Once again, Mark Hamby of Lamplighter Publishing, hits the nail on the head!
The Company of the
Committed
Elton Trueblood begins his 1961 book,
The Company of the Committed, with a sobering question: "What reason is
there to suppose that our civilization, in contrast to civilizations which have
preceded it, will endure?"
The Roman Empire, one of the powerful regimes of all times, was brought to its knees by a small group of people, known as the Way. They were not merely professing believers who viewed Christianity as something which is merely lived out in church attendance one day a week. Rather, they were focused, energized, and passionate about their faith; in a word, they were committed.
Why are the masses discontented with
the church? Trueblood writes, "they are looking for a bold fellowship, and what
they find is a complacent society concerned to an absurd degree with its own
internal politics or so unimaginative to suggest that the world can be saved by
three hymns and a sermon or a Mass."
He goes on to say that, "...Many contemporary seekers cannot abide in the Church [sic] as they see it, their dissatisfaction arising not from the fact that membership demands too much, but rather from the fact that the demands are too small."
As Trueblood sees it, American
Christianity has trivialized the community of the committed by reducing the
focus to a place, a time, and a person. If America is to endure according to
Trueblood, we must become fully committed to Christ and His cause by
reintroducing the power, wonder, truth, and beauty of God in all of life, not
solely on Sunday.
Where in your life are you too complacent? I read somewhere that sometimes it isn't what I got out of Worship, it is what did God get out of Worship. Ouch.
I know I thirst for more, but I don't always know how to go about it- or I am scared to be seen as a "radicalist" and strive harder than the rest.
What do you think? Are Mark Hamby's words true? Are we too complacent as a Church?
Love,
Rebecca
2 comments:
Hi Rebecca! It was such a fun treat to visit your blog and see a new post! Thanks for sharing!
Such true words. There is complacency, and I know of very few people who can say anything about "church" without mentioning the building where they reside. After that, very little is mentioned about how the "chuch" is working or moving or fulfilling GOD's command. I say this including myself. The question for me is "how to get out of this attitude of complacency and serve Our KING!!"
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