Sarah Raymond Cunningham
by: John O'Keefe
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1. How can we move from “flawed humans” to “Christ-like humans” in the way we treat people, or can we?
There's clearly no formula, but I think awareness and then, commitment to change, are a big part of it.
It is too easy to coast through life on "automatic"--numbly completing daily rituals, mindlessly responding to our surroundings. The more we tune into God's design for us in the thousands of ordinary moments that
makeup our lives, the more we change.
I also think it is tempting to see "change" as past tense. Something we did during conversion, in the stage of life when we turned to God. But if we want to claim we're following Jesus, we have to be fiercely committed to ongoing change. If I'm the same person five years from now as I am today, people should question whether I'm really aligning my life with the Jesus of the Bible.
2. Do you believe we are placing too many “expectations” on the church, and why or why not?
We sometimes place illogical expectations on local congregations. We find a brilliant speaker and we expect them to be perfect in every area of life. Or we discover a refreshing worship experience and are outraged and shocked when we begin to notice flaws in the church organization behind it.
A healthier approach would be to raise the expectations for the individuals who make up the church. If we claim allegiance to Christ, we should take responsibility to live out Christ's ideals in our daily lives. If every member of the church were committed to being transformed, to following Christ in a way that produces fullness in his or her life, the local and global church would be transformed by default.
3. How can we better share our flawed nature with those outside the church in a positive and trusting way?
Christians can feel pressured to project a certain image...one that will gain us acceptance and affirmation in church circles. An unintended impact can be that, over time, even we begin to believe the projected image. We begin camouflaging who we are even to ourselves! When this happens, we stop acknowledging the dark parts of ourselves, the parts we keep hidden because they don't fit with our image. And if we don't make a practice of acknowledging our weaknesses, we won't ever engage them or grow past them.
Every single one of us should get comfortable with the idea that we are on a flawed journey. We are striving toward something noble and wholesome, but along the way, we will stumble into and even produce darkness. We should be able to see this and discuss it openly, all the while pressing on toward Jesus-likeness.
4. What do you think are some of the key “false expectations” we place on the “leadership” of the church?
Wow. The list is endless. One of the biggest logical fallacies is to hold the "church leadership" responsible for our learning and growth. It doesn't make any sense to depend on a once a week Church service to inject us with enough truth to live a God-following life. Living a life requires attention and response to truth on a minute by minute basis. We need to take responsibility for daily learning and growing...so that church becomes just ONE way that we grow and not THE ONLY or BIGGEST way.
5. It seems as though many of the issues brought up in your article center on a “large church.” Does size matter in relationship to how a community of faith treats others?
I think of "being church" as more of a lifestyle. And, in that sense, a small group of people--who really know you and are part of your daily life--probably help you embrace God's ideals most effectively. That could be a group of friends, co-workers, or family and it could be completely outside of a formal church setting.
That said, attending a local church building, whether it is big or small, reinforces your lifestyle of following Jesus. If we're committed to our own health, we'd be wise to choose a church that is a source of refreshment and learning and worship...regardless of size.
6. You bring out a great point in your statement that Jesus is the Hope of the World, not the church [something I think we tend to forget all the time], how can we change [if we can change] the idea that many churches and Christians hold, that the church is “the hope of the world?”
When we hear about an ambassador from a foreign country, we don't think THEY are the country. We understand they just represent their country and try to embody its values. But we know that if foreign ambassadors say something hateful or cause some sort of scandal, they aren't necessarily operating by the expressed wishes of their country. In these moments, they are departing from their instructions and acting as individuals.
This is how we should express our identity as followers of God as well. We are ambassadors of a king and his society or way of life. But we aren't the king. We represent him, we try to embody his values, but please understand that when we fail, we are departing from God's intentions and going solo.
7. How do you see a community of faith forming in relationship to what others think the church is, or is not?
At its core, "church" is a group of people who are intentionally choosing to align their lives with the way of Christ. But that's not advocating carelessly titling some haphazard collection of friends "church". That's saying that people are only church if they can fulfill the true, Biblical role of church in your life--i.e. they share in learning, honoring God, serving our world.
This group of people might be, and probably likely is, centered in a church building. The building provides the regular opportunity to be with them and live life alongside them. But it's not irreversibly linked to a building or weekly program. Clearly, we all know you can go to a church and never experience "church" as God intended it. You might not belong to a formal congregation, as validated by generations past, but you might be living in inspiring and life-changing Christian community.
However you seek out church, it has to be intentional and it has to produce the benefits of the Biblical church. And I recommend doing both--living as church in a group of friends you see throughout the week and reinforcing that lifestyle by attending and benefiting from a formal congregation.
BONUS QUESTION: If you could rewrite your article, what would you change and why?
Ha! I'm not sure how well I remember the article. I use my writing to bring my personal learning to expression, so I'm comfortable that the article reflected something God was teaching me at the time...even if I've maybe learned more since then. But if I can ever add anything, its my encouragement to embrace ongoing change. Information (sermons, Bible reading, learning via church etc.) is void if it doesn't result in transformation. A God-following person is a changing person. Period.
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