For the Bride: Three Pillars

As we carry this theme into the new year, it has been nearly nine months since I wrote ‘For the Sake of the Bride: Restoring the Church to Her Intended Beauty.’  As I watch the conversations among Christians remain contentious, I often feel like throwing in the towel.  My spirit faints, and clutching my own sinfulness and compliance in this sad situation, I feel like walking away saying, “It is too hard!  I am too tired!  I am done!”

And then…and then..and then the Spirit breathes new life into me, and I join with so many others who hold out hope for positive change, believing that even though things are too hard for us, they are not too hard for God (Jer 32:27).  I get back into the march with those who do not believe schism is our only alternative.

In my moments of renewal and recommitment, I regain the original conviction I had when I first wrote the book: that the principle of love, the practice of non-judgement, and the process of holy conferencing (the Round Table) are means that can restore the Bride’s beauty.  I believe this because they are three means by which the Church has always flourished, and I believe they can put new life into us once again.

So, in the coming weeks, I am going to post some of my thoughts about these three pillars that have arisen since the book was published last year.  I will begin with the Scriptural infrastructure that gave rise to my writing about each pillar.  For it was, and continues to be, my immersion in the Bible that keeps me doing what I can—for the sake of the Bride.

(If you do not have my book ‘For the Sake of the Bride’ on which these weekly writings are based, here is the Amazon link for it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product?ASIN=B00L5KW5HK&force-full-site=1&ref_=kin_tos_tate_appm_bk_sf_dp)