junkmail for blankets

i will pray for you about this.

if you have any time, please do for me as well.

thanks for writing

jj, you got it.

flatgard, you're welcome. i wish i could welcome you over a beer, friend. in a month or two.

"What’s frustrated me, then, is the perceived distance between theology and anthropology, the imbalance between the two, the proper balance signified beautifully in the sacrament."

I think i'm just having a stupid-moment, but can you explain that a little bit more?

(and i'll pray a church for you.)

Jeremy-- I'm with you in your frustration about these problems. Even though we have moved in different circles, I have always thought of you as someone who understands and agrees with a (relatively new) aspect of my wrestling match with living grace; I think that all the more after reading this post.

A friend once reminded me that, if Christ loved the church enough to die for her and betroth Himself to her, perhaps I should be patient enough to endure her struggles on the way to maturity. I'm thankful you are waiting, too, instead of writing her off. Stay the course, friend.

ej, sorry to be so wordy. i do that sometimes. i have found that churches tend toeither concentrate on theology to the neglect of the people or the people to the neglect of theology. and the sacrament, the embodiment of christ, himself the embodiment of our theology, is the only model. as god, he had all the correct theology, and as man, he knows us well and interecedes appropriately. i hope that helps, as i know your prayers do.

ed, thanks for the encouragement and the affiliation. and i dig what you're doing with your blog. i hope cts takes notice to that kind of thing (both the use of the blog and the content).

jeremy, i'd have to say the problem was that you weren't wordy enough. (or my brain hasn't started working yet). but I get it now.

thanks.

jeremy, i too will be praying. you are right, we sacrifice one for the other. most of us don't even know it.

i had never put together the symbol of the sacrament and the idea of 'partaking' of each other too. that's powerful.

the best advice i ever received concerning church (from my grandfather) was not to be a spectator, but to do something concrete, offer whatever i had to give. he suggested that God honors and blesses that commitment by creating true community around it. your blog is sort of witness to that, but i'll pray that you find a more tangible community.

bobbie, yes, we tend to this, though, as always, there are beautiful congregations out there who are doing it well, which usually means self-sacrifice on both ends. thanks for praying.

amys, thank you. yes, i've received the same advice over the years, and i think it can be helpful. unfortunately, i am dealing with my heart, which doesn't take to good advice too easily. i hate that thing sometimes.

i tried to comment last night, but was asked to wait. i hope i'm not one of the malicious offenders.

i need physical community, too. and i'm highly active in a church. i pray we can both find what we need, where we are needed.

sorry about that, steph. it does it to me, too, sometimes. i suppose the blog knows human nature well, that we're all prone to malice at times. so more thanks for praying.

Jeremy,
I can offer sympathy. I recently fought over the same issues in rural Southside, Virginia. Going from the richness of church life in St Louis to an area full of dead orthodoxy in largely lifeless mainline churches. My family and I ended up a a Bible church. It's not that far from Presbyterianism, but it is relatively low on the sacramental chart. I just offer my own prayers each month, remembering more and ore the words of Dr. Peterson.

Jason

thanks, jason. i would do well to remember dr. p, though i'd like to forget sitting in his office as he ate bananas topped with pretzels while doing calisthenics.

Jason - where did you find the rich church life in St. Louis? - just curious.

As Dr. Peterson's former student assistant, I have tons of good calisthenics memories.

hey, we should compare spokane notes. i'm still looking as well.

Well, I won't say it was the richest, but once you head out of there, the options slim down a good bit. I'll say this: for the sake of family, we ended up in a place that did not fit me as well as some others.

And, yes, I too have memories of calisthenics, and a lunch at Growlers.

Jason

as you know, i am one of those like you as well. i can feel the heaviness of desiring god and running from his bride because of her lack of community and open arms.

The good news is you are not alone.
The bad news is you are not alone.

We've endured similar struggles as we recently moved to the Mississippi coast. In Houston (TX), we were a part of a vibrant congregation "where both words and the flesh bless(ed) consistently". The word was proclaimed boldly; worship was meaningful, joyful, beautiful and passionate; communion was revered, taken weekly and with wine no less; the community was strong, with people of all ages, races, incomes, etc... sharing with one another. It was the best example I've seen in the PCA of what the church ought to be like. The only place I've spent any time in that may have been better was All Souls in London (obviously not in the PCA).

I don't know exactly how it is in Spokane, but in the south (especially the small town south), reformed churches are typically not like the one described above. The word is typically being proclaimed, but worship is more ritualistic, communion may be taken quarterly or monthly without wine and the community struggles to exist outside of a few hours on Sunday and sometimes Wednesday. Congregations here are much more similar to the "full of dead orthodoxy in largely lifeless mainline churches" described by Jason.

We've joined a PCA church (sound doctrine) and are trying to serve it in a way that will hopefully be used to transform it into more of what we ought to be. In the mean time, we're trying not to be "blessed out of the house of the Lord."

I share your shame, your need to confess and your need for "patience, grace, and welcome in my own heart." I also pray that as bodies of believers we would return to the first things, quit idolizing our traditions and embrace the beautiful community intended for us.

Off topic: I miss Moses and Jesus. Are they doing OK?

shull and batch, thanks for the words, the commiseration. makes me miss sonny's, somehow.

jeep, they're looking at me as i type. i'll have them with me next week as i take a long road trip to ponder my 30th birthday, so i'll be sure to post some photos for you. they thank you for asking.

Batch - it sounds like your church in TX was great. As for community outside of a few hours a week - I don't know how any church achieves that. For me, church is a great chance each week to catch up with my 200 acquaintances, some of whose names I actually know, that I won't see again until the next weekend. For us, I think that has more to do with having kids than anything else - anything we'd want to do together outside of church would have to entail something the kids could participate in. That, and the lack of a parish model - I don't go to a church near my house and that presents a problem. I'd like to move, but I'm stuck. The last time I experienced real community, I was in boarding school in 11th grade hanging out in Mike Chu's room with a towel over the space at the bottom of the door after lights out.

Bryan Chapell had a recent address where he discussed the kinds of students Covenant is seeing these days (you can download it from the site - something about the future of Evangelicalism or something). One of the things he said kind of nailed me - the students want community but don't want to go out of their way to foster it. I'm like that; I don't go to church picnics because it is such a hassle and I only go to "fellowship dinners" because they actually occur right after night church. And yet I want community too. Sometimes I think it would be better if we all just lived in a big dormitory and shared a cafeteria.

Barlow- it was great. We miss it terribly.

I can't yet relate to the kid challenges(we hope to soon... you can pray for us about that), but I can imagine it can limit your ability or at least hinder your attmepts to do more than just have acquaintances at church. You have less time and it takes alot more effort to participate.

You made a great point about the parish model too. Since 99, we have lived in Atlanta,, Birmingham, Houston, London, Houston and now Gulfport. In that experience, we have lived as far as 20 miles (part of our time in Houston) and as near as 2 blocks (London) to our local church. We actually sold our home in suburban Houston to move into an apartment nearer to the church. It was the greatest move we made in our time there. Our relationships flourished, we were serving and being served by the community of believers, we had a blast, we loved and were loved. Point is, if you can make it happen, live near your church.

"...students want community but don't want to go out of their way to foster it..."
I see this reflected in the church we're in now. Outside of worship, most of the people who are participating are older. The few younger people who attend worship regularly, rarely participate in the activities where you can really connect w/ other people. Through the course of our moves, Holly and I recognized that in our own lives and are trying to overcome our tendencies not to participate.

Living in a dorm and having a big cafeteria would be pretty cool (as long as the food were better than at boarding school)... but in the mean time, small groups provide a pretty good format to really get to know other believers in your church. Meeting weekly to share needs, study scripture, pray, eat and just enjoy one another nurtures community. That was a big part of what we experienced in Tx.

Finally, people are typically oblivious to the fact that the church should be our primary community. Not the country club. Not the PTA. Not the office. The church. If we all grasped that better and lived it, our churches would be transformed.