Step 1: Work out what's Baby and What's Bathwater?
If you are reading this and thinking that a churchless faith is a possibility it means that you are aware that amongst all the churchy baggage there is something about Xy really worth hanging onto. The first step in having a churchless faith is to work out exactly what's churchy baggage and what's Xy or what's baby and what's bath water.
Two distinctions I found helpful are...
1) Christians are not just the people who go to church. There are lot's of other Xn people around and God certainly doesn't draw the who's in who's out line down who goes to church lines (See Matt 25 and pretty much most of Matt, Mark and Luke)
2) One person's (pastor or church) interpretation of the Bible is not the be all and end all. Different Xns interpret different bits of the Bible in different ways, this is because the Bible is not a set of rules but the story of God interacting with the world in specific times, places and contexts. And, exactly how that translates to our specific contexts is where things can get a bit murky. Secondly if your not sure about something no matter what that is that's okay. I'm sure the guy next to Jesus on the cross didn't have it al worked out when Jesus said "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Posts to come are...
Step 2 Finding your anchors
Step 3 Living out your faith
If you are reading this and thinking that a churchless faith is a possibility it means that you are aware that amongst all the churchy baggage there is something about Xy really worth hanging onto. The first step in having a churchless faith is to work out exactly what's churchy baggage and what's Xy or what's baby and what's bath water.
Two distinctions I found helpful are...
1) Christians are not just the people who go to church. There are lot's of other Xn people around and God certainly doesn't draw the who's in who's out line down who goes to church lines (See Matt 25 and pretty much most of Matt, Mark and Luke)
2) One person's (pastor or church) interpretation of the Bible is not the be all and end all. Different Xns interpret different bits of the Bible in different ways, this is because the Bible is not a set of rules but the story of God interacting with the world in specific times, places and contexts. And, exactly how that translates to our specific contexts is where things can get a bit murky. Secondly if your not sure about something no matter what that is that's okay. I'm sure the guy next to Jesus on the cross didn't have it al worked out when Jesus said "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Posts to come are...
Step 2 Finding your anchors
Step 3 Living out your faith
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