my old mentor, bob, used to say that we don't choose books they choose us. and it is weird how often i'll be reading something that speaks to the moment.
i love the church...but i work for a parachurch ministry. on top of that i work for a parachurch ministry that is partnered deeply with a local church. a lot of times we live in some pretty gray areas when it comes to where one ends and the other begins. sometimes in my selfishness and pride i can find myself wanting more: more freedom, more definition, more recognition.
in other words, sometimes, it's hard to build an organization and serve the church too.
but then, that is what we are called to do. here's a string of convicting quotes from christ among the dragons:
"legitimate or not, parachurch groups are not the church, nor should they become a substitute for the church...
...the church was what christ came to establish as the intended means for ministry in the world. He wanted to change the world and he wanted to do it through the church...
...the 'i/me/mine' mentality leads to a 'culture of narcissism' (what he calls a religion of personal therapy)...the individual needs and desires of the believer have become the center of attention...
...if we are to resurrect the christian 'brand' by resurrecting the church, there is one thing we will have to die to: ourselves...
...the more the church is gathered, the more the church is focused, the more it pulls together the collective energies of God's people, the more powerful and influential it becomes...which is why the church is the most beautiful, the most radical, the most dangerous, the most glorious enterprise on the planet, and there is nothing more worthy of throwing our lives into."
that's exactly what i needed to read today.
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