In Other Words

Many of my posts attempt to describe the new thing I see God is doing as Christendom fades into the past. I have described the new thing as the church rediscovering itself as a spiritual community and abandoning its institutional structure and nature, as a focus on following Jesus (discipleship) rather than on being a church member, as being about the transformation of heart and mind (spiritual formation) rather than correct belief, behavior, and ritual, as rediscovering the kingdom of God that Jesus taught and embodied.

Author and pastor Philip Gulley, as interpreted by Richard Rohr, says the same thing in other words. I offer their words as an expression of the gospel and of the new thing God is doing. An interesting experiment would be to examine myself and/or my small group and/or my church in light of these ten statements. Which option, in each of these ten statements, is "more important than?"


"Quaker pastor Philip Gulley superbly summarizes how we must rebuild spirituality from the bottom up in his book, If the Church were Christian. Here I (Richard Rohr) take the liberty of using my own words to restate his message, which offers a rather excellent description of what is emerging in Christianity today:
1. Jesus is a model for living more than an object of worship.
2. Affirming people's potential is more important than reminding them of their brokenness.
3. The work of reconciliation should be valued over making judgments.
4. Gracious behavior is more important than right beliefs.
5. Inviting questions is more valuable than supplying answers.
6. Encouraging the personal search is more important than group uniformity.
7. Meeting actual needs is more important than maintaining institutions.
8. Peacemaking is more important than power.
9. We should care more about love and less about sex.
10. Life in this world is more important than the afterlife (Eternity is God's work anyway)."