I find Christian fluff really interesting. Really i should develop a better analogy, but really i mean the stuff that isn't integral, isn't the core elements of knowing Jesus as the true saviour of the world and our lives, isn't the core beliefs that should unite or divide us.... but the fluff that gets stuck to that. The politics and the running of churches, the cultures and the attitudes, the "celebrity" and compromise... the stuff that makes the Bride of Christ such a messed up and beautiful creation.
Si and I were talking last week about the wonderful Shane Claiborne (who if you haven't already, you need to hear speak or read one of his books...) and the absolute integrity that he has in living the Jesus life. In sacrificially loving, in seriously sharing everything he has, in rebuking the capitalist systems of our society and truly serving the poor... to the extent of not driving a car, making his own clothes and living off about £80 a month.
Recently Shane was in the UK speaking at Holy Trinity Brompton's church weekend away and Si mentioned how interesting it would be to hear what he had to say, especially in the context of speaking to one of the richest churches in Britain... to a church based in Kensington surrounded by the system that Claiborne so pushes against.
So in my usual google-researching state (Rach, i know you'll be laughing at me by now!) I found all the talks he gave for free download within about a minute and they've been accompanying me on my bus journeys this week as i've travelled to schools meetings and work.
They're really worth checking out and make me realise so much each time about the God that we serve... but throughout i've found it really interesting to look at what he's said, knowing he's speaking to the HTB crowd.
Now don't get me wrong, i think HTB is a brilliant church but i wondered how Shane "head of the no, sell everything you have and give it to the poor wasn't jesus being impractical" Claiborne would speak to the numerous high flyers and million pound homers of HTB.
I wondered if he'd just forcibly tell them that anything above living as the least of these was wrong, if he'd go straight at the elephant in the room and just directly preach to that crowd to convict them of their materialism, if he'd avoid it all together and just keep people happy (I didn't think that one for very long, playing safe really isn't his style!) or if he'd guilt them into them financially supporting a lot of other things.
But as i listened an reflected on the 97, i realised that directly telling them that they're wrong probably wouldn't be the right way about it. And not saying anything as not to offend would, well, leave him with not a lot to say. But it made me think about how we approach situations when we know that people or circumstances are not truly living up to the fullness that God offers.
Too often we jump in, convict people of their "sin", tell them our doctrinal views on the situation and how it's not possible to serve God whilst they... waste money/sleep with their boyfriend/don't go to church/gossip/ignore the poor/feel comfortable in their little christian life.... We attack and approach with all guns blazing, to convict and rebuke... because that's what we're meant to do right?!
But how different is it when we challenge? When we understand and speak out truths of possibilities, when we inspire others to live in the fullness of God and to carry their cross daily, when we give people the opportunity to call into question their lives and situations themselves, rather than pointing out each other's failings?
I can think of the times when people have tried to convict me.... to tell me that i'm wrong or bad or selfish and all it caused me to do was put up my barriers. To attack back and to bury my feet deeper as to prove my point.
But when I'm challenged, when I'm inspired, by someone's actions and life and sheer love for Jesus... then i want to change. I love the idea of living in community, of practically serving those around me in every way i can... not because i've been told i should, but because i'm encouraged and inspired.
We aren't called to convict. That's never been our job. Maybe sometimes we don't have the faith to believe that God'll convict that person in his time... or that we just don't think his time will come around soon enough! But we are called to love, to inspire and to challenge through the things we do and say.
I realised that at HTB, Shane's approach was so much more effective by inspiring those gathered to truly serve God with everything they have, rather than just telling them that they're wrong. There's so much I can learn from that, from learning to always challenge rather than attempting to convict. And remembering that the battle is never mine.
