Before he became Pope John Paul II, then Cardinal Wojtyla wrote a book—The Acting Person—which described church participation as either authentic or inauthentic.
The two kinds of authentic engagement, he wrote, are solidarity and protest. We expect him to say solidarity. But he says there also must be a space for protest in communities where falsehoods are called truths, power is abused, ethics are compromised, apathy infects compassion, or people are misled.
Witness Amos calling for justice to roll down like waters, Esther protesting the schemes of Haman, Jesus pronouncing “woes” on the Pharisees, the Syrophoenician woman calling for equitable treatment, and Paul warning about false prophets. The Bible says protest is a form of authentic engagement!
The two kinds of inauthentic engagement, Wojtyla wrote, are conformity and non-participation. Calling conformity inauthentic may come as a surprise to those who think churches are just “bastions of groupthink.” I hope you’ve noticed that while we work to cultivate unity at First Baptist, we discourage mindless conformity.
Paul’s diverse lists of the Gifts of the Spirit and the Fruits of the Spirit are sacred writ to us! We celebrate the uniqueness of every child of God and see our varied and complementary gifts as evidence that the Spirit is alive and well in our midst.
His suggestion that non-participation is an expression of inauthenticityis interesting. He is not saying that failing to show up disappoints social expectations or makes God angry. He is saying that to commit to a community and then not participate in its life is a way of being untrue to ourselves and unfaithful to our values.
In Pastoral Care I see how our need “to be of help” is as great as our need “for help.” So, please accept our invitation to be more involved in the member-to-member ministries of the church! Not to “appease the gods” or because we’re taking attendance. Participate in the circle of mutual care because it is a life-giving and joyful way to truly become the person God created you to be!
—Kyle Matthews, Minister of Pastoral Care