Mike Yaconelli wrote in his book ‘Dangerous Wonder’:
The most critical issue facing Christians is not abortion, pornography, the disintegration of the family, moral absolutes, MTV, drugs, racism, sexuality or school prayer. The critcal issue today is dullness. We have lost our astonishment. The Good News is no longer good news, it is ok news. Christianity is not longer life changing, it is life enhancing. Jesus doesn’t change people in to wild-eyed radicals anymore, He changes them into ‘nice people’.
I think he’s right. I often wonder what has happened to amazement at God and at the world. How did we ever get to a place where Jesus was tame, safe and predictable?
2 words – The church
I agree, but the church is us, particularly in the non-conformist traditions. It seems that we strive for conformity in so many ways. We tell our children to colour inside the lines, to do things properly and all that. We strangle creativity at every opportunity and the lament the lack of it! How did we let that happen?
We served and continue to serve the wrong master. We are all in the service of the church. We put the organisation at the centre and work from there. As soon as the organisation becomes the defining element you lose what your purpose is (how many churches are struggling to find their ‘mission’?) and we end up in the ridiculous position where you can’t let a child *colour outside the lines* in case the *owner of the picture* sues you (*substitute your own experience of so-called child protection here).
The organisation, it seems, has to be protected at all costs. Of course the ultimate cost will be its total and absolute demise.
We need to build a new church, I am currently working on a blog entry around this over at my place, do drop by when study time permits…..
FYI, here is that very article … http://bclc.wordpress.com/2007/09/19/youve-gotta-serve-somebody/