4
Viewpoint
Arkansas United Methodist November 7, 2008
Every Christian needs community to sustain discipleship
Anyone who has ever tried to get satisfying individual wants and
serious about discipleship knows how Gen-X Rising desires. We’ve constructed an entire
tough it can be.
By Andrew Thompson
economy based on buying and con-
Some of us have even experienced suming stuff that we think will make
the revolving door us happy.
of repentance. We to be disciples by ourselves. Bonhoeffer led a clandestine seminary But it’s all a sham. Love doesn’t
confess a sin and The Lone Ranger makes a great at Finkenwalde to train pastors in the come in shrink-wrapped packages. It
promise to God TV show, but it won’t get us very far Confessing Church, a church body only comes in flesh and blood. It
that we’ll do bet- when it comes to following Jesus. The that stood against the Nazi-supporting comes in the flesh and blood of the
ter, only to find world is just too big and we’re just state church of Germany. Incarnate Christ, and it comes in the
ourselves right too small. There is nothing quite as When Bonhoeffer reflected on his flesh and blood of his followers in the
back where we humbling as trying to go it on your time at the seminary in his book “Life church.
started after a few own in the Christian faith and missing Together,” he wrote, “The more gen- If we want to find true happiness,
days. the mark again and again. uine and the deeper our community we’ll set ourselves to following Jesus’
The truth is
Andrew Thompson
So what hope do we have? becomes, the more will everything else great command to love one another as
that sin has a pow- Our forefather in the faith John between us recede, the more clearly he has loved us (John 13:34-35).
erful hold over our lives. Whether it Wesley found that bands and class and purely will Jesus Christ and his Without a community around us
is through greed, selfishness, pride, meetings — small groups of Christians work become the one and only thing to help us sustain our discipleship, we
anger or gluttony, we always seem to meeting together regularly — were that is vital between us. We have one will fail. Without some means of
be trying to make the world conform great tools for building disciples of another only through Christ, but accountability, the default mode of
to our own desires. Jesus. through Christ we do have one anoth- discipleship is no discipleship at all.
In Romans, Paul talks about the It seems that early Methodists who er, wholly and for all eternity.” But with a community, we get the
difficulty in overcoming the sinful met regularly in a community found He points out something very church. And that means we get Christ.
tendencies of life in the flesh. “I do that they possessed shared resources important there. When our time and In Life Together, Bonhoeffer writes,
not understand my own actions,” he that far outweighed what any of them attention are directed toward our own “When the morning mists of dreams
says. “For I do not do what I want, had alone. By sharing “genuine mutu- good, we will always end up with a vanish, then dawns the bright day of
but I do the very thing I hate” al love,” they found that they could kind of morbid self-preoccupation. Christian fellowship.”
(Romans 7:15). truly “love one another deeply from But when our focus is directed toward Is anything else really worth pursu-
Trying to really love God and love the heart” (1 Peter 1:22). the good of our brother or sister, we ing?
our neighbor can be so difficult we The pastor and theologian Dietrich learn how to love as Christ loves us. [Andrew C. Thompson, an elder in the
are tempted to throw up our hands Bonhoeffer learned about the value of Slowly, what becomes important is
Arkansas Conference, is a doctoral student
and give up. Christian community as he taught and Christ and Christ alone.
at Duke Divinity School. He can be
And truth be told, that’s about all ministered under the oppression of Much about contemporary
reached at andrew@mandatum.org.]
we can do — so long as we ar
Letters to the Editor
e trying Nazi Germany. In the 1930s, American culture is oriented around
© 2008 United Methodist Reporter, reprint-
ed with permission.
1st Amendment If this was true, why does the cap on I do agree with one point that on something that was common
Allison Gentry’s complaint the top of our Washington Monument Gentry made. She said her ancestor practice when it was written, but our
(Letters, Oct. 3) that our church is display two Latin words, Laus Deo Bishop William McKendree would roll view in the present century is differ-
destroying the separation of church (“Praise be to God”)? Why do the over in his grave. I think he probably ent, then I cannot say that we are
and state begs a reply. Let’s first doors into the Supreme Court have would have if he knew that Gentry bound by what was done when that
review our First Amendment, the Ten Commandments engraved was advocating the handling of the scripture was written. However, if it
“Congress shall make no law respect- on them? Why did President James affairs of state separately and outside says that we should or should not
ing an establishment of religion or Madison, the father of our the influence of Jesus Christ. specifically do something, then who
prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Constitution, tell us to “sustain
Louis Burgess
am I to say that my personal views
Surely there is more to the amend- ourselves according to the Ten
ment than this! How could the Commandments of God”? Why
bullet6
Little Rock
trump those of scripture?
I have nothing personal against
Supreme Court use this simple would Patrick Henry say, “This great gay and lesbian people and hope that
verbage to prohibit the display of the nation was founded not by religion What’s important? they find happiness in their lives.
Ten Commandments in public; pro- but by Christians … not on religions In reading the recent letters from However, I am not at all comfortable
hibit prayer in public schools func- but on the gospel of Jesus Christ”? Thompson Murray (Viewpoints, Sept. with those who advocate that we pick
tions; removal of the Nativity scene Most logical-thinking individuals 5) and David Kassos (Viewpoints, and chose which scriptures we observe
at Christmas; or take Christ out of know that the First Amendment was Oct. 17), I am reminded that our and which we do not for political cor-
Christmas by referring to his birth intended to ban an official national or church as an organization needs to rectness sake. Once you start that,
date as “Holiday Season”? state church. Gentry should know that decide which is more important, being where does it end?
Gentry further tells us that our no part of a Christian’s life can be scripturely correct or being politically
Joe Whalen
founding fathers called for complete void of Christ. I am afraid she was let- correct.
separation between church and state. ting politics cloud her rationale. If scripture is mute and/or vague
bullet6
North Little Rock
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12