those who are willing to pick up the standard of faith, not the "illusion" of it... "the difference between the Pharisees and Jesus is that the Pharisees avoid the unclean; Jesus attempts to make the unclean holy." (p.44) A holiness ethic that doesn't exclude itself from the difficulties of life and self examination, and ethic that believes the power of ones salvation is so very great that it can transform the ones around it. But that requires us to see our lives as not marked by the attention others devote to it; this is probably the saddest and most debilitating issue with those who leave the community of faith; most give great excuses why they are withdrawing, but the reality is that very few are actually valid. Most are simply self centered assertions of importance; "they don't support our favorite program", "they didn't take care of me when I was (sick, in trouble, sad, filling the blank!)", there are so many others...... Each being a reminder that the battle over self is not being won by most who call themselves believers. Holiness is not the achieving success with "my" goals/needs in mind, but the realization of the work the church is called to accomplish doesn't center on the needs of its 'members', but the needs of the world. Yes, being a part of the community has its privileges, and we do stand with each other in times of challenge and ache! But our strength is not that the community does what "I want", but that I do what God needs. Far too often the battle for the church is waged by those who wish to dominate rather than subjugate themselves to the needs of the world. As Galli points out, when we see ourselves through the eyes of self righteousness, we not only are open to personal failure, but we will also find ourselves hindering the arrival of the kingdom of God. Prepare for battle; not to take on the world, but to take on yourself.
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