Disillusioned and Reinvigorated: Introducing A Brief Series on Peace

I’m at the place where I can say this.

There was a time, not long ago, when I was completely put off from church.

I am not talking about those occasional off days you get when for some reasons things haven’t quite clicked and you’re left with a feeling that it’s not good.  I am not talking of those little questions that crop up from time to time.

I am talking about being disillusioned.

I confess I took my eye off the ball.  I got consumed with what was going on around me and finding myself dissatisfied.  It felt like church was activity-driven and in the whole rush of project after project or service after service real depth and Christian development of character as well as mission itself just seemed to be missing.  It didn’t take long for the routine of church to become wearing and the gathering that was supposed to be something special was actually dispiriting.

At such a time the various flaws and failings with the church piled up and it felt like a sham, and I felt like a fraud continuing with it.

Let’s say I ‘took some time out’ from the whole deal for a while.  I couldn’t take how far we were from what the New Testament appeared to suggest a church was about.  I had to get off the juggernaut or face getting run over by it.

Whether taking time out is something for everyone would be a drastic prescription, but I do know it did me the world of good.  I can say that because I realised that I had taken my eye off the ball.  Focussing on Jesus helps to get the picture of His Body in action, and even where the flaws and failings are apparent, this is not the reason to choose to do something else, this is the chance to think again about what Jesus requires of a disciple.  Even if change from within were not possible, there were routes to still be a part of church expression and fulfil the call to be a part of the Body and do life together.

As the focus sharpened on Jesus and His lack of requiring the external formalities that some have gone for, it compelled a look for what He did desire.  That compulsion revealed the various expressions of church that are concerned with matters of the Kingdom – making peace, displaying purity, demonstrating the power to heal, expressing a passion for the poor and disadvantaged in society, living out a desire to see brothers and sisters grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ with a matching propulsion to see others come to know Jesus.

That is certainly not about looking for the ‘perfect’ church.  Neither is it making an idol out the form church ‘must’ take to fulfil those functions.  It did however reinvigorate my passion for Christ and His church.  I’m grateful for members of God’s family who through one means or the others have helped begin to flesh that out, and I am excited to continue on the journey with others to pursue that Kingdom mandate for His Name’s sake to the glory of God by the power of His Holy Spirit.

A significant help in that has been being reminded about the role peace plays in my walk with Christ, which is why coming up is a series about the importance of peace in discipleship.  I look forward to you reading the entries and hope you are at least encouraged to consider being reinvigorated in applying that peace not just to your own circumstance but for the part it plays in the church fulfilling its Kingdom mandate.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden