Religion for Good

Ironically and with mixed feelings that primarily lean toward gratitude, I am putting my reading of Purpose Driven Life on hold. The book took me to the brink of collapse and then ultimately back again. One of the conditions of my current stability is to not read the book, and I intend to respect that wholeheartedly.

Reflecting on this chapter, I feel like I just read a self-help book on conflict resolution.  The concepts here are not foreign to me, but the use of supporting statements from the Bible is new. Paraphrasing what Rick is asking each person to do, here's what I got out of the chapter: Think through the problem on your own first, before approaching the other party. Be the "bigger" person.  Instead of waiting for the other party to apologize or initiate reconciliation, you be the person to apologize or initiate reconciliation. Start by acknowledging the other party's feelings, before discussing the problem. Admit your own faults in the initial handling of the situation.  Truly believe that you did fault at some point, because you are neither perfect nor a saint. Avoid belittling or insulting the other party while trying to untangle and resolve the problem. Look for common values with the other party, the building blocks of collaboration. Rebuild the relationship...

Overall, I believe this chapter should be read by anyone who wants to be a leader in any context, Christian or not. I have one note about gossips in this chapter. Rick says, "They may get mad and leave your group or church if you confront them... but the fellowship of the church is more important than any individual."  As I'm reading this, I'm wondering to myself what happened to Rick's call to action in chapter 17 with the quote, "If you know people who have wandered off from God's truth, don't write them off.  Go after them.  Get them back" (James 5:19 Msg).  Gossiping sounds like a sin, and if a Christian gossips then to me that person's Christian family should try to help the person leave behind his or her sinful ways and become a better person.  Point to Ponder: Community requires commitment. Absolutely.  But in order for there to be community more than one person must be equally deeply invested in that community. Question to Consi...

Rick quotes the Bible, "Make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification" (Romans 14:19 NIV).  Either the Klan forgot to review this part of the Bible in their teachings, or doing what leads to peace does not exclude murdering.  Okay, I said that mostly because I have a strong distaste for the Klan.  I recognize that the Klan is one of those organizations that uses Christianity as a means toward un-Christian, nefarious ends, and that it is not representative of real Christians. But on a more serious note, does  doing what leads to peace exclude killing other human beings?  Rick says later in the chapter that "fellowship happens when mercy wins over justice."  Sometimes, in my opinion, justice takes the form of an eye for an eye.  What should society do with a driver who hits a 5-year-old girl in a city street and then proceeds to run over the victim with both front and rear wheels on the blood-stained car?  For me the answe...

I like Rick's statement that "the church is a body, not a building; an organism, not an organization." But I disagree with Rick's statement that "the first symptom of spiritual decline is usually inconsistent attendance at worship services and other gatherings of believers."  Would Rick say that all churches were created equal?  And that Catholics, Protestants, Baptists and all other subcategories of Christians are the same?  Perhaps they all start from the same base belief that Jesus Christ existed and that Jesus was the son of God, but what if a person stopped attending worship services and other gatherings of a particular group of Christians because that group's teachings seemed inconsistent with the individual's beliefs?  What if another Christian group's message made more sense to the individual, and that individual was subconsciously seeking this other group, not to the disavowal of Christianity altogether? Perhaps when Jesus existed, the...

How apt for me, in my current state of mind, to read the opening quote to the chapter: "No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love" (Corinthians 13:3b Msg).  I just had one of the most difficult conversations of my life, and the quote reminds me what is really, truly important that money can't buy. "'Love others as you love yourself'" (Galatians 5:14 LB).  Which parts of love does this quote refer to?  Does it mean just the praise?  Or also the way of living or approaching life?  Does it mean to impart some of our world views on others with the hope that we can all be better for it?  How does Rick or the Bible know how one loves him- or herself? "Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples" (John 13:35 LB).  This reminds me of the hypothetical, situational question I posed yesterday:  Can two Christians who have never met demonstrate this kind of love to each other an...

So now, I'm in the 2nd purpose that Rick's going to describe in the book.  But before I got to the actual chapter, I was struck by a Biblical quote Rick used to open the unit:  "Christ makes us one body...connected to each other" (Romans 12:15 GWT).  Who is the "us" referring to in that quote? I suppose Rick answers this question early on in the chapter when he says, "The family of God includes all believers in the past, the present, and the future."  So, when Rick talked earlier about "God building a family who will ... reign with him forever," did he mean that God's family will reign over all non-believers?  And if so, how does Rick define a believer or a non-believer?  How does he know that someone who says, "I'm a Christian," really is a Christian at heart?  And what about people who are baptized but later fall out of the relationship with Christ and God? To me, this question is further complicated by the points ra...