The Road goes ever on and on Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, And I must follow, if I can, Pursuing it with eager feet, Until it joins some larger way Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say. -- J.R.R. Tolkein
Sunday, March 30, 2008
The Good Bishop on The Mission of the Church
Mission must urgently recover from its long-term schizophrenia. The split between saving souls and doing good in the world is not a product of the Bible or the gospel, but of the cultural captivity of both. The world of space, time, and matter is where real people live, where real communities happen, where difficult decisions are made, where schools and hospitals bear witness to the "now, already" of the gospel while police and prisons bear witness to the "not yet."...And the church that is renewed by the message of Jesus' resurrection must be the church that goes to work precisely in that space, time, and matter. -- N.T. Wright
I like this quote. I believe it to be true.
ReplyDeleteThe other day someone told me that we were wasting our time feeding people in south Dallas and helping them find jobs. Unless we were "getting people into heaven", we were wasting our time.
This is proof that the Gnostic Gospel is alive and well in our culture ... and proof that these words are timely.
If we started to practice the Gospel more, it would give us a more effective and more holistic way of reaching those who do not follow Jesus as the Messiah.