Reg
04-08-2010, 07:52 AM
Rereading some of my posts on a bulletin board I was on years ago I ran across this. I read this while I was still a member of the wcg. Talk about an eye-opener. It really moved me to the point where I bought 10 additional copies for our library book table. It wasn't well received at the time by the leaders. We were at the beginning of the many changes that were happening in the 90's. We never even had a library or book table before then. We were told to only read 'church' literature. So here's some comments on the book.
Re: Illustrate to me how to show love WITHOUT keeping the 10 Commandments.
Tuesday, 02-Nov-1999
Thanks Lee. My motivation for obedience was the key for me.
I have this written down in the front of a book I read called "Rediscovering Church".
http://www.amazon.com/Rediscovering-Church-Lynne-Hybels/dp/0310219272
"We were often told we have to obey or else. But I don't just want to obey because *I have to.* I want to obey God because *I Want To"!
Shortly into the Introduction I read, "In an increasingly dysfunctional society, individuals are becoming
increasingly aware of their emotional wounds, their loneliness, and their need for help. Victims of childhood (spiritual) abuse need a safe place to heal...........(my comment)
Today we are living in a spiritual renaissance that perhaps is like no other in history. One of the things that
makes it unique is that the search for spiritual values is not associated with any institution and does not
depend on traditional religious terms or symbols. *Rather we see these spiritual concerns guided by the heart*.
Why, I wonder, are contemporary Americans convinced that true spiritual answers are only to be found
outside the church?.....**Or is it because they have become sincerely disillusioned with a church that
for too many years was more concerned with its identity and traditions than with the concerns of the
human heart**?
That last part really stood out to me. I identified with it immediately. It wasn't referring to any particular
church but a condition that exists in far too many of them. It just happened to be my experience in the wcg.
A little farther it says, "We wanted to "be the church" for people who thought church was irrelevant but who
needed it desperately".
"People need the church - not a lifeless institution that has often passed as the church, but the true church,
the Act 2 church. nothing else is going to change the course of individual lives and the direction of this
country. **We need authentic heart-change that will transform the way we operate in relationships**,
the way we respond to social injustice, the way we use the earth, and the way we treat the weak, the poor,
and the unborn.
After reading this I had to finish the book. It helped me make the transition. It gave me answers to what I
needed and knew was lacking where I was. It changed me forever.
So now U know why I'm so BIG on *Motivation*. It's the real key to why people do what they do. Do they
do it out of genuine love or fear of the consequences of disobedience?
Re: Illustrate to me how to show love WITHOUT keeping the 10 Commandments.
Tuesday, 02-Nov-1999
Thanks Lee. My motivation for obedience was the key for me.
I have this written down in the front of a book I read called "Rediscovering Church".
http://www.amazon.com/Rediscovering-Church-Lynne-Hybels/dp/0310219272
"We were often told we have to obey or else. But I don't just want to obey because *I have to.* I want to obey God because *I Want To"!
Shortly into the Introduction I read, "In an increasingly dysfunctional society, individuals are becoming
increasingly aware of their emotional wounds, their loneliness, and their need for help. Victims of childhood (spiritual) abuse need a safe place to heal...........(my comment)
Today we are living in a spiritual renaissance that perhaps is like no other in history. One of the things that
makes it unique is that the search for spiritual values is not associated with any institution and does not
depend on traditional religious terms or symbols. *Rather we see these spiritual concerns guided by the heart*.
Why, I wonder, are contemporary Americans convinced that true spiritual answers are only to be found
outside the church?.....**Or is it because they have become sincerely disillusioned with a church that
for too many years was more concerned with its identity and traditions than with the concerns of the
human heart**?
That last part really stood out to me. I identified with it immediately. It wasn't referring to any particular
church but a condition that exists in far too many of them. It just happened to be my experience in the wcg.
A little farther it says, "We wanted to "be the church" for people who thought church was irrelevant but who
needed it desperately".
"People need the church - not a lifeless institution that has often passed as the church, but the true church,
the Act 2 church. nothing else is going to change the course of individual lives and the direction of this
country. **We need authentic heart-change that will transform the way we operate in relationships**,
the way we respond to social injustice, the way we use the earth, and the way we treat the weak, the poor,
and the unborn.
After reading this I had to finish the book. It helped me make the transition. It gave me answers to what I
needed and knew was lacking where I was. It changed me forever.
So now U know why I'm so BIG on *Motivation*. It's the real key to why people do what they do. Do they
do it out of genuine love or fear of the consequences of disobedience?