If you have not picked up anything in the "New-Monastic" movement, then I want to encourage you to do so.
I have been given the gift of the Prayer Book called "Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals". It has quickly become my favorite devotional each day.
Each month takes one of the 12 marks of New Monasticism and explains it just a bit. The "mark" for April is "Submission to Christ's Body": the Church".
I will not post the entire entry, but I think this is one of the more profound essays related to the '12 marks' in the book. This is the first paragraph of this wonderful essay, and I share it for all those who have left the Church, those who disagree with the Church, and those who do not understand why some of us stay in the Church to ponder. I would love any responses to this opening paragraph:
"Discontentment is a gift to the church. If you are one of those people who has the ability to see the things that are wrong in the church and in the world, you should thank God for that perception. Not everyone has the eyes to see, or to notice, or to care. Bur we must also see that our discontentment is not a reason to disengage from the church bur a reason to engage with it. As Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Our invitation is to "be the change" we want to see in the church. There are things, worth protesting, but we also have to be people, who "pro-testify," proclaiming the kingdom that we're for, not just the evils we're against."
I have been given the gift of the Prayer Book called "Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals". It has quickly become my favorite devotional each day.
Each month takes one of the 12 marks of New Monasticism and explains it just a bit. The "mark" for April is "Submission to Christ's Body": the Church".
I will not post the entire entry, but I think this is one of the more profound essays related to the '12 marks' in the book. This is the first paragraph of this wonderful essay, and I share it for all those who have left the Church, those who disagree with the Church, and those who do not understand why some of us stay in the Church to ponder. I would love any responses to this opening paragraph:
"Discontentment is a gift to the church. If you are one of those people who has the ability to see the things that are wrong in the church and in the world, you should thank God for that perception. Not everyone has the eyes to see, or to notice, or to care. Bur we must also see that our discontentment is not a reason to disengage from the church bur a reason to engage with it. As Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Our invitation is to "be the change" we want to see in the church. There are things, worth protesting, but we also have to be people, who "pro-testify," proclaiming the kingdom that we're for, not just the evils we're against."