Church: What now? - Part 3

I have been reflecting the things which I have blogged on lately. Honestly, I don’t have answers, just questions and more questions.

The following are some of the questions I have been thinking (aloud) about, asking and hoping to find the answers myself :-

If the church is also filled with imperfect people, how can it be a safe place?
Many felt betrayed or disappointed with “church”, largely due to some point in time they have been hurt or discouraged by people, especially those whom they looked up to as leaders. Nobody’s perfect and the church could and is also a place where one can still get hurt or disappointed. But there is a difference. There is a channel of God’s grace.

What is the purpose of the church?
Its purpose is to draw people into Christ, to mirror Christ to one another, to show Christ to others by the way we live.

How is the church doing in carrying out this purpose?
It all depends very much on the people and their relationship with God through Christ. How could the church draw people into Christ, mirror Christ and demonstrate Christ if the people don’t know Christ themselves or don’t have a relationship with Him or don’t walk in the way of Christ? It will indeed be a sad affair if the church decides to substitute the way of the Spirit with the ways and thoughts of the material world...

What then shall we do with the church that may still hurt us?
There is always conflict in human relationships. The first step may be to acknowledge that we are still part of the church (the family). Ideally, the church is a spiritual community with which we make our journey toward God, knowing His purposes in our circumstances and seeking Him together. We still need each other to go on the journey. We will still encounter difficulties, confusion and disappointment but in all these, we should have a readiness to listen, learn and live, knowing that there is purpose in pain and in turn, have faith in God’s divine providence. We cannot go on with our own strength and understanding to manage our hurt and pain and we need to go beyond that to discovering God in a fresh way.

What happens when we are hurt again?
Experiences of hurt and pain will break our spirit. But only when we are broken do we experience God's love. In a true spiritual community, there is openness, whereby one would be taking off the masks and becoming authentic and vulnerable before one another. How well we learn and practice this is another thing… However, we should continue to learn to engage in relationship with others (…and not be a hermit in some island far, far away). We need to learn to be frank and open with one another, not to be shy or shameful to ask and receive help from others and to allow others to act as a channel of God's grace in our lives. We should embody brokenness, be open about our own weaknesses, not reacting with self-pity, but with hope. Whilst we are learning such, we should also observe the lives of others, see what others could become and what God is already doing in their lives at that point. We should envision potential in others, encourage them and discern when to expose what is wrong and when to stir up the right passion so that we can also touch them with the power of Christ.

How do we keep learning when we are still in pain and hurt?
May be we just have to quit being “managers” of ourselves and stop thinking that there are always some medication that one can take to cure or eradicate the sickness immediately. We just need to let the Spirit take over; quit rationalizing, quit planning, quit strategizing and quit executing any tasks under our own power and capabilities and (learn to) rely much on the power of the Holy Spirit.

Verses for meditation (taken from English Standard Version (ESV)):

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (Rom 12:1-3)

“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Php 2:4-13)

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” (1Pet 2:9-17)