Surprise Parties, and Intellectualism and the Gospel

Surprise Parties
So, my girlfriend is sweet. She threw me a surprise graduation party under the guise of a date and, well, I was fooled. I'm amazed my group could keep a secret like that and it was pretty sweet. She even invited some people from my major - people who don't go to our church. I was floored when they arrived, booze and all! More floored when a cop showed up because we were being "too loud" according to one of our neighbors. "Too loud" in this case included music being played off a laptop's speakers and some people having a conversation on the porch and others having talking and having a good time inside. No debauchery, no outbursts of laughter, no fun... except for me, I was having fun but it was in my soul, not audible as loudness. Anyway, good times. I just hope that we can have that date that I thought we were going to have. Facebook will be updated in a few hours.

Intellectualism
I'll try to be brief, not usually a skill of intellectuals but one I try to practice anyway -- we've all got a lot of stuff to do. Intellectuals need good books to read, people to talk to, and teachers who will help them learn more. I get it and I encourage those people (probably including myself) to pursue those things but I would exhort them to consider their place in the Church. I think intellectuals are needed to fulfill several functions in the local church: to care about and try to understand the finer points of the Bible and Faith and help make those accessible to the masses; to help ensure that we are reflecting, in Chandler's words, "The Manifold Wisdom of God" in the ways we conduct ourselves; and to help ensure we are worshiping and living in "Spirit and Truth."

These could be blended together in a soup, sliced and diced however you may but a central point remains. God has gifted intellectuals with a desire (hopefully) and a capacity to understand just a little bit more than the rest of us about the scriptures and the world around us. "Just a little bit more" is subjective and relative -- though our understanding is still no where near what God's understanding is, at times we are spectacularly flabbergasted by the insanity that some pastors and laypeople have exhibited in the Church. In times like this, it seems as if loving others and trying not to judge are tasks that I doubt that I could ever perform short of living an empowered life.

I feel your pain and all I can say is that there's no life in trying to withdraw yourself from others and their splendid mistakes. All of these instances are evidences for why the church needs you to at least pray, and at most lovingly point out the mistake WHEN GOD APPOINTS. This involves waiting, praying, listening, being humble, loving. If you want to grow as an intellectual, you'll do these things and not be so quick to rebuke and shut down others. You are a part of the body and when you leave, you take something with you. I shouldn't have to explain this but I will -- God established this time for us to be together and when you withdraw to other places, you're taking a gift set that he gave you to bless one group and leaving for another. What good is it for all of the eyes to be together and all of the feet and hands to be in a different group?

This all being said, I think it is key that intellectuals be received and encouraged within the local church. Intellectuals who have a desire for God and his Glory are helpful. Examples of how they can serve the Church include discipling and teaching others, preparing materials, bring complicated topics and concepts down to a lower shelf so to speak, etc. Most of these roles are outward focused and it's not by accident. Intellectuals, and every other "group," need to understand that the fulfillment of the Christian life is a life that pours the Gospel, Love, (Spiritual) Gifts, Truth, etc. out on others and not a life where one holds onto such things in a vain attempt to accumulate as much as one can hold on to (which is much less than we might think).

The Christian life is not inwardly bent but it is bent outward, Christ comes, restores our right standing with God and gives us the Spirit, gives us Gifts, starts to lead us down the path of Progressive Sanctification (increasing Holiness), starts to heal us and show us his love. Though these things are for us, they are also for others, specifically to build up and glorify the body (church), to share the good news with others, and disciple, baptise, and teach those who embrace Jesus. When intellectuals say that they don't want to be a part of a community that doesn't want them, they can miss out on these parts of what make a full walk with Christ. When leaders make their groups places that are inhospitable to intellectuals, they miss out on the benefits that these people can offer young believers in their groups. Both responses deny what God is trying to do through putting people with different gifts in unit of the body of believers.

Moreover than this issue, I believe that intellectuals who fail to live outwardly bent lives, seeking to embrace what they are not strong or proficient in (loving others, loving those difficult to love, dealing with the rest, helping others to grow, being patient and waiting, etc.) risk missing out on a major way God moves to heal and bring joy to all believers. Doing ministry seems to be the example set in the scriptures, not endless study and rejection/separation of those who don't seem to get it.

Finally, I think it is key to remember that Jesus says that we are to come to him with Child-like faith. Not for one second do I believe that this means we are to check our brains or intellectualism at the door. After hearing one of Chandler's teachings about this recently, a key point seems to be that we are desperately dependent upon Jesus to atone for our sins, for the Holy Spirit to meet us in our time of need. Children need provision and cry out to their parents, change me, feed me, etc. This seems like such a good metaphor for the Christian walk, which at times feels more like being dragged and at other times like we're sprinting. I don't know about you but I've generally found my intellectualism as a hindrance to my pursuit of a Child-like faith... and going back to the basics seems to be a regular need in my walk. Why? Read it once and we're supposed to get it right? Well, I think it's because I have so much of a problem getting the basics down, fully and completely believing the basics in my heart of hearts, etc. To get it with my mind is not enough, and at times it is not refreshing to my often tired and weary soul in desperate need of being fully healed and made new. There's a freedom in Christ to move as we feel led -- for those who are feeling lead to focus on the obscure, that's sweet and all but in this season, I'm focusing on the basics (Gospels, Paul's exhortations, etc.). All I can offer for intellectuals is this: don't allow your study and life to lead to an obscuring of the Gospels and the reasons why and for what God has called us here to do! I believe God has greatly intended an outward focused life to be one of the major ways he shows us the finer points of Faith and trusting in Him. It's not only where the rubber hits the road, it's where what God is teaching us can be applied and used to help grow His Kingdom!