Elemental Season 1 - Day 3
"Safe Risk Taking"
Church should be the safest place to take risks.
Let me say that again.
Church should be the safest place to take risks.
The Church should hold a place of value in our lives because we can ask questions, we can wonder, ponder, and dream about things, and we can meet God in our certainty and in our doubt. It should be a place where we are comfortable enough, to tell the truth about our journeys, even when we don’t agree with one another. It should hold us close through all of our struggles and all of our triumphs. It should be commonplace in our lives to have this safe place where we can go to explore our faith.
Unfortunately, the church is not often seen as that place. And I get it, honestly, sometimes people want to make sure others go along on their journey, when others are not yet prepared or won’t understand. One mistake that people make when they are deconstructing or reframing is to begin to teach what they are going through before they understand what they are going through. There is a danger in that, only in that a restructuring of faith is a painful process, and should be handled with care. We can’t teach our way through it, we have to experience it ourselves before we can guide others through it. The church should be a place where that can happen, as well as a place where there are shepherds of the faith to help you walk through those changes and rebuild.
However, the church is often the riskiest place to be spiritually honest. And truthfully, I am not sure that we have taught spirituality in a very honest way. Spirituality goes well beyond questions and answers. It moves into the gray areas in which we live our lives. A fully integrated faith is one that is not easily compartmentalized into its own space. Rather, spirituality is super messy, it leaks, it gets on everything, and it finds every crack to inhabit. Spirituality is supposed to be messy, so just answering questions about “how” we believe only approaches a small piece of our spiritual journey.
The “why” “when” and “where” questions are just as important as the “hows”. We have to be willing to engage in a 360-degree, surround sound style understanding of our faith. Without that, we are only going to reframe how we think about God, not how we experience God. This journey is bigger than you can imagine.
Let me say that again.
Church should be the safest place to take risks.
The Church should hold a place of value in our lives because we can ask questions, we can wonder, ponder, and dream about things, and we can meet God in our certainty and in our doubt. It should be a place where we are comfortable enough, to tell the truth about our journeys, even when we don’t agree with one another. It should hold us close through all of our struggles and all of our triumphs. It should be commonplace in our lives to have this safe place where we can go to explore our faith.
Unfortunately, the church is not often seen as that place. And I get it, honestly, sometimes people want to make sure others go along on their journey, when others are not yet prepared or won’t understand. One mistake that people make when they are deconstructing or reframing is to begin to teach what they are going through before they understand what they are going through. There is a danger in that, only in that a restructuring of faith is a painful process, and should be handled with care. We can’t teach our way through it, we have to experience it ourselves before we can guide others through it. The church should be a place where that can happen, as well as a place where there are shepherds of the faith to help you walk through those changes and rebuild.
However, the church is often the riskiest place to be spiritually honest. And truthfully, I am not sure that we have taught spirituality in a very honest way. Spirituality goes well beyond questions and answers. It moves into the gray areas in which we live our lives. A fully integrated faith is one that is not easily compartmentalized into its own space. Rather, spirituality is super messy, it leaks, it gets on everything, and it finds every crack to inhabit. Spirituality is supposed to be messy, so just answering questions about “how” we believe only approaches a small piece of our spiritual journey.
The “why” “when” and “where” questions are just as important as the “hows”. We have to be willing to engage in a 360-degree, surround sound style understanding of our faith. Without that, we are only going to reframe how we think about God, not how we experience God. This journey is bigger than you can imagine.
- Have you felt safe in the church to ask questions?
- Have you ever been taught by someone who is clearly unsure about where they will land?
- Do you think it is okay for people to ask foundational questions in church?
- How can the church be a safe place for those who are questioning?
3 Comments
Jesus is where we need to go for all things, not the "church". This is false doctrine and you people are leading people astray frome the Truth...which is Jesus, the only way to eternal salvation. Repent for our Redemption draws near!
Hey Joyce, I hear your concern, though I think you will find that Jesus is exactly where this series will land - it's just not finished. Jesus gave us the church - his bride - to share, grow and nurture faith in Him - that's the whole point of it I thought.... I'd say just keep reading through the series before making a final judgement...
The church is the body of Christ (Jesus) according to Ephesians 1:22-23