You wrote this almost three years ago but tonight it was a fresh word to me. I had been reading robbymac’s detox stuff (so encouraging) and found the link. I’m in detox and it has felt lonely. Glad to find others have walked this road. So glad. I threw my hands in the air and shouted (silently, for the sake of my sleeping children) “YES!” when I read #4. ‘Course my heart resonated with most of what you wrote. Thank you. Thank you for being honest and vulnerable.

Bless you brother.

Gotta love them metaphors!

I finally figured out that trying to change where I was would have no effect but to lead to pain and frustration for all concerned.

Best,

Jeff, I had a good post responding to yours, and my anti-spam plugin (which really needs an update, stupid comment spammers) outsmarted me. *Sigh.*

The post was about how I’d read your response above and your longer version and how I see what you’re getting at and probably agree with a lot of it – but I also caution that this article of longings was never meant to be a comprehensive treatise on how church should look. I said that this article doesn’t mention a longing for this church to adopt Reformed theology or many other things that would be included on my list of ‘druthers if it was comprehensive or if it was ordered by degrees of negotiability. I don’t think this is at all about consumer-grade church.

I do think that my longings are for the kind of church that Jesus wants too; I said in the post that the filter ate that no, it’s not about what I want. This doesn’t mean that my longings don’t align though; I think for me that the answers to your questions,
1. What does God want to be true about my character?
2. What actions should I be taking to fulfill God’s call on my life?
are answered in the pursuit of the longings I have outlined.

Passive? I don’t think so – maybe you’re looking at my desire not to be cajoled into “sharing my faith” to get the numbers up. I’ve said that sharing your life is far more effective than sharing your faith. It’s what Jesus did, it gave him a platform from which to speak, and it also made him attractive. The church isn’t all that attractive anymore… and few have need of ashtrays outside the doors. I’ve decided that you can’t reach out and touch the culture, loving the sinner, without being criticised for being soft on sin and a friend of sinners… this kind of criticism comes from the people who don’t like the ashtrays, and they might be uncomfortable with Jesus’ methods in their midst as well.

Anyway, the post that’s now gone was longer, was probably better, and may have clarified things more than this does – but I hope this helps anyway.

Gratia vobis et pax,

However, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat concerned by your list. I don’t want to sound critical, so I’ll just mention this briefly…

Your ideal church sounds great and wonderful, but it sounds “passive,” for lack of a better word, to me. I mean, the church in the book of Acts was clearly just as community-driven as the church you hope to find, but the issue of “sacrament” was far less of a deal than the issue of “evangelism.”

I dream of a church where people can be authentically themselves as well as be motivated to help others become more authentically themselves too.

As I write this last line, I can’t help but think of the irony of saying “I want” when I talk about the church. When push comes to shove, it’s not about what we want in a church anyway. It’s really about what God wants. Maybe it’s time for us to rediscover…

1. Love God

2. Love others

3. Follow Jesus

4. Make disciples