“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others.” (Luke 11.42)

“The Spirit is the reason we can build a church
and have confidence that we will get it at least a little bit right.”
(Lauren Winner, associate professor of Christian spirituality at Duke Divinity School)

In her book The Danger of Christian Practices, Lauren Winner “explores the damages [Christian] practices have inflicted over the centuries.” Winner provides numerous and powerful historical examples of how the Church’s practices (esp. sacraments) have been misused and distorted. Baptism gone wrong: forced conversion of non-believers. Eucharist gone wrong: persecution of Jews who were blamed for tainting Communion. Prayer gone wrong: slave-owning women who prayed for enslaved people to obey their masters.

The premise is in line with what Martin Luther called simul. Humans are simultaneously saint and sinner capable of good and evil.

We all develop habits or practices. Many are quite benign (which side of your mouth you begin brushing your teeth, which foot you put your shoe on first) and others, perhaps innocent, but which might be actually less benign when examined closely (late afternoon snacking, extended screen time on your computer).

Now consider your faith practices. Does prayer bring deep communion with God or is prayer a “to-do list” for God? Is your worship “something we I just do” or a yearning to experience God in the company of other saints and sinners? How do you see your financial giving? As a requirement to help pay the church’s bills or a spiritual exercise helping to build the Kingdom of God?

We all run the danger of having our practices become deformed or distorted. My hope is that during this “in-between time” (interim season) you will examine your practices and the practices at Open Door so they don’t become rote but instead are done intentionally leading to love of God and neighbor.