Generous Orthodoxy

My brilliant father in law gave me a book entitled "Generous Orthodoxy" by Brian Mclaren.  I've read some of his stuff in College but it never occurred to me that I might be kindred spirits with this gray-haired man until now.  I'm only 3/4 of the way through his book (that came out YEARS AGO, where was I?) but I can see that there is a path for me within God's diverse Kingdom.

I have had a somewhat colorful experience with church.  I've served on worship teams, volunteered at youth retreats, wrestled with pastors, yelled at elders, cried with ministers.  I've been accepted, adored, admired, and kicked out.  I've been taken advantage of, and I've done my share of making the church serve my own selfish purposes.  On some occasions I've lied, I've cheated, and I've given all that I am to the church.  It wasn't until my last experience that I've honestly and truly considered leaving altogether.

The pain was (and is) so great that I thought now would be a great time to get the hell out and take a hint that church isn't for folk like me.  The people like me, we don't get invited to church potlucks and "planning committees."  We walk cautiously on the outside, marveling at the strange goings on inside, and wondering why we weren't created to indulge in such bizarre (but fun looking) behaviors.  We all remember a time when we felt God's touch and we stood up to say something and were met with prejudism and harsh replies.  "How dare you challenge us?"  "Why can't you just go along with everyone?"  "You are slowing everything down"  "What do you mean, you're not a Republican?" -- these are all things that we hear on a regular basis.  Every now and then, someone says something like, "You know, we need people like you because it helps us to keep from making a potential boo-boo." But you know what they mean.  They hate you.  And it's only a matter of time that they take matters into their own hand to get rid of you.

But back to my point.... Despite the fact that I know I am not welcome in 90% of church circles-- doesn't mean that I do not have access to a community that will accept me.  It may be small and it may be hard to find, but there are people within God's Kingdom that see people like me and their hearts will be stirred because they have a similar story as mine.  I feel like Mclaren is one of those people.  Who knows, maybe if we met today he would decide I'm a lost cause as well, but I like to think that he and I would have much to talk about-- much to cry about-- and much to celebrate.

Having an Orthodoxy that's important to you, but not exclusive or stone-set is something he stresses time and time again.  We need to have the flexibility to allow God to move within our belief system.  We need to give God room to breathe.

Anyway, just some thoughts I had.  Feel free to disagree- that's the joy of it all!

-Tim