False Assumption 3:

The Christian Community's role in the culture is to provide clear, Biblically-based answers to common issues

The Church has taken up the role of "defender of truth" in society. This often puts her at odds with law-makers, politicians and ethicists. The heated debates seem to end up alienating whole sectors of society from ever desiring to engage with the Christian Community and creating a lot of grumpy Christians. Is it really the role of the Christian Community to try to provide answers to these tough issues. Is there another way through the arguments? I think there is.

In reality our culture is going through a deep revolution. People in society are caught between a rock and a hard place. They have found themselves in a secular society which has basically written the spiritual, the sacred and the mysterious out of the text-books of life. But these same people are believing more than ever that there is more to life -- that there is something spiritual, something or someone sacred and definitely something mysterious in this life.

Because of this, people are confounded. But they are not so confounded to the point of giving up. Rather, people in our society want freedom and safety to explore this inner sense that there is something more. More than discovering answers, they want to pursue the questions a bit deeper without dogma and doctrine placed up them. People want to spend more time on the journey of discovery of the sacred and the mysterious. They want space to do so.

So what might the role of the Christian Community be? To allow space for such exploration to happen. To apply restraint from answering questions to soon along the journey. To assist people to understand the inner turmoil they are experiencing being spiritual in a secular society. To be patient with people as they journey along in the process of exploring, pursuing and discovery of a faith which comes to experience the sacred and the mysterious. To walk this journey with the community rather than try to coerce, cajole or convince. To enjoy this place which she has been given at this moment in history; a place of real spiritual potential.

Perhaps it is time for the Church to exchange its soap box for a round table at which she can sit and explore with the culture the deep meaning of pursuing the sacred and develop with it new ways forward.