Messy Spirituality

I was rereading one my favorite books (ever), Messy Spirituality, by Mike Yaconelli (where I got my nickname from). These are just a few of the quotes from the book that I really like.

"I go into churches and everyone seems to feel so good about themselves. Everyone calls themselves a Christian nowadays. How dare we call ourselves Christians? It's only for Jesus to decide whether we are Christian or not. I don't think He's made a decision in my case, and I'm afraid that when He does I am going to be sent straight to hell. I don't feel I can call myself a Christian. I can't be satisfied with myself. We all seem to be pretty contented with ourselves in church and that makes me sick. I think all this contentment makes Jesus nervous."

-Robert Coles

"I have been trying to follow Christ most of my life, and the best I can do is a stumbling, bumbling, clumsy kind of following."

-Mike Yaconelli

"Jesus scandalized an intimidating, elitist, country-club religion by opening up membership in the spiritual life to those who had been denied it. What made people furious was Jesus' "irresponsible" habit of throwing open the doors of his love to the whosoevers, the just-any-ones, and the not-a-chancers like you and me. Nothing makes people in the church more angry than grace. It's ironic: we stumble into a party we weren't invited to and find the uninvited standing at the door making sure no other uninviteds get in."

-Mike Yaconelli

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This is where I predominantly disagree with organized religion. Who are we to establish hoops and hurdles for others to experience God. It's set up much like a "If one does this, then you can experience God fully." In a way, many churches are still glorified country clubs, where membership has to include the right income and accepted social standards.

We have been discussing the passage in Matthew this week that states, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Can we point out the flaws in our neighbor without pointing out the flaws in ourselves? Can we tell someone else that they need to fix their lives without looking inward to fix our own? Community (real community) embodies the idea that if I call your junk out, then you can call mine out too. I feel that we must be honest and yet open enough to acknowledge our own faults.

yac