I am not sure how many people are leaving Tampa with a sense of accomplishment this year, but I was not there as a delegate so it's hard to judge what has been done, changed, updated, etc via twitter feeds, FB updates, and watching the live feed when I have been able (which hasn't been very much, since I live 13 hours ahead of the time zone in which GC2012 took place.
Here is what I have noticed, though:
We as a church believe in grace. That is to say, we believe that God loves us immensely even though we're not always lovely people. And...that God has come to us in the person of Christ to rescue us from our unloveliness. We didn't earn the rescue, it's a gift, this thing called grace. If there isn't much we can agree on as a church, we can agree on grace.
Some of us believe that since it's grace and grace is a gift, and we are only rescued by virtue of said grace, not by our deeds (because that would make grace merit based and not a gift) then everyone (an all inclusive everyone) is welcome in the church. We are all broken and grasping for this mystery of grace; we are all thirsty and desperate for the cool water in the arid desert of life; we are all hungry for the crumbs that have fallen from our Master's table. Everyone needs it. Everyone wants it. Everyone is welcome to come and receive it. Grace isn't just for the ones who "properly repent" and grace isn't for those who live flawless lives. Grace is something that we all want and need and how dare we as a Church (any church in my humble opinion) say who is eligible to give, receive, witness to or share this grace.
I look at the life of Jesus and I see a boundary crosser; I see a wall crusher; I see a trouble maker who welcomed the most questionable scoundrels of his neighborhood into the Dream of God, courtesy of grace. He was accused of being a drunkard and a glutton; he (and his students/followers) were consistently asked why he hung out with such wretched people; he read the thoughts/faces of others who judged him for his questionable associations and he told them to go learn what this means:
I desire mercy not sacrifice.
What I don't get is what is so hard about talking about his life and ministry and letting the chips fall where they will.
I don't get why we have to quantify the brokenness in the lives of others in comparison to our own. Actually I do get it; it makes us feel more worthy, like the religious guy in temple who said, "Lord I'm glad for my tithes and my holiness and my prayer life and the righteousness I demonstrate. And I'm SUPER GLAD that I'm not like that horrible sinner over there--the one on his face in front of you--who is so aware of his need for grace that he won't even look at you--yeah, him. I'm glad I'm not like him." The thing is, the dude on his face is the one Jesus says we need to be like. Yeah. Cool, huh?
Me personally, I want to be more and more like that dude on his face; I don't ever want to forget how much I need God's grace-filled gift.
And this is what I dream of for my Church. That we just toss the crumbs of grace out for the hungry to fill themselves on. Or that we be like the sower who went out and threw seeds everywhere, not just in the places he knew to be fertile soil. He threw the seeds to the ones who were doubt-filled, and to the ones who were full of worry, and to the ones who have hard hearts...because the cool thing about soil is that the more stuff grows in it, the more receptive it is.
I dream that we'll just sow seed and throw grace to everyone and anyone. That we would make ourselves available to people who want to show us the places where life hurts. And that when we see those hurting places, we won't judge or condemn or stare in shock, but offer grace, offer love, offer healing and wholeness.
As for me...
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