A Manifesto for Church

Being pushed into a box is not my idea of comfortable. So to pigeon hole my idea of what church should be and create some sort of formula for it irritates me a great deal.

For this reason I will have my headings under "Church could" rater than "Church Should."

So here goes:

Church could be inspired by Christ's exhibition of unconditional love and desire to live it out.

Church could endeavour to exhibit and live out the ideas of "Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven"
Church could strive for "forgiveness of those who trespass against us just as Christ has set the example of forgiveness toward us."

Church could paint a picture of longsuffering and service to those who starve, who are ill, who are in prison, who are in need and who are broken hearted.

Church could be active in resistance to war and all forms of violence.

Church could actively oppose policies and power structures that maintain poverty and slavery while enriching a minority i.e. exhibit and desire Jubilee.

Church could move through the tribes, communities, societies and nations leavening, salting and lighting up with the love, wisdom and inspiration of the example of Christ.

Church Could desire and live out humility, meekness, hospice, creating safe space and being last toward others in an effort to subvert the dominant empire that desires the opposite.

Church could say "stick the rules (that hurt and don't help and don't promote the kingdom) where the sun don't shine."

Now some recommendations for the tagged.
1. Feel free to post to your blog on the subject “A Manifesto for Church”, outlining your thoughts on what an ideal church would/should or could be like. Posts can be as detailed or as short as you like.
2. You might like to include a copy of these rules.
3. A link to your post in the comments to this post could be helpful.
4. Tag others as you feel inspired!

Heather you know I hate rules
so I've turned your rules into
recommendations so the tagged
can feel free and inspired.

I tag:
1. Simon

LEGGOFORD Wives

Thanks Heather for the inspiration for this one. It's nice to be tagged.

I had to stick with my original ideas for this post because I must admit Heather's and Abmo's
ideas gave me too much to think about.

My original ideas for this concept of a city being taken for Christ took two paths.

The first centered around the inception of Roman Catholicism through Constantine. It was then and there that idea of take or taking for Christ began. Where Christianity could be enforced through the blade of a sword. Where the idea that Christianity could marry empire and live deplorably (for what feels like) ever after. Where kings and priests found power so addictive that to keep it those cornerstone concepts of love, peace and non violence of the early church could be overlooked. So when I take these ideas and envision a City full of those imperialistic Kings and Priests living together some dark thoughts come to mind. Firstly the wall around the city would have to be impenetrable to keep the undesirables and rejected out. Inside the mix of power hungry dominants competing with one another for command over one another brings disturbing visions of bloodshed and betrayal. The cycle of violence would be unending as individuals and groups compete for dominance. Women and children would be scarce; the quickest to fall during the infighting. With the male dominance of the society the natural progression would be to sexual immorality. So the city would look pretty similar to those twin cities of old Sodom and Gomorrah. When I think of that type of city I think of a prison without guards. Where rape, torture, violence and vengeance are the order of the day. Where the most horrific of crimes are condoned by the strongest, dominant overpowering leadership. A terrifyingly scary place where a mutual loving same sex relationship would be the least of ones troubles.

The second train of thought is a lot less sinister. It involves the ideas of plasticity and masks so prevalent in many mainstream churches today. The idea that Christians are just perfect, perpetually happy servants of everyone! The vision of a City full of these types is well...sickening to be polite. All the streets are perfectly paved and every building and park is pristine clean. Everyone has perfect bodies, teeth, eyes, hair and skin. Every face wears a perpetual grin. There are no sad or angry people in this city. Children skip to school and love and perfectly obey their parents and teachers. Mothers stay at home and clean the perfect mansion. Fathers go off to work the perfect job that pays more than the family ever needs. The policeman and fireman work perfectly together to get the neighbour's cat out of the tree. You know the place it's a cross between Stepford and Leggoland. It's LEGGOFORD and it's that place that Utah strives for but hopefully won't reach!

Please Lord don't let them take my city!

Bush started his so I'm starting mine... All stops are out

5 to 6 years ago the Ruler of the most dominant Empire of our current age began a war. He over threw a relatively minor player in a media beat up. A media beat up that I admit I was sucked in by at the time. I still shake my head when I think of myself back then.
What have we come to in this messed up world when a simple overthrow of one man has turned into 90,000 + verified irrefutable civilian deaths with realistic estimates putting the body count at over 700,000 (taking into account those simply not found and not able to be accounted for)?
This ruler I speak of called his war a war on terror. It's kind of a Clayton's war if you like. The kind of war you have when you don't have a real enemy but you need a scapegoat.
Yes it makes you angry doesn't it? So I submit to you an alternative war. The WAR ON TERRIFIC. It's a kind of antiwar if you like. Just a type of vision, a type of purpose to oppose all that which sets itself to commit war. In my image above I have singled out the concept of Empire of course because through the ages Empires have been the prime movers of war and oppression of the weak/poor/less fortunate.
This idea/proposition of antiwar is not an easy concept to grasp and is infinitely more difficult to act out. It brings to mind the idea of beating swords and shields into ploughsheers (or warheads and Abrams tanks into Windmills and water wells). It expects love for one's enemy. At the same time it begins with the smallest and simplest acts of kindness acting as small mustard seeds in the unterror movement. It looks for simple ways to find alternatives to violence and hatred in all forms beginning where it is closest and spreading ideas like yeast through bread.
It also proposes that the insatiable greed of the dominant empires of today require intense doses of 'slowing down' and 'evening out'. Drawing down from the accelerated fortunes of the rich so that all wealth can be spread more evenly and every person can have enough for their need because there isn't enough for everyones greed.
This idea identifies what empire desires - those things that are perfect, beautiful, rich, successful, sexy, powerful and well...TERRIFIC. It seeks to undermine these concepts as they present a false guarantee of happiness and fulfillment.
So I encourage those who have such desire to think on it and act on it in their own measure and begin their own war on Terrific and subvert the dominant Empire today!

Todays blog was inspired by a tag from my more subversive sister Heather.
(See Subversive Blog Award Above)

Special mention must be made to Geoff McQuilkin the instigator of the Subversive Blogger Award.

Here are some tagged persons I nominate for this award:

1. Simon
2.Jarrod
3.Chris
4.Danielle
5.Heather coz I've run out of people Okayy?!?! :)