I’m slammed, so I’ll refer you all to a great post from Adrian Warnock:
I DON’T WANT BALANCE, I WANT IT ALL!
Adrian’s onto the right questions and answers. He leans more Reformed than I do, so his final list of greats at the end is slanted in that direction, but that’s understandable.
I want it all, too, but not at the expense of balance. The Church is in many ways like a graphic equalizer on a stereo system. For the perfect sound, you need to carefully tune the knobs. Pushing them all up to the max doesn’t accomplish the desired effect.
I’ve received many comments here that this blog strikes a good chord of balance in the Church. When I look at the bloggers who have Cerulean Sanctum linked in their sidebars, it’s a panoply of Godblogdom, with just about every orthodox form of Christianity available. That tells me I’m doing something right here, and that right is balance.
Yes, I want to see expressed everything Adrian does, but in decent order and with balance. The narrow way is narrow because it walks between huge chasms carved out by the vast herd of men shuffling off toward their own extremist views.
We, on the other hand, bridge those chasms because of balance—or at least we should.
I suppose any response to the idea of balance would depend upon the definition of balance. Humanly speaking, balance is all about compromise. Spiritually, balance is about something else entirely. God’s idea of balance, I think, does not jibe with my concept of balance. Christ exemplified God’s sense of balance. “Wanting it all” is also subject to definition. God wants it all. All of me. Where is the “balance” in that? What about “me” time?
One of the things I think we need to give up is the tendancy to label ourselves as being one way or the other. Charismatic, reformed, liberal, conservative; they are all man-made definitions that limit what God can do with us. We get that “either/or” dichotomy that surfaces so often. I understand what Adrian is trying to say, but he does so within the confines of human definition, and so creates conflict. I can understand your thinking, too, Dan, but there again is the knee-jerk reaction to the threat to the teeter-totter concept of balance. Allow Christ to live through us, and leave the tuning knobs to God.
Sometimes I think we need to look at the Bible like it’s a dictionary, defining concepts according to God. Bible study becomes a comparative analysis, contrasting how God looks at things versus the way we do. When we do that, I think that we will find that being perfectly balanced means having it all, but I think neither concept, balance nor completeness, means what we think it does.
David,
The Gospel is so rich that it’s easy for us to latch onto one part of it and hold on tight—sadly to the exclusion of the rest of it. You’re right, spiritual balance and worldly balance are two different things.
It amazes me when I talk about balance here that some automatically think something’s being compromised. That’s how ingrained the mentality is. I hope I can show that to be to low a view of what’s going on here.
Thanks for being a reader! I appreciate your lucid commentary.
“That tells me I’m doing something right here, and that right is balance.”
If I may be so bold, I don’t think that’s true. I think Cerulean Sanctum appeals to so many people because you love God. That attitude shows through in how you earnestly search for answers to the tough questions you ask.
Ravi Zacharias has said, “A conviction ungirded by love will make the possessor of them obnoxious and the dogma he posses repulsive.” Because your writing is based in love, I am able to disagree with you at times, but still believe that reading your blog is worthwhile, and enlightening.
And that all comes from your love of God, not your theological balance.
E. Barrett,
I’ve had many private e-mails from readers saying they appreciate the balance here, so I know there’s something there.
But you are exactly right. I work hard here to lead with love. If the Lord’s taught me one thing in the last ten years, it’s that love trumps everything else. Our correction is loving correction. Our teaching is loving teaching. Our serving is loving serving. We must always lead with love! We love because He first loved us.
The Zacharias quote is great. Thanks for sharing it with me and for being a reader.
I am new to this blog after finding it through Jollyblogger.
I am in a PCA camp right now after too many years of abuse in charismatic circles.
I enjoy reading this and can see your love for Christ and others is evident. Too bad I’m not seeing that right now in my former church. I do miss his supernatural giftings. I hope to go back someday but not sure where or when.
I will keep reading. It helps more than you know.
Cheryl,
Thank you for writing and sharing your experience. I know exactly where you’re coming from. I’m sorry to hear your church was abusive.
Denomination doesn’t matter. I’ve seen abusive churches of all stripes. They just seem to abuse in different ways.
Thankfully, good churches still exist. I pray you find a good one!