Saturday, June 21, 2008

Fractal church

I heard this analogy from my pastor a few sundays ago.
Have you ever stuck your face in one of those cut outs of a body builder? You know the ones where you get your picture taken and it looks so silly to see your skinny little face sitting on the shoulders of a huge mesomorphic body. Everyone has a good laugh when they look at the photo because it looks so obvious that the head doesn't go with the body.

Now picture Jesus Christ as the head and the church as the body. Would it look silly? Or fill you with awe? Would outsiders think the two fit together seamlessly or do they even fit together at all? Maybe part of the body would look like it fits, maybe one arm is withered and a leg is dragging limp and dead. That's if the parts are even connected. Not funny... just sad.

A few posts ago I included a video of some mathematics visualizations. If you watch the one at the end you'll see what's called a fractal which is basically a pattern being repeated over and over again almost ad infinitum. Every piece demonstrates similarity to the greater pattern. You have seen examples of fractals in nature as well; in the clouds, in a bolt of lightning and plants.

I believe Jesus Christ is calling us to be part of His body in the same way. We are called Christians which means "little Christ". Little carbon copies of Jesus Christ. Is that what we are? Do we act like Him, watch the things He watched, and say the things He said or have we become more like the world? We need to be transformed into His likeness so that when the world looks at us they see Him, when they look at our congregation they see Him, when they look at the church in Canada they see Him and when they look at the Church in the world they see Him.

In most cases today the opposite is true, Christians and congregations conforming to the world's pattern, denominations fractured or helter-skelter and bolted together like a Frankenchurch. Useless and dead. The good news is (and it's as frightening as it is comforting) that He's coming and His winnowing fork is in His hand. He will seperate the chaff from the wheat and what's left of the church will be bound together in perfect unity.






I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. - John 15:5-8

3 comments:

Shan said...

Great post.

Salar said...

Thanks! and speaking of unified plants and gratitude. Thanks for removing the rhodo trinity from our front yard. I had no idea that it was three plants. I assumed it was probably two because it bloomed different colours... there's probably a simile or metaphor there but I'm just happy to be able to see out my front window again :)

Shan said...

Oh, no problem - that was a pretty gruelling afternoon, I don't mind saying. I blogged about it.

And it was two actual plants - the third was a limb that had become covered with soil and had put down roots. We'll see whether or not it lives...