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Spent some quiet reflective time at the zoo over lunch and found myself in the area containing endangered and vulnerable species of cat, which got me to thinking. In every case the threat to the species was associated with loss of habitat. These powerful hunters now found their habitat defined by human barriers to the point where they now appeared tamed, tormented and ridiculed. Humans observing them were often chiding them to "do something". What future do they have, given that we will never return to them the thing which would allow them to thrive: their habitat.
Which got me to thinking about the church, whose habitat has also been severely transformed over the last hundred years. Once the centre of the community, shaping and defining its culture, the church too often appears like these powerful animals in the zoo: lethargic, robbed of majesty, turned into a curio.
It is the animals who have adapted to the change which are thriving. How are we to adapt to this new cultural environment whilst still maintaining the power which the gospel has always exuded? Seems the answer might have something to do with rediscovering those aspects of the gospel which aren't so culturally defined and to focus on those. The church - as it has borne the gospel of Jesus - has survived and thrived through radical cultural shifts before, but its expression of community and faithfulness has adapted to the new environs. As the church continues to express this gospel so will its fortunes and the purposes of God endure.
Posted by gary at April 20, 2005 05:29 PM
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