So, how do we get through "the wall"? I guess the amazing thing to me is that, in spite of being exposed to missional thinking now for several years, and in spite of having job description that calls on me to lead 5000 parishioners into missional lifestyles, I am facing that I am not through the wall myself. I find myself clinging to certain comforts. I am confused about where outside the safe confines of the church I should get involved, since there are so many choices - which is the right one? Will it really matter? Is it the best use of my energy? I love the ideas, but in my inertia I find myself wanting to read just one more book, go to just one more website, study the universe of missionality just a little longer. . . all of which perpetuate my entrapment in the comfort of the way it is.
So, how do we get the wall? By confessing to God and to others that we're not there. The word for "confession" in Greek is homologeia, which means "the same words." I am agreeing with God, using the same words as He does, about my condition. Just admitting that there IS a wall changes things. Admitting that it's not about all of "them", and that it's first and foremost about "me," that's a good start.
I once heard it said that you can't really help your neighbor to get the irritating speck out of their eye until you get the stinking log out of your own.
That's where I'm headed. Stay with me.
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2 comments:
Pastor Paul - WOW! Your honesty is real - and so needed. As I grow, and see by degrees how far I have come since (put time frame in here) it is at THAT VERY MOMENT I realize how much further I have to go. Paradox, or just the Christian walk?
yes, there is a wall in my life. It seems to disappear or at least not matter when God's love, joy and peace are abundant, or at least abundantly recognized, in my life. Then, those things seem to overflow to anyone around me. Why does it come and go? Should I look inside or outside myself for the answer?
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