tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534237549485136842.post7465140570644677690..comments2024-01-06T00:07:46.172-06:00Comments on An Odd Work of Grace: A "Whiskey Priest" Churchmattgunter1081@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14808597688160170927noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534237549485136842.post-23288395189161852522015-07-09T22:06:43.238-05:002015-07-09T22:06:43.238-05:00I appreciate the Bishop's thoughtful reflectio...I appreciate the Bishop's thoughtful reflections on the state of the church. The metaphor of the Whiskey Priest is a wonderful reminder that God works in us despite (and through) our brokenness. That good news is both humbling and encouraging, but does not stop there. Like Jesus' parables, the Whiskey Priest draws us into a story that elicits our response. In other words, if we see the state of the Body of Christ as that of a drunken priest, what are we, His members called to do? First, let's recognize that's not the way things are supposed to be. The church is designed to be God's light in an often dark and unbelieving world. Let's also recognize that this dynamic is not new. From its earliest days, God's truth and the unity of the body have been under attack. We see hints of this in the New Testament epistles. Our great Creed arose from the ashes of the Arian heresy that seriously threatened to divide, if not overrun, the early church. In that era, our church fathers adhered to the faith of the apostles, spoke that truth and preserved the unity of church. To paraphrase the Book of Ester, who knows but that each of us is called to our positions in life for such a time as this? By the same Grace that empowers a Whiskey Priest, may we actively share in His way, truth and life, so that the world may know us by our love of God and one another. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534237549485136842.post-89802648829262592822015-07-07T14:55:46.358-05:002015-07-07T14:55:46.358-05:00I guess in a large sense, my prayer is that God wo...I guess in a large sense, my prayer is that God would make Whiskey Priests of all of us. I know I've always related to whiskey priests better than one's I was afraid to talk to because I thought they were too good for me. We all know the feeling of being unworthy, it is much easier to use it as a crutch than as a sword.Dark Secretshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05345789167576001845noreply@blogger.com