9.14.2005

Impractical Christianity - Christianity Today Magazine


This is a great article and I encourage you to read it. For me, the quote below from this article articulates why so many in the emerging church discussion are appealing to me. They are honest, authentic, fellow strugglers trying to follow Jesus.
The way forward for Western and other imperfect Christians is the path of humility and brokenness. Of course, humility and brokenness don't sell very well from the pulpit, not to mention in our society. But that's irrelevant. What matters is that the Lord, in his sovereign ingenuity, wills to teach us trust and humble dependence by bringing us through hardship; trials represent the roundabout, yet only true way toward spiritual maturation. And the Lord includes among these hardships the spiritual turmoil suffered by forgiven sinners who become painfully aware they are far from the peak of holiness.

Are humility and honest confession characteristic of our churches? Not much of the time. Increasingly common is the self-assured, goal-oriented, achievement-driven, human-centered outlook. What would the evangelistic impact be if the popular profile of today's Christian emphasized sin and brokenness, if we just went public and admitted it: 'This is who we are, prone to wander, slow to learn, still in process, far from having 'arrived,' grateful for mercy ... so don't expect anything else.'

So what do you think? Are today's churches too goal driven and self-assured?

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