Optimism
I got a new book last night (and it was free!) - "No Perfect People Allowed" by John Burke. I haven't even made it to chapter one yet and it's already quote-worthy.
In the intro he says:
"We have deconstructed everything, identified all the problems with the current church, and proclaimed what we knew would not work. We've read statistitians like Barna, Gallup, and Regele warn of the impending doom for our generation and the church in America. What disturbs me is the absence of a path forward. We don't need more deconstruction, more theories, and more statistics; rather, we need tangible evidence that God is still doing what God has always done in every generation, constructing his church out of the most hopeless situation. It's not tearing-down time anymore - it's construction time!"
I like that. I also just happened on a Cameron Crowe quote: "Optimism is a revolutionary act. There’s a lot of cynicism in the world, but you can be an optimist without being a puss about it." :)
I say I wanna revolution (can you hear the music? RIP John).
BTW - the recent discussions here have been great! (and I'm not just saying that because I'm trying to be an optimist now). ;)
posted by dan at 8:26 AM
2 Comments:
Dan,
I agree. Construction time is near.
I've been meditating on God's call to Jeremiah lately: "See today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant." (1:10)
I see that verse as the biblical model for renewal. In it deconstruction always comes before construction.
Hey... I didn't mean for this nod to optimism to kill the discussion. It wasn't a commentary on anything on this blog; just a quote I liked.
And I agree, Bill, deconstruction must come before construction. So where do you think we presently are in the process?
And... maybe this should be another post, but I've heard/read several people mention the need for another term to describe "emerging" lately. Personally, I like what 'emerging' brings to my mind... but I understand it means different things to different people. What does anyone think... do we need another term, or is emerging ok? (I'm not talking about this blog in particular, but the 'emerging church' in general).
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