tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post5920958557446845563..comments2024-02-19T13:11:04.970-05:00Comments on Ponderings on a Faith Journey: A Call to Representative MinistryRobert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-22282045905754881372011-12-31T08:40:01.907-05:002011-12-31T08:40:01.907-05:00Brian,
I too am grateful for the nurturing I ha...Brian, <br /><br />I too am grateful for the nurturing I have received within the DOC tradition. <br /><br />I was raised in a creedal tradition (Roman Catholic) and I have been in the the DOC church for the last 20 years. I have found a new freedom in my relationship with God. In fact my my situation vis-a-vis God went from a focus on obedience to authority (the teachings of the church) and adherence to creed to exploring my relationship with God and with others.<br /><br />Not that I felt oppressed, but I just didn't know how much more there could be, how much relational creativity, how much room there was in my relationship with God. <br /><br />And I learned that I was not a mere passive spectator in human/divine drama. Recently I was thinking about Matthew where we hear that we will find Jesus in "the least of these". Of course the least of these is really the "other". But as a DOC I am invited not only to find Jesus in the other, in the marginalized, and in those who are different, but I am encouraged to BE Jesus for the the other, for the least of these. In most if not all creedal traditions it is the role of the ordained minister to be "Jesus in the room". But in the DOC we are truly lifted up as a "priesthood of believers." While we have ordained ministers, their role is directed to faithfully equipping the saints, and not so much to being the saints.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06245470576919732592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-6839767924122293562011-12-30T22:40:43.636-05:002011-12-30T22:40:43.636-05:00My personal experience is that the Christian Churc...My personal experience is that the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has been crucial to my discernment and nurture. Even now in the informal world of social media, I find accountability and community.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18396901667077846319noreply@blogger.com