Have we been guilty
of Christian passivity? Are we guilty of
preaching Jesus but failed to follow through in what He preached? Some would argue that there is a great gulf
that separates our teaching and our living.
Many in our society that have been marginalized have gone ignored and neglected
by those who have been charged with the care of such individuals. Has the church lost the transformative
message of Christ in place of the performative?
Has passivity trumped passion? To
borrow a line from Kanye West and Jay-Z’s song, No Church in the Wild, has the church “…formed a new religion” that
excludes the care of the marginalized? No
longer can we operate as if our lack of concern in inconsequential. We must look within and use whatever strength
to accomplish something for Christ’s charge is for us to do and care for the least
of his people. This is Church in the
Wild.
A
definition of the wild is when there is a lack of regular order or arrangement.
When considering the condition of our society, one might consider this a
concrete jungle that is untamed. K.D. Sullivan’s poem, Church in
the Wild, describes this jungle filled with prostitutes, homeless
beggars, profane rappers, conflicted souls, etc, but what I found interesting
was this line,
“Christian’s
hide,
trembling
we cower
As if
God-in-us doesn’t have the power”
His call
is to the church to become a church in the wild. He is calling out to a
church that is bold and aggressive, yet meek and mild. I believe this to
be the church that has a well defined love ethic that doesn’t approve of
doctrine over love, but love necessitated by doctrine.
The Apostle James argues the
utilization of our abilities to effect change in the community.
James confronts the early Christians with this statement, “If a brother
or sister is naked and destitute of daily food... (James 2:15),” He suggests
that to fail in the most simple good works towards a brother or sister in need
demonstrates that one does not have a living faith. If we really believe something, we will follow
through and act accordingly to that belief.
We can identify if faith/conviction is alive by seeing if it is accompanied
by works, and if it does not have works, it is dead. If our convictions are true, we will care for
the marginalized in our society as He told us to.
So if that is to be true, our
convictions must be accompanied with action.
James would say, “...show me your faith without your works, and I will
show you my faith by my works (James 2:18b).”
The appeal of James appears clear to me and logical. We can’t “see” someone’s faith, but we can
see their works. You can’t see faith
without works, but you can demonstrate the reality of faith by works which I
believe to be essential in my approach to applying this to ministry. Consider a church that has a ratio of
spending food and “outreach” being 2:1, but this church makes claims to be
concerned about the community. James would
argue that those convictions would return "insufficient funds" because they’re not evident or
accompanied in our actions. Works must
accompany a genuine faith, because genuine faith is always connected with
regeneration – being born again, becoming a new creation in Jesus (2
Corinthians 5:17). If there is no evidence
of a new life, there was no genuine, saving faith. As Charles Spurgeon is reported to have said,
“The grace that does not change my life will not save my soul.”
It is my hope that as a church
we would move beyond the religious rhetoric about our ethical position and seek
to reclaim our prophetic voice as the social conscious of society by not
seeking the government to set injustices right.
I believe the beginning of reform begins with confronting ourselves and
repent. Mark 1:15b states very simply,
“Repent...” Repentance carries with it
that we would move beyond our feelings, but we must have a change in
direction. Repentance is an action word
that speaks of a change of direction, not of sorrow in the heart. I along with many have been obtuse and guilty
of perverted love, polluted justice, and pitiful power under the auspiciousness
of the Almighty. Repentance is
necessitated with the need of change in order to move forward with sufficient
and effectual ministry.
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