Sojourners = House Church (part 2)

Perhaps it is best to continue by giving a disclosure.  I am a consumer-focused addict.  It must be understood that any writing I do on this subject comes from one who is at best, a recovering,  consumer- driven person.  Somehow the picture of starting each Friday night house church by going around the room and introducing ourselves as "Hi, I'm Santiago, I'm a consumer-holic" is not as preposterous as it may at first appear.  Many of us are plagued by an ongoing, continual dialogue in the back of our minds..."how is this going?", "how am I doing?", "am I delivering?", "am I getting anything from this?", "were my needs met tonight?".

The most diabolical effect of the consumeristic sea we swim in is that it supports one of the granddaddies of all lies ever foisted on us by our enemy who knows what we can become and fears us.  "It's all about me".  This lie encourages us to keep ourselves forever in the middle of the circle busily judging and sifting through each and every circumstance for what it might have for us and how it does/doesn't relate regarding our personal life gratification. But like the fish, who don't really notice the water, our self-orientation as discerning consumers is invisible to us. Nonetheless, when we step into our house church fellowship we each come with our 9th-degree consumer black belts complete with an invisible knapsack full of well-honed buyer tips and tricks.

OK, just what are we to do?  We have tired of giving yet more years to pursuing our transformation into Christ-likeness via traditional church. For many of us there seems to be a law of diminishing returns from this approach, as goodhearted and well intended as it most certainly is.  Instead we seek to be transparent, to know others, to be known, to serve, to speak into one-another's lives, to exercise love towards the often unlovable, to be willing to live sacrificially in community as a family whose blood runs thicker than water.

But as mentioned in (part 1), this type of effort is so inconvenient in so many ways and inconvenience is the first thing that any self-respecting consumer learns to avoid at all costs.  I believe if we are to live as recovering spiritual consumers we will each be called on to embrace inconvenience.  To embrace efforts that will come with apparent high-costs and to be intentional in being willing to pay those costs.  To be willing to confront one another in love rather than just let relational poison go on having it's ugly way.  To embrace disruptions to our  busy schedules when there is a need that is lying in our path quivering and crying out.  To be willing to journey along with others who may not reciprocate our tokens of friendship, to be willing to give more than we get, to hang in there longer than we might want, to listen longer than seems reasonable.

If ease of use, well-priced, easy to find and dependability are the gold standards of consumerism then inconvenience, personally expensive, disruptive and no guarantees are at least some of the ingredients of a consumer antidote that Sojourners may have to regularly toss back. If consumerism is rampant, pernicious and invisible we must band together as brothers and sisters to i.d. it when we find it's ugly head being raised amidst our community.  We must be courageous and call it out for what it is starting with ourselves. Only with the help of each other will we begin the process of rooting it out and chaining it up.

We have all been crucified with Christ, buried with him and raised with him to his right hand in the heavenly places.  He calls us into discipleship, where radical advice, including selling all that you have, is not necessarily uncommon.  His aim is to mature us into the full stature of Christ and that maturing operates best within a small community where iron sharpens iron. As well-trained consumers, there is much in our way of pursuing this life that is problematic.  But I can sometimes better see it in you and you can see it in me.  I issue an open invitation to my fellow Sojourners to help me in my recovery as an uber-consumer.  I can't do it alone...it takes a village and I am privileged to be walking along with one. Here's to our ongoing journey along the path of  "I must decrease but he must increase"..........

Santiago,
Friend of Christ