How do you look for the Word of God in the life of a congregation? I would propose that in the same way that we exegete Scripture for the word of God, so we should exegete a congregation. To exegete a congregation, one must lay its history alongside the story of Scripture. While one looks for signs of obedience and disobedience in the story of the congregation, even in disobedience one must seek to discern what God is saying. As was true with the disciples, so with the church as the Body of Christ, there always will be times of obedience and disobedience but in both times the Word of God can be revealed. Sometimes it will be revealed in the fruits of the flesh which become so obvious within a community that the people feel called to repentance.
Felicia, a new deacon in her church, was troubled by a series of recent incidents in her church. The board had recently cut in half the amount in the deacon’s fund to serve the needy while at the same time redecorating a beautiful parlor which was to be used only for official functions. Then, last Sunday a vagrant had approached one of the ushers asking for help in the middle of the worship service. The usher told him that the church only helped people on Tuesdays between nine and twelve and that he should come back then. She came to her board and asked what they thought Christ was saying through these and several other similar incidents that she could recount? There was a long embarrassed pause before one of the members hesitantly said, “I think Christ may be saying to us that we may have gotten too caught up in ourselves.”
Another example tomorrow.
