Each of these four areas should be seen as a very effective tool for communication; tools that must be implemented with a critical eye towards the message they communicate. In each of these four areas the Church is guilty of bad praxis that communicates bad theology. I am convinced however, that it is largely unintentional. This does not excuse it, but is rather a much greater indictment against us. We are guilty of engaging in practices we have not thought about. We are going through the motions, and they aren’t even the right motions.
We must move definitively out of the old paradigm and into the new one. We must not equivocate; we must be ruthless in rooting out wrong-headed praxis. The call is to abandon our successful side-shows, and enter the Master’s arena. Here we are on less sure footing, we are with St. Paul “pressed and perplexed,”48 acknowledging that we are but children and students. We must confess that we can
successfully attract a crowd that will open their wallets or nod their heads at the appropriate times, and yet fail at church. We would do well to remember God’s word to our founder, “I have seen your ministry, John, now let me show you mine!”49
No comments:
Post a Comment