To, For, and Enabled
My professor gave us an assignment for this week that I think I'd like to pass on to everyone. I'll post my (shortened) response tomorrow, but I'd like to hear how everyone would answer these questions:1. What has the church done to you? (negatively)
2. What has the church done for you? (positively)
3. What has the church enabled you to do?
Have fun with these. They are pointed as specific churches/youth groups/college groups/etc., so don't think about the "universal" church, but about specific contexts throughout your life.
P.S.
Jenny, I responded to your comments on the last post. In case it gets buried, due to the proliferation of words, I think they were very insightful.
posted by Wayj @ 11:20 PM
4 Comments:
Ok, a day late, but here it is. I think the church negatively affected me early on by telling me that all I had to do was make the commitment and that was the only struggle. Once you make the commitment, you're going to heaven, so everything else is ok. I spent many years believing that my faith had little to do with my life and everything to do with after I die.
Positively, the church has given me a home and a family and people whom I love deeply. When my father passed away, it was evident that both my church in Baton Rouge and my mom's church in Pascagoula were ready and willing and able to encompass us with their love and help.
The church has also enabled me to discover who I really am. As an introvert, I spend most of my time in my head, so to speak, and I can have many thoughts about myself and life. The church offered that place of love and understanding where I could view myself through their mirror. You can say you have a certain gift, but it takes that gift being worked out (or not!) in the midst of the community to really see if you have it.
Ok, your turn.
Thanks, ash! I've really enjoyed hearing what my classmates had to say, so I figured I'd share it.
my father is also a church minister and i had a wonderfully church-filled childhood.
negative:
i struggle to think of the church as individual people. i have seen so much church analysis that i was taught our church success was based on numbers. furthermore, i struggle to reach out to the community that does not ever walk inside a church building. i became content with a belief that being involved in church was enough in regards to working in ministry. i think i neglect reaching out.
positive:
much like ashley's answer, i was surrounded by warmth and generousity. i could see that generousity in my father as he worked, and it was returned to our family in so many ways. my home church, even though it is in a different building than the one i grew up in, is very comfortably my home.
enabled:
it has enabled me to become a thinker, critic, leader and someone whos life will not be determined by what job i choose. my youth group really taught me about the abilities i have, and gave the chance to question everything we take for granted. i became a thinker and a passionate learner out of those years. i still get confussed about who i am and what issues i value most, but my church experience has seemed to encourage these persuits. and most importantly, i know who this life is for.
when are you going to post again. i miss your words.
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