What I DO believe...at least some of it...

A number of conversations, real and virtual, have recently gotten me thinking through about "how far" should we go in a process of deconstruction. When we start process of dismantling previously held
convictions...you know what I mean, asking questions and wrestling with answers...it is painful and difficult. But when is the tipping point reached when it becomes easy and pain-free to be forever dismantling.

I want to guard against a glib iconoclasm(literally ‘image-breaking’): where the "old" and the "previous" is immediately disposable and somehow of no value. The great danger that we end up facing is that it can be satisfying to debunk narrowness and cultural exclusivity. That satisfaction that leaves us with our own new barriers and orthodoxy.

I think that with the wrestle of deconstruction there has to be a commitment to the elements of construction...of building.

So, as a corrective to constant affirmation of what I do NOT believe, here are a few provocations to ponder that might balance and present what I DO believe. This is not exhaustive...but off the top of my head thoughts, that may not be very well thought thru...chuckle....:

• The Christian faith is not just a matter of creeds and system of belief (it is way of life - worship, community, daily witness, a holy lifestyle etc etc)...BUT unless we can talk about the historic Jesus and connect our story with the life of the church through the ages, then we end up building a new "religion" (devising our own creeds, however palatable and "humane" they may seem) which is human-centered rather than God-centered.

• The church needs to be a place of safety, inclusion and welcome, NOT a place of judgment and exclusion...BUT unless we give and accept permission to each others pain, we cannot call each other to a life that truly reflects the reality of Jesus the risen Christ...and we will end up lost in our own brokenness.

• The church is a place of equality where the least is the greatest NOT a place of patriarchy and hierarchy...BUT unless we can model godly leadership and authority, we are denying the transformative effects of the gospel on the structures of human society.

• Teaching is just one of many gifts given to the church and should NOT be an opportunity for elitist (‘I am better than you’) monologues that are detached from the lives of real people living and working in a real world...BUT unless we build relevant means of discipling ‘Jesus followers’ in scripture and tradition, we will be left wallowing in the self-satisfaction of our own knowledge rather than sharing it with others and passing it on to future generations.

• Followers of Christ are NOT just adherents to a religious lifestyle that expresses itself with vehement arguments against the cultural and/or religious issues of our day...BUT they are people whose imaginations have been captured by the power of Jesus to hope in the greatest darkness. They are a people who ask the greater more personal questions of:

What does Jesus think about our consumptive lifestyles?
What does Jesus think about the enviromental crisis?
How would Jesus respond to the ever lowering standards of television?
What would Jesus’ response be to reality of our economic position in the world and the presence of poverty and injustice?
How would Jesus respond to the sexuality of our age?
What would Jesus’ comments be regarding the shallowness of so many of our relationships...and that we hide who we are behind the masks of addictive lifestyles?
...to name a few....

• Worship is NOT just a time to be joyful and proclaim personal truths but a space to come together in shared lament, protest, struggle and mystery...BUT if we lose celebration and the expectation of God joining with us by His Holy Spirit, we lose the source and energy for any gift that we may think the church has to offer the world.

• God is God and we dare NOT feel that we can package and own all the truth about who God is BUT we do know something and unless we own the story we are in danger of falling into the worship of someone or something else, (our spiritual search and journey is really about unmasking that which what we hold as most dear...its His kindness that draws us to Himself...and its His kindness that unmasks our true ‘affections’...and leads us to repentance – the great affection transfer).