Food for thought

One of the readings for this week's Public Theology class is by John de Gruchy, a white, South African professor of Christian studies. It is a chapter from a forthcoming book, and looks at what it means to be a Christian - and a human.

He taps into thoughts of people like Bonhoeffer and Irenaeus, writers who have greatly influenced my thought in these past few years. Both men stress the importance of the work Christians do in the here and now. Even though they come from radically different time periods, both believed that the point of Jesus being embodied - and us being embodied - is that real life occurs in the relationships we have with each other and God, where we can exercise the attributes of God, e.g. love, self-giving, and compassion in our interactions with each other, allowing ourselves to be fully alive and fully human.

It is impossible to read any of the work of any of these men without recognizing the circumstances of life that informed them. During Irenaeus' life, persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire was taking place. Bonhoeffer watched the rise of the Third Reich. de Gruchy witnessed the violence of apartheid in South Africa.

The church, called to be the body of Christ, did not always perform well in these and other historical settings. As many have noted, Christian communities can become very self-focused and self-protecting, forgetting the radical nature of the early followers of Jesus. I've been thinking a lot about "church" because of the impending retirement of the other pastor on our church staff. As a result of this transition, our congregation will be asked to take a good, long look at itself in thinking about an eventual permanent replacement.

In recent visits with congregation members, I have often raised the question: What is Wake Forest Baptist Church to you? I have not asked for immediate responses because I really want folks to think about their answer. Are we truly committed to "the least of these", to the hungry, naked and thirsty? I think we are, but what does that commitment look like, i.e. do we give to missions programs, or go out in the community and get our hands dirty? Do we sign petitions, or do we work to change systems that institutionalize failure for those on the margins? Is our Sunday worship the culmination of our work together in community where we come together to praise God, or is it a performance of the praise of God?

It can become easy for congregations to be complacent, to be so focused on their internal matters that the work of God comes as an afterthought. Perhaps that's why so many congregations struggle with changes in pastoral leadership; the focus is on a position rather than on the work to which we are called as the body of Christ. Just some food for thought.