{"id":56783,"date":"2015-05-08T00:13:51","date_gmt":"2015-05-08T05:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?p=56783"},"modified":"2015-05-08T08:20:13","modified_gmt":"2015-05-08T13:20:13","slug":"leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaky, but the Best Thing Afloat (Allan Bevere)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Yes, The Church Leaks a Whole Lot, But It\u2019s Still the Best Thing Afloat, by Allan Bevere<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s an old story that I and more than a few preachers have used in a sermon at one time or another\u2013 that Noah\u2019s Ark was not a very pleasant place to be during the flood with the smelly animals and the stale air and being cooped up with no place to go. But as difficult it must have been for Noah and his family, the Ark was still the best thing afloat at the time.<\/p>\n

It is an obvious observation\u2013 the church is far from perfect. That is not an excuse; it is just a fact. And while we the church need to be going on to perfection, such perfection continues to elude us this side of the Second Coming. The church is a very leaky boat.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On this blog I have been very critical of the church at times, and many bloggers I read regularly are just as critical. We do not point out the church\u2019s failings because we hate the Body of Christ; on the contrary, we love it. If we didn\u2019t love the church, we wouldn\u2019t care enough to raise the concerns we encounter.<\/p>\n

To be part of the Church of Jesus Christ can be a very frustrating experience for all of us who are individual members of Christ\u2019s Body. I can list my reasons why I get so frustrated on occasion and so can many others. Some of those reasons are similar, others may be very different. There has been much talk about the church and how it has turned off the younger generation and how others who were very involved have given up on \u201corganized religion.\u201d These concerns are legitimate and should be discussed with compassion and vigor and critical reflection.<\/p>\n

But my purpose in this post is not to focus on the church\u2019s frailties and foibles\u2026 though they seem to be many at times. What I would like to do is remind us that the church is not only an all-too-human institution, but it is a creation of God and brought into existence by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and through the life-giving breath of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

We must never forget that Jesus told his original disciples and, therefore, all of us who are disciples, that the gates of hell would not overcome the church (Matthew\u00a016:18<\/span><\/span>). I have often pondered the image offered to us by the Apostle Paul that the church is the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-30), that the church is Christ\u2019s presence in a special redemptive way that cannot be seen anywhere else. In the church, God\u2019s kingdom ushered into the world and established by Jesus continues even today. And such work can be found in no other institution. If Jesus is the very presence of God in this world, then in a very real sense the church is the very presence of Christ in the world. But we must remember that unlike Jesus, who was sinless, the church consists of disciples, who are sinners, but hopefully going on to perfection\u2026 the emphasis in this context is \u201cgoing on.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are times when I am very discouraged with the church for various reasons. And on such occasions, it is helpful for me to remember that the church has struggled from the very beginning. In the Book of Acts after the wonderful event of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit and the Birthday of the Church, God\u2019s creation (Acts 2), it doesn\u2019t take too long before there is disagreement and fighting in the ranks (Acts 6). In other words, the church in the twenty-first century is not facing any more difficulties, any further disagreements, any more intense strife than what our Christian sisters and brothers faced in the first century. God, who always works in the context of the human situation has created and called a people to be his presence in the world. God has been more than willing for that presence to be imperfect; for even, and especially, in the church\u2019s imperfection, God can reveal God\u2019s grace.<\/p>\n

One of the early symbols of the church is a boat in the midst of troubled seas. And while that image is meant to primarily convey the church staying afloat though tossed to and fro by worldy challenges and threats, it must also be remembered that the church continues to stay afloat and continues to stay on divine course even though the deck hands at times struggle and fight with one another. The captain of the ship, Jesus Christ, insures that nothing\u2013 threats from without and strife from within\u2013 will steer the church off its divinely appointed course and one day into the safe harbor of eternity.<\/p>\n

And I will say this\u2013 in spite of its foibles and frailties, there can be no kingdom work without the church, there can be no resurrection without the People of the Resurrection, there can be no Easter without Easter people to sing the praises of new life; without the church, there is no kingdom.<\/p>\n

Yes, indeed\u2026 the church is one leaky boat\u2026 but it is indeed the best thing afloat.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, The Church Leaks a Whole Lot, But It\u2019s Still the Best Thing Afloat, by Allan Bevere There\u2019s an old story that I and more than a few preachers have used in a sermon at one time or another\u2013 that Noah\u2019s Ark was not a very pleasant place to be during the flood with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nLeaky, but the Best Thing Afloat (Allan Bevere)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yes, The Church Leaks a Whole Lot, But It's Still the Best Thing Afloat, by Allan Bevere There's an old story that I and more than a few preachers have\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leaky, but the Best Thing Afloat (Allan Bevere)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yes, The Church Leaks a Whole Lot, But It's Still the Best Thing Afloat, by Allan Bevere There's an old story that I and more than a few preachers have\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-08T05:13:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-05-08T13:20:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/\",\"name\":\"Leaky, but the Best Thing Afloat (Allan Bevere)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-08T05:13:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-05-08T13:20:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"Yes, The Church Leaks a Whole Lot, But It's Still the Best Thing Afloat, by Allan Bevere There's an old story that I and more than a few preachers have\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Leaky, but the Best Thing Afloat (Allan Bevere)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. McKnight, author of more than fifty books, is the Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/author\/scotmcknight\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Leaky, but the Best Thing Afloat (Allan Bevere)","description":"Yes, The Church Leaks a Whole Lot, But It's Still the Best Thing Afloat, by Allan Bevere There's an old story that I and more than a few preachers have","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Leaky, but the Best Thing Afloat (Allan Bevere)","og_description":"Yes, The Church Leaks a Whole Lot, But It's Still the Best Thing Afloat, by Allan Bevere There's an old story that I and more than a few preachers have","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/","og_site_name":"Jesus Creed","article_published_time":"2015-05-08T05:13:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-05-08T13:20:13+00:00","author":"Scot McKnight","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Scot McKnight","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/","name":"Leaky, but the Best Thing Afloat (Allan Bevere)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-05-08T05:13:51+00:00","dateModified":"2015-05-08T13:20:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252"},"description":"Yes, The Church Leaks a Whole Lot, But It's Still the Best Thing Afloat, by Allan Bevere There's an old story that I and more than a few preachers have","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2015\/05\/08\/leaky-but-the-best-thing-afloat-allan-bevere\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Leaky, but the Best Thing Afloat (Allan Bevere)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/","name":"Jesus Creed","description":"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252","name":"Scot McKnight","description":"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. McKnight, author of more than fifty books, is the Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/author\/scotmcknight\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56783\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}