctuary language.
But the old covenant ideas aren’t abolished in Jesus and the apostles but are rather fulfilled. The priesthood is all believers under Jesus the high priest and the temple is the collective of God's people. And those OT images are everywhere in the NT.
But God's people always seem to want to go back to Egypt.
It is a profoundly sad reality that issues such as these never get a sniff on the eNews.
--------------------
As can be seen in the bold print, serious thinking is still alive in the CGGC.
And, my frustration with the CGGC mainstream is obvious in my comment about the eNews.
It struck me, reading this exchange, that what we get from the General Conference is 100 percent church, church church.
Church, not Kingdom.
And, church certainly not Jesus. Never Jesus.
My friend and I were in the midst of an exchange that ended up touching on the point that I repeatedly make that in the Gospels, Jesus barely mentions the church and that the word "church" is absent from three of the four Gospels.
And, I clarified my own understanding of church.
The truth remains, though, that, as the Spirit inspired the Gospel writers, the concept of church warranted very little attention.
The truth for the CGGC, and for 21st century Western Christianity, is that we must stop focusing on church and become obsessed with Jesus, the Lord of the church.
Notice my friend. Even in discussion of the church, Jesus is the subject. Jesus is the High Priest, disciples are the Priesthood.
For Christians, Christ, not church, must be all, and in all.
But, that's not what we're getting in, for example, the eNews. There it is truly church any time and all of the time.
And, of course, we declining and decaying.
We need to stop being churchmen, and women.
It's time, again, to be Christians...people, not of church, but of Jesus. We need, all of us, to be priests living under the authority of our High Priest.
My friend says, "But God's people always seem to want to go back to Egypt."
We have done more than that. We are back in Egypt.
We must repent.
Friday, October 4, 2019
Struggles in my Ambassadorial Role
I'm getting old. And, I'm feeling it.
I'm a manager of the Front End of a supermarket. I work with a team of about 50 cashiers and baggers and cart pushers.
And, of course, I encounter hundreds of the store's customers on a weekly basis.
I work for a company that is local, and relatively small, but has approximately 300 employees in total.
I'm second manager of the Front End. My immediate boss is in his late 20s and is very efficient. Clearly he's being groomed for greater things by the store's owners...if he chooses that.
As a result, the duties of the Front End are being expanded and my job is also expanding.
I think all of this is good for the store and I'm happy for my boss and friend as he climbs the organizational ladder.
However, as I made clear on the A Layman's Log blog, my intention in holding this job is to serve as an ambassador of the Kingdom of God.
I started out at the store as a part time bagger and gladly accepted invitations to greater participation in the work of the store as they were offered to me, including the invitation to a lower managerial position and, eventually, even to my current position.
I've made it clear that I won't accept any further promotions and, I think, the owners of the store accept that, although we are always joking and smiling when we have those conversations.
But, in a sense, my role at the store is being expanded, even though there's no raise in compensation and no change in title.
And, as I said when I began this post, I'm getting old and feeling it.
The issue is that what I see as my real job is suffering. Often, I don't have the time or energy to be a Kingdom Ambassador. I find myself passing on opportunities to do work for the Kingdom so I can manage the Front End, and I'm tired.
--------------------
Two thoughts:
1. I can make adjustments to my job...but not at the moment. I can't afford to go part time on the store job until next year. If I get really desperate, I can try to ask for fewer hours, though I doubt that will make much difference to the real problem, which is my shortcomings as a Kingdom ambassador.
2. I'm frustrated that, it seems to me, I'm forced to live this life without support or community.
CGGC denominational leadership, has been encouraging its people to live the life I'm living, but, as far as I can tell, it's all talk and no walk.
No doubt, others in the body are living this life as well. I find the life challenging, all-consuming, even.
I'd love to hear from those people. I'd love support them and share the walk with them.
--------------------
I'm chided, from time to time, because I don't make practical suggestions about how the truths I proclaim might be put into action.
I reply to that criticism in two ways.
First, my gift is not to implement these truths. I'm not good at that. Others are gifted by the Spirit to lead implementation. Not me. (There's a whole blog worth of posts here.)
Second, my calling and passion is to preach repentance. The Word is clear that the first act in implementing change is a dramatic, and often traumatic, moment of commitment to a new way and the sorrow filled turn from an old and fallen way.
All of my practicality is connected to that call.
----------
However, I'll attempt to be practical here, not from my gift, but from my experience.
Back in the day, my Conference supported the work of pastors by providing Pastoral Care Worker.
Here's my suggestion:
The General Conference and Regions of the CGGC should provide, well, uh, Ambassadorial Care Workers to support and create community our people who are living the so-called doctrine of the Priesthood of all Believers.
I'm a manager of the Front End of a supermarket. I work with a team of about 50 cashiers and baggers and cart pushers.
And, of course, I encounter hundreds of the store's customers on a weekly basis.
I work for a company that is local, and relatively small, but has approximately 300 employees in total.
I'm second manager of the Front End. My immediate boss is in his late 20s and is very efficient. Clearly he's being groomed for greater things by the store's owners...if he chooses that.
As a result, the duties of the Front End are being expanded and my job is also expanding.
I think all of this is good for the store and I'm happy for my boss and friend as he climbs the organizational ladder.
However, as I made clear on the A Layman's Log blog, my intention in holding this job is to serve as an ambassador of the Kingdom of God.
I started out at the store as a part time bagger and gladly accepted invitations to greater participation in the work of the store as they were offered to me, including the invitation to a lower managerial position and, eventually, even to my current position.
I've made it clear that I won't accept any further promotions and, I think, the owners of the store accept that, although we are always joking and smiling when we have those conversations.
But, in a sense, my role at the store is being expanded, even though there's no raise in compensation and no change in title.
And, as I said when I began this post, I'm getting old and feeling it.
The issue is that what I see as my real job is suffering. Often, I don't have the time or energy to be a Kingdom Ambassador. I find myself passing on opportunities to do work for the Kingdom so I can manage the Front End, and I'm tired.
--------------------
Two thoughts:
1. I can make adjustments to my job...but not at the moment. I can't afford to go part time on the store job until next year. If I get really desperate, I can try to ask for fewer hours, though I doubt that will make much difference to the real problem, which is my shortcomings as a Kingdom ambassador.
2. I'm frustrated that, it seems to me, I'm forced to live this life without support or community.
CGGC denominational leadership, has been encouraging its people to live the life I'm living, but, as far as I can tell, it's all talk and no walk.
No doubt, others in the body are living this life as well. I find the life challenging, all-consuming, even.
I'd love to hear from those people. I'd love support them and share the walk with them.
--------------------
I'm chided, from time to time, because I don't make practical suggestions about how the truths I proclaim might be put into action.
I reply to that criticism in two ways.
First, my gift is not to implement these truths. I'm not good at that. Others are gifted by the Spirit to lead implementation. Not me. (There's a whole blog worth of posts here.)
Second, my calling and passion is to preach repentance. The Word is clear that the first act in implementing change is a dramatic, and often traumatic, moment of commitment to a new way and the sorrow filled turn from an old and fallen way.
All of my practicality is connected to that call.
----------
However, I'll attempt to be practical here, not from my gift, but from my experience.
Back in the day, my Conference supported the work of pastors by providing Pastoral Care Worker.
Here's my suggestion:
The General Conference and Regions of the CGGC should provide, well, uh, Ambassadorial Care Workers to support and create community our people who are living the so-called doctrine of the Priesthood of all Believers.
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