I’ve been thinking more about the “teflon church”. A teflon pan is a useful thing until the teflon wears off. A teflon church is really not useful. Sometimes the cracks need to happen for the church to become what it was meant to be. If that’s the case, then I pray that God will remove the “protective covering” that is over so many churches today.
Teflon Church
Here’s another blast from the past:
The other day, I passed a road named Mt. Elon Church Road. At first glance it looked like Teflon Church Road. Since my mind works in mysterious (some would say strange) ways, I got to thinking – What would a teflon church look like?
I imagine it would be a place where nothing “bad” sticks. Things of the outside world would have no effect. The church would be a “safe place” for Christians to gather and get away from “the world”. To those looking at it from the outside, it would seem like a place where everybody had it all together, a place where those within were just “holier” than the rest.
Of course, there would be other things that wouldn’t stick. Things like compassion for those outside, concern for those on the margins of society, a realization that none of us really has it all together, that it is only by the grace of God that we stand. Things like love for brothers and sisters in Christ as well as those who are neighbors.
Eventually, a teflon pan gets cracks and the teflon wears off. In a church, the cracks eventually happen and what is going on beneath the surface comes out. A pan that has lost teflon is useless and will be thrown out. Fortunately. a church that has lost its teflon can be redeemed and made useful again by our gracious Father.
Different Socks
I wrote this a few years ago when I was driving a shuttle bus.
While down at Fort Jackson waiting on my group, I saw a bunch of new soldiers in formation getting ready to go to lunch. All of a sudden, one of the drill instructors began to get all over a young man for his socks. His socks! He had pushed them down into his running shoes so they didn’t come up as high as the socks everyone else was wearing. It shows that one of the values of the armed forces is conformity. This is a necessary thing for an organization like the military. Non-conformity can be dangerous.
Many Christians like the picture of “Christian soldiers”, etc. It’s interesting that those who see Christians as part of an army seem to also highly value conformity, as if non-conformity can be dangerous spiritually. This doesn’t fit with the Biblical idea of following Jesus. If you look through the Gospels and the Epistles, you can see the emphasis on unity in diversity. The only thing we are called to conform to is the likeness of Christ.
It is time for the church to allow and celebrate the different expressions of faith and godliness that are found in the body.
And Now For Something Completely Different
I’m going to do something a bit different, and post some things I’ve written in the past. I’ll do this on Mondays for a while. Enjoy.
In The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning quotes M. Basil Pennington on prayer. I’m posting that quote here. There is no need for me to comment.
“A father is delighted when his little one, leaving off her toys and friends, runs to him and climbs into his arms. As he holds his little one close to him, he cares little whether the child is looking around, her attention flitting from one thing to another, or just settling down to sleep. Essentially the child is choosing to be with her father, confident of the love, the care, the security that is hers in those arms. Our prayer is much like that. We settle down in our Father’s arms, in his loving hands. Our mind, our thoughts, our imagination may flit about here and there; we might even fall asleep; but essentially we are choosing for this time to remain intimately with our Father, giving ourselves to him, receiving his love and care, letting him enjoy us as he will. It is very simple prayer. It is very childlike prayer. It is prayer that opens us out to all the delights of the kingdom.”