Renewal

The essence of discipleship is always that of renewal. It would be a grave mistake to believe that while at root discipleship entails the personal encounter with the risen Christ, it is far from being individualistic in character. Israel is a people called; Christians as a people do not exist outside of the structure of the community of Christ. But like any organized human behaviour, organizations need constant monitoring precisely so that they do not overpower this personal aspect. The organization exists in order to nurture the personal, and not vice versa. And it would be wrong to assume that renewal amounts to nothing more than the reorganization of institutions. New life is found in more than new structures. Fear locks people into questions of whether Christian community life can exist outside of old structures? Living tradition is never the same as dead conventionalism; it is never concerned with routines that end in personal futility.