Seekers, believers, Christians or just simply friends?

Hi William,

I like the word, "seekers" ... although some may not yet be actively seeking ... "pre-believer" or pre-follower works ...

I also like "friends" on a journey, or traveling companions. We are all on a journey, regardless of our level of faith. I view the secular people I am spending time with as simply "friends." Some are more connected to Jesus than others ... but I find self-identification as a "Christian" to be a very poor guide to the level of their faith and commitment. In other words, some who call themselves Christians (many actually) often have less faith and less true commitment to the name (character) of Christ, than many who do not call themselves Christians. God looks on the heart .... sounds like Matt 7, doesn't it? "Lord, Lord..."

I have actually stopped thinking about people in terms of "Christian" and "non- or pre-Christian" ... and I think of them as on a continuum (from -10 to +10 - Engle’s Scale) of faith and openness to God.

I recently attended a Quaker worship service (which I really liked). They call themselves the “Society of Friends” and they call anyone who visits them (even agnostics or atheists) “friends”.

One of the important (and problematic) functions of religion is to provide a sense of group identity (us versus them). A particular religion or social group will define itself against the “others” who are not part of them…hence, so much religious violence, for example in the Balkans between Catholics, Muslims and Orthodox, or the war on terror between “Christians”, Jews and Muslims … or the civil war in Iraq between Kurds, Sunni’s and Shia’s.

That’s why I believe that Jesus never intended to establish a “religion” … he came seeking a relationship, and he came to abolish the “dividing wall” between gentile and Jew, slave and free, male and female. He was severely critical of the Jews for trying to “own” God and control access to His kingdom and for viewing themselves as superior and “chosen” in distinction with the gentile “dogs.” Christians” do the same thing today. The last thing Jesus wanted was to set up another religion so that people could call themselves “Christian” and look down upon “sinners.” The highest title that Jesus gave anyone was found in John 15:15 when he called his disciples “friends.”

joseph

PS: there is a medical update from Deb on http://www.friends4thejourney.com/ and I'll be posting my most recent email reflection on "Made to Belong" from the PDL on there later today.

Deconstructing the Church Part 2

I came to the conclusion a long time ago, that my pulpit expositions were rather ineffective tools for helping followers learn. I realized that the higher goal of a spiritual “teacher” should not be only to “teach” but to facilitate learning. I found that one-on-one conversations with probing questions and challenging exhortations were far more powerful for motivating people to change behavior and character and for sparking spiritual growth. Basically, the method Jesus (and Socrates) often used.

Several years ago, I remember hearing a friend, Dr. Dow Robinson, trace the modern church “meeting” back to Greek Theater. As a pastor of a church, that shook me.

So…after leaving the Spanish church where I pastored in Kendall, we developed a model in our community where a small group of peers meet for prayer, fellowship and honest discussion (Acts 2:42). The “apostle’s teaching” for us, is reading a portion of scripture and then discussing it. The facilitator function is usually rotated among the various participants with the facilitator asking questions for discussion (like one might do in a blog) rather than giving opinions. Occasionally, someone will be inspired to give a exhortation, or “teaching.” Sometimes someone will share something they sense God wants to say. Other times, someone will ask for prayer or share an area of struggle.