The Church: Christ's Body "Restoration"

In my previous posts regarding the church I asked a lot of questions about what the church is and should be to the world around us.  My intention was not to state that the church is doing a poor job, but to highlight our restorative partnership with God.

As a church leader I don't want to be seen as someone who talks negatively about the institution that I work in or is just angry or frustrated in the way church is being done.  Gabe Lyons said his in his book, The Next Christians, "religious leaders were often better at cursing the darkness than lighting a candle.  They become known for what they were against instead of suggesting alternatives that represent what they were for." (p. 169)

In context Lyons is talking about Christians reacting unconstructively to world culture, but I think this quote can also apply to church leaders or believers that talk pessimistically about the church.  Take for instance the current Rob Bell fiasco, that has created much out cry due to his seemingly universalism stance in his new book Love Wins.  Without saying anything more on this I simply want to use this as an example that we (Christians/Church Leaders) are often quick to curse the darkness that surrounds us, but very seldom do anything about it in a constructive restoring way.

In my ministry I want to be known more for things that I am for, instead of the things that I am against.  Everyday we all can partner in God's greater story by merely lighting a candle or two of restoration.  The small light generated by a candle can push back more darkness than you think, or even be the beginnings of a greater light.

The Church: Christ's Body "Love & Justice"

Over the past few weeks my wife and I have had some excellent conversations about our relationship and marriage.  For me the season of Valentine's Day  has allowed me to reflect deeply at who I am as a husband, but also what lens I tend to view the world through and what lens my wife uses.  A couple of sources of these great talks with my wife and personal reflections have stemmed from, doing ministry together, small conflicts within that ministry, our couples small group we attend, and my recent thinking and reading about the church.

I guess what I am trying to get at is that through all these sources one particular theme keeps popping up, and that is the balance of love and justice in our relationships; both to God and others. 

Naturally, I am a very forgiving person if someone wrongs me I don't really think twice about it.  I immediately give the person the benefit of the doubt and try to see the good of any situation.  If I know the person well enough that has wronged me I will choose to believe that they are better than that and must just be having a bad day.  If you were to place my view into one of the two categories it would be that of a more loving character or attitude.  In context of what I am trying to write about here, the way I do ministry or be a husband is through love and forgiveness when someone has wronged me.

My wife however leans strongly to the other side, the characteristic or attitude of justice.  She will immediately want the negative action justified or corrected.  Or when she sees injustice taking place, she is not afraid to speak up for the person or correct the unjust act no matter what it takes.  If my wife is personally wronged by either myself or another forgiveness is not easily given, instead it must be earned so to speak by correction or changed attitude.  Therefore, how she views herself as a wife and does ministry would be through the lens of justice and correction.

I am not saying love or justice is more important than the other, or my way of seeing things is better than my wife's. In fact I believe if you lean to heavily to one side of the spectrum and not create a healthy balance the relationships you have will begin to suffer. For instance my view can come off as though I don't really care or that I am even emotionless because I don't let others see how there actions have effected me.  Whereas, my wife could come off as strict, harsh, or even unloving.  When in fact she is actually one of the most loving people I know.

My point or question in all this would be, has the church leaned to far to one side of the spectrum when we do ministry? God no doubt displays the perfect balance.  In the Old Testament we see both sides when his people have wronged him, you can find stories of love, forgiveness and mercy; but also stories of justice, wrath, and correction.  God's ultimate goal of restoration in the lives of his people cannot be brought about without a balance of love and justice. 

So as the church how can we expect to aid God in this restorative mission if we don't communicate the same type of balance?  I think in the church we are very quick to let people get away with their sinful, negative, or wrong actions and just give them love and forgiveness.  After all if we call them out they could just decide to leave our church or cause other drama that we don't really want to deal with.  Scripture says that it should be used for correction or it shows how to up hold justice, yet we very seldom hold people accountable for their actions.