I do have a point beyond going down memory lane...stick with me.
Dappled patches of golden sun and vibrant green filled our vision as we scrambled all over the place. Starting out from our apartment on Third Street, up to the Turkey Hill on Bridge Street and back. Past the Library, schools and quiet homes. This will go down in my memory as one of the best summers of my life. It was almost limitless freedom to my young mind. No adult supervision (my brother is only about 9 years older than me, so he would have been almost 17.) Thinking back it almost feels like an 80's movie come to life.
We were our own Goonies. Having adventures real and imagined. Playing with Transformers, riding bikes, climbing the house, running through the streets bare foot or in home made costumes, we were unstoppable.
The only thing that ever slowed us down were injuries, or the occasional fight over who got to be who when going on imaginary adventures. As for the injuries, well, I was the king of that contest. Running barefoot, great fun till you sprint through broken glass (at that point Die Hard didn't mean anything to me besides a battery brand.) I fell out of a tree and jacked my leg up pretty well too.
Then there was day I started this off with. We had been riding bikes all day. We were a few blocks from home and all feeling pretty good about everything. When I saw we were riding bikes, I mean everyone else. I was on a scooter. And remember this wasn't those "Razor" scooters or anything like that. These were the ones that looked like a skate board with mini mountain bike tires on it.
Mine was electric green.
The reason I was on a scooter, is because I hadn't learned how to ride a bike. But I took to the scooter like a fish to water. Somehow though, I feel like I had to work harder to keep up with my little gang, but I did. And there we were, cruising back to the apartment. I'm sure thoughts of lemonade or iced tea were racing through our minds. I look over and see my brother (my cool, older bro who I looked up to and admired so much, and still do. Love you dude!)
He was riding with no hands. In fact he let go of the bars and through his arms up in a victorious gesture, battle cry and all. Wanting to be as cool as him, I did the same thing. Letting go of handle bars on a scooter doesn't work the same as letting go of a bike. As I realized my mistake and the world blurred into slow-motion, I saw the handle bars turn left, slip to my out of reach, and start to tip the scooter. I was thrown off, head first down the pavement of the street like a dry slip-n-slide...with rocks.
My legs, knees, arms, elbows were shredded like a block of cheese for tacos. Fortunately my face was saved by my Philadelphia Eagles (back when they were still green and grey) baseball cap. The bill of said hat now looking like the jeans of many rock stars.
I don't remember how I got home, but I remember bandages, stinging, and lovely scabs later on. But you know what, I got back on that scooter the next day. I never let go of the handle bars again, but I didn't stop riding.
A few years later I would learn how to ride a bike. It was a 10-Speed, with training wheels. Once I had it down I thought I was the coolest kid in the neighborhood. That neighborhood being Cedar Run Apartments where my dad lived. I would bike up to the playground and do laps thinking I was the stuff. Until kids started to laugh at me. Why were they laughing? I was 10 years old, and riding with training wheels. I was too afraid to take them off. They kept me in balance. They kept me from tipping over. Kept me from falling and getting hurt.
The thing about training wheels, they make a bicycle a four wheeler.
With training wheels on a bike, it is no longer what it was meant to be. Bi meaning two. Yeah the bike was still there, but it wasn't functioning the way it was meant. Something was added to it. Something that helped, but also hindered. It kept the bike from it's true form. Kept it from being what it truly was. Eventually I worked up the nerve and had the wheels removed.
The bike was now what it was supposed to be. I felt more confident. I had more fun because I wasn't relying on the added on devices that kept me up. I learned how to balance and move with the bike. I still fell, and had spills, but I learned with each one. I never became a cyclist, but I would ride a bike regularly for the next 7 years (until I learned how to drive.) Even now I still have a bike, and I haven't forgotten how to ride.
So where am I going with all this?
We need to take the training wheels off of "the church."
I'm not going to dive into research and study that isn't mine and I haven't earned. I'll talk individually with people if they want, but this isn't the forum for that. At least not yet.
All I'm suggesting is that we step back from curriculums, models, workbooks, and formulas and dive into the Word. It's ok to question and ponder why we do the things we do. Some things are straight out of scripture. Many are not. It doesn't make them bad. Training wheels will help you learn to ride a bike, but if you never take them off and always depend on them, you'll never become a real bike rider. Just like with faith in Jesus. If we always rely on others to support us, we'll never be able to do it on our own.
Dive into the Word. Read the New Testament. Matthew through Revelation. Not necessarily in that order though.
Take the wheels off. Don't be afraid of skinning your knee. It will happen. And you'll learn from it.
Leaders, let the kids go. Like a parent teaching a kid to rid a bike. Eventually you have to let go of the seat and let them go on alone. But we are never alone. The Spirit is there to teach, train, lead and guide us. And comfort us when we fall and get scratched up.
Look at what Jesus taught. The words and imagery he used to convey the idea of the Kingdom. Look at Paul and the other apostles lives. Read their teachings to the early churches. Take the training wheels off and let the Holy Spirit guide each believer.
The same Spirit that was with Jesus is in us. So we should be able to agree on the simple things. Everything else is just training wheels. Yank those puppies off and start pedaling. Each member striving after Jesus individually and together. Everyone has a part to play.
The church isn't meant to be a mass of spectators watching a few trained professionals compete. The church is every believer, not bricks and stone.
If you're worried you can't study the Word the right way...stop worrying. God is with us. He wants us to know him. To love him, follow him, and love others. He wouldn't have asked us to do something we were incapable of doing.
Each and every believer can read the Word and learn from God.
You can do it, you are not alone. Keep reading, keep seeking God. Let him teach you.
A shepherd doesn't lead his flock to pasture, bend down, cut grass, place that grass in the sheep's mouth, and make them chew and swallow and digest.
So why do we expect our "shepherds" to do that for us?
Take the training wheels off doesn't mean we all go it alone. We live as body. Together helping with daily life and spiritual life. But it is the Spirit of God who causes us to grow. I'm not suggesting you question your faith, or Jesus, or God. All I'm asking is to look at how we express that faith, and hold it in comparison to what the Scriptures, and God actually tell us to do.
Hopefully, I'll see you in the doctors office with me getting bandaged up from time to time.
