The Church is Irrational, Contradictory, Hypocritical and Perfect
I can always tell an idea is good if it sticks in my head for more than three days. A passage from the book my book study group just finished has been rolling around in my head for almost three weeks now! The book is Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps, and drawing on the language and ideas of Marshall McLuhan, Hipps describes the church in this way:
You cannot separate the medium from the message. The church is simply an expression of the gospel. The church is a direct reflection of Jesus, God’s chosen medium sent to be–not just to proclaim–a message of healing and hope to the world.
We are the message.
We are the message, in all our hypocrisy and fear, in all our giftedness and hope, in all our brokenness and bitterness, in all our faith and love, in all our gossip and self-righteousness, in all our grace and gratitude.
This is a great mystery.
Why would God choose such a frail, failing, and inconsistent medium to embody his abiding message?
Is it possible that God chose a collection of bent and bruised hearts to bear the message of redemption and reconciliation because that is a message in itself? Maybe God chose a medium of weakness to reveal his stunning ability to reach through human failure, sin, and sadness to grow new life.
Print: TAUBA AUERBACH Static 17 / C-print / 42 x 60 inches / 106.7 x 152.4 cm / 2009
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