We fight change.
It's our nature.
In the midst of this massive shift the church is going through, we find ourselves running in circles in response to things we've never seen before. Things that used to work aren't anymore, ministries that we call "effective" but aren't getting any of the expected responses, and dwindling numbers leave most scratching their heads.
Unable to look beyond its own experiences, the church is unable to do anything other than what it has always done. As an observer of the response of the church, my favorite song says it best ("When They Come For Me" by Linkin Park) "...even a blueprint is a gift and a curse, 'cause once you got a theory of how the thing works, everyone wants the next thing to be just like the first".
The church, which was born out of the mind of God and fleshed out by Jesus, began as a flood driven by the tide of compassion and a new way of living. Jesus challenged everything humanity had become, apart from God. He challenged the mindset that humanity had taken on and embraced; of separation, of opulence, of superiority. He challenged the status quo.
The culture of the day had no problem separating people who wouldn't, or couldn't, buy into their mentality. After all, it's easier to separate those who are different than to acknowledge any disparity or pain they may be living in.
Jesus acknowledged pain and suffering in the lives of humanity; in fact, took it upon Himself. Not so we wouldn't have to, but as a slap in the face of a culture that won't recognize or deal with pain. This passion for the reality of life, and how to deal with it, is what would bring about His Church.
As the church grew, the more it began to take on the same characteristics of the societies around it. The church, instead of being counter-cultural to the world around it, became a duplication of the very culture it was supposed to be countering.
But, over time, the church has morphed into a place where very rarely is pain addressed, let alone acknowledged or validated. (Obligation-driven) charity comes out of the church, but as a thin red line so distant from original intent that its purpose has become perverted.
When the church is no longer addressing the pains of humanity; when the church is following its own agenda and ideas of self-definition rather than its leader, it ceases to be effective. When human leadership of the church is not equipped to handle the suffering of this life, we've become our own empire; an empire that hires people to sweep the garbage either under the rug, or out the door completely.
And yet, God is doing something new. A restoration of His Body, a spring cleaning, a purification. All the crud is floating to the surface to be dealt with or removed.
For some in the church this is catastrophic. For others, it's refreshing and life changing. And for even others, outside the church, or victims of the church in the past, this is the first time they've been told that they're even included in what God's doing; that they, (no matter who, what, or where they are) have a part to play in God's love.
This isn't to say that this restoration process is easy, it's quite the opposite. The rose colored glasses issued at the door of the church are now broken... we can now see the brokenness of humanity as a whole, inside and outside the church, and we're humbled to learn there's no difference. Now we can see the pain, now we can see the anguish. And we are no longer able to sweep any of it under the rug.
We struggle with the mindset change, we struggle with the expectations that are falling to the floor. We're learning to be human again. Compassionate, thinking, and crucified humans. Just as we're designed.
If we don't know heartbreak, or suffering, or pain, or anguish, or destitution, or loss, or hunger, then we truly don't know what love is, or what freedom is, or what joy is, or what being blessed really is.
God is reminding us what it's like to experience these things, so that we can come alongside our brother or our sister, with a fresh and real understanding of compassion. We're learning that the things we endure or suffer through may not always be for our benefit.
He's reminding us of our weaknesses, and showing us each other's strengths, so that through Him, we stand together, whole.
He's showing us that the once familiar church roles and responsibilities aren't so anymore, where community is replacing the institution; where we may not be learning or gaining strength or encouragement from pastoral figures, but from other members of the Body. And He's showing us that that's okay.
He's shedding new light on ancient understandings, breathing new life to once dead words, and reviving His living, breathing, loving, weeping, broken Body.
