tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post115552892366472736..comments2024-02-10T08:46:51.419-05:00Comments on Rude Armchair Theology: Three difficult thingsMike Croghanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18099387827886541138noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post-1155580391025482532006-08-14T14:33:00.000-04:002006-08-14T14:33:00.000-04:00Hmm. So: one of the things that makes discernmen...Hmm. So: one of the things that makes discernment so gorram hard is that we get immediately into issues of control. The individual disciple wants to control his or her own destiny. The church wants to control the disciples and make sure their callings fit into the neat, pre-established categories that match the church's own power structure, habits, and priorities. Nobody really wants to relinquish control of their lives - or the lives of their "flock" - to the Spirit. Partly, that's because we have to admit that we don't really know how to be that open and free. Also, I think we know it's not quite as simple as "anything goes" - just love everybody and encourage them them do what seems best to them. So how do we really, intentionally, go about the hard work of discerning the what it means, for each of us, to follow Jesus? I think we need to strike a balance between a thorough grounding in scripture (what did Jesus say and do?) and community (including the deep community of church tradition, going back to biblical times) - and an oppenness to God doing a new (or at least new-to-us) thing. Like Ross says, trust others, and also trust God.<BR/><BR/>Even though we can point to a thousand places where the Church has done a spectacularly bad job at missional discernment, I think it's still necessary for us to try to find ways to do it intentionally, together, as brothers and sisters (not shepherds and sheep), without it degenerating into a control game. There's a place of tension between "whatever feels good to you is groovy, man" and "you must now choose from this list of seven pre-defined spiritual vocations (or three if you're a girl)." I guess we need to find ways to inhabit that tension.<BR/><BR/>When I was reading Ross's comment (and by the way, thanks to both Ross and Will for the thoughtful feedback - and to Sonja for the snarky one), I couldn't help but think of seeing Tina off to the Appalachian Trail this spring. I expected her to come back, but not for six months. We spent a lot of time before April 1st "equipping" her for the journey - planning meals, researching and buying lightweight gear, figuring out logistics, and mostly making sure we could spend a lot of time just spending time together before she went away for so long. Talking, planning, but most importantly, spending time with each other. Control didn't really enter into it, although I did insist that she take a light. "I can see just fine in the dark!" Crazy woman. :-)<BR/><BR/>This conversation is very relevant to me, because (unless they reject Fr. Rick's letter or something) I'm getting into the leadership ministry discernment process of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia this fall. It's the process that (as I understand it) used to be sort of a "will you be a priest? - thumbs up / thumbs down" sort of thing, but has recently been expanded to be much more open-ended. Still, I wonder what kinds of predetermined assumptions and categories come along with it.<BR/><BR/>Thanks, folks!Mike Croghanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18099387827886541138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post-1155573948753168042006-08-14T12:45:00.000-04:002006-08-14T12:45:00.000-04:00Isn't part of the problem with the institutional c...Isn't part of the problem with the institutional church, its constant need to "direct, tame, and manage" the work of the Holy Spirit? God who is both in and outside the Church is the one who is to direct, tame, and manage us. A Cathedral Dean once passionately said to me "the Church is not God, for Pete's sake." <BR/><BR/>I agree with Mike's three statements particularly that discipleship is costly --- but rather than say sometimes, my impression is that it is always costly. We may not be killed for our faith but I think if we are following Jesus, we're likely to experience persecution in a variety of forms whether we are taunted or ignored, isolated or mis-represented. The Church when it is packaged and marketed in our contemporary culture often fails to convey the radical message --- the Good News often looks like Bad News. So the Church "tames and manages" discipleship --- "you don't need to leave your job building bombs that kill children" or "you don't really need to worry about buying that huge house" or "please don't worry about not forgiving your neighbor" or "loving your enemies". <BR/><BR/>What would a tv or radio ad for a church be like that was based on the scene of Jesus calling those fisher folks by the sea side? Or based on Jesus' conversation with the rich, young ruler? Would people go to a church that from the very beginning said "come follow Jesus, be part of a non-violent revolution and leave everything familiar behind --- your job, your family, your house." hmm....Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13108687139103021982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post-1155566456569306782006-08-14T10:40:00.000-04:002006-08-14T10:40:00.000-04:00I was going to make some snarky comment about how ...I was going to make some snarky comment about how if you use short sentences, large print and lots of smarmy illustrations you could probably get two book deals out of this idea. But then Ross had to go and write something profound. He's a bugger.Sonja Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13164796660137641599noreply@blogger.com