October 16th, 2013 Commentary on Henri Nouwen's Daily Meditation

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Daily-Meditation--Called-out-of-Slavery.html?soid=1011221485028&aid=gUreJO31cd4

In case the above link to Henri Nouwen’s Daily Meditation doesn’t work:

Wednesday October 16, 2013 

Called out of Slavery

The Church is the people of God.  The Latin word for "church," ecclesia, comes from the Greek ek, which means "out," and kaleo, which means "to call."  The Church is the people of God called out of slavery to freedom, sin to salvation, despair to hope, darkness to light, an existence centered on death to an existence focused on life.

When we think of Church we have to think of a body of people, travelling together.  We have to envision women, men, and children of all ages, races, and societies supporting one another on their long and often tiresome journeys to their final home.

My Commentary:

As some of you know, when my pastor and several friends left the ELCA, we started a church plant.  I will always be grateful for the blessing of the experience of building a community from scratch.  Church planting is a lot of work but very exciting stuff! One of the concepts of the community was trying to fight the paradox of the notion of church.  It didn’t necessarily work for either people needed the “brick-and-mortar” comfort or stability of a “place” to gather or they just couldn’t see enough of the discipleship grassroots blessing potential it could have.  I wrestled often with feeling conflicted about the community’s tightrope/ meandering ecclesiology.  First we were “Lutherans in limbo,” which I found way too unstable and was seeking or more or less hoping they would consider seeking affiliation.  The impression I got was that this will never happen.  Secondly the fellowship unfortunately became closed.  It was as the pastor once told me, their greatest blessing and their greatest curse!  How can true open hospitality grow?  It wasn’t a matter of “butts and bucks” which they fought not caving into but their discipling will never truthfully expand into living into what Nouwen says above: “Called Out!”  We gather to scatter and as the priesthood of all believers we should be witnessing, sharing the Gospel with our neighbor and bringing all who are hungry for the Word into where we gather to grow and go together.

We may never be able to completely return to the days of when virtue and vice found a perfect balance in the sanctuary of church—God’s home. That is a part of our more faithful, innocent past.  We need to address the culture around the church without saying spiritually: “If we can’t beat ‘em, will have to join ‘em.”  Chaplaincy to culture doesn’t work for the Bible speaks of two churches we as future leaders of the Body of Christ need to always take into consideration when we preach, teach and administer: the one within us and the one we gather together in fellowship in. The church of this century and growing into the future can return to being that manifestation of Grace built by Faith…  We simply need to reconcile where our intentions are and persevere with great hope the many challenges we will constantly face being a Body placed on earth needing to aspire to be not of this world.

God Bless Your Wednesdays!

Nicole Collins