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Dan Wilt on why we can’t give up on the institution
Dorothy has seen the wizard, and she has 4 possible choices:
1. Run away, completely. (the faithleaver)
2. Run away, but stay in the orbit of the idea. (the runningprophet)
3. Stand still, and do nothing. (the silentbystander)
4. Run to the wizard, see yourself as part of the “we,” and help fix a gift that could be beautiful once again (the hopegiver)
I’ve come to believe that God is not afraid of historical process nor human process; we however, are deeply suspect of both.
Over the course of thousands of years, the containers have been many, and have often shaped the content of our beliefs as the Church. Guilt by association can follow, and a desire to distance ourselves rises to the surface in the face of the inadequacies marring the landscape of an otherwise helpful scene.
Frank, you’ve chosen the path of 2., and I wish you all the best. Tell us who we are, who the world sees us to be. But for the love of all things holy, allow the Church to be human, and to move through time and culture as sojourners.
I however, choose the path of 4. I see the whole shebang as the “we,” and I’ll work within as long as I have breath.
Response To Frank Viola On “Why I Left The Institutional Church” on The OOZE :: DanWilt.com
I started reading Frank Viola’s “Pagan Christianity” – and got most of the way through it before I decided that I couldn’t keep reading. Everything he said was well researched, thought out and for the most part accurate. But it felt like I was just beating up my best friend, with his hands tied and a blindfold over his eyes. Reformation needs to stem from love.
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4 Comments
nice one geoff.
yep
I think it’s precisely BECAUSE of love for the Church and love for Christ Himself that “Pagan” was written. We shouldn’t feel bad about being disloyal to an institution. God loves the Church, but He is certainly not married to its nonbiblical practices and rituals.
Our “best friend” is not a system, but the living breathing Christ Who wants to be the true Head of His Church. If a system is preventing us from fully following our Lord, we need to have the courage to set it aside and move forward in pursuing Him.
Also, if you want to catch a glimpse of what the Church CAN be, check out the sequel to “Pagan Christianity?” that is out now. It’s called “Reimagining Church”. It picks up where “Pagan Christianity” left off and continues the conversation. (“Pagan Christianity” was never meant to be a stand alone book; it’s part one of the conversation.) “Reimagining Church” is endorsed by Leonard Sweet, Shane Claiborne, Alan Hirsch, and many others. You can read a sample chapter at http://www.ReimaginingChurch.org. It’s also available on Amazon.com. Frank is also blogging now at http://frankviola.wordpress.com/ .
Thanks for you comments Jill – I’d like to respond to a couple of the things you’ve raised. Firstly, my post unfortunately sacrificed a little clarity in the interests of brevity. So when I said “it felt like I was just beating up my best friend, with his hands tied and a blindfold over his eyes” – I’m not necessarily describing a loyalty to the institution – but I do feel loyalty to the vast majority of Christians who are still a part of that institution. I firmly believe that shaking up the church has to revolve around bringing as much of the institutional people with you as possible. Even if that makes it harder, and takes a lot longer.
And so what I was trying to articulate was that this book left me feeling less loving towards the institutional church, and mostly just aggressive. I doubt this was Frank’s intention, and I’ll be interested to see what’s in “Re-imagining Church”.