On the Institution of the Church
Frederick von Hugel said the institution of the church is like the bark on the tree. There's no life in the bark. It's dead wood. But it protects the life of the tree within. And the tree grows and grows and grows and grows. If you take the bark off, it's prone to disease, dehydration, death.Eugene Peterson. SPIRITUALITY FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS. Christianity Today. March 2005.
So, yes, the church is dead but it protects something alive. And when you try to have a church without bark, it doesn't last long. It disappears, gets sick, and it's prone to all kinds of disease, heresy, and narcissism.
posted by TimG at 2:36 AM
1 Comments:
Yes, that is another paradigm, like our skin that is alive but has been endowed with properties that allow it to protect and hold together the more vulnerable inner parts of the body.
Thanks for provoking thought!
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