The middle of the road always had a bad rap when I was growing up in the church. It was usually associated with being "lukewarm" spiritually, not having the courage of your convictions, and the place where the devil lulls us asleep, rendering us ineffective for the Kingdom. I understand the metaphor and I certainly don't advocate a lukewarm spirituality or weakness in convictions. And - as much as I love sleep - I really don't want to be lulled to sleep by the devil. I wonder, though, if the middle of the road deserves only these negative connotations.
Sometimes I think that this repudiation of the middle of the road has led some within the church to an extreme, all or nothing kind of approach to almost everything. If a new movement, approach to ministry, another church, or book has anything within it that they do not agree with, they feel compelled to reject it entirely. After all, in their thinking, to accept any of it is a sign of compromise, and compromise leads you straight to middle of the road spiritual complacency. As a result, the church ends up bouncing between extremes, with people becoming entrenched on either side of the divide, their reactions always pushing them further apart. Now I might be wrong, but I'm not sure that's a healthy approach to life in the Body of Christ.
I look at myself and realize that I am a strange blend of strengths and weaknesses, positives and pitfalls, gifts and inabilities. All of us are. And those same characteristics, both good and bad, will naturally be reflected in what I do, what I create, and the groups I belong to. I am glad that the people in my life have not taken an all or nothing approach in their relationship with me. They appreciate my strengths and help me in my weakness; they learn from me, and I from them; we disagree at points, but still accept one another. We meet in the middle of the road, so to speak. Why would the followers of Jesus not demonstrate that same spirit toward one another? Why would we feel that we must agree with someone on every point in order to learn something from them, or even to accept them?
We would be much better served by an attitude of discernment and humble reflection than we are by the fear-driven, all or nothing approach. I don't have to agree with or accept everything, but I can listen, discern, humbly learn, take what is good and useful, and leave behind that which I cannot accept. But when points of disagreement result in our absolute rejection of anything and everything about another person or church, we find ourselves living in a place of dangerous and unhealthy extremes. Forced into our narrow box of understanding, we become blind to our own weaknesses and ineffectiveness, all the while missing out on the growth and benefit we could receive from other brothers and sisters in Christ.
It seems that some become so frightened of the middle of the road that they end up jumping off the ledge. We need to realize that it doesn't matter which side of the cliff you fall off of - it's still going to hurt. Personally, I have come to the conclusion that the middle of the road is not always a bad place to be, and we can even live there with passion and conviction. And, after all, it's got to be healthier than falling off a ledge, right?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Doug,
You put to words something that I have been feeling and thinking about a lot over the last couple of years. The middle of the road, the place of balance, isn't a bad place to be. Thanks for sharing your heart brother.
Paul
"So, you're proposing we embrace your 'Van Nestian dialectic' and therefore legitimize walking the dotted line? Don't you realize you can get run over by traffic coming both directions while hanging out in the middle?
"Besides, the walls of my box keep me quite warm, than you. And I never have to fear falling off the ledge, for I never venture but an occasional peek out of my hallowed box."
How many folks reading your post could raise such sentiments? I could not articulate them myself if they weren't indeed part of my thought process.
We are all at a point, some point in the journey, and whether we like it or not, that means being in the middle of the road, by degrees.
Thanks for bringing it up.
Bro Keith
I think the 'Van Nestian' identification could have a great ring to it if someone ever writes another 2-volume history of the Naz!
Who were those Van Nestians?
They were a balanced bunch...not given to theological or ecclesial extremes!
Willing to unite on the non-negotiables and hold loosely to the "ledge" material.
Post a Comment