Originally posted by Dan Lauffer:
Amado,
I think what the Holy Spirit is directing is that there be one visible evidence on earth of a united Church. If our group loses that mission we will fizzle and die.
Dan Lauffer
Right. Hold onto that. Live and die by it. Let all other cards fall as they may.
Present the Byzantine church as it is - without all that other annoying "we are right and they are wrong and let me tell you how they are wrong�" stuff.
Which brings me to - evangelism - as is sometimes thought.
Among the Protestant brothers - the brightest star is/was was Billy Graham - and you never ever heard a word from him of criticism of any other church. He just did not feel it was his job. That was not Paul�s way of preaching either.
Pointing out the errors of family members (other churches) only appends the list of �reasons� for division longer and longer and longer - dividing more and more and more. Union at a family gathering is not accomplished by everyone laying civisms of each other out on the picnic table and then demanding apologies from each and all. We must respect the independence of all family members and admit that there is much we do not understand about each other - yet no one appointed us to understand it all.
I would hate to see this false notion of evangelism take hold in these efforts (and under present leadership I doubt that will happen). Let the �righteous prophet� stay home. Let the man (a church) who would judge another man�s servant (another church) stay home and judge himself into a tizzy.
I think it good to remember that people (no matter what their intellect may say) seek comfort - in a church and in Christ. Religion is first and foremost a refuge. It is Father and a Mother and a brother and a home where sins are forgiven - where one can start over as many times as it takes. Where we all admit that not one of us is perfect.
9 out of 10 people come to religion because of an inner calling to �come home� and rest - while 1 of that 10 is seeking methods by which to change himself into a spiritual superman so that others (and himself) might look up to himself. And this 1 MUST (an inner drive) present himself as an evangelical prophet who must expose the �sins� of the others. We are ALL tired of this - �prophet�. The day of this type of prophet (of the Law) ended on the day of Resurrection.
I think what the Holy Spirit is directing is that there be one visible evidence on earth of a united Church. If our group loses that mission we will fizzle and die.
Dan Lauffer
God bless that task! No prayer is even needed because THAT task is already blessed! The Byzantine church only need take a hold of it. With courage - with boldness - without fear.
And let all other cards fall as they may.
At the end of time when the Byzantine church stands before God it can say �All these other things - I could not do. I could not do them. I was too tiny. Yet I did one thing - it was the one thing that you had asked me to do.� and God will reply �Yes - it WAS the ONE thing that I had asked you to do. I had not asked you to do all the others - I myself was doing them as I saw fit. You did well - you listened well - enter into My rest - friend of God. Now I must go deal with those misused my Name and who took it upon themselves to do that which I had never wanted them to do.�
-ray
