I am compelled to change the posture of the Church
to reflect God's power to overcome barriers and isolation
with the whole Gospel.
This could easily have made for 3 separate entries! The problem was in separating the phrases, which, it turns out, must be linked together. Here, we're getting to the heart of things. I'll actually work through it in reverse.
Numerous scholars and writers have critiqued the Church's tendency to "slice and dice" the Gospel into pieces that are easier to digest-- or at least that work well for them. Such picking and choosing causes myopia and distortion. Some simple examples can be seen at both ends of the spectrum of faith vs. works, social justice vs. personal piety, being 'relevant' vs. living separated from culture. Most often, the challenge of the Gospel is not to opt for one or the other, but to faithfully tackle both. (For more on the "both/ and" of the holistic Gospel, see this piece I wrote about a year ago.)
Almost any church I work with (and almost any day in my personal life, for that matter) needs to compensate for its natural gravitation away from the whole shebang of the Good News. Because without it, the Church cannot live into the promise of Ephesians 2:14-16. "For Jesus himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility... His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility."
This is one of the chief reasons Urban Mosaic exists. I look around the city and I see plenty of well-meaning Christians. Yet, I see them working in isolation, in fear, in mistrust, surrounded by dividing walls. I see churches isolated from other churches and from their neighbors. Their own members are divided by language, age, and economic class. This is not the whole Gospel! Preaching on Sundays, or effective outreach, or great small groups, or powerful prayer ministry does not make up for falling short of the full expression of that new humanity that Jesus created.
Therefore the posture of the Church must change. It must be humble. Sacrificial. Listening. Aware. Ready to be broken and shared among the hurting people of this city and this world. Freed of its hostility. Prepared as an earthen vessel, fragile yet fill-able.
Let's be practical for a moment: it happens in small steps. Don't take me as a wild revolutionary-- I appreciate that this is no quick fix. It is beyond difficult to live into God's desire for reconciliation. What we as a team ask, encourage, coach and model is a life that kneels, knocks, seeks, and asks for the way forward. Not charging ahead alone, but sitting at the table with others with whom we are called to journey. Even when it's uncomfortable. Even when they're being silly or petty or downright difficult. That's what we believe Jesus did. That's what he seemed to dream for his Church.
His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
Numerous scholars and writers have critiqued the Church's tendency to "slice and dice" the Gospel into pieces that are easier to digest-- or at least that work well for them. Such picking and choosing causes myopia and distortion. Some simple examples can be seen at both ends of the spectrum of faith vs. works, social justice vs. personal piety, being 'relevant' vs. living separated from culture. Most often, the challenge of the Gospel is not to opt for one or the other, but to faithfully tackle both. (For more on the "both/ and" of the holistic Gospel, see this piece I wrote about a year ago.)
Almost any church I work with (and almost any day in my personal life, for that matter) needs to compensate for its natural gravitation away from the whole shebang of the Good News. Because without it, the Church cannot live into the promise of Ephesians 2:14-16. "For Jesus himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility... His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility."
This is one of the chief reasons Urban Mosaic exists. I look around the city and I see plenty of well-meaning Christians. Yet, I see them working in isolation, in fear, in mistrust, surrounded by dividing walls. I see churches isolated from other churches and from their neighbors. Their own members are divided by language, age, and economic class. This is not the whole Gospel! Preaching on Sundays, or effective outreach, or great small groups, or powerful prayer ministry does not make up for falling short of the full expression of that new humanity that Jesus created.
Therefore the posture of the Church must change. It must be humble. Sacrificial. Listening. Aware. Ready to be broken and shared among the hurting people of this city and this world. Freed of its hostility. Prepared as an earthen vessel, fragile yet fill-able.
Let's be practical for a moment: it happens in small steps. Don't take me as a wild revolutionary-- I appreciate that this is no quick fix. It is beyond difficult to live into God's desire for reconciliation. What we as a team ask, encourage, coach and model is a life that kneels, knocks, seeks, and asks for the way forward. Not charging ahead alone, but sitting at the table with others with whom we are called to journey. Even when it's uncomfortable. Even when they're being silly or petty or downright difficult. That's what we believe Jesus did. That's what he seemed to dream for his Church.
His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
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