July 27, 2010 disappointed with Jesus?
My friend and former Moody professor John Koessler (still chair of pastoral studies) wrote a profoundly candid and relatable post today in response to a new book he's been reading on disappointment with the Christian faith:
artwork courtesy The Visual Arts: A History/Wikimedia CommonsUnfortunately, we do not seem to be able to (acknowledge that Christianity can be disappointing) without adding some kind of caveat like: “Christianity may disappoint you, but Jesus never will.” I do not believe this for a moment. I find that Jesus often disappoints me. He is almost as disappointing as the church. He works out his plans without regard for my opinion of them. ...
It is not anger but embarassment that I feel. I do not attribute such treatment to contempt so much as to dismissal. ...
Maybe a book about disappointment with the church ought to begin with a chapter that says, “So you’re disappointed with the church? Me too. That’s not the half of it.” But I don’t know what I would say after that. Probably that I am even more disappointed with myself.
(from "Disappointed with Jesus?" on John's excellent blog Stranger in the House of God, a title based on his memoir by the same name; thank you to John for allowing me to share some of the post)
Reader Comments (4)
This was a great post. I will have to investigate this book. I have friends that are believers who seem to have experienced this disappointment with Christianity. For them it has been the organized Church in particular. It's sad when the Body of Christ wastes so much valuable time attacking and tearing down it's own. Surely, this grieves the Lord to no end.
Thanks, Valerie, I agree. I've struggled with the church myself, and it is a sad state of community sometimes, on both sides of that struggle - Ben
Ben, this post was strangely comforting to me today--a hard day, in which I was disappointed with a certain situation and just as disappointed with myself for not dealing with it well. Thank you.
Thanks for mentioning that, mom. It's been a meaningful post for me too, especially after reading Yancey's 'Disappointment with God' not long ago. I hope you had a chance to listen to John's discussion of the post on Moody Radio as well - Ben