Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
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I've always liked
Chrystal Abbott - pastor of Manteno, Illinois' First Presbyterian Church.
Not bashful or boorish
about loving Jesus by the book, she just preached at the most recent stated
meeting of Blackhawk Presbytery (9/9/14).
"It Only
Takes a Spark" was the title of her message.
You know the
song.
Anyway, she said
sparks can cause two kinda fires: destructive or uniting.
Then she drew
upon Smokey the Bear for accountability when sparks fly: "Only you can
prevent forest fires."
Ouch.
Do you/me/us/them
light fires that destroy or unite?
Are we haters or
lovers?
It was pretty
simple...and convicting.
Have
you/me/us/them been more involved in building up or breaking down the family of
faith?
Has agape yielded to
anal/narcissistic litmus tests of fidelity?
Do we have so
many anal/narcissistic litmus tests of fidelity - up, down, left, or right -
that keeping the family together is as probable as Bears and Packers fans
gathering around the campfire to sing Bobby Goldsboro songs?
Yeah, it was
pretty simple...and convicting.
Simple in not
identifying the really divisive issues between those who still love Jesus by the book and those
re-imagining Jesus apart
from the book.
Those issues are
real and inescapable to those who love Jesus by the book and those who
re-imagine Jesus apart from the book.
Convicting in
reminding us that Jesus came to unite not destroy churches.
John 17.
Yeah, it was
pretty simple...and convicting.
While the elated
left always instigating apostasy and way right ignoring the impossibility of
escaping that instinctual total depravity since the garden in any
ecclesiastical club will become increasingly antagonistic to any passion for
remaining faithfully in the PCUSA as part of the faithful remnant, God used
Chrystal to speak to my heart again.
Though I get
really ___ off by too many peers whose relationship to Jesus by the book
is no more than coincidental these days and other peers who are deluded enough
to think that they're really that much better than anybody else with
amnesia to Romans 3:23, all of 'em are still part of the family that Jesus
came, died, rose, and reigns for.
And even if so
much of today's anal/narcissistic church acts like a sentence ending in
a preposition, all of 'em are still part of the family that...
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Chrystal reminded
me of what is often so easy to forget in an anal/narcissistic kinda way.
If more
pewsitters and pulpiteers were like Chrystal, I think our churches just
might become part of the Church again.
That's the rub.
Unlike members of
the Church, with Chrystal as a model, churchy posers bastardizing
the label - Christian - don't love Jesus by the book by loving Jesus by the
book.
Up, down, left,
and right make up stuff remotely related to Jesus by the book.
Total depravity
and those other viruses noted in Matthew 15, 23 still plague the
improbabilities of evolving into something/Someone better.
I also thought
about that while listening to and being chastened by Chrystal.
I also thought
about that while looking at the big stained glass window in Manteno's
sanctuary.
It's a picture of
Jesus with sheep.
I was struck by
two things.
The Good Shepherd
never intended the undershepherds
to follow sheep.
They're supposed
to lead by the book.
The second thing
was the expression on Jesus' face and rod/staff in His hand.
Church is
serious business.
Souls are at
stake.
And sometimes to
protect the sheep, ya gotta pick up the...
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Blessings and Love!
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