As mentioned in an earlier post, a good friend recently gave me a book to read by Dr. Larry Crabb entitled: “Real Church: Does it Exist? Can I Find It?” I have finished reading the book and have been reflecting on it and discussing it with good friends since then.
Dr. Crabb spends the first 20 chapters or so outlining his own personal struggle with “church” – why he doesn’t want to go, why he feels the way he does about it, things he observes about it, ways that it is strong and ways that it is weak. He doesn’t really get into any “solutions” until late in the book. When he gets into the solutions, I especially liked chapter 23… “Let the Conversation Continue.”
In this chapter, Larry sums up his journey with 5 main thoughts that he believes if they could be realized, would make a huge difference in his life, his experience of “church” and they would impact the way we do and experience “church” in 21st century North American culture.
Thought #1: Truth is a Two-Way Street
Some evangelicals will have a hard time with this statement. It sounds like there is more than one Truth, or that there are more ways to find it than one way. This seems to go against the grain of orthodox Christian doctrine that believes there is only one source of Truth and only one way to find and know it based upon the claim of Christ:
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father, except through me.” – John 14:6
However, this is not the way Larry means it. He stipulates that it is true that there is God’s Truth. It stands: unchanging, solid, immoveable. He reveals that Truth to us through the Word and the Spirit. Agreed.
However, in order to experientially receive that Truth, we must also find out and admit what is true about ourselves.
To illustrate, Larry writes about a time when he tried to pour water into a glass, not realizing that it was upside down. The water fell all over the place outside of the glass and made a big mess. It was only after he turned the glass right side up, that it was able to receive the water and fulfill its intended purpose. He rightly observes that so often we are upside down when it comes to God’s Truth. We don’t and can’t receive it because we are not in the right position. We are upside down.
Instead, Larry suggests that we need the red dot approach to truth. His example is that of a shopping mall. We want to buy some new running shoes, so we stop at the mall directory. On the map we are drawn to the red dot labelled: “You Are Here.” This is the truth where we must all begin.
Then we find the location of the running shoe store. There is a distance between where we are and where we must go. There is a path and a journey we must make to get there. This is the truth we are now ready to receive.
“God meets us where we are, not where we pretend or wish to be.”
Our job is to pay attention to where we really are and to enter into that reality. Only when we do that can God enter our reality with His Truth and bring about the needed spiritual transformation.
In light of this thought, perhaps “church” needs to start with a “red dot” personal assessment. Perhaps we need to focus first on turning ourselves right-side up before we go on pretending we are someplace or somebody we really aren’t. Perhaps God would be able to actually transform us and the world around us if we were more willing and able to admit who and where we really are and reposition ourselves to receive what He wants to do in us and through us.
I wonder why “church” isn’t the safest place for this approach to take place? How have we allowed it to often be a dangerous place for real transparency and authenticity? I myself and many others I know long for a red dot experience in church. We have a sense that this is what “church” was intended to be. We are tired of pretending and leading largely unchanged and untransformed lives.
I see a “red dot group” in my future. How about you?
