I’ve been doing some soul-searchin’ of late, particularly concerning the lordship of Jesus. I’m sure you’ve heard ministers admonish men, women, boys and girls “just to receive Jesus into your heart” or “all you have to do is believe in Jesus.” My question is whether our neatly encapsulated message is the proper way to go about inviting others to faith in Christ. Does Christ need acceptance? Or does our acceptance of Christ equate to a blase confession of being “Christian” which entails little to no change regarding day to day living?
As many of you know, I’m still working on People of Bread by Vondey, but since our pastoral transtition at ACoG, I’ve zeroed in on The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch and, now, Mere Discipleship by Lee C. Camp. Quite honestly, Hirsch’s work is one of the most challenging reads I’ve encountered in a while. Not regarding its style and readability. Challenging – as in driving me to question (in a good way) the motivations and fruitfulness (healthiness) of the way/s we go about “doing” church.
One of the questions that has come to mind over the last few weeks is whether there is scriptural warrant to the understanding of a sacred/secular divide. Are there certain parts of life (e.g. “church” on Sunday or Wednesday) which are particularly “holy” or “sacred,” while other parts are “secular,” outside the influence or scope of one’s spirituality? If there is a sacred/secular divide, where do we find Scriptural warrant for such? If there is not, then why do we oftentimes succumb to this notion in our assemblies?
With Jesus being Lord & Savior of my life, what impact does this have upon how I live? Is it simply a matter of his saving my “soul,” whilst understanding that my thoughts and actions can never be tamed? Or is there something more to my professed surrender to the lordship of Jesus whereby every aspect of life is impacted and thus transformed (or being transformed) unto Christlikeness?
What are your thoughts? Does such a divide exist as evident in our understanding of church here in the West? Is this helpful or harmful? What can we do in response?
Thinking out loud,
Shannon
