29 October 2023
How about we get past the hysteria of all the evil out there in the world, and build a legacy of healing the victims?
Do you realize how resilient people can be when they live in an atmosphere that encourages it? Do you understand that the very existence of PTSD is a testimony to just how predatory our society is? And just who do you want to trust for this healing task? Would it be someone who has no clue who Jesus is and what mighty power He can bring to redeeming those destroyed by evil?
Here's your crusade, for those of you who need one: Let's make Radix Fidem the bastion of restoration. Do you believe that Jesus can change people by the mere Presence of His Holy Spirit? Let's study what we can do to enhance the process.
Here's a tough one: Can you believe that Jesus could reclaim a pedophile, so that his perversion is transformed into a spiritual rapport with children? Do you understand that, hidden behind every temptation is an affinity for something that God uses to bless His people, and thus glorify His name? I've seen church people nod their heads to such a message until I mention pedophilia, and then suddenly they don't believe in God's power. Something inside of them no longer trusts the Lord, but seizes control from Him and demands their own answers.
They aren't willing to face a level of risk that God says we must face in order to do things His way.
I dream of a genuine covenant community, built on the biblical pattern for enough generations to have a solid identity in this world. We don't have that; this world is set against it. The prophetic word in Scripture warns how hard it will be. Instead, the focus is on redeeming those who have been tossed by the hideous evil of this world, restoring what can be recovered by His grace.
At the same time, this is far bigger than just one brand of recovery. I can't count how often I've seen "recovery ministry" get lost in a tunnel of specialization that shuts down what had been a regular church. It became such an obsession that their whole theology and doctrine got trapped in the peculiarities of one kind of sin. You've heard it before: If all you have is a hammer… Please, let's not do that. Those with a narrow calling and expertise should not lead a whole community.
Let's first establish the whole mission of restoration. We all need it, and no one remedy fits every need. The basic skill of shoveling moral manure out of our souls isn't that complicated. It won't look exactly the same for any two people, nor will the results. What matters is that we agree together that the single biggest chore we all have is hefting that shovel. We need to work hard on understanding what a clean floor is, and removing whatever it is that makes it dirty, never mind the peculiarities of the crap. Whatever it takes to reach that end result, we can learn how to do it.
Let this one thing bind us all together: We restore people to God's ideal.
We don't assign everyone a single path; we won't draw your map for you. Our mission is to restore the art of mapping. You have to evict your own demons, reclaim the territory of your soul and occupy it with God's mission for you.
Compassion on tap, served up 24/7.
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