"We are Christian because somehow in Christ - through the sacraments, through prayer, through our suffering, through the words of our neighbors, or through the encounter with strangers - we have, in Christ's name, been touched and even transformed by God." - Luke Timothy Johnson in The Creed: What Christians Believe and Why it Matters
The words from the above quotation have been percolating in my mind over the past couple of weeks as I prepare to work with members of our staff-parish relations committee to evaluate how we as a church have lived out our calling over the past year and as we seek to discern where it is God is leading us in the next year of our lives.
What I keep coming back to over and over as I prepare to enter into these conversations is the word transformation. That is to say, can it be said that we, the people of this congregation, truly give testimony that God, through Christ, has transformed our lives? Does being a part of Christ's church really mean anything to us, or it just, to use a phrase I heard recently, a "social presence?" Do we live lives that exhibit being touched by God, or do we practice what is referred to as "functional atheism?"
Rather than go into a lengthy article about how this quote is influencing my thinking, allow me to simply say that our expectation should be that Dr. Johnson's words ring true in us, as individuals and as a community. We must be about being touched and transformed by God.
The scary thing is, when we open ourselves up to this, we give up control of the process and outcome. And that, simply, is a a question of faith. Is our faith strong enough to trust God to take us where we need to be, even if that is not what we think we want or maybe doesn't look like we think it should?
See You Soon!
Lamar
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