Recently I was reading
my second favorite blog (my wife's is my favorite) of my favorite
preacher (my wife is a close second preacher!), which dealt with
the slippery issue of community responsibility. The writer was
wrestling with the following questions: "So what is the proper
response? How do we combine freedom of expression with community
responsibility? Who decides? Who enforces?"
Never one to conceal my opinion, I jumped in the swift current
of comments and offered the following thoughts.
The community responsibility is just that - the responsibility
of the community. So it all depends on the community. If the community
is "society" (Western/American) at large then we can
forget it. We've come a long way from Ozzie & Harriet to the
Osborne’s and we still have a long way to go. Bottom-line
is that we are swimming up stream.
We can't "control" society anymore. You can't. Dr. Dobson
can't. I can't. But we can share our faith. I am reminded of what
Don Miller says in Blue Like Jazz:
"Tony the Beat Poet says the church is like a wounded animal
these days. He says we used to have power and influence, but now
we don't, and so many of our leaders are upset about this and
acting like spoiled children, mad because they can't have their
way. They disguise their actions to look as though they are standing
on principle, but it isn't that, Tony says, it's bitterness. They
want to take their ball and go home because they have to sit the
bench in humility and turn the other cheek like Gandhi, like Jesus
We decided that the correct place to share our faith was from
a place of humility and love, not from a desire for power."
I know you are not about power any more than I am, (Blog Author).
It is sad. I hope and pray that someday I will be moved to "move"
and not just be sad. I want to share my faith more and more and
bring the gospel to the guy who wore that offensive shirt. Because
to God, I truly believe, the shirt or the community's lack of
responsibility is less offensive than the lost heart of the guy
who wears it.
My concern here isn't about language. It isn't about public responsibility.
It is about my lack of conviction. My absence of passion. My sin
problem.
I confess.
Since my comment the conversation on that blog has continued.
However, the tormenting thought of personal responsibility and
my own selfish sin problem has stubbornly stagnated within the
marshland of my memory. All day long, I've been concerned with
the response and receptivity of my own heart. I too have been
wrestling with questions. Introspective reflections like, "Why
don't I share my faith more? How do I combine the freedom of grace
with the responsibility to 'go?' Do I really have faith? How passionate
am I about loving and being loved by Jesus?"
My shirt is not offensive. The heart that lies beneath it often
is.
- Joel G. Quile is learning to love Jesus more and more each
day. He goes to church but is not religious. He loves change but
embraces ritual. He is very grateful that God made him a son and
not a slave. He walks the journey of faith with his Godly and
gorgeous wife, Kim, and three amazing children who teach him about
God daily. Joel is the creator of Firstverb Ministries and loves
to communicate the Gospel, consult with church leaders and coach
younger ministers. For more information about Joel please visit
his website www.firstverb.com
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