Saturday, October 08, 2005
United Church of Christ General Synod proposal
What if...all delegates to the United Church of Christ General Synods were asked before each Synod that they attend to affirm the United Church of Christ Statement of Faith and the Preamble to the United Church of Christ Constitution? These days it is hard to figure out what is central to our connection as a denomination. The General Synod this past summer passed a resolution REAFFIRMING Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. On one hand, I'm glad that this was said because we have all kinds of statements being made reducing "who" is Jesus across this denomination. On the other hand it is sad that we had tp publicly "reaffirm" this. To have all delegates to affirm the Statement of Faith and the Preamble would not interfere with our polity since General Synod has its own autonomy just as any church, association or conference does.
After years of being a practicing "embarrassed" of the Gospel of Jesus Christ preacher, I have come to confess that all life is changed by the life, death and resurrection, the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We have spent too much time trying to make Jesus and the Bible acceptable and understandable in the modern world. Liberals and conservatives have made the Bible literal. Really its those who reflect the 20th century intellectual liberalism who may not share the same ideologies, yet try to remain in "control" that everything make sense. My present local church was predominantly conservative socially/politically, but they also didn't want much to do with Jesus either. They wanted a convenient gospel that confirmed that the way they lived already was just find and they didn't need to change anything at all. They accept what they want and that which they can't accept "literally" they discount or ridicule as being anachronistic. For years I tried to preach a Gospel of liberal rationalism by trying to raise the "consciousness" of all those who disagreed with my views on social/political issues which I called by the code word "social justice". We also called it "prophetic." I remember Walt Brueggemann saying we need fewer preachers trying to be prophets and more preachers willing to teach the prophets.
I have seen more lives changed by the saving grace of Jesus Christ to act justly than by any other process. When people let go and let God, when they turn the whole of their life, including their intellectualism, over to God in Jesus Christ, they find that the separations and divisions and judgments they had practiced earlier were no longer valid. If we are in Christ, then we are all changed. None of us can claim presumptive "right" positions of idealology. None of us are better. None of us have the right to judge e.g. Matthew 25.
After years of being a practicing "embarrassed" of the Gospel of Jesus Christ preacher, I have come to confess that all life is changed by the life, death and resurrection, the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We have spent too much time trying to make Jesus and the Bible acceptable and understandable in the modern world. Liberals and conservatives have made the Bible literal. Really its those who reflect the 20th century intellectual liberalism who may not share the same ideologies, yet try to remain in "control" that everything make sense. My present local church was predominantly conservative socially/politically, but they also didn't want much to do with Jesus either. They wanted a convenient gospel that confirmed that the way they lived already was just find and they didn't need to change anything at all. They accept what they want and that which they can't accept "literally" they discount or ridicule as being anachronistic. For years I tried to preach a Gospel of liberal rationalism by trying to raise the "consciousness" of all those who disagreed with my views on social/political issues which I called by the code word "social justice". We also called it "prophetic." I remember Walt Brueggemann saying we need fewer preachers trying to be prophets and more preachers willing to teach the prophets.
I have seen more lives changed by the saving grace of Jesus Christ to act justly than by any other process. When people let go and let God, when they turn the whole of their life, including their intellectualism, over to God in Jesus Christ, they find that the separations and divisions and judgments they had practiced earlier were no longer valid. If we are in Christ, then we are all changed. None of us can claim presumptive "right" positions of idealology. None of us are better. None of us have the right to judge e.g. Matthew 25.
