Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Update letter
In case you'd like to read it, the latest update letter on the lives of Blythe and Stephen can be found here!
Monday, March 5, 2012
To serve or to walk?
Being involved in areas of service most of my life, but only recently living in a community where I have the opportunity to live life beside those I serve, I have begun to process through some important questions that I've never really thought through before. Some of my rambling thoughts are as follows:
How much are we truly doing incarnational, life-changing ministry if we are continually serving those outside of our world, but not walking alongside them? It just doesn’t sit right with my spirit that so many of us think we have done God’s work if we simply serve the least of these year after year. And it is good to serve. But if we are continually serving, and doing nothing to produce long-term change in the world of those we serve – if we don’t transition to walking alongside them – then I do not believe we are really doing what God intended His Church to do.
In the U.S., there is a sharper divide between the fortunate and less fortunate than in almost any other country, so outreach and service can more easily become something different than it was meant to be. Rather than easily being able to share what little possessions we have, rather than working together for God’s Kingdom, there is already naturally a sharp divide in this country between the fortunate and less fortunate. There are already two worlds. Living in DC I have seen the reality of these two world in sharper contrast than ever before. There are some of us who have a lot, who lived in a world where violence and abuse and rape were only statistics. Then there is the other world where abuse, fatherlessness, violence, death, abortion, and emotional abuse are cycles that haven’t been broken for decades and are only growing stronger. And those of us from the first world think what Jesus means by loving the least of these is to serve some of the ones from the second world – the few who have sought out help or are so messed up they can't hide anymore – and serve them in a shelter or a program once a week. So rather than entering the second world and helping to break the cycles so that we are all working side by side for the unity of all things as Christ taught us to, we are content to do what our American church has told us is “good” – we serve others for years and years, empowering them to stay in their world, and by doing so telling them they deserve to stay in their world.
We cannot be content with this. Being the Church means working for the redemption of all things. It means living out Christ’s love in this world in such a way that it brings people together, that it destroys barriers, that it unifies. I am coming to understand from Scripture that if we are content to be a “Church” that enforces disunity, that not only allows but empowers two different worlds to exist - this is not the Church Christ desired. We are called to live so differently that we break down walls, unify different worlds, and destroy injustice by the very way we interact with others.
It is not comfortable to walk alongside people, which is why I don’t think the American Church is very good at it, and why I am just now learning what the Bible actually says the Church should look like. It is much easier to keep our money, our schedules, our relationships with those who are similar to us, and go serve those who are different once a week so we feel good about ourselves. It is easier to go to church with those who think like us, who are from the world and have the same problems and blessings. Believe me, this is what I’ve been learning about myself the past couple weeks, as I’ve begun to walk alongside my friends from that other world. It is hard to connect with them a lot of the time, to talk to them about Jesus in a way they can relate to from their perspective, to talk about our problems and issues – because they are so different. It has required me to change my schedule, what my free time looks like, what I think small groups and worship should look like at our church. It has convicted me about my own selfishness when it comes to friendships, how it is so much easier for me to hang out with people who are like me. It is intense to truly walk alongside others.
We need to spend more time thinking about what it means to live in such a way as to bring about reconciliation and redemption to all circusmtances and situations. What does it really look like to do that? Do we really believe that is what God has called us to? If so, do we really desire that? And if we do, are we really living in such a way as to accomplish that? Are we willing to? Are we willing to change our lifestyles, how we have always done church, always done outreach at our churches? I believe this is what it will require to really live differently in our culture today and be the Church Christ intended us to be. But it’s worth it – it’s so worth it to see the people you once served giving advice to others stuck in the same cycles they used to be, to see them fired up about changing things. This is what it is all about – walking alongside people as Jesus walks alongside us, showing us what true reconciliation and unity looks like.
How much are we truly doing incarnational, life-changing ministry if we are continually serving those outside of our world, but not walking alongside them? It just doesn’t sit right with my spirit that so many of us think we have done God’s work if we simply serve the least of these year after year. And it is good to serve. But if we are continually serving, and doing nothing to produce long-term change in the world of those we serve – if we don’t transition to walking alongside them – then I do not believe we are really doing what God intended His Church to do.
In the U.S., there is a sharper divide between the fortunate and less fortunate than in almost any other country, so outreach and service can more easily become something different than it was meant to be. Rather than easily being able to share what little possessions we have, rather than working together for God’s Kingdom, there is already naturally a sharp divide in this country between the fortunate and less fortunate. There are already two worlds. Living in DC I have seen the reality of these two world in sharper contrast than ever before. There are some of us who have a lot, who lived in a world where violence and abuse and rape were only statistics. Then there is the other world where abuse, fatherlessness, violence, death, abortion, and emotional abuse are cycles that haven’t been broken for decades and are only growing stronger. And those of us from the first world think what Jesus means by loving the least of these is to serve some of the ones from the second world – the few who have sought out help or are so messed up they can't hide anymore – and serve them in a shelter or a program once a week. So rather than entering the second world and helping to break the cycles so that we are all working side by side for the unity of all things as Christ taught us to, we are content to do what our American church has told us is “good” – we serve others for years and years, empowering them to stay in their world, and by doing so telling them they deserve to stay in their world.
We cannot be content with this. Being the Church means working for the redemption of all things. It means living out Christ’s love in this world in such a way that it brings people together, that it destroys barriers, that it unifies. I am coming to understand from Scripture that if we are content to be a “Church” that enforces disunity, that not only allows but empowers two different worlds to exist - this is not the Church Christ desired. We are called to live so differently that we break down walls, unify different worlds, and destroy injustice by the very way we interact with others.
It is not comfortable to walk alongside people, which is why I don’t think the American Church is very good at it, and why I am just now learning what the Bible actually says the Church should look like. It is much easier to keep our money, our schedules, our relationships with those who are similar to us, and go serve those who are different once a week so we feel good about ourselves. It is easier to go to church with those who think like us, who are from the world and have the same problems and blessings. Believe me, this is what I’ve been learning about myself the past couple weeks, as I’ve begun to walk alongside my friends from that other world. It is hard to connect with them a lot of the time, to talk to them about Jesus in a way they can relate to from their perspective, to talk about our problems and issues – because they are so different. It has required me to change my schedule, what my free time looks like, what I think small groups and worship should look like at our church. It has convicted me about my own selfishness when it comes to friendships, how it is so much easier for me to hang out with people who are like me. It is intense to truly walk alongside others.
We need to spend more time thinking about what it means to live in such a way as to bring about reconciliation and redemption to all circusmtances and situations. What does it really look like to do that? Do we really believe that is what God has called us to? If so, do we really desire that? And if we do, are we really living in such a way as to accomplish that? Are we willing to? Are we willing to change our lifestyles, how we have always done church, always done outreach at our churches? I believe this is what it will require to really live differently in our culture today and be the Church Christ intended us to be. But it’s worth it – it’s so worth it to see the people you once served giving advice to others stuck in the same cycles they used to be, to see them fired up about changing things. This is what it is all about – walking alongside people as Jesus walks alongside us, showing us what true reconciliation and unity looks like.
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