A person reads an ad in the newpaper about a church that offers the full meal of Christ in their services. By meal, I mean it's promised to be filling and satisfiying in every way. To meet all their needs. They arrive and are greeted in a friendly manner, taken to a place where they see slides advertising the meal, and they hear people talk about the meal, then we powerpoint the meal and send them on their way. Unfulfilled, still hungry for the real thing. Another analogy would be the wine and wineskin. We have great looking skins, ornate in their appearance and beautiful to the eye, but the wine inside is not sweet and does not taste as wine should. And people know when it doesn't. Is the wine in the Church the true wine of Jesus.
All the things in the Bible are important, but we would agree that the things that Jesus said are most important. He boiled all the commandments and the law down to loving God and loving others. Then He gave us a single command, in the spirit of the Shamah, whatever you are doing, wherever you are going, make disciples. This is the irreducible core of the faith. You can do more than this and follow Jesus, but not less. Our churches can vary the wineskin. But this is the wine. It has to be there.
Thoughts?
Reference: Howard Snyder: The Problem of Wineskins, Church Structure in a Technological Age
Comments
It has been some time Phil since I have had the opportunity to reflect my thoughts in writing. It is true that the wine of a passionate spiritual soul is really what Jesus looks for but I strain to think that wine can solely be found within new wine skin formats.
It seems as of late that Jesus has been playing a new tune in my heart when it comes to reflecting on my values for the church and the extended vision to which those spaces occur. Quit often I have found myself in distaste for the stereo typical formats of large church. You know, collect with a large number of people, sing a few songs, listen to a sermon and stand/sit in a foyer while drinking stale coffee and visit with the proverbial people. But then again Jesus still manages to show up in those places for me at the most unpredictable moments of time. The question of finding an enriched wine is not so much a question of am I doing something different externally as much as it is am I willing to let him do something different internally?
That said, I do still find myself having great moments of experiencing Jesus amidst the daily life activities of sharing a coffee with friends at the coffee shop or praying with a group at my wife's and my home. It is not so much a focus on developing new skins for the wine as it is keeping an open mind and heart for the movement of Spiritual communion within any given moment or space.
You are right that discipleship is perhaps one of the greatest commissions we have been given as followers of Jesus however; I can't help but wonder if we might be trying to "do" this a little too much. I wonder if discipleship is in actuality the simple byproduct or wake to which follows us in our own attempts to following in Jesus' footsteps and essence.
Just some thoughts...That's good insight Erik. I agree that making disciples is a natural fruit of following Jesus. And it should be that simple. Our problems come when we make it about the task and not the relationship. Following Jesus and living in relationship with Him will make us more like Him and ultimately those who are around us will taste Him in our lives. This leads us to be with those who need to see Jesus. A question to follow up is: "What is it about the Jesus in me that my friends and neighbors need?"
Thanks Erik