that i am grappling with lately:
one of them is taking the incredible life-transforming simple-gospel stuff we are reading about in books like Shane Claiborne’s ‘The Irresistible Revolution’ and Erwin McManus ‘an unSTOPPABLE force’ and Rich Stearns ‘The Hole in the Gospel’ and even going back to the legen….dary Keith Green’s ‘No Compromise’ story and not just being excited and ‘challenged’ and ‘changed’ by it, and not just talking about it and maybe looking down on others who ‘don’t get it’ and all that and when do we actually start doing it and being transformed and changed – do we actually ‘get it’ or are we just excited by the idea? that is a tough one and i know my biggest problem is knowing the ‘how’ cos i am excited and i do think it’s great and i do want to live the simple passionate compassionate miraculous life to the full Jesus calls us to, but practically what do i need to do? question one i am grappling with.
part of question one is how do i justify the fact that i just spent R600 on an Eddie Izzard dvd boxset but don’t feel i can justify spending R700 to R900 for me and tbV to go watch him live (i guess that could be a problem with justifying both as opposed to either one of them perhaps) but then also not being able to justify someone else wanting to spend R300 on make-up for a wedding? why is mine okay and theirs not okay?
linked to that question will be that my lavish will be simple and ridiculous to Bishop’s Court residents and Saudi Arabia moguls but my simple will be wasteful and lavish and dreamed of for a typical Kayamandi shack resident – wealth and poverty can be relative to an extent.
question 2 regards being pastory type guy at enGAGE, a congregation that is part of the Vineyard church in Stellenbosch – are we really effecting change in the community or am i realistically simply just maintaining a small community of like-minded people? as in really, like what is really really happening there? cos if this year is all about just looking after 30 to 50 Christians and trying to make sure they are all still Christian at the end of the year and maybe a bit more Christian, then what the flippy flipperson? there MUST be more than this.
not needing answers (well, not from you) – just needing to ask the questions…
Something i’ve been struggling with is also about what happens inside the global church. I come from a place that fit the criteria of aborational (not correct spelling) cult teachings. The result is me.. One issue-filled twenty four year old distrustin any form of spiritual leadership or methods used in church.. Charismatic denominations love pointing the finger at how other churches do things wrong and how it’s connected to ancient pagan ways, but then we lay hands with the authority we’ve been given because we live godly lives… But if works cannot save us, then can living as ‘bigger christians’ i.e. Do stuff better, make a difference? I’ve been saved ten years and i’ve seen where it grows, but i’m tired of seeing miracles that can be explained both ways and happens to non-prayers also anyways. Who are we truly kidding here? The world laughs at us because we don’t have a ‘religious mind, but one of relationship.’ Please. It’s the way it’s meant to be, but we sing orchestrated music in church, worshipping God, and then go ‘ oh how i love that song’ or i love this book on miracles or warfare tactics…’ Face it. The modern church is nothing more than a music and book club for likeminded people. Non smoking, non drinking secret sinning people with leaders living in adulterous ways. We don’t see God’s love because we still live to earn it… We still think we can do something in order to have God give us more salvation. More prayer power. More manipulation for self gain and we get angry if He doesn’t comply. Read Romans again and this time really listen when Paul tells you that you suck and that all you are is because God have it to you and that nothing you can do can make you more saved. Don’t be angry at God if he can’t give you more salvation. He can’t give what He already gave you. Try not condemning yourselves so much… You’re not good enough to be so prideful.
I have no answers, so I’m glad you’re not asking for any. I just know EXACTLY what you’re talking about! Safety in numbers: you’re not going mad:)
Regarding question 2: What is God telling you to do? Be faithful to that calling, wherever it takes you.
Dude I am SO at the same place! Asking the same questions. Got nooo answers but loving that u asking the questions! Sjoe.
What confuses me about you is that you have such a vibrant and enquiring mind yet you dont want to enquire where it might put your faith into question. You say you are aware of the actions of the church over the last 2000 years….do you know how much of the modern (King james) bible
was mistranslated for political reasons ? have you researched that ? have you researched the evidence that before christianity there were quite a few
other messiahs who also shared many of jesus traits (virgin birth, ressurection etc). The god Horus from Egyptian culture was born Dec 25th, from a virgin, ressurected after 3 days etc etc. What all these gods allude to is the movement of the stars and sun. In the northern hemisphere the sun (or “son”) is at its lowest point in the sky on 21st december. It literally sits in the position of the Southern Cross as if dead for 3 days, and only on the 25th dec does it start moving up again, it is thus born or ressurected. The fact is that the Romans simply copied and pasted the ancient Egyptian deities etc onto a new messiah Jesus, and
historized him to gain control of peoples minds and beliefs and thus behaviours. There is absolutely no historical evidence that Jesus existed and the few that are quoted as such have been proven to be frauds. Why on earth would you trust the Romans, a dispicable culture ? They are the ones who began the fraud which we the human race has had forced upon us all these years….I know you are a beautiful decent person but I beg you to impartially research all this before being so sure of what you think is true.
thankx for the commentsw Sven…. “yet you dont want to enquire where it might put your faith into question” i don’ think that is particularly fair or true – i only want to follow/possess a faith that is true and real and relevant – i am not interested at all in some feel-good religion/belief that is just a good feeling and based on a lie…
the one problem i have with you quoting ‘absolute truth facts’ is that there is evidence for both on the internet or wherever you look – so you are saying my proof that Jesus the man existed is not true because you read something that said that it was not true – there is faith involved on both sides of the equation – we are just having faith in different things – how deep does your research go in proving that He didn’t – watching zeitgeist which is completely biased towards an anti-Christianity faith/worldview and maybe some other anti-Christian sites etc – i wasn’t there and so i can only go on the proof that exists and sadly there is strong ‘proof’ either way so again someone has to guess – i’m happy with the historical evidence that supports Christianity but i’m even happier with the experiential aspects (available in my life story) and even beyond that i think the heart of what Christianity is about (not what people have made it/misused it/perverted it to be) – loving God, loving people, looking after the needy, serving others, loving your wife, taking care of widows and children, the poor, those in prison and the environment… my vibrant and enquiring mind tells me those things are worth living and dying for even if the ‘proof’ of where it all comes from is a bit questionable at times.
what are you living for?