deep church // the third way
I’m reading a book right now called Deep Church. I’m loving it. Its playing with my mind and my assumptions of the traditional church as well as the emergent church. One of the issues dealt with in the book is how we allow to people to be a part of the community of believers. It would appear that the traditional church has said in order to belong to us you must follow these propositional truths that we have laid out. If you do not, then you cannot or do not belong here.
Jim Belcher, the author, quotes one of his former staff members with this proposal about how Jesus takes people from belonging to following as recorded in the synoptic gospels (this is paraphrased):
section 1 in the synoptics) Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. He’s training disciples on exactly who he is and what the kingdom he is bringing is like. Basically, everything he does here is draw you in to seeing him and wanting more of him. He’s surrounded here by the “poor in spirit.” This is merely belonging to the community.
section 2 in the synoptics) Jesus begins to head toward Jerusalem. The turn. The question. “who Do you say that I am?” Jesus is basically asking them to move from merely belonging to a community to full belief in the who he is and who the community is. This is shifting from belonging to believing, though it is clear that they have already belonged, this is a step further in.
section 3 in the synoptics) The final days/hours in Jerusalem. Jesus lays it all out there. “take up your cross and follow me.” He is now asking them to move from believing to following/sacrificing/giving their whole life for this movement they say they are a part of. This is the shift from believing to following.
In order to help myself understand the movement better I wrote down “belonging leads to believing leads to following.”
But what I’m wondering is, “Do we see it happen this way?” It appears often as if our churches say, in order to be a part of us or this movement you must give up everything and accept these propositional truths and then you can belong. If the above process is true, however, it seems as though we have gotten it backwards.
So what do you think? Where does this land with you?
Matt
Wednesday, 24th February 2010 at 4:13 pm
I guess it all depends on your definitions of church and which type of church you’re talking about: church local or church universal. Would we consider Jesus and the 12 disciples a ‘church’? I think an argument could be made that they were already a part of the church (judaism) as worshipers of the one true God and Jesus was calling them to be leaders in the new covenant.
BTW, its been a long time. How you guys been? Celeste and I have one in the oven!
Lee
Wednesday, 24th February 2010 at 4:53 pm
i’m loving the posts…tearing through them brother. i defer to Tozer from our chapter on ‘Goodness’ that we discussed this week:
“What is God like? It is a question that must be answered if we’re going to be any kind of Christians at all.”
Jesus leads the disciples for a period of time where (as you paraphrased above) he is showing/teaching them about the nature of God (who he is) wayyyy before he leads them to any kind of obedience and sacrifice.
We have to know what we believe about God if we are to be any kind of Christians at all.
Lee´s last blog ..change…and what’s next
bslash
Thursday, 25th February 2010 at 7:34 am
We are doing well Matt, Thank you.
So, even if they are a part of the ‘church’ by being a part of Judaism, were they full followers or do they merely belong to a community?
I’m wondering how we take people to full followers in today’s context. We seem to want to thrust them into the final movement, without taking them on the journey to get there.
Basically, can you be a disciple before you take up your cross?
(Loving the Tozer comment)
bslash
Thursday, 25th February 2010 at 7:34 am
And congratulations on the baby! Where are you guys at now?
Matt
Thursday, 25th February 2010 at 7:49 am
Thanks! We’re in Saint Louis. It seems I’m a perpetual student. I’m a grad student at the university of Missouri-St. Louis studying philosophy and working with a church plant here in town.