FROM CYNICISM TO OPTIMISM

Maybe what needs to occur to modify our thinking about church from cynicism to optimism, is first of all to admit that it has not lived up to our expectations because we had an unrealistic picture of what she was. She is not Paradise. She is not Utopia. She is a gathering of once damaged people all of whom are in stages of recovery. Cynicism dissolves when we rid ourselves of wrong notions. Another thought shaper might be the acceptance of the role of the critic rather than the cynic. Criticism can be energizing to the subject of the criticism when it is genuinely delivered and honourably received. It’s like an objective performance analysis. Finally, a virtuous approach is to be the change that you wish to see in the church. This is far more demanding work than cynicism. It is about action and not merely about words. Yet how often in the past, those who have led by example, have been instrumental in awakening the church to new paradigms and necessary change. Maybe you have to live a radical life. Get past crabbing to contributing once again. If you truly want to become serious about the things that have made you cynical, then you must graduate to objectively speaking about this and living it.