Last week I was in Switzerland at the Eurochurch/DAWN European Network conference. Beautiful surroundings, great people and good discussions were on hand. Too bad I was dealing with allergies...
When I think about what was said one thing stands above all the rest, the necessity of committed communities. It all starts there. When a group of people come together and decide to live as committed disciples of Christ the world can be changed.
Related to the idea of committed communities is the place of spiritual friendship. The chapters in Pilgrim Heart on this topic and on confession had already got me thinking about all of this.
Add to this mix a criticism that I've heard a number of times about our French church concerning our lack of fellowship. My reaction to the criticism in the past has been to answer by saying that the opportunities for fellowship are present and that the problem lies with those who don't take advantage of those opportunities.
And so I had one of the those eureka moments. The criticism wasn't concerned with our structure. It was concerned with friendship and connection. The critic was saying, "No one is caring for my soul".
There it is, a fundamental flaw, a truth that will always handicap all that we do. Healing for our souls. What can be better? What a tragedy when a committed member of the assembly decides to leave because he never felt connected.
We've been working our way through Peter's first letter. He reminds us again and again of the necessity of deeply loving each other.
I will be taking two Sundays (May 6 and 13) to explore these ideas. I believe this could be one of those subjects that could alter the course of our life as a community of disciples...
Recent Comments