Damn Plank
Posted on August 5th, 2005 by Reformed Pope into the City Boobie Church, Favorites categoryTonight I was telling my beautiful wife about the last comment on the blog (she’s not a regular reader) and I told her how I thought it was such a great quote:
“I don’t believe that any enemy of the church could have possibly done more damage to me and my family than City Bible has. And I think that pisses God off.”
Once I got to the “that pisses God off” part, which I thought was the best, she looked at me and said “not any more than you do”.
She’s right you know.
Clearly I sin and make mistakes and I imagine that I piss God off (the one in heaven, not you Hank, I know you’re pissed); the beautiful thing is that I know he has grace for my mistakes and that he loves me anyway. That’s not an excuse but a wonderful realization that has helped me grow closer to God.
If CBC is hurting people, should we not speak out against them? If we do are we doing God’s work or hurting it? I don’t know.
It’s that damn plank; gets me every time.
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August 5th, 2005 at 9:39 pm
Personally, I’d say that speaking out when the church is hurting people is the same as when a member of your family does something similar. Would you sit quietly while your brother was hurting people or would you say something? That’s not to say that you should follow people around with a magnifying glass looking to point out every time they pick their nose, but sometimes people need to be pointed in the right direction.
August 6th, 2005 at 2:15 pm
Ditto Fezzik.
Speaking as a person with two X chromosomes, I can say definitively that women are socialized (particularly in conservative church circles) not to speak up for themselves. We aren’t supposed to rock the boat, we aren’t supposed to say we’ve been hurt by anything. It’s ok to be a damsel in distress, but God forbid that you either ask loudly for help or start slaying your own doggone dragons. Within the context of church, the laity (including men) is expected to follow this model, by and large. After all, we’re the bride of Christ, right?
What I’m getting at is this: the blog is essentially a symbol that indicates that we are unwilling to be victims of circumstance. It’s not a statement of our own purity and faultlessness, but a notice saying that we aren’t interested in just sucking it up and waiting for someone big and strong to take care of the problems for us. It’s a move from passivity to proactivity. The trick is to keep compassion in the mix, to make sure that the force we’re protesting isn’t merely demonized and subsequently oppressed.
Jesus’ business about planks and such is really just a reminder for compassion, I’d venture to say. It’s ok to confront people when they do crappy things, but it’s essential to remember that even people who do crappy things are still just people and deserving of compassion. As Paul McCartney put it:
“Nothing’s gonna shake your love
Take your love away.
No one’s out to break your heart
It only seems that way.”
August 8th, 2005 at 3:55 pm
I don’t think your chromosome count has anything to do with whether or not you view yourself as a victim of circumstance. I went to CBC for years and years, and if I learned anything is that I could either view myself as a victim or change my perspectives. Donna Lasit (whom I have to say had a positive impact in my life) taught me that if I’m unhappy, and nothing in my life is going to change in the near future, than my only option was to change my perspective. That doesn’t mean I agree with or ignore what’s going on around me, I just look at the situation from a pro-active viewpoint. The only big and strong person I’m waiting for to rescue me is God, and the only thing I need rescuing from is myself. Not some church and all its problems, but myself, my sin. (Sorry, JP, you don’t have the market cornered on pissing off God). And I agree with you on the whole compassion bit. It’s hard to have compassion for those who have not shown it to you or your friends, but isn’t that what this being Christ-like thing is all about?
August 9th, 2005 at 7:46 am
I’m reminded of the verse, “This is a trustworthy saying: Christ died for sinners - of whom I am the WORST!”
It’s the acknowledgement of the plank in your eye that enables you to see the ones in others. When was in the CBC machine, I was so busy trying to be perfect that I couldn’t see the things that were really wrong. Something in my brain said “I can’t see” but I was in denial about the things blocking my vision. Admitting you have faults is the first step in finding grace.
August 9th, 2005 at 9:15 am
ditto.
August 9th, 2005 at 12:29 pm
hannah,
I enjoyed your commentary very much. Just to be clear, I didn’t mean to imply that only women tend to view themselves as victims of circumstance. On the contrary, I think this is a very *human* issue, and is often specific to groups of people who are not supposed to be in charge of themselves (according to another group that has placed itself in a position of power).
The bit about a proactive mindset is very much true (gotta chalk one up for Donna), but I think it’s only the beginning. Yes, we need to think proactively…but then there’s the necessary step of *acting* proactively that must follow. I’m a big believer in the working out of one’s day-by-day salvation. And, to be honest, I’m not terribly thrilled with the notion of waiting for God to come and save me from my naughty behavior or my worldly problems.
I understand grace and I understand that I need grace, and I understand that it’s sometimes impossible to do anything except wait for help. However, I think those times are few and far between…most of the time, while we can’t do it all, we can definitely do something. Honesty and compassion are hopefully the safeguards that will prevent us from going hog-wild or getting off track.
I think we all have a far bigger realm of possible action than we usually acknowledge, because we wait to find out if it’s specifically legislated that we do such-and-such a thing before we use our brains and act. Grace abounds, yes? I think then, that we should keep our spirits listening, jettison fear, and go for it.