THOUGHTS ON GENERIC CHRISTIANITY AND NEWGENESIS

Given the shifting sands of spirituality, or lack thereof, in recent decades, and the decline of the church as we have known it in modern life, and in all its variety of specific forms and manifestations, there is a desperate scramble among churches to find means of self-preservation. I suspect some might object to that last term (self-preservation). Yes, I have no doubts that some Christian leaders (myself included) are willing to concede that God can do what He wants, since He, after all, is in control, even in the demise of local bodies of believers. But the concern for self-preservation is a reality nevertheless, even if we have no idea what shape that may take, or what changes it might demand. To find new ways that are genuinely useful, and at the same time are faithful to the Word, the Will, and the Ways of God, is the only way to rebuild a crumbling edifice. As Paul said, “There is no other foundation than the one that is laid, which is the Lord Jesus Christ."

It seems to me that NEWGENESIS is one such instrument for rebuilding; it is a NEW BEGINNING/BIRTH, but the shaping of that rebuilding has to be God’s doing. “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it.” At the same time as Christians we understand that God does what he does, most of the time, only as we put ourselves in the place where He can do it (whatever it may be) through us.

The goal is definitely not to make a new church, or a new denomination, or even a new “movement.” Rather, it seems to me, the goal is to “present our bodies as living sacrifices,” and to “follow” Jesus, and to “know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” God, after all, has an agenda for us, one which takes precedence over anything else we might do by way of works. It is to “be conformed (and therefore changed) to the image of His Son.” Have we understood that statement too superficially?

But HOW is NEWGENESIS to be an instrument for rebuilding? And let’s be careful with that word, rebuilding. What is it that we are to build upon the foundation which is laid? More of the same old, same old? What is the same old, same old? Is it a repeat of what we have been doing right up till now, only with fresh paint? Could Jesus work without pews, and stained glass, or “The Gloria Patri”? Is the new music any different than the old music, except with drums and guitars, and different words (and maybe less doctrinal hymns)? Could Jesus work without the buildings we’ve gotten used to? Could the Holy Spirit lead some one way, and others another way, and yet keep them in harmony and unity? That hasn’t exactly been the case all along. The part about different directions has been the case (thought it remains to be seen if it was the Holy Spirit’s doing or not). The part about harmony and unity is another story. Maybe we don’t have the faintest idea what Jesus will do. And we have all these stereotypes that we will no doubt find hard to let go. We find it particularly hard to not be in control – which may be why we aren’t coming up with the next “program.”

Right off the top of my head, It seems that NEWGENESIS is potentially, and perhaps temporarily, an online gathering place for discussing, discovering, and sharing the spiritual journey – not only for persons who don’t like church, but for whoever wants to enter the conversations. Of course it would not be much fun, if some theological know-it-alls barged in to make sure everybody “gets it right.” There are ways to deal with those who try to hijack things.

I recall some time ago my son and I had a conversation along the lines of how, during the middle ages, the church was, in essence, the equivalent of the welfare system of the day. It took needy people in, and in turn they contributed to the agricultural labor pool, or equivalent. My lament was that in our day we could hardly do that without OSHA and a billion other bureaucrats shutting it down. More later.

What NEWGENESIS is all about...I think...

So what's NEWGENESIS all about? Particularly that bit about "com-unity. To begin with, it's about how to find the "real thing" in the hodgepodge we call Christianity...and church...and how to live it out in a way that really makes sense, so much so that, once the "coversation" gets going, it will generate a hunger and thirst for the completion of the restoration of the Image of God in each of us - as we touch each other's lives in love. That's sort of the "what," but of course it has to go beyond that. It has to lead to the "how," (which is the hard part).

If you've ever been to India, no doubt you've seen the mess of  "spaghetti," that is the power grid: you look up at the top of any electrical pole, and it's nothing but a huge birds nest made of 240v wires. What really astounds me is that some people climb up those poles with a couple of wires they've stripped the ends from, and bent into hooks, then very carefully lay the ends across other bare wires, climb back down to wherever they want to use it...most of the time they manage to avoid getting fried by touching some stray part of that tangle. And, of course, nobody pays the electric bill.

I see that as an analogy of the condition of Christianity today, though I should add, pretty much ever since the legitimizing of Christianity by Constantine, but not least by way of the Reformation. I tell students in India about "Hodgepodgeism" (it communicates so much better than "syncretism"),  I recall hearing (in my pre-Christian days), some of my zealous relatives speaking in horror about how the antichrist was going to come and create a single, world-wide church. I wonder if they ever read John 17, or if they did, how they rationalized, "...that they may all be one, even as You, Father are in Me, and I in You, that they may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me." Hmmm...

But of course there is this problem, known as "the power of sin and death." (P/S+D), a.k.a. our "fallenness," by which we seem to screw up everything, not realizing that the power of death is at work in the tiniest of misunderstandings, to the worst of humanity's inhumanities. None of us escapes it. It is built in. It takes the place of God's original design of human beings: love - His image. We don't get it. Until we learn to love as Jesus loved, it ain't gonna change.

OK there's something else that's in this thing I've been thinking about called, "NEWGENESIS-A-GENERIC-CHRISTIAN-COM-UNITY.  I've have a feeling that non-generic Christianity - short for denominational Christianity - is on its way out. At first I thought of it in practical terms. Think about it: most denominational churches are spread here, there, and not everywhere. And many denominations are tied to a central authority that has little real contact with the individual churches. They often set the agendas for their satellite churches without a clue as to the nature, or needs, either of the local population or of the flocks that make up the congregations. Many times they hardly know the pastors who are struggling to meet all of the demands upon them. Bureaucracy undermines the best of visions.

How much better where the pastors in a local area, all laboring for the Lord, get together - regardless of their denominational ties, to pray for one another, encourage one another, and especially strategize together how they can cooperatively discern the nature and needs of the local population, and are able to support one another, encourage one another, and use their respective gifts and abilities together to demonstrate to people who do not know what Christianity is really about, the hope and help that is available in the context of a community of faith where each one is in the process of being transformed into the image (likeness) of Christ - learning to love as He loved. A community of local pastors who can function cooperatively instead of competitively and without all the guardedness that generates paranoia (he might steal my sheep), jealousy (how come he has such a big church, and I don't), can create a powerful demonstration of the reality of God.

Thus, the whole problem is inside. As the late Mr. Pogo Possum said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Why is it we who carry the name of Christ (Christian), don't get it. Has anybody noticed the equation between "the image of God," (the original design), and Romans 8:29, where it says God's goal for us is "transformation (back) into the likeness (image) of His Son. Didn't He say, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father?"

Of course, I'll be the first to put my foot in my (James 1:25) mouth. My doing leaves much to be desired. And I know: talk is cheap. 
More later...