organization? or organism? ...

the prime reason i started this blog
was to chase the question
where on Earth is the church that Jesus built?
the implications should be obvious ...




in that vein
what was Jesus trying to do
?

the most obvious illustration to me
is that of apostle paul
when he compares the church
   the body of christ
to a human body

the body is an organism

according to one source
an organism can be defined as
a form of life composed of mutually interdependent parts that maintain various vital processes
nice


the philosophy in-back of that is
a compilation of inter-related working parts
operating in unison
each part performing the various tasks assigned it
for the benefit of the whole
under direction

and a properly functioning organism
benefits not only itself
but also its environment
it brings its wellbeing
to the life that surrounds it ...
it contributes
to shalom

to be sure
it's organized
but it's not an organization
it is a functioning organism

selah ~..

.... now then
when the 'church' moves towards organization
it sheds its organic skin
and undergoes a makeover of an entirely different order
trading wholeness (think shalom)
for profit
for power
for presteige
for politics
for personal gain
??

trading life
for soul-lessness
for covetousness
for self aggrandizement
for the pursuit of an american version of Christbusiness
the pursuit of gain
at the dire cost of truth
trading in the souls of men ....

trading in the souls of men ...

selah ~..

and then
there are those that think they're 'right'
doing God's work
following a different sort of philosophy
patterned after the great theologians of the church
who morph scripture
to support 'just war'
just poverty
just slavery
just prejudice
just .....
crap!

   ( i had the ignoble opportunity to read an article
   in effect disputing the church's role in fighting poverty
   by a christian author
   based on Jesus' comment
   'the poor you always have with you'
   ... believe it or not )

sad that
dread stuff

selah ~..

Jesus was definitively apolitical
his was a kingdom
a domain
of heavenly
and spiritual
proportions
   the first 5 chapters of john's gospel speak to that

in fact
Jesus was totally about
a
cosmic
reconciliation
reforming the people of God
on a scale of cosmic proportions

one day
he will have brought all power
all rulership
all dominion
   of things in the heavens
   and things in the Earth
under his own authority

and he will then hand all over to Father/God

this is the movement that Jesus initiated
at his momentous advent

those of us who claim him as master
would do well to immerse ourselves in that philosophy
as in
drown in it
for all else
every other pretense to godness
is 'fail'

the 'church' has done an awful job of representing that philosophy
in fact it has turned it virtually inside-out
as it slipped into something more ...
   smoothe
   casual
more socially palatable
more politically appropriate
more systemic
more organized
more profitable
more earthly
more worldly
...

thing is
Jesus' move
was a counter
to the religion of the people (his people) of his day
it ran across the lines of propriety
and smack into the face of the-thing-to-do

what transpired then
was a mustardseed revolution
engendering the common people
the vulgar (think unrefined)
transforming them
recreating them
into his image

selah ~..

where on Earth has that movement disappeared to
where??

i see in the church
   of the west at least
a fully functional business
an organization in the form of
the forms of this world
bent on selling a particular brand of christianity
that runs counter to the Jesus vision

so Jesus' counterreligious countercultural move
has been usurped
traded for counterJesus
...
as in antiChrist

selah ..~

think about it

we have massive organizations
standing on
massive amounts of wealth
and using proportionately little of it
to combat
poverty
abuse
hunger
homelessness
fatherlessness ...

and Jesus weeps ... ... .. .

selah ~..

we hold those things
to be self-evident christianity
modelling it for the world to see
what christianity looks like

church leaders live in relative comfort
some dripping in wealth
robbing the coffers of the ordinary members
and defending their capitalist motivations
on the basis of 'it's christian'

do we read our bible anymore ?
do we actually know what the scriptures say and teach ?
or are we so gullible these days
that we take what this preacher or that prophet spoonfeeds us
like some child sucking down ice cream

what has become of personal commitment
to the cause of Jesus
of the desire to know the truth
   for myself
to be able to discern
on the basis of biblical knowledge
and convictions that come from
going there and doing that
   myself
struggling with the words of God
   myself
asking for his guidance
   myself
as i read his words

all else is borrowed 'convictions'
borrowed knowledge
mined by someone else
swallowed 'hook, line, and sinker'
without so much as an informed protestation

that's not christ's Way
it is the way of fools

it may be dubbed 'christian'
but it is a long way from the truth of God

and we are all the more fool-ish
for allowing some thief and liar
player
to meander around it
working for his own good
at the expense of
us
and the kingdom
and the family of the kingdom

at the expense of God
and his good name

selah ..~

that was the end of this post
until last night
when i jotted something down
something like this
...

when i see men
moving in the direction
of front
   rather than back
of prestige
   rather than ordinary
of position
   rather than disciple
of notoriety
   rather than humility
of honour
   rather than preferring others
of power
   rather than service
 ...................

i run
i head
   in the opposite direction
because my rabbi
is into
back
ordinary
disciple
humility
preferring others
service

and the reason he's my rabbi
and i am his disciple
is for me to be his disciple
not anyone else's

that is the direction i'm moving in
that is the point of the rest of my life
God helping me

all else
is
fail

shalom