Being the church for the sake of the world

Shane at The Reformed Reader posts some good stuff from a 1981 essay by Stanley Hauerwas "Reforming Christian Social Ethics: Ten Theses." Though I don't consider myself a "Hauerwasian" I agree with him far more than disagree. I found these two especially thought-provoking.

Thesis Three: “The ability to provide an adequate account of our existence is the primary test of the truthfulness of a social ethic. No society can be just or good that is built on falsehood. The first task of Christian social ethics, therefore, is not to make the ‘world’ better or more just, but to help Christian people form their community consistent with their conviction that the story of Christ is a truthful account of our existence. For as H. R. Niebuhr argued, only when we know ‘what is going on,’ do we know ‘what we should do,’ and Christians believe that we learn most decisively ‘what is going on’ in the cross and resurrection of Christ.”

Thesis Five: "The primary social task of the church is to be itself – that is, a people who have been formed by a story that provides them with the skills for negotiating the danger of this existence, trusting in God’s promise of redemption. The church is a people on a journey who insist on living consistent with the conviction that God is the Lord of history. They thus refuse to resort to violence in order to secure their survival. The fact that the first task of the church is to be itself is not a rejection of the world or a withdrawal ethic, but a reminder that Christians must serve the world on their own terms; otherwise the world would have no means to know itself as the world.”

You can read the entire essay here.