We were away for camp (retreat) this weekend. Late Saturday night, I walked out into the woods alone with my flashlight off. I didn't last long without the light (an armadillo gave me a bit of a scare), but I pressed on to the clearing at the lake and lay on the picnic table and stared at the northern cross and spoke to God in the darkenss--completely at ease and yet fully aware of my fear. I walked all the way back without the light. My soul really needed it.
I read Blue Like Jazz this summer (our whole student team did), and I pushed Luke to read it and have promised to send one to Mary Ann. I think the conversation the book creates is really important. I think he's right in a lot of things and he's right not to ditch the church--the church just has to be willing to keep asking these questions all the time. We tend to forget that ministry to a group of people 3 years ago may be nothing at all like what we need now and we have to force ourselves to keep asking what it means to follow Christ today, not yesterday. Many leaders in the church share this burden, it just gets hard--but God is faithul to raise up new voices to remind us if we'll listen.
I know many of my and your generation who find the book especially significant and we can't exactly explain why it's not just speaking of a new trend or a new "movement." It's about a new culture and a sense of longing. I don't have answers here, yet, but I think the book moves us past the borders of American evangelicalism and back into the fold of world-wide Christianity. We live in a religious culture that has made Christianity about us, and that's a mistake. I no longer teach people that "God has a wonderful plan for your life." Now I say, "God has a wonderful plan for the redemption of humanity and he wants you to be part of it." It's subtle, but the perspective shift is important and it puts the emphais back on Him and not me.
4 comments:
I couldn't agree more. The necessity of continually questioning is something that very few people "get." That sense of longing is also so important to understanding this "new culture." I can't always put into words the viewpoints I have--and I think Blue Like Jazz mirrors that. Its not necessarily every individual idea, but the overall sense it gives that is the most important aspect of it. Although there are points I disagree with, it is a great window into a new way of thinking. Sadly, I find very few people of the older generation that are willing to ask these questions and consider a viewpoint other than their own. I can only hope that when I get older, I'll still be open to ideas that don't always make sense to me.
Just wrote a long comment and lost it because I got kicked off the internet... But in all of my verbosity I guess the main point was that I think God actually likes our questioning and that we need not act like the questions, doubts, confusion, etc. aren't there--He already knows what's in our hearts so we might as well get on with being honest with Him. I think it is a bit sad, but I believe that the church has sometimes taught us that questioning equals a lack of faith, which in my opinion is rubbish. Questioning is an essential part of growth--both spiritually and intellectually.
Armadillos scare me too. Sorry - it's late - couldn't resist.
Genious...
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