Discipleship as Conversion

2 Responses to Discipleship as Conversion

1. Simon says:

   October 27, 2006 at 1:29 pm

   ah, amen mal. I’d want to add something to that article that I didn’t put in too: the idea that conversion is not merely personal, but communal. that _we_ are being saved, not merely you and I. and that that is expressed – no, _embodied_ – in a community, in time and space.

   one of the frustrations I have is that many people think that being saved means avoiding hell. but what are we _really_ being saved from? and equally, what are we being saved _to_?

   in that way, our young, relatively affluent postmoderns are far more broken than your mob; they (we) have much further to travel in their exodus from the domination system. never would I want to glorify poverty and oppression, but there are times when the true message of Christ is easier to understand as an oppressed person than an oppressor.

   thanks for the shoutout though, it’s good to know we’re not alone in our rethinking. really appreciate your musings.
2. Mal says:

   November 23, 2006 at 10:18 am

   Hi Simon,

   Sorry for the delay in replying, but as you will see from my later posts we’ve been up in ‘sunny’ Queensland for a four week Cutting Edge Ministry School.

   I hope I didn’t give the impression of making any sort of comparison between your mob and my mob. On the contrary; the only difference is that some of ours are probably closer to the end than some of yours, given a normal lifespan – which is certainly NOT such a given these days!

   I agree with the importance of seeing salvation in terms of community. In fact, I don’t believe one can be a Christian on one’s own, given that one primary role of the church is as an expression of the communal nature of the triune Godhead.

   Despite my advancing years I have long thought of myself as more postmodern than modern. It helps me to come to grips with why I have never fitted the expected moulds that shape many Christian leaders of my generation – nor have I wanted to. The evangelical angst about hell and heaven seems unimportant when you have already tasted hell and found Jesus there too!

   Avoiding hell was never Jesus’ message – abundant life is what he offered. Why do so many think he was only talking about what happens after death? Personally, I wonder if an emphasis solely on getting to heaven might not make its achievement less likely.

   Blessings