Heartbroken

.:dydimustk:.

speaks of a journey. He said...

...I have been trying to figure out what might be a better framework for the next generation of Christ followers. I have been involved in this whole Emerg[ing|ent] line of questioning and exploration, and yet it seems many of our attempts to reengage the culture get hung up in christendom models. No matter how cool we are, or how welcoming we make our services, or how politically sensitive we try to be–if our goal is to get people in our doors, I think we have lost sight of the gospel. Jesus asked his disciples to follow him out into the world. He never asked them to bring anyone back anywhere.

...My heart is broken for all my friends and all the people I see every day for whom the church has no value, no purpose. At best, they’ve just never encountered Jesus because the idiots on TV turn them off. At worst, they been judged and condemned by the church–hurt physically and emotionally. That breaks my heart.

...I have written The Broken Heart Manifesto. I have tried to write it in such a way that anyone can take it up, hopefully without any barriers (other than the English language), and allow it to re-form their lives. I an anxious to see what it does to mine. I will be journaling the process, and invite you to do the same.

I am not a biblical scholar. Some would suggest that I am not even a "good" Christian.

The The Broken Heart Manifesto resonates with me because it speaks to reverence for the human condition without all of the trappings of a given religion or "Church" order. In this way it clears away the noise of society and popular culture. This Manifesto speaks to the central value, love, that I as one person must have for all of my brothers and sisters.

This Manifesto is not an imposition of my views on others but rather a view that I choose to accept for myself. What follows are observations about myself. By engaging in this conversation I hope to illuminate my often unspoken feelings and thoughts. By engaging in this conversation I hope that feelings and thoughts of others might be revealed.

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Love hurts

To love is to endure emotional pain
With great investment of personal caring and affection
comes the potential of disregard and detachment

Inherent in the belief of love is the desire to be loved;
we should be loved equally by those that we love

In choosing to love we accept in equal measure the pain
of being unloved

Unconditional love is the act of endless giving.

bhmt01