Here's a question. What does Jesus have to do with church?
Where as a lot of Xns (myself included) might concern ourselves with how we can do church right or better I don't think Jesus could care less. Having recently read through Mark, listened through Mark and read The Existential Jesus, it has struck me that Jesus was pretty much not at all interested in church or temple life.
Mark's Chapter 11 in particular stood out for me. This is where Jesus curses the fig tree, turns the tables in the temple (which is importantly on a mountain) and tells his disciples "if you say to this mountain, "Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you." It struck me that while Xns frustrated with the church talk of reformation Jesus talked about destruction.
So what about Peter and Paul and all that church stuff. Is it necessary? Were they just working from the temple model that they were already familiar with but just relocated into houses? Is it possible that in the same way God let Israel have a King even though their was a better way that God has let us have church?
For a while I have been a little tired of the way some Xns talk about how they model their brand of church on Acts in some way or another. As if everything would be just dandy if the church could be exactly like the church in Acts, perhaps in the same way Israel thought everything would be just dandy if they could have a king who was just like David. It seems to me that almost everything the disciples did in establishing church has very little in common with Jesus. Jesus was always on the run, he'd leave 5,000 or 4,000 eager potential converts to go to solitary places. He was always clashing with church people and their way of doing things. If I'm crap at doing church does that mean I've got more in common with Jesus? Jesus did not talk about church instead he talked about the Kingdom of God.
I think I'd like to focus on that for a while.
Where as a lot of Xns (myself included) might concern ourselves with how we can do church right or better I don't think Jesus could care less. Having recently read through Mark, listened through Mark and read The Existential Jesus, it has struck me that Jesus was pretty much not at all interested in church or temple life.
Mark's Chapter 11 in particular stood out for me. This is where Jesus curses the fig tree, turns the tables in the temple (which is importantly on a mountain) and tells his disciples "if you say to this mountain, "Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you." It struck me that while Xns frustrated with the church talk of reformation Jesus talked about destruction.
So what about Peter and Paul and all that church stuff. Is it necessary? Were they just working from the temple model that they were already familiar with but just relocated into houses? Is it possible that in the same way God let Israel have a King even though their was a better way that God has let us have church?
For a while I have been a little tired of the way some Xns talk about how they model their brand of church on Acts in some way or another. As if everything would be just dandy if the church could be exactly like the church in Acts, perhaps in the same way Israel thought everything would be just dandy if they could have a king who was just like David. It seems to me that almost everything the disciples did in establishing church has very little in common with Jesus. Jesus was always on the run, he'd leave 5,000 or 4,000 eager potential converts to go to solitary places. He was always clashing with church people and their way of doing things. If I'm crap at doing church does that mean I've got more in common with Jesus? Jesus did not talk about church instead he talked about the Kingdom of God.
I think I'd like to focus on that for a while.
Posts
3 comments:
f..k!
just typed this great comment which the computer lost cos my old password screwed up
will retype it tomorrow when i am in a better frame of mood
just poached your "A Churchless Jesus" for my blog. Thanks
www.everyhomeachurch.blog.co.uk
Thanks fo letting me know phillip.
Post a Comment