Now those that are Catholic or are easily offended about self righteous Christians, PAUSE, BREATH and continue reading so you can understand what I am talking about.
I have a deep concern for any religious group that considers themselves to be Christian and in fact does not seek to understand the person or the characteristic of Jesus the Christ. Based on what I have been told by many people who were Catholic, they stated that they were Catholic because it was a family religion, or they were it by default due to their culture. They shared that it was filled with holidays, rituals, actions but experienced no personal connection with the Trinity, not really understanding the Bible, and not experiencing any transformation. I am VERY aware similar attributes can be used when describing other religious groups under the Christian umbrella and with those groups I feel the same.To be fair there is a new generation of Catholics that are serious about their faith and has been more geared on bible studies, youth groups, discipleship and learning about Christ.
I begin to wonder if those that proclaim Christianity as a whole has fallen into traditions, rituals, and building up membership and not focusing on real conversion of an individual to Christ. I still become nervous and a little annoyed when people boast about the amount of people they have dunked in the water (baptism). I truly believe that baptism is essential, however it seems that some people have forgot the part of really believing (of having faith) and being baptized (Acts 2:38). It seems that we are more excited about increased membership and not putting enough information into retaining those new members and their understanding of what it means to follow Christ. I understand the purpose of explaining salvation into steps however has the steps become more about membership criteria and not the circumcision of peoples hearts?
The question we had in our reading discussion was: What are we converting people to?
- power benefit
- family change or
- experience Jesus/Truth
- institutional structure
People will have their reasons for coming "to Christ" regardless on how you share Christ with them, and that is understandable however, that should not stop our investment in reconciling them back to Christ. The point is the language of membership, it is a call to the masses to follow Christ; which is a calling to people to live a disciplined holistic life, to be disciples.
One pressure that missionaries may feel and also some congregations, is the wanting to produce more Christians. It is the case of quantity over quality. Is it more important to baptize 40 people per month and they not live a Christ centered life but come to EVERY single church function? or Baptize 4 converts that has made the decision to dedicate their lives, ( "dedicated disciples" as Greg states), entirely to the mission Christ commenced when he came to this Earth? The answer is seen by the language churches utilize and the way they function. Greg emphasized that among their group worked to socially be in touch with the people they plan to minister to. The team made the decision to not live in a gated community instead live among the people they want to minister to. In one of the readings the term "conosis" was used which is a Greek word that describes the process of emptying oneself the way Jesus did. I would say that the team aims to be this way.
This is why it is important to contextualize the gospel, socially, economically, and religiously. The gospel should be incarnational (not an outside analysis that can create blind-spots), but from a place of identification and solidarity from the inside. So when the word of God is brought to a particular demographic the gospel is contextualized from an informed position. Another important point that Greg shared was that not only is it important to know where you are but also to realize where you come from and how it affects your worldview. Basically, allowing yourself to let go of privileged notions and realize things about yourself to relate to those you want to work with. This lesson was a perfect way to prepare the interns for home stay.
Home-stay is the opportunity where the interns get to stay 3 days and 3 nights with one of the church members. This could be an imposition for some church members however it shows the wonderful spirit of hospitality that was extended to each of us.This opportunity will allow for us to spend personal time with church members as well as seeing the way they live.
Writing this journal entry so late I can say that spending time with that family was fulfilling and more than I can pay for. It is a humbling experience to have someone that you barely know give up their personal space for your comfort. My experience allowed for me to experience the love Christ among fellow sisters in Christ.
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