Most churches claim to follow Jesus, but not all are following the authentic Jesus. Too often we fashion Jesus in our own image and then wonder why there is no radical world change. The authentic Jesus is not in pursuit of privilege and power and prestige, but makes his home among the lowly. The authentic Jesus does not condone violence but is the embodiment of love, embracing all people equally with mercy and the hope of transformation. The authentic Jesus confronts cultural addictions and the systems that create and sustain them. The authentic Jesus says no to the world's power and yes to God's power. There is only one real Jesus into whose being we hope to abandon ourselves, dying to our false illusions and letting our true selves be resurrected in him, who is the world's hope. Together we seek to discover and live his nonviolent, healing nature.
from Becoming the Authentic Church, p.7
The cultural addictions. To whom/where do we turn to break free of this? Part of what they go on to say is that "Extreme Diversity" is neccessasry to open us to other realities of life, and that the spirit dwells in those places where our differences are freely explored and recognized as gift. It is in overcoming the fear of the "other" that reconciliation is possible, a reconciliation that is beyond the means of the world to know, except in the beloved community which is the church.
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