I have pointed out many times in the past that I believe that a core characteristic of the CGGC brand is "To Talk is to Walk-ism."
That means that actions count for almost nothing in the CGGC.
In the past, especially in Findlay, big, radical talk was common but all action was bland, moderate and tradition driven.
Honestly, I'm not picking that up from Lance. His talk is forward-looking and what he himself does matches his talk.
Recently, here in the ERC, we've witnessed some serious talk-ism from Kevin Richardson, co-writer of WE BELIEVE and its radical position on the authority of the Bible in the CGGC, in his promotion of a new Strategic Plan even though he admits the idea of a Strategic Plan is foreign to Scripture.
While I continue to defend the authority of the Conference in the face of Kevin's defiance of its position on the authority of the Bible, I have to acknowledge that, here at Faith, we are struggling against Talkism in our own setting.
One of the, well, Characteristics of the Faith Brand is that, in the New Covenant, worship has nothing to do with gathering and singing and hearing a sermon. For us, true and proper worship is to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.
We believe that passionately.
This morning Evie said to me that, lately, she and I have not been sacrificing enough.
And, as soon as she said it, I was convinced.
But, I will say this in our defense. Evie and I will change this deviation from our core belief immediately whereas, previously in Findlay, there was no intention to live out radical talk. The talk itself, truly, was the walk. And, with Dr. Richardson, I'm convinced, based on past actions, he thinks he possesses the authority to lead the Conference in doing something that is foreign to the teachings of Scripture, even though, in doing so, he's defying Conference authority as well as the Word.
As the NIV says it, in Jesus, "true and proper worship" is about personal sacrifice.
We will begin to do that again. Now.
HOW WE VEERED FROM OUR CORE PRINCIPLE
ReplyDeleteSince Evie metaphorically slapped me with the assessment that we aren't sacrificing enough, I've been asking myself how we came to stop living what we so passionately believe. Here's what I've come up with so far:
Both of us have gotten caught up in the cares of this world, and in a dangerous way.
When Evie had her stroke-like episode, I made the decision that I would do all I could to ease the stress of her life.
She had a job in which she was overpaid for what she did and having that money made many things possible for us in terms of the righteousness Jesus describes in His sheep and goats teaching. Yet, I could see that that money wasn't worth all the acts of mercy and love it funded if it killed her. So I urged her to retire. And, she did.
That decision made it more necessary than ever that I keep my job. Shortly after that, I was offered a management position at the store which has fully engaged me. My job makes it possible for us to have health insurance at a fairly reasonable cost. Still, so much of my energy and passion is now going into the job...And, not enough into following the commands of Jesus.
For Evie, even with the freer schedule, she has been pouring so much into the care of my parents that she, perhaps, lost some of her focus.
Surely, the Word commands us to honor your father and mother but not to the degree that the radical life Jesus commands fades from our lives.
And, she's right. We haven't been sacrificing enough.
She and I must repent. And, we are.