A questioning faith

Speaking of curious timing! The title blog suggests that perhaps rather than being a threat to faith, questioning is actually a part of faith -- particularly of the faith of a child that Jesus spoke so highly of.

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A churchless faith

The title article quotes sociologist Alan Jamieson's work concerning people who "leave church", but not faith. To a large extent it seems that the leaving is associated with a desire to face some hard questions that their church really didn't allow to be entertained.

The timing is curious, as I was just reflecting on the type of person that would be suited (or perhaps not suited) to an ongoing spiritual mentorship/direction relationship with me. My faith journey has involved a considerable degree of questioning, and shows no tendency to stop. Many people, however, are afraid of questions -- afraid that it may shipwreck their faith rather than strengthen it. Who knows, maybe for them it would. I have no desire to push my questions on others -- particularly on someone who might just be one whose faith is shaken by questions.

Yet, an open spiritual relationship requires that I be open with who I am and where my faith is going. That is, it requires someone who is unthreatened by the path my faith journey takes through questions. For I know deep in my gut, that no one can really walk that faith journey alone.

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Evangelism by Word or by Deed?

From comments to a blog post entitled Preaching Jesus Up Against the Jesus of Suburbia by Chris Erdman, referring to a comment by J. Michael Matkin:

Michael, you said, 'Words alone won't change the tide. Only when people see communities that can only be explained if the gospel is true, when they see people marked by the cross, that's when the wind will shift.'

With these pregnant words you've articulated the reason we take the gospel so seriously and seek to form people according to the Word against the counterfeits. Our words, formed by the Word, form communities that 'explain the gospel' by the way they live. Missional communities. They make sense only if this gospel is true and is truly having its way among them.

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Becoming Convergent

Over the last few days, Brian McLaren has been writing a bit of personal narrative on the Emergent USA blog site. While originally in 3 parts, the entire narrative has been made available in a single .pdf document. Click on the title for the whole article.

While I could fervently hope that people would take McLaren's word that this narrative faithfully addresses who he is and what motivates him, regrettably I doubt that it will really make much difference to those who have produced the caricatures that McLaren is trying to dispel.

I wonder whatever happened to the old puritan concept that as Christians we have the obligation to offer to others the "judgement of charity" -- the obligation to assess others' motives and person on the basis of the best possible assessment consistent with the facts? It's hard, I know. But what kind of love is it that doesn't do at least that? Surely not the love with which Jesus loved us, and with which He commanded us to love each other.

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