In Not Of
I hear of a family that's really concerned about where this country is headed. So concerned, in fact, that they are considering moving to a remote South American frontier, particularly if the country votes liberal on Tuesday.
While a noble thought and sentiment, I think this would ultimately be a grave mistake.
I don't have a full perspective on this because I don't have a family per se, and raising their children is one of the main issues in this family's consideration. That being said, removing yourself or even your family from an evil society isn't following the directive to be "in the world, but not of it." I think it's our Christian, scriptural duty to engage our culture and to show them something better. We can't do that if we run away from the darkness. We should run TO the darkness so we can shine our lights. As the Chris Rice song says:
So carry your candle
Run to the darkness
Seek out the helpless
Confused and worn
So hold out your candle
For all to see it
Take your candle
And go light your world
posted by Byran @ 5:03 PM
18 comments
18 Comments:
I agree. In fact, I have some of my own thoughts on this, but instead of rambling on your commentary, I'll just xanga some of it on my site. Hmmmm, yes, that was thought-provoking.
~shelley
You are absolutely right. It seems it would be wrong as Christians to run away and hide just because our country is going liberal....it is probably the lack of passion in our lives that is turning people away from Christianity anyways...we need to be on the offense spiritually and be a witness and reach our country for God...not necessarily for the "Republican" party.
-Marcel
Amen, amen, amen, and amen!!!!!
If we don't stand up and hold high the flaming torch of truth shedding light over a dark world, then who will? We cannot solve a universal darkness as an individual, but we can brighten up "our little corner of the world". And that means to reach out and to LOVE! Love is the brightest flame! And it's a light that many people have never seen or known.
Ag
I've just begun reading a book about loving the Lord with all our mind. One of its theses is that the church has become irrelevant due, in part, to the anti-intellectual movement back in the late 1800s or early 1900s (can't remember exactly when. Don't have the book with me). Because of the anti-intellectual shift, the church no longer has much of a voice in the main institutions that influence culture; therefore, we have lost much of our cultural influence. Truth, and communicating truth well and reasonably is of utmost importance in being salt and light and being relevant. And it requires work and study. Miss
so how does that correspond to being so sheltered in this mennonite community?
The thing that bothers me the most about Mennonites is the walls that are constructed seperating them from people. In the quest to remain untouched by the world, they have become disjointed from it and by doing that they shut out people. There is NO place in the Christian life to shut out people! We are placed on this earth FOR people!
Why are there not more people coming to the Mennonite faith? Very simple. The walls are too high. The church as a whole, not just Mennonites, seems to have the mentality that if you want to become a part of "my family", you have to do what we do, you have to become like us. What we have learned from childhood up we expect a new believer learn overnight. We say that BEFORE you can be baptized you have to convert to our standard of thinking, to our every practice of life. WE require so much more than repentence. God does not! He says "repent and be baptized". We need to allow these people the chance to grow and yes, eventually as they do grow and mature in the Lord they will have to deal with some things and put away some things, BUT so do we. That is something we always need to be doing as we move forward.
In most churches, however, this isn't even a problem. We are too self-centered, too focued and concerned about protecting "me", and what I want, what I belive, what I think should happen, that we don't even really seem to care about the lost souls around us.
We think shoving some loose change in an envelope, smacking on a stamp, and mailing it to some foreign country is caring. That may be true, but there is so much more involved. We "care" more for a dying person that we will never lay eyes on in a foreign country than we do for the alcoholic man in our neighborhood that just died without Christ. Why? Because it's easier to love from a distance.
Can we love them? Can we reach out in our own neighborhoods, in our own towns and love the people that we see daily? Are we willing to an interest in their lives, in their struggles, in their pain? Are we willing to embrace them and bring them into our homes? Let them eat at our tables? To talk with them? To touch them? To REALLY love them?
What churches today need are not more rules and standards. We need a demolation crew. It's time to tear down the walls and open the doors of our churches and of our hearts!
Ag
Sorry, Anon. Didn't mean to take the focus off your question. What asked sent my mind galloping down a bit of a different road, which I'm still trotting down.
My uncle, Dan Beachy, is having meetings in our church this week and I think it boils down to what he asked last night. It wasn't necessarily in regards to the church as far as outreach is concerned, but it applies to that as well. He said, "The question is, do we care enough to get involved?"
And indeed, do we?
Ag
Well, with all the comments about walling ourselves off and reaching out and being a light, I just commented on an aspect of it that I was thinking about. And while I think that some are more gifted than others in dealing with the truth of the gospel on an intellectual level, I think perhaps, as a whole, there have been major consequences in our churches due to a mindset that minimizes the value of the mind and the discipline of apologetics. It can result in us not having anything to say to those who question and wonder. What do you say to the young girl who has been horribly sexually abused when she wonders about the goodness and justice of God? After all, where was He? Yes, you love them, but how? You can’t just brush their questions aside. That’s just one small example. Studying and wrestling with the concepts of God’s sovereignty and His personal involvement are important. Studying the natural world and what that teaches us about God is important. Studying human personality and human behavior can equip us better for dealing with hard things. How does the Gospel interact with all that?
So while my first comments spoke more directly about the church’s larger effect on culture, I think there is an application also, to dealing with people on a personal level.
Miss
Ms. Ag, I think I might live relatively close to you and I wouldn't mind coming over to your church sometime, maybe even to hear your uncle Dan Beachy. Would you mind posting an address for your church and the times meetings start this week as well as Sunday services?
I have been outside of the Mennonite community a lot for the past 5 years. There have been times I've wondered whether or not I ever wanted to return to the Mennonite community. More recently, I realize that being Mennonite really does define me in more ways than I thought and in a good way, I think. And I miss the community. In spite of our faults, we do have good things. That's not to say we should be content with mediocrity or with the status quo. We need to continually be changed more and more into the Image of Christ. Whatever that means for me and where I am right now. And for you. Miss
Miss, come anytime!! I need to find out what the exact address is, so I'll get back with you. Our church is located in Salisbury, PA. We have meetings every night this week EXCEPT Friday, and they start at 7:30. Sunday morning, Sunday school is at 9:30 a.m., and the service is at 11ish. (Am I right Lori? I never pay attention to the time.)
I'll get back with you.
Ag
To Miss Again,
Hey can I just e-mail you? Um, okay, usually this works by Tom sending me individuals e-mail addresses? But........maybe you'll break the smooth system.
"Tom, oh, Tom? Tommy? TOM! THOMAS! THOOOOOOOOOOOOMMAS!"
Ag
Time for church? Sounds right--come on over and visit us! If you walk in 10 minutes early and are afraid you're an hour early, don't worry: our church is terrible about being on time. But we're not beyond hope--it's the next virtue on the list. maybe. :-)
I gotcha.
Tom
You think your church is bad for being on time. Ours has got to be worse. Why, in our church it's not unheard of to be 10 minutes LATE and still wonder if you're an hour early.
That's great Ag, what you said about reaching out..... but are you seriously doing something about that conviction you have? It's great to be passionate about something and to believe strongly in it and proclaim it loudly, but I'm very dissappointed with all who hold that strong belief and do absolutely nothing about it. At the most they hide it and run away from making a difference.
Just a challange. Because it is by no means easy.
-Nony Mouse
Do I proclaim to be living what I want to live, to be doing what I know I should be doing? No. Far cry from it. I will never proclaim that. I am barely even scratching the surface. I have so far to go it's almost overwhelming. Sometimes my own imperfection frustrate me beyond words.
But here is where it starts! Right here, right now. And it most often includes my just loving and accepting the person in front of me. May not seem very grand and glorious, but it's making the most of the contacts that I DO have and simply being willing and open to the work of the Lord as he continues to bring people into my life.
I don't mean to loudly and obnoxiously proclaim anything. But yes, I am very passionate about this subject because it weighs very heavily on my heart! I am very concerned by the amount of people in churches that just don't care.
Hurting hearts need a helping hand! I can't heal all the pain, I can't dry all the tears, I can't even give many answers. But if in this life I can only encourage one heart, if I can only show love to one person, that's all I want to do.
But maybe I'm not. Maybe I am completely innefective in my efforts at reaching out to other people. I don't know. I really don't. All I do know is that I do care, and I do try, and I have a very long way to go.
Ag
If that is were your heart is...... then keep it up Ag! Don't let yourself get bogged down by the seemingly "unimportant" things. Just reaching out through a hug or a few words of encouragement or prayer can do much more than you realize. There are days when I long for someone to at least touch me so that I can be assured that others around me are actually people....you know.... REAL PEOPLE!!!!
-Nony Mouse
I totally agree with you, Ag. I get so frusterated when it seems like we sit in our churches on sunday morning and learn about all the people headed to hell and then we just go on living like we always have. I am still growing in the area of reaching out...and I know I can do better in that area...but I am totally with you...God Bless you. -Marcel
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