What I Know and Don’t Know For Sure

Okay, let me begin with a little confession.  Occasionally, not often, I wonder off into disillusionment and begin to question the validity of many of our Christian and Religious convictions.  During these times, I am prone to vacillate between feelings of hope and hopelessness, doubt and determination, faith and frustration, and even resolve and rebellion.  I normally experience these times when I encounter up close and personal the ambivalent nature and petty inclinations of organized Christian religion. No fear, I won’t burden you by citing banal examples of such.  Besides the examples are too numerous to recount. Instead, let me just say, that I think at the present moment the church, not unlike some times past, is experiencing a crisis of mission and purpose.  It is becoming readily apparent as the days go by that the continuing transmogrification of the cultural and social landscape of our world is posing significant challenges for those who name the name of the lord. 

I believe this challenge is due in part to the church’s inescapable location as a component of culture.  Meaning, as the culture continues to change and transmogrify into something hopefully more beautiful and not bizarre, the church is challenged to articulate and adapt its core mission and purpose amidst the transition.  Perhaps, what makes this time all the more pressing is that we cannot be certain what exactly the culture or the church are changing into.  I along with many others have some good guesses what they (church and culture) may look like but in reality we just plain and simply cannot know for sure.   

However, what I do know for sure is that the foundations of God stand secure,  which insures me that no matter what comes and no matter what goes, the people of God will prevail and continue to offer God’s love to a often loveless world.  This much I am absolutely convinced of.  Nevertheless, the question that remains is not can these bones live, but what will these bones look like when they live?  The answer to this I do not know, therefore what I do know sustains me through my uncertainty. 

In Spirit and Truth, Billy Michael Honor