Poets Over Salesmen - The Conversation of our Community Part 3

For the longest amount of time within the Evangelical church it feels as though our lives have been like a shop window, and God is the product. As if we are the salesmen, and God is what we are selling.

The promise of triumph over illness and victory over financial problems is the sales pitch.

No sign of weakness can be seen in our product or people will not buy.

But what happens when this is not our default position, when life is not going our way, when we are ill, when finances are hard?

Are we less of a witness for God?

A poet paints a beautiful picture with their words, but the picture itself is not different from the picture seen by others, it is just that the poet sees it in a different way.

The poems are honest and authentic.

The poets own experiences and emotions pour through the words and create something beautiful, even out of tragedy.

As a community of hope we need to be honest and authentic.

To allow our experience with God and each other to tell a story that draws people in with its beauty and authenticity.

The difference is not that we have life all sussed out, but that as a community we have found a hope in God, that even though life may not be going well, He has promised to be with us through those times.

So that we do not say what we think will sell our product, but that we can only say what we have found, and what we have experienced. Like the blind man healed by Jesus could not answer all the questions posed to him, but could only say ‘I used to be blind, but now I can see.’

In the same way we can only say, ‘once he was dead, but now he is alive, come and experience what I have experienced’

As the Church we need to able to be honest with each other about the struggles and problems within our lives, to be a place where our problems can be brought to, not left at the door. At the same time we need to be authentic with those around us, when they ask about the hope that we have found.