Christian Heroes

As a history buff, I've always been fascinated by the way certain religious themes are played out with very different nuances in different eras of our past. Whether it is the Doctrine of the Atonement, or church administration, our forebears in different time periods have often reflected diverse understandings of these issues, while still attempting to maintain the integrity of the basic Gospel message.

One thing that has changed considerably is the image of the "quintessential disciple" - the heroic Christian ideal, so to speak. At different times in the life of the church, Christians have projected very different conceptions of what it looks like to follow Jesus with absolute consistency, in a way that deserves admiration.

For example, the early church existed in an Empire which was largely hostile to the message of the Gospel, and in that early time the MARTYR was seen as the hero of the faith. Not only Christ Himself but Peter, Paul, James, and early church administrators like Ignatius of Antioch were faithful even unto death, and as Tertullian once remarked, "The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church." By their deaths, Christian faith was preserved with integrity.

After Constantine, the church was beset with institutionalism, materialism, and nominal Christians who compromised on both doctrine and lifestyle. In that situation, the Christian ideal was the MONK who fled the temptations of the empire and went into the wilderness (or desert) to pursue a radical discipleship in solitude or in small, intentional communities.

In the Middle Ages, with the advent of the Crusades, the KNIGHT was the extreme disciple, willing to take up the sword and risk death, not for any personal or nationalistic pride, but for the sake of Christ's Church and the defense of the Holy Land. After the crusades, it was often the MYSTIC who devoted his/herself entirely to a life of spiritual contemplation.

The Reformation era produced the ideal of the REFORMER who, with prophetic voice, holds church doctrine and practice up to the umblemished standard of scripture, willing to risk excommunication and (at times) martyrdom for the sake of the Word of God.

Finally, the modern era seems to have upheld the MISSIONARY and SOCIAL REFORMER as the two types of Christian ideal. In both cases, their concern was not merely reform of the church, but the expansion of Christ's gospel through both evangelism and social action. Those who surrendered everything in pursuit of those aims have been greatly idealized in the modern church.

So after all this history, I just have two points to make:

1. Notice that Church Administrator has never been upheld as an ideal Christian vocation. Necessary, of course. Biblical, absolutely. But never the ideal. Why, then, do we in full-time ministry spend so much of our time, energy, and passion on administrative duties? If we are going to be leaders in the church who say "follow me as I follow Christ," should we not be more interested in modeling an ideal Christian discipleship than getting trapped in the quagmire of committees, budgets, business meetings, and worship planning? Can we not loosen our grip on administrating our churches, surrendering those responsibilities to trusted laymen and women, while we focus on living a more genuine Christian life among our people?

2. What do you think will be the "extreme disciple" of the Postmodern Church? I can think of two possibilities: The "worldly Christian" (ala Bonhoeffer) who lives in full commitment to the world and its systems but maintains complete Christian integrity; or, a "new monastic" who is willing to renounce the individualism and materialism of our day to live in intentional community with others. I'd be interested to hear more from you all.....but I think it's absolutely necessary to find "Christian Heroes" in our day.