I was reading this book and came across a quote that I wanted to share on my blog. What do you think about this challenging description of the change that has occurred in the church today?
"In the time of Tertullian [late second century], someone wanting to belong to the church had to go through a rigorous period of training focused on behavior (how daily life was actually lived). In other words, to belong to the new community of Jesus, a person was mentored in practicing change in habits. Today leaders talk about the need to create a safe, non-threatening, low threshold of belonging in order to draw people into the church. Note the two radically different ways in which the same language is being used. These approaches suggest contrasting sources of understanding. In the latter case and in our contemporary context, the source of this thinking is not a theologically, biblically formed imagination but the latest marketing strategies that come from polls and studies about what people are looking for when they want to join a group. This does not suggest that we not seek to welcome people into our churches. It is to point out the distinct sources of our leadership imagination today" (119).
Today, many professing Christians refuse to receive biblical instruction from their spiritual mentor, pastor, or friend when it has to do with behavioral change. How things have changed! No wonder the statistics of morality between the church and the world are hard to notice any significant difference. It is my opinion that we all need to be more open to spiritual instruction and correction giving by people who love us and want the best for us. Lord, help me to be teachable.
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