I Want to See the Church Part 2 (1-5)

Here we go. I'll take about 5 at a time. Again, to review what I'm going for here, read this post.

1. I want to see the Church compelled by love.
   
   I want holiness. I want truth. I want sound doctrine. I want reverence. Above all I want to see us driven by love. I don't mean love in its limited definition we often give. I mean love as God defines it (see I Corinthians 13, I John 4:7-21, I John 3:16) . In fact, as you look at those aspects mentioned above that I'd like to see (holiness, truth, sound doctrine, reverence), I don't think they can exist correctly unless compelled by love.
   
   
2. I want to see the Church existing as much, if not more, for it's nonmembers as it is for it's members.
   
   It's an endless conversation I read about in articles, books and blogs. Does the church exist for it's constituency or those it's trying to reach. Especially clouding the discussion is the more recent house church movement and other reactions against the seeker sensitive movement of the 80s and 90s on the purpose of the Worship Service. I really don't care. In fact, I just want the church caring for each other while understanding that we are Christ's Ambassadors seeking to help reconcile the world toward God.
   
   
3. I want to see the Church integrated.
   This is not a multicultural statement (although that will likely come at some point). I'm talking about a the root word of integrity. This means that we would...
   

   • The beliefs of those claiming Christ are being integrated into our every day life.
     
   • We follow Jesus in public when many are looking and in private when nobody is looking.
   • Monday-Saturday are just as much an act of worship as Sunday.
   • We become the noncompartmentalized (my spell checker tells me I just made up a word) people that those outside the Church are hoping exist.
     
     
4. I want to see the Church repent well.
   To follow up on integrity. I don't want to see us perfect. In fact, I'm fairly convinced a faulty notion among the church is that the cure to hypocrisy is our perfection. There's one problem with that... we are not nor will we ever be perfect this side of heaven. I believe the cure to hypocrisy is that church owning up to it's hypocrisy when we see it.
   Again, I believe those outside the Church are not needing more examples of people who pretend like they've got it all together. I believe they are looking for examples of people who somehow can find peace, purpose and wholeness in Christ while still knowing they don't have it together.
   
   
5. I want to see the Church wrecked by Jesus.
   In John 6, after some tough teaching , Jesus turns to the 12 disciples and asks them if they're going to leave. I LOVE PETER'S RESPONSE..."Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
   Is the Derry paraphrase, "Jesus, I'm screwed. You've wrecked my life. I now have no choice but to follow you."
   Paul considered everything else "rubbish" (he actually uses a Greek term for excrement) compared to knowing Jesus Christ.
   I want to see the Church so bent toward pursuing after Christ that anything and everything else leaves an emptiness. Where, even if the desire is there to abandon our faith, we know we can't, because we know that we know that HE is the only answer. What would the world look like if all those who currently claim the name Christian were to truly take on this attitude? These are the questions that start to mess with me (in a good way)
   

Tonight's thoughts flow out of my time of meditation and personal reflection over 2 Corinthians 5:11-21.