Streams of Water

"Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents." - Phil. 1.27-28

"And now Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus." - Acts 4.29-30


Shoutout to Brian Ng for throwing these my way today as encouragement.  I've needed it, as this year of study in seminary has been entirely draining, emptying my well of words and marked by the vertigo that comes with re-orienting my beliefs and assumptions and desires.

Yesterday I listened to a presentation by a prospective new faculty member in my grad school, ACU's Graduate School of Theology.  He spoke about the image of a tree depicting the disciplines of theological education (specifically, Schleiermacher's Tree).  He affirmed the wisdom of the idea that all areas of study—history, tradition, scripture, missions, etc—are organically connected and feed into each other.  But he added another element:  that tree must be planted by a stream of water if it is to survive.

"They are like trees
     planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in season,
     and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper."  -  Psalm 1.3

From this minister's point of view, the tree of theological education will dry out if it isn't planted in the Stream itself:  Ministers in training need to be planted, without fail, in the dirt and soil of the lives of the Christian community of faith and of those for whom Jesus specifically came to save (or, preserve or deliver), because that's where the Stream & Spring of Life is going to be flowing.

This fits especially with the verb in Philippians 1.27 that the NRSV translates "live your live": the root verb πολιτεύω implies living your life as a citizen of the city, partaking in politics, economics, etc.  To live in a manner worthy of the gospel, the gospel & gospel-bearers are expected to be acting out the gospel "in one spirit" in everyday dirt.

If we do that, "striving side by side" with those next to us in that dirt, we'll find that "waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water..." (Isaiah 35.6b-7a).

That's what I've found in my church Freedom Fellowship.  It is a place in which people from the mayor of the city on down to homeless men struggling to find work can come together for a meal & to sing to their God side by side.  All of this new knowledge I gain is thrown into the simple, the everyday, and often the painful at Freedom.  It has brought vitality to my old, dry bones, without doubt—but it's also brought a lot of questions and tension.  Hate of the ills that bring pain to my brothers and sisters there.

What I hope for is that our boldness in standing firm together will be met by a God who'll stretch out a hand of healing.  More on that later.