"Our churches operate as fallen powers when the gospel is no longer a stumbling block, when the ‘foolishness’ and ‘weakness’ of God outlined in 1Corinthians 1-2 are discarded in favor of status, position, wealth, popularity, acceptability to the modern or postmodern minds, or power. Only in the paradox of glory through suffering can we find the truth of God’s triumph, not as an oppressive power, but in the power of submission to death. Churches have lost their vocation when they please the world too much and lose the scandal of justification by grace—the helplessness that sticks in the craw of those who want to be able to fix themselves by themselves. "(Powers, Weakness, and the Tabernacling of God Marva J. Dawn)
As I was preparing to post this, last night, with winds gusting in Sacramento close to thirty miles an hour the power went out. I laugh now but there is somethings one cannot do without the power of electricity. All that the church does must be dependent on her union with Jesus Christ. The words above in the quote are because usually the words of others are so much clearer than mine, and the words below, the biblical text, because always the word of God gives life to those who will receive it:
em>For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the cleverness I will set aside.
Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and the Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
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