Radical Moderates

"Liberal and sophisticated groups are usually trapped in current social correctness, and just keep affirming peoples' selfishness. It is classic enabling and codependency, with too much false horizontal affirmation and almost no vertical truth-speaking. Most fundamentalist and conservative groups just threaten people with God's harsh judgment and their own, but do not normally teach people how to heal or how to make amends, or how to let go in practical, emotional, and mental ways (no teaching of contemplation). 'Jesus has forgiven it, so we can forget about it.' This is far too vertical with almost no horizontal dimension. Their guilt problem was solved and that is all that matters."
    (from Breathing Underwater, Richard Rohr)

Nice critiques of both sides, Mr. Rohr.  Of course, every church is erring in one of these directions. What do we do?  Seek out the radical middle. Become followers of Jesus who yield to the natural hierarchy that God created to exist in the church, while resisting the urge to become authoritarian, hyper-religious legalists.  Learn how to pray for the Spirit's authentic healing of hurts in ourselves and others, and how to achieve vulnerability in healthy relationships with others rather than ignoring addictions or enabling destructive behavior.

It's so tempting to let people 'live their own lives' or alternatively to make people 'behave,' but the radical middle ground somehow strikes a balance between the freedom of spiritual maturity and the virtues of spiritual discipline.