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I am not a disciple of Donald Miller. I don’t believe Blue Like Jazz to be a book above the Bible. I don’t agree with everything he says. There is, however, so much in this book that resonates with me. My ambition is to live a life in tune with God and the notes I hear in this book complete so many chords of the song.
For example, he writes:
For so much of my life I had been defending Christianity because I thought to admit that we had done any wrong was to discredit the religious system as a whole, but it isn’t a religious system, it is people following Christ; and the important thing to do, the right thing to do, was to apologize for getting in the way of Jesus.
I read that again this week and thought:
For so much of my life I have been defending the church of Christ because I thought to admit that we were wrong on some point was to discredit the religious system as a whole. But it shouldn’t be a religious system, it should be about people following Christ. The most important thing we could do, the right thing we could do is to apologize for our arrogance and spiritual conceit, apologize for getting in the way of Jesus.
Good thoughts. Isn’t it so human-like to not want to give an inch, even on the tiniest, most insignificant matters. Sadly, sometimes that does get in Jesus’ way.
Your post stirred up one of the few “bad memories” I have from over 20 years of directing Bible Camp.
A couple of summers after Greg left for SoCal; we had a baptism at camp. Teenage girl’s head didn’t go all the way under the water as she had a fear of water and struggled a little as she was baptized into Christ.
I was confronted by one of our campers, an 18 year old. He told me that the girl needed to be re-baptized because she didn’t go all the way under the water. In the gentlest spirit I could muster I tried to explain to him that as far as I was concerned, the young lady was in the Kingdom. Her status with the Lord didn’t depend on the skill of the person immersing her. We looked at I Peter 3:21 – 22. (And corresponding to that, baptism now saves youРnot the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscienceРthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.)
I’ll never forget his comment to my gentle prodding that he might be wrong about his convictions. He said, “But aren’t we the ones that have all the right answers about the Bible.”
Postscript – Several years later I ran into the same young man. He had come to the conclusion that the answer to his question years ago was “No” and even more importantly, he knew that despite that he was still in the Kingdom.
There’s hope Randy but for some it takes years.
There was probably more in BLJ that caused a dissonance in my spirit that the stuff that energized me. I think most of us have come down that road of protecting a system and failing to see the people involved as those Jesus loves and saves by grace.
Hey, I like that: being faithful to the organization or “system” is not necessarily the same as being just plain faithful.
It’s difficult though. For better or worse, a chruch of Christ is not available. As a result, I’m doing church with fellow believers who are decidedly Calvinist. I think they err on some issues and vice versa. Is this still unity? Is my interest in pressing my perspective “getting in the way”? Is this Our Lord’s way of getting me to see what matters? Don’t mean to hog the blog or turn you into my therapist.
I find myself apologizing a great deal at times for the mistakes of the CofC. I also find myself occasionally catching flak for it. I can’t stop calling it like I see it, but I try to do it with sensitivity and an eye towards mentioning some good with the bad. Still, I’m amazed at how many people still want to “go back to the way things were.”
The way things were. How true that is. Why do we do that? Is it nostalgia or just the fact that we like things that way, or do we really believe that the old ways are the best? I just don’t know.
I hear you though with the “system” talk. We can’t see the forest for the trees on this issue. I am confortale with a system. God just keeps on stirring up my system with love and grace. I’me beginning to like that more!!