I thirst (part 2)

A couple of days ago I got a little ranty in a post called I thirst. Jared at Gospel-Driven Church uses that as a springboard for his own somewhat ranty thoughts in a post exquisitely titled, For I was hungry, and you told me to self-feed.

As often happens, Jared and I seem to be reading from the same spiritual talking-points memo. His first two main points echo my own thoughts, but I had not yet come to express them clearly. Jared saved me the trouble:

1) There are some lazy, consumerist, adultolescent [btw, "adultolescent"--I like that!] Christians whose "I'm not being fed" is nothing more than a whiny excuse for growing bored with their church's programs and not serving.

2) There are some mature, self-sacrificing, wise Christians whose "I'm not being fed" is a sign a church has gone off the rails.

Exactly. In the past year I myself have quietly made this determination to "self-feed," and while it has been a very rewarding experience, I will say this: it is not enough. I need to hear the Gospel "in community." The reconciliation that Christ won at the cross (in the decisive "Armageddon" victory over Satan) was and is all about the restoration of not simply persons--but "a people."

There is much to be said here, but I don't have the time. I'll leave you with a final quote from Jared:

We must preach the gospel to each other, all the time. Without fail. We need to hear it, we need to ponder it, reflect on it, be moved by it to worship Christ. Pastors and preachers, why are you failing to give it to us, to all of us? It is the one thing we need. Call it milk, call it meat, call it whatever you want, but it is the cure for cancer you are telling us to research on our own when you've got it in your back pocket. It's in that Bible you use like it's Bartlett's.

Rant on!