It is not the task of Christian leaders to go around nervously trying to redeem people, to save them at the last minute, to put them on the right track. For we are redeemed once and for all. Christian leaders are called to help others affirm this great news, and to make visible in daily events the fact that behind the dirty curtain of our painful symptoms there is something great to be seen: the face of God in whose image we are shaped.
But here we must be aware of the great temptation that faces Christian ministers. Everywhere Christian leaders, men and women alike, have become increasingly aware of the need for more specific training and formation. This need is realistic, and the desire for more professionalism in the ministry is understandable. But the danger is that instead of becoming free to let the spirit grow, ministers may entangle themselves in the complications of their own assumed competence and use their specialism as an excuse to avoid the much more difficult task of being compassionate.
The task of Christian leaders is to bring out the best in everyone and to lead them forward to a more human community; the danger is that their skillful diagnostic eye will become more an eye for distant and detailed analysis than the eye of a compassionate partner. And if priests and ministers think that more skill training is the solution for the problem of Christian leadership, they may end up being more frustrated and disappointed than the leaders of the past. More training and structure are just as necessary as more bread for the hungry. But just as bread given without love can bring war instead of peace, professionalism without compassion will turn forgiveness into a gimmick, and the kingdom to come, into a blindfold.
backyard vibes
Currently reading: The Wounded Healer by Henri J. M. Nouwen 📚
View of Scheveningen Sands (c. 1630s) by Hendrick van Anthonissen :
This is basically the Platonic Form of what I previously wrote against at Mere O: Redeeming Productivity. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.
The Great Walnut Tree (Le Grand Noyer) (1875) by Camille Pissarro:
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Keller, Center Church, pt. 2 (Gospel Renewal)
Part One covered Keller’s discussion of “Gospel Theology.” Obviously, it’s important to start with what is (and isn’t) the gospel. Now, Keller proceeds in Part Two to consider how gospel theology is actually lived out, both individually and corporately (“Gospel Renewal”). Taking his cues from the biblical and historical patterns of revival, Keller wants to know what we can learn about renewal: why we need it, what it is, and how we can pursue it.
Lily and Bella’s favorite part of the Veloway: the bearded dragon belonging to the super kind and knowledgeable Nicole Fisher
