1. I see some tension, if not conflict, between what Lance advocates in this article and what he praised a few weeks ago in his article on the death of Christendom.
In that first article, Lance envisioned the church as the church engaging the world as the world so that churches could impact their neighborhoods and communities to, among other things, change their trajectory.
In this article, Lance envisions individuals living as followers of Jesus in the world and making a difference.
Lance calls on the church to value, as an example, the ministry of those who teach in public schools in the way they value Sunday School teachers and to understand that the work of public school teachers is really ministry even if its value can't be acknowledged in the church "scorecard."
Lance highlights the value of ministry in the kingdom as opposed to ministry for the church.
He's actually radical, going so far as to say that kingdom ministry doesn't require a title or a credential (though I can't see Lance walking that talk).
Obviously, I agree with this second article. I commented on the blog with fairly harsh criticism of the first one.
2. I am not too self-conscious, nor am I ashamed to say, that years ago I was on the cutting edge, living out the vision that Lance describes...
...to the point that I abandoned paid church ministry to find employment in a setting in which I could function as an ambassador of the Kingdom of God.
I did it. DO it!
And, the congregation in which I participate was expelled by my Conference so, as it was explained to me, the Conference could be true to its polity.
No big deal.
The people in the congregation wouldn't have left on their own but they made no effort to retain their connection to the CGGC.
And, my way of living...right out of the Lance Finley handbook...wasn't altered for even a nanosecond.
But, Lance never supported me or us. Nor, did he defend me or us. Nor did he ever encourage me or us.
Based on my/our experience, I question Lance's commitment to the principles he touts in this second article.
Easy talk. As I learned, in the CGGC, rocky walk.
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