The Great Gathering
Excerpts from a chapter of Jake Colsen's work "The Great Gathering":
"Jesus saw the church as a reality, not an assignment for his followers to construct."
One way to construct the church? --"stay focused on him.'
"Where Jesus is given first place, the church simply emerges in wonderful ways. He will place you in the body exactly as he desires. And as those relationships grow, you may find yourself surrounded by a group of people who want to walk in more intentional community together. That's an amazing thing when it happens, but still you have to keep your focus on him. Even groups that start out centered on him are easily and quickly tempted to organize themselves to death. When Jesus ceases to be the object of our pursuit, our touch with his body will fade into emptiness."
"Real Community is not something we fabricate by any means. It is a gift God gives."
About the institution: "We are generous about it. We don't overly manipulate people, but nothing we do directly encourages people to live this kind of life. We talk about it, we want people to do it, but our efforts are geared to the growth and success of this institution. We 're not teaching them to depend on him in any practical way, but to find security in being part of what we do."
"Geese fly together not because they are obligated to do so, but because it lightens their load and lifts them closer to their goal. " "That's the gathering. It's not when you meet, where you meet, or how you meet in meetings, but that you are gathering your heart to him. If that's happening, you usually won't find yourself going it alone very long. You'll find others heading the same direction and by traveling together you'll be able to help one another along the way. Thar's why you only hurt yourself when you look for people who want to meet a certain way or think like you do about everything. Every person who crosses your path, be they believer or unbeliever, in an institution like this or outside of it, is a potential partner in this journey. By loving each of them to the degree that they may allow, you'll participate in his great gathering."
"This is his joy he draws you to, not some tiresome duty or empty promise."
posted by Karen @ 8:03 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I went back to one of my books to reread this chapter because I have been,as of late, trying to decide where to channel my time and energy. I found a little clarity.
A man in the prelude paragraph states," Have you noticed that those who share your hunger don't share your passion to reform the machinery (of the institution)?
The answer from a Rev. comes back, "I have noticed that. The people whose spiritual maturity I respect most seem to gravitate away from helping us run this thing. I've been very disappointed that they won't join our leadership teams. It means we have people in leadership positions who don't know God very well, but who have strong opinions about the way things should be done." "It tells me that maybe the ones I thought were mature aren't, since they were so unwilling to serve."
The answer from his friend? "Maybe they want to invest their time serving people instead of attending an endless supply of committee meetings." "Structures are about gaining power and getting your own way. Those who are growing to know him don't need them."
So sad to see that Karen has been talking to herself for months! Is anyone out there? Is anyone listening? Does anyone CARE?????
We are here, but for many of us we have been busy moving on. We have tried to work within the institution but have had door after door closed in our face. We have become sheep with wolfs for sheapards. Jesus did not want for us just to follow what others preached. Jesus wanted our faith to be alive and lived to the fullest. This means we have to be open to the Holy Spirt. But the church is afraid of that because they can't control the Holy Spirt,and we all know how they have to be able to control everything. Not to mention how they tend to suck the life out of anything they can't control. Of course sometimes money can help convince the institution but that will only last as long as they can bleed you dry. For many of us we are still here working on following GODS call but we have learned that this can be done with out working with an institution that has hidden agenda. As for Karen, I can only thank God for the gift of knowing her. And yes we are here and we are praying and listening so KEEP ON WRITING !!!!!!!!!!!! GOD BLESS Dan
Now Anon, Dan got to the heart of the issue just before I did. Although it may seem as if I am talking to myself (which I do!),this blog has evolved over the past year quite nicely. When we started this blog, we would often banter back and forth, rallying agaisnt the institutional church that was going to close our parish.
Someone once told me that they enjoyed that time period because people were so passionate. I have noticed that some who were so rallied about keeping our small church open with a mass, seemed too sedate now that we still do have that mass early Sunday morning. Did they find the Spirit? only to lose it when we retained the building?
Does that include me? Is that why I haven't written as much lately? The last line of my first comment on this entry was "Structures are about gaining power and getting your own way.Those who are growing to know Him, don't need them."
Bingo! My 'comrades' are still out there. I talk about what I write with them. I talk about the books I read with those to whom I pass them. They pass me books. We have met to pray, to chat, to smile. Maybe we don't argue passionately on the blog anymore because we have seen the structure for what it is, and moved on. The whole validation thought process is different now.
Mainly because we DO care.
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