Denial and a drunk church.
It is amazing what we will tell ourselves in an effort to make ourselves feel better. We even find others like ourselves who will tell us what we want to hear. Corporations do it. Individuals do it. Churches do it. I read a church report today that prompted this post.
"No, I am not drunk. I don’t have a drinking problem" "No, we are not dying. Our numbers just slumped last year—less children." They say that drug and alcohol addiction is a disease of denial and that the bottle is just the symptom. I wonder what the mass exodus in parts of our churches tells us? Is it just a symptom of an underlying issue(s)?
Denial is not a river in Egypt.
The lesson will repeat until it is learned.
The lesson will repeat until it is learned.
The lesson will repeat until it is learned.
Whatever you resist, persists.
Denial is a symptom of the effects of an unhealthy, dysfunctional pattern of life. We have to practice honesty if we want to heal and until we are honest, nothing is going to change. If nothing changes, nothing changes.
We are only as sick as our secrets. "Therefore confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other so that you may be healed."
It is not about blame, being self-righteous or faultfinding, it is about being honest. That is where real healing begins.
3 Comments:
Great post as always Rick...clarity and nothing for us to hide behind. The sad thing is, " Denial " is a river alot of churches are not willing to cross in order to enter the promised land. The river of " Denial " is warm, soothing, calm...it can almost lull a church to sleep...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!
Great post! I often wrestle with this. How do you even enter into a dialogue about our issues, if no one will admit there are even issues of which to talk about.
I often find the elephants in the room suffocating and so apparent that it smacks of absurdity. No one desires honesty that is real, only percieved. Maybe we are too safe, which leads to a comfort that has us snuggled tightly into religious death beds too warm to leave?
Oh for the revival from this christian coma!
Good point.
I'm not sure I would catagorize it as a mass exodus so much as just "slinking" away. An exodus might be announced, and self-consciously principled, but I would suggest that only a few "leavers" are doing that.
In my generation, I think we just fail to see the point of remaining. It's hard to see yourself as going away from a place if you were never really there.
If that makes any sense.
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