Discipleship as Discernment – Part 1
What is discipleship? What are the foundational ideas you hold concerning discipleship? How do people become more like Jesus in real time.
More from Nouwen: Becoming a Church of the Poor.
I promise that I'll stop dropping these Nouwen excerpts in here, but I have been so moved by this string of his thoughts about the church that I have not been able to stop myself. I have posted two other: Here and Here. I hope you are both as encouraged and challenged as I have been.
"When we claim our own poverty and connect our poverty with the poverty of our brothers and sisters, we become the Church of the poor, which is the Church of Jesus. Solidarity is essential for the Church of the poor . Both pain and joy must be shared. As one body we will experience deeply one another's agonies as well as one another's ecstasies. As Paul says: "If one part is hurt, all the parts share its pain. And if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy" (1 Corinthians 12:26).
Going to the Margins of the Church – Nouwen
The below is a quote from Henri Nouwen. Click "like" if you resonant with his vision of the church.
Those who are marginal in the world are central in the Church, and that is how it is supposed to be! Thus we are called as members of the Church to keep going to the margins of our society. The homeless, the starving, parentless children, people with AIDS, our emotionally disturbed brothers and sisters – they require our first attention.