musings on the emerging church

"it is understandable that those on the barge suffered and many became desperate. some are still trying to row back upstream, but that is proving impossible. it also displays a lack of faith in the god of histor and in the leadership of the church which..believes that the modern world is where the church wants to be. some jumped overboard in ones and twos hoping to survive in small dinghies, bobbing up and down amid the waves. but dinghies are too small to carry the mission of the church, and are little use in the open sea. others, unable to face what is happening, sat in the pilot's cabin and painted river scenes on the windows, trying to convince themselves and others that they were still in the river and that everything would be alright if everyone kept on doing what they were trained to do.

what had to happen, of course, and no one is pretending it is easy while the waves are crashing around us, is that we need to put a keel on the barge, and reshape its prow. we need to make institutional changes that are faithful to the direction and task that has been given us, but that can cope with the waves and take us through them to the sea. jesus may appear to be asleep, but he is with us, he said he would be till the end of time. if we cry to him, he will inspire us, together, to refrashion the craft so as to retain all that is good in it. we will be able to maintain direction and continue our journey in a new environment, impelled by the love of christ, directed by his spirit towards our father's home."