Beware low expectations—you just might feel foolish for having them.
Last Monday I began my spring semester with a five-day short course studying and practicing a system of governance called "Dynamic Governance" or "sociocracy." I've had quite a bit of first-hand experience in it since April 2012, so I really only took the class to get 3 credit hours out of the way. In fact, I expected to be doing more explaining to peers than learning anything new.
All that to say, I entered the week expecting to be bored.
I came out of it with gifts from God, a new desire to follow up some career leads, and excitement about summer opportunities.
I have two years left in seminary and no desire to make ministry my paycheck. So I need some guidance, and God, being God's paradoxical Self, simultaneously gave me just that while not speaking to me at all. I'll save the details, but God basically gave me a gift that I opened to find empty—which was exactly what I needed. By not giving me anything, God gave me rest, guidance, and told me that I was trusted (metaphorically, to fill the empty container; literally, to make a choice).
And that's where it begins: God tells me that I am trusted, that I am trustworthy, empowered to choose. Which beings me to some choices to make.
First, I have desired to speak to some local experts in journalism about places to begin discerning whether I want to write for a career or not. And due to a serendipitous e-mail, I had dinner with one of those people on Friday! I came out with sage advice, encouragement to practice copy editing or find a freelance niche, and an established freelance writer to use as a resource.
Can I say how encouraged I am by that? I've already signed up as a peer reviewer for ACU's Graduate School Journal and would love to try my hand as a General Editor next year. Plus, if I had a dream for writing at all, it would be to have the freedom to travel, to find the stories I desired, and have someone pay me for them—freelance journalism at its finest. Of course, that takes a lot of networking and other work on the front end. So I have to choose whether or not to start that work now.
Now, remember that class by which I expected to be so bored? Turns out even those low expectations became a smothering ruin under the fire of my own excitement.
Learning about this governance system, this style of (communal) leadership I might say, caused the old, dust-covered shelves of my Leadership Development and Theory undergrad education to begin to creak and groan. I've been inspired, perhaps in the biblical sense even, to investigate those old niches of learning, the old papers and notes, because I intend to use this as part of my Field Education component this summer. One idea for a vocational that I have had is to be a sort of bridge-builder or mediator within a network of faith-based organizations and house churches, and learning about this type of governance has made that very idea seem possible.
Now here's the poetical portion: I started this blog solely because it was required for a LD&T class on volunteer (nonprofit) leadership; I intend to spend part of my summer in Los Angeles volunteering, observing, and researching a faith-based nonprofit there.
It's like I'm going in circles... and I think I like circles! *shudder at the thought I might actually like NASCAR*
I would do this volunteer/observation time at HomeBoy Industries, a nonprofit that has services including a bakery, a diner, a coffee shop, embroidery, a farmer's market, legal and education services, and they seek to employ former convicts, school dropouts, and unemployed persons. It seems they seek to heal the social wounds that trap many people in poor, gang-controlled environments. It seems they also seek to heal the wounds keeping people from knowing God.
Holistic healing.
Holistic empowerment.
Holistic liberation.
Yeah, I could definitely be a part of that.
Now I just have to choose to make the necessary phone calls.
You've been too good to me this week, God. Too good.
It certainly has been a full week.
14 January 2013
31 December 2012
Watch Night
You think tonight is New Year's Eve? Think again.
Tonight is Watch Night.
In point of fact, it is actually the 150th anniversary of the first Watch Night. On December 31, 1862, free African-Americans and abolitionists gathered in their local churches, waiting for the midnight hour to strike—the hour that the Emancipation Proclamation took effect. When January 1, 1863, began, slavery in America was pronounced dead.
Since that time, many in the Christian tradition have remembered this event, not ignoring the evil that came before and being thankful for the good that came after. And so they should!—for it was a little over two millennia ago that the Christ himself proclaimed, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor and has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4.18-19).
What beautiful news! What a great charge by which humans could live! If only...
Yet, there is a catch. The Emancipation Proclamation did not make the slaves free, but only changed the tenor of the war from unification to liberation; the 13th Amendment ensured the right of freedom for them. And even though followers of Christ have spread throughout the world, supposedly carrying Jesus' proclamation of freedom with them, the International Justice Mission estimates that at least 27 million people are held in some form of slavery worldwide—many of whom are in the sex trade, in places as far as India and as close as Houston, Texas. Do you see the connection?
I see a need to make a proclamation into something concrete. I see a need to bring the "law of Christ"(i.e. Gal. 5.6: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love") into power so that the proclamation of Christ will be realized.
"The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Rom 8.19-21).
And, praise God, those who belong to the Way that Christ immortalized are "all children of God through faith" (Gal. 3.26)—they are the ones upon whose revealing creation has been waiting.
So here, a week after remembering the "midnight hour" of all creation's healing in Christ's birth, we find ourselves again on the cliff of a new year.
The proclamation has been made, signed in the blood of the King.
The war continues, "nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom... This is but the beginning of the birth pangs;" yet, the war has been changed.
Slaves are called free, and now are charged by the King to spread that freedom.
So in this night in which so many celebrate beginning anew, let us watch closely. Let us remember freedom proclaimed, and receive that freedom given in love. It will honor pain, praise virtue, encourage a heart in despair, remember the forgotten, sit with the lonely, laugh in mirth, and meet the unforeseen future with courage; and, if you have it, then share it with those around you—it's meant for all people, everywhere.
"For in hope we were saved..."
Tonight is Watch Night.
In point of fact, it is actually the 150th anniversary of the first Watch Night. On December 31, 1862, free African-Americans and abolitionists gathered in their local churches, waiting for the midnight hour to strike—the hour that the Emancipation Proclamation took effect. When January 1, 1863, began, slavery in America was pronounced dead.
Since that time, many in the Christian tradition have remembered this event, not ignoring the evil that came before and being thankful for the good that came after. And so they should!—for it was a little over two millennia ago that the Christ himself proclaimed, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor and has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4.18-19).
What beautiful news! What a great charge by which humans could live! If only...
Yet, there is a catch. The Emancipation Proclamation did not make the slaves free, but only changed the tenor of the war from unification to liberation; the 13th Amendment ensured the right of freedom for them. And even though followers of Christ have spread throughout the world, supposedly carrying Jesus' proclamation of freedom with them, the International Justice Mission estimates that at least 27 million people are held in some form of slavery worldwide—many of whom are in the sex trade, in places as far as India and as close as Houston, Texas. Do you see the connection?
I see a need to make a proclamation into something concrete. I see a need to bring the "law of Christ"(i.e. Gal. 5.6: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love") into power so that the proclamation of Christ will be realized.
"The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Rom 8.19-21).
And, praise God, those who belong to the Way that Christ immortalized are "all children of God through faith" (Gal. 3.26)—they are the ones upon whose revealing creation has been waiting.
So here, a week after remembering the "midnight hour" of all creation's healing in Christ's birth, we find ourselves again on the cliff of a new year.
The proclamation has been made, signed in the blood of the King.
The war continues, "nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom... This is but the beginning of the birth pangs;" yet, the war has been changed.
Slaves are called free, and now are charged by the King to spread that freedom.
So in this night in which so many celebrate beginning anew, let us watch closely. Let us remember freedom proclaimed, and receive that freedom given in love. It will honor pain, praise virtue, encourage a heart in despair, remember the forgotten, sit with the lonely, laugh in mirth, and meet the unforeseen future with courage; and, if you have it, then share it with those around you—it's meant for all people, everywhere.
"For in hope we were saved..."
05 November 2012
Mercies
Κύριε Ἰησοὺ Χριστὲ Θεοῦ ὐιὲ ἐλέησόν με τὸν ἁμαρτωλό.
(Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner - The Jesus Prayer)
It's been a dry and empty few weeks, with only reading, writing, and Aggie football dictating my life. Yet I've heard a word from God. I've been affirmed by brothers. I've seen hope in communities.
And I'm thankful for these (small?) mercies.
For the time being, my Missional Residency group has been practicing a "trial Rule of Life," and I decided to use my journals to create a daily prayer for myself. My journals are full of records of the mercies I've received, so I put them together.
The funny thing about mercies or gifts that we receive is that they often instigate responses. I can't receive a new and stylish shirt from my younger sister and not feel grateful. I have to wear the shirt, and therefore I actually become more stylish because of that gift, because I use that gift, because I become familiar with it. (Shallow and egotistical analogy, I know, but it still works).
I receive mercies from the communal God, and I cannot but respond.
So here is my response, as much a mindset and "way of being" than anything else:
"Before I speak, I wait in silence.
Before I ask, I give thanks.
Before I think, I pray.
And these I see:
Knowledge, yet Mystery;
Anger, yet Grace;
Fear, yet Trust;
Depression, yet Hope—
And I call them Beautiful.
For from Shame comes Honor;
From Detachment, Intimacy;
From Passion, Harmony;
From Chaos, Life;
By the Grace of God.
Lord, let me believe in You and your works.
Wisdom, let me hear your voice.
King, let my abundancies fill deficiency.
God who set each star in its place,
Let me learn to love the stars I am under.
Let gratitude be my attitude,
Even when there is nothing for me here.
Kyrie Eleison."
(Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner - The Jesus Prayer)
It's been a dry and empty few weeks, with only reading, writing, and Aggie football dictating my life. Yet I've heard a word from God. I've been affirmed by brothers. I've seen hope in communities.
And I'm thankful for these (small?) mercies.
For the time being, my Missional Residency group has been practicing a "trial Rule of Life," and I decided to use my journals to create a daily prayer for myself. My journals are full of records of the mercies I've received, so I put them together.
The funny thing about mercies or gifts that we receive is that they often instigate responses. I can't receive a new and stylish shirt from my younger sister and not feel grateful. I have to wear the shirt, and therefore I actually become more stylish because of that gift, because I use that gift, because I become familiar with it. (Shallow and egotistical analogy, I know, but it still works).
I receive mercies from the communal God, and I cannot but respond.
So here is my response, as much a mindset and "way of being" than anything else:
"Before I speak, I wait in silence.
Before I ask, I give thanks.
Before I think, I pray.
And these I see:
Knowledge, yet Mystery;
Anger, yet Grace;
Fear, yet Trust;
Depression, yet Hope—
And I call them Beautiful.
For from Shame comes Honor;
From Detachment, Intimacy;
From Passion, Harmony;
From Chaos, Life;
By the Grace of God.
Lord, let me believe in You and your works.
Wisdom, let me hear your voice.
King, let my abundancies fill deficiency.
God who set each star in its place,
Let me learn to love the stars I am under.
Let gratitude be my attitude,
Even when there is nothing for me here.
Kyrie Eleison."
Also, some Mumford lyrics seemed to fit as a conclusion here:
Though I may speak
Some tongue of old
Or even spit out some holy word,
I have no strength
From which to speak
When you sit me down and see I'm weak.
—Mumford & Sons, "Not With Haste"
15 October 2012
Bones
Where does most of the time, energy, focus and money go in your church? Or, where does it go in your life in general?
Kent Smith gave my Missional Residency group a very interesting tool recently. Looking at the different type (really, size) of groups that Jesus interacted with in his life on earth, this tool gives 7 unique and distinct Levels of Community:
1) Solo: by yourself - Mark 1.35, 6.45-6; Luke 4.42, 5.16.
2) Mono: group of 2 ("one other") - John 13.25, 21.20-4; also, the disciples were all called and sent in pairs in Mark.
3) Micro: group of 3-5 - Mark 14.32-4.
4) Meso: group of 12 - the Disciples.
5) Macro: group of 70-120 - Luke 10.1-12, Acts 1.15.
6) Metro: 1000s - "the crowds" in Jesus' ministry.
7) Mondo: the universal Church.
Generally, I (and others with whom I've spoken) get the sense that if you ask an individual which levels of community they could most live without, they first will drop Mondo, then Metro, then Macro: We are beings who cannot live well without knowing and being known by at least a small, intimate group of people.
However, when we look back at my first question... then we will most likely see that often most of a church's money goes to Sunday morning/Sunday evening/Wednesday evening services built for the Macro or Metro level, and the more intimate (and more fulfilling, and more formative) levels are left to fend for themselves. (I would love to actually see some research on this. When I have time... hah)
That's like trying to build a building without a foundation.
Or rigging a sail to catch the wind without a mast.
No wonder I so often hear people saying they feel disconnected from a church even if they worship there every Sunday...
So, this upcoming weekend my Missional Residency group will begin taking the concrete steps of forming intentional Christian community by entering into a Rule of Life, or Way of Life, together.
We all gave voice to the desires and passions in our own spiritual lives to help create our own Rule, and it contains some common Christian practices:
—>Daily prayer
—>Daily Scripture reading
—>Weekly communal worship with Eucharist and confession
However, it also has a number of unique and specific things for us to do together, and the rest all focus on the Mono, Micro, and Meso levels that are at best left as optional secondary services of most larger churches:
—>regular 1 on 1 time with the same "soul friend" for greater encouragement and accountability
—>meeting regularly with the same gender-specific group of 3-5 members of our "church family" to ask "How is it with your soul?"
—>communally engaging in Silence, Solitude, and Fasting, among other disciplines
—>creating and nurturing relationships outside of the Church, and outside of our normal circles, with a soul friend or partner
These are the "bones" of what we've talked about; we'll iron out some more specific version today. And I'm extremely excited to begin this entire process.
A note about "Rules of Life:" These typically consist of disciplines that practicing Christians do anyway. A Rule is merely a framework for helping a group do them consistently and hold each other accountable to them. We create ours to be as liberating and freeing as possible while encouraging the practices we as a community find so necessary to living life with each other and God.
As my good friend Kester reminds us, "We should live the kind of life that requires more serious prayer." And I believe this Rule of Life will be that more serious prayer for me—prayer in action.
Kent Smith gave my Missional Residency group a very interesting tool recently. Looking at the different type (really, size) of groups that Jesus interacted with in his life on earth, this tool gives 7 unique and distinct Levels of Community:
1) Solo: by yourself - Mark 1.35, 6.45-6; Luke 4.42, 5.16.
2) Mono: group of 2 ("one other") - John 13.25, 21.20-4; also, the disciples were all called and sent in pairs in Mark.
3) Micro: group of 3-5 - Mark 14.32-4.
4) Meso: group of 12 - the Disciples.
5) Macro: group of 70-120 - Luke 10.1-12, Acts 1.15.
6) Metro: 1000s - "the crowds" in Jesus' ministry.
7) Mondo: the universal Church.
Generally, I (and others with whom I've spoken) get the sense that if you ask an individual which levels of community they could most live without, they first will drop Mondo, then Metro, then Macro: We are beings who cannot live well without knowing and being known by at least a small, intimate group of people.
However, when we look back at my first question... then we will most likely see that often most of a church's money goes to Sunday morning/Sunday evening/Wednesday evening services built for the Macro or Metro level, and the more intimate (and more fulfilling, and more formative) levels are left to fend for themselves. (I would love to actually see some research on this. When I have time... hah)
That's like trying to build a building without a foundation.
Or rigging a sail to catch the wind without a mast.
No wonder I so often hear people saying they feel disconnected from a church even if they worship there every Sunday...
So, this upcoming weekend my Missional Residency group will begin taking the concrete steps of forming intentional Christian community by entering into a Rule of Life, or Way of Life, together.
We all gave voice to the desires and passions in our own spiritual lives to help create our own Rule, and it contains some common Christian practices:
—>Daily prayer
—>Daily Scripture reading
—>Weekly communal worship with Eucharist and confession
However, it also has a number of unique and specific things for us to do together, and the rest all focus on the Mono, Micro, and Meso levels that are at best left as optional secondary services of most larger churches:
—>regular 1 on 1 time with the same "soul friend" for greater encouragement and accountability
—>meeting regularly with the same gender-specific group of 3-5 members of our "church family" to ask "How is it with your soul?"
—>communally engaging in Silence, Solitude, and Fasting, among other disciplines
—>creating and nurturing relationships outside of the Church, and outside of our normal circles, with a soul friend or partner
These are the "bones" of what we've talked about; we'll iron out some more specific version today. And I'm extremely excited to begin this entire process.
A note about "Rules of Life:" These typically consist of disciplines that practicing Christians do anyway. A Rule is merely a framework for helping a group do them consistently and hold each other accountable to them. We create ours to be as liberating and freeing as possible while encouraging the practices we as a community find so necessary to living life with each other and God.
As my good friend Kester reminds us, "We should live the kind of life that requires more serious prayer." And I believe this Rule of Life will be that more serious prayer for me—prayer in action.
02 October 2012
Hopeless Wanderer
"Let anyone with ears to hear, listen!" - Mark 4.9, 23
How often, and through which things, do we anticipate that we might hear a word from God?
Anyone who might actually read this blog probably is aware of Mumford & Sons' new album, "Babel." I have long used Mumford songs as aids to my prayers, as vessels to carry me into more contemplative modes of listening to God (please see 'The Cave,' 'Winter Winds,' 'White Blank Page,' 'Awake My Soul,' 'Dust Bowl Dance,' among others). This album as a whole has surpassed anything I've had in my possession before for that. As I've told a few friends already, I learn more about life and human experience with every new Mumford song I hear.
We can cover the usage of "Christian" labels on music elsewhere—I don't think that tag is worth too much; God is a creating God, so when humans create art we bear that image more clearly and in so doing reveal the reality around us in more detail through new perspectives—so, even though I am not aware of any such label (or faith commitments) on this band's part, I will tell of how the Spirit of God has already used it to speak into this particular moment of my life.
I've been in Abilene, Texas, for near 14 months now. Moving to this west Texas town has been a drag for me, primarily because I had built such a network of friends in Aggieland that not being in the midst of constant encouragement drained me greatly. Not only that, but I have had quite a hard time finding a feeling of purpose outside of my studies here (more concrete developments happening on this desire; another update coming soon).
So as I hit the 3rd track of "Babel"—called "I Will Wait—a few of its lines begin to run around and around in my head:
How often, and through which things, do we anticipate that we might hear a word from God?
Anyone who might actually read this blog probably is aware of Mumford & Sons' new album, "Babel." I have long used Mumford songs as aids to my prayers, as vessels to carry me into more contemplative modes of listening to God (please see 'The Cave,' 'Winter Winds,' 'White Blank Page,' 'Awake My Soul,' 'Dust Bowl Dance,' among others). This album as a whole has surpassed anything I've had in my possession before for that. As I've told a few friends already, I learn more about life and human experience with every new Mumford song I hear.
We can cover the usage of "Christian" labels on music elsewhere—I don't think that tag is worth too much; God is a creating God, so when humans create art we bear that image more clearly and in so doing reveal the reality around us in more detail through new perspectives—so, even though I am not aware of any such label (or faith commitments) on this band's part, I will tell of how the Spirit of God has already used it to speak into this particular moment of my life.
I've been in Abilene, Texas, for near 14 months now. Moving to this west Texas town has been a drag for me, primarily because I had built such a network of friends in Aggieland that not being in the midst of constant encouragement drained me greatly. Not only that, but I have had quite a hard time finding a feeling of purpose outside of my studies here (more concrete developments happening on this desire; another update coming soon).
So as I hit the 3rd track of "Babel"—called "I Will Wait—a few of its lines begin to run around and around in my head:
These days of dust, which we've known,
Will blow away with this new sun.
But I'll kneel down, wait for now.
I'll kneel down, know my ground.
Raise my hands,
Paint my spirit gold.
And bow my head,
Keep my heart slow.
And I began to think about the sand around Abilene.
Then, last Wednesday night, my MRNA (Missional Residency in North America) cohort had a family cookout, with hot dogs, black bean burgers, and s'mores with Reese's (which, by the way, will change your life). At the end of it all, a few of us followed our professor Kent Smith up a hill, and at the top we could see the lights of Abilene below us. And under the stars, we prayed over the city. I prayed about the sand.
I felt like I had been irritated by Abilene not being how I wanted it to be, much how I feel when I'm covered in sand in all the wrong places and can't get it all out. So my prayer was for God to make the irritating grains of sand to become like pearls, so maybe I'd begin to cherish and value this place as God so obviously does. So I consented to "kneel down," to "wait for now," and learn to praise God in that place regardless of feelings in the manner of the above lyrics.
Into this place the Spirit threw track #9, "Hopeless Wanderer." Not only does it have a fitting title (right Ruth?), but the song as a whole seemed to be an exegesis of my life in this moment:
The shelter also gave their shade,
And in the dark I had no name.
Much how I feel some shelter from the Spirit's forming of me in my studies, yet there is a shadow under which I am grasping for some sense of present (as opposed to future) identity in ministry.
So when your hope's on fire,
But you know your desire,
Don't hold a glass over the flame
Don't let your heart grow cold.
I will call you by name,
I will share your road.
Just try to read those lines, as a Christian, and tell me that it doesn't fit the picture we share of being called, of being named (claimed, given identity) by God—the very God who in Jesus walked our dusty, wandering roads.
THEN, we hit the kicker, the line that made me start screaming like Rafiki as it rang in my ears:
Hold me fast! Hold me fast!
'Cause I'm a hopeless wanderer.
I will learn, I will learn
To love the stars I'm under.
To love the stars I'm under.
SO SICK!
I could continue on about the lyrics of this album that so blatantly exclaim the realities of life, many of which the Church could learn to sing better, but I'll just stick to this point. I have a hope that the changing, shifting ground upon which I stand will become valuable to me, and that I'll learn to love the stars I'm under. I can eagerly anticipate a new sun, and even wait for it. All because my road's been walked before by the One in whom I trust. And because I know, by the always-active, always-listening God, that I am heard and not forgotten, and spoken to by even the most mundane things like a popular band's album:
"He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eyes, does he not see?" - Psalm 94.9: God is a God who sees and hears us, and replies**; and, "Ever since the creation of the world God's eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things God has made." - Romans 1.20.
**Also see the Book of Job—and my blog about it, "Whirlwind of Trust"—and pay attention to 42.8-9, where God says that Job has spoken of God what is right... even though Job was calling God out. Perhaps God hears us better than we expect, and even desires to be called out by us.
"He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eyes, does he not see?" - Psalm 94.9: God is a God who sees and hears us, and replies**; and, "Ever since the creation of the world God's eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things God has made." - Romans 1.20.
**Also see the Book of Job—and my blog about it, "Whirlwind of Trust"—and pay attention to 42.8-9, where God says that Job has spoken of God what is right... even though Job was calling God out. Perhaps God hears us better than we expect, and even desires to be called out by us.
04 September 2012
Learning about the Economy of Grace
Ephesians 2.8, 10: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God... For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
Kent Smith, my professor and guide/teacher/mentor/educator in my internship of missional living & leadership, gave to my cohort an article of his in which he describes the "Economy of Grace" given to us in Ephesians. In this paper, Kent follows the language Paul uses in describing grace (charis) & what Kent calls economy (a quite literal transliteration of oikonomia, which literally translated is "law or order of the household").
First, go read Ephesians. Beginning to end, all at once. Partly, so you'll be familiar with the language used here; but mainly because I believe our understanding of Scripture is best founded on a holistic view of a given text: Each part of Ephesians is founded in the entire movement of that letter.
Now, on grace. Our traditional view on grace leans heavily upon the Reformation's definition: Grace is the gift by which we are saved through Christ Jesus (Eph. 2.4-9). And this is true, but does not cover the whole extent of the use of charis in the New Testament. Charis is a gift, something that brings delight. God's greatest gift is absolutely God's self, most explicitly in Jesus Christ. However, God's self-giving has not stopped there. The Church is the Body of Christ—not like the Body of Christ, but is the Body of Christ (Eph. 5.23). And God's great grace, charis, has been given to each and every individual in that Body (Eph. 2.10 & 4.7). So grace, holistically understood, "is God dispensed into us" (Kalistos Ware).
In Ephesians 3.1-10 Paul explains that what once was a mystery has been revealed in Christ, and that the revelation came through grace (God's self-revelation) and is to be continually revealed through anyone to whom grace has been given; grace implies calling, and calling implies action or works—again, Ephesians 2.10: "For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." But, what works? And how?
Here we unpack the language of economy. The root word meaning "household" (oikos) is all over the letter—in words like "plan" (1.10, 3.9), "aliens" or "members of the household" (2.19-22), "building itself up" (4.16)—and it fits right into the language of God as "Father" and of Jews and Gentiles both being children adopted into the family of God (1.5, 2.19). When you add on the Greek word nomos, which means law or order, you then get oikonomia or "order of the household."
In Ephesians 1, Paul explains how, "with all wisdom and insight, God has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth." The word rendered "plan" here is in fact oikonomia, the same word from which came our commonly used term "economy."
Look up "economy" today, and you'll find definitions like "the management of the resources of a community, country, etc., especially with a view to its productivity;" or "the regulation of the parts or functions of an organic whole, an organized system or method."
In this light, broadened by the definitions of the roots found in oikonomia, we can then see that what we have been calling the "plan" of God for the fullness of time is in fact a system of management in Creation initiated by Christ that we are then called into & empowered by grace as the Body of Christ to carry out. It ends in the adoption of humanity into familial relationship with God and the perfection of all things through Christ; and this management system is the way in which "the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places" (Eph. 3.10).
Kent then draws out this paradigm for the context of mission today, and even more so as "our way of life."
(1) The initiator of this "economy of grace" can only be God, the One with the Plan, the "Grace-dispenser."
(2) The leader of this family, this household, can only be the Father; all we as humans and communities of people can do is act as stewards.
(3) Therefore, we stewards must first be attentive listeners for God's initiative in any context in which we find ourselves. Kent also explicates, looking at Jesus' instructions in Luke 10.4-7, that the contexts into which disciples of Christ will go will have "households of peace" waiting to receive the grace which we have first been given; some will not, and the disciples are told to move on from there.
(4) And because stewards are not lords of the house, our role is that of education: "the drawing forth of what is latent or potential in another," particularly referring to the gifts given by the Spirit (Eph 4.11-12; see also 1 Peter 4.10).
*My addition: If we take 3 & 4 as true, then we also are confessing that we believe our communal, Triune, initiating, self-revealing God is always at work all over the world. Jesus' instructions in Luke affirm this, as some households were ready to receive peace and some were not. This places Mission firmly within the nature of God, and the Church merely draws out or "harvests" what God has already planted and grown (Matthew 9.37-38, Luke 10.2).
In this way, God's plan or predesigned order for the fullness of time is one in which God continually gives of himself to us for the purpose of maturing the Body of Christ and also bringing all things to God through the same Christ.
Hope this linguistic journey has been fun; it's an example of what makes me happy and hopeful in studying this old, "dead" language. And I continue to look forward to studying under Dr. Smith, hopefully learning even more about this "plan" God designed and how we best participate in bringing it to fruition.
Grace & Peace
Kent Smith, my professor and guide/teacher/mentor/educator in my internship of missional living & leadership, gave to my cohort an article of his in which he describes the "Economy of Grace" given to us in Ephesians. In this paper, Kent follows the language Paul uses in describing grace (charis) & what Kent calls economy (a quite literal transliteration of oikonomia, which literally translated is "law or order of the household").
First, go read Ephesians. Beginning to end, all at once. Partly, so you'll be familiar with the language used here; but mainly because I believe our understanding of Scripture is best founded on a holistic view of a given text: Each part of Ephesians is founded in the entire movement of that letter.
Now, on grace. Our traditional view on grace leans heavily upon the Reformation's definition: Grace is the gift by which we are saved through Christ Jesus (Eph. 2.4-9). And this is true, but does not cover the whole extent of the use of charis in the New Testament. Charis is a gift, something that brings delight. God's greatest gift is absolutely God's self, most explicitly in Jesus Christ. However, God's self-giving has not stopped there. The Church is the Body of Christ—not like the Body of Christ, but is the Body of Christ (Eph. 5.23). And God's great grace, charis, has been given to each and every individual in that Body (Eph. 2.10 & 4.7). So grace, holistically understood, "is God dispensed into us" (Kalistos Ware).
In Ephesians 3.1-10 Paul explains that what once was a mystery has been revealed in Christ, and that the revelation came through grace (God's self-revelation) and is to be continually revealed through anyone to whom grace has been given; grace implies calling, and calling implies action or works—again, Ephesians 2.10: "For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." But, what works? And how?
Here we unpack the language of economy. The root word meaning "household" (oikos) is all over the letter—in words like "plan" (1.10, 3.9), "aliens" or "members of the household" (2.19-22), "building itself up" (4.16)—and it fits right into the language of God as "Father" and of Jews and Gentiles both being children adopted into the family of God (1.5, 2.19). When you add on the Greek word nomos, which means law or order, you then get oikonomia or "order of the household."
In Ephesians 1, Paul explains how, "with all wisdom and insight, God has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth." The word rendered "plan" here is in fact oikonomia, the same word from which came our commonly used term "economy."
Look up "economy" today, and you'll find definitions like "the management of the resources of a community, country, etc., especially with a view to its productivity;" or "the regulation of the parts or functions of an organic whole, an organized system or method."
In this light, broadened by the definitions of the roots found in oikonomia, we can then see that what we have been calling the "plan" of God for the fullness of time is in fact a system of management in Creation initiated by Christ that we are then called into & empowered by grace as the Body of Christ to carry out. It ends in the adoption of humanity into familial relationship with God and the perfection of all things through Christ; and this management system is the way in which "the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places" (Eph. 3.10).
Kent then draws out this paradigm for the context of mission today, and even more so as "our way of life."
(1) The initiator of this "economy of grace" can only be God, the One with the Plan, the "Grace-dispenser."
(2) The leader of this family, this household, can only be the Father; all we as humans and communities of people can do is act as stewards.
(3) Therefore, we stewards must first be attentive listeners for God's initiative in any context in which we find ourselves. Kent also explicates, looking at Jesus' instructions in Luke 10.4-7, that the contexts into which disciples of Christ will go will have "households of peace" waiting to receive the grace which we have first been given; some will not, and the disciples are told to move on from there.
(4) And because stewards are not lords of the house, our role is that of education: "the drawing forth of what is latent or potential in another," particularly referring to the gifts given by the Spirit (Eph 4.11-12; see also 1 Peter 4.10).
*My addition: If we take 3 & 4 as true, then we also are confessing that we believe our communal, Triune, initiating, self-revealing God is always at work all over the world. Jesus' instructions in Luke affirm this, as some households were ready to receive peace and some were not. This places Mission firmly within the nature of God, and the Church merely draws out or "harvests" what God has already planted and grown (Matthew 9.37-38, Luke 10.2).
In this way, God's plan or predesigned order for the fullness of time is one in which God continually gives of himself to us for the purpose of maturing the Body of Christ and also bringing all things to God through the same Christ.
Hope this linguistic journey has been fun; it's an example of what makes me happy and hopeful in studying this old, "dead" language. And I continue to look forward to studying under Dr. Smith, hopefully learning even more about this "plan" God designed and how we best participate in bringing it to fruition.
Grace & Peace
03 September 2012
Residency in Missional Living
"Grace must find expression in life, otherwise it is not grace." - Karl Barth.
This year marks another new beginning of sorts in my formation as a minister. I am beginning an internship-style program at ACU under the tutelage of Dr. Kent Smith, a life-long minister, church-planter, and missionary-educator. This program will train me in missional living & leadership. I, along with 6 other students plus "significant others," will undergo a different type of education. While we will be given new information to process and assimilate, the primary vein of instruction will be through practice, particularly communal practice.
We will learn community by being community; we will learn vulnerability by being vulnerable; we will learn pastoral care by pastorally caring for each other and by being cared for ourselves; most importantly, we will learn to listen to a God who is continually active in this world and in individuals by listening for and to God through others.
After a year of very academically-inclined study, in which I have felt an undertow of grace forming me individually, the opportunity to be formed in an "intentional community" has me almost giddy.
To paraphrase Kent, living "missionally" means living in a community that purposefully participates in what God is doing in the world. I believe in a God in Three Persons; therefore, I believe in a God who is communal, and not one Person of the Trinity can be understood outside of the entirety of the communal God. I believe in a God whose first recorded act was speech-creating; therefore, I believe we are made to be able to hear God within that Creation (the world itself, communities of people, etc). I believe in a God who revealed God's self and simultaneously invited us into the participatory relationship of the Triune life through the incarnation of Christ Jesus; therefore, I believe that those of us who follow that Christ and are brought up into his Body are given the gift of grace so that we might continually reveal that God, particularly through pouring ourselves out.
I believe many other things, but these will be central to me for understanding what it means to participate as community with a purpose in what God has always been doing since time began—namely, to bring all people into God's family and all created things into God's perfection.
"With all wisdom and insight God has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth." - Ephesians 1.8b-10.
More coming very soon.
Grace and peace to you all.
This year marks another new beginning of sorts in my formation as a minister. I am beginning an internship-style program at ACU under the tutelage of Dr. Kent Smith, a life-long minister, church-planter, and missionary-educator. This program will train me in missional living & leadership. I, along with 6 other students plus "significant others," will undergo a different type of education. While we will be given new information to process and assimilate, the primary vein of instruction will be through practice, particularly communal practice.
We will learn community by being community; we will learn vulnerability by being vulnerable; we will learn pastoral care by pastorally caring for each other and by being cared for ourselves; most importantly, we will learn to listen to a God who is continually active in this world and in individuals by listening for and to God through others.
After a year of very academically-inclined study, in which I have felt an undertow of grace forming me individually, the opportunity to be formed in an "intentional community" has me almost giddy.
To paraphrase Kent, living "missionally" means living in a community that purposefully participates in what God is doing in the world. I believe in a God in Three Persons; therefore, I believe in a God who is communal, and not one Person of the Trinity can be understood outside of the entirety of the communal God. I believe in a God whose first recorded act was speech-creating; therefore, I believe we are made to be able to hear God within that Creation (the world itself, communities of people, etc). I believe in a God who revealed God's self and simultaneously invited us into the participatory relationship of the Triune life through the incarnation of Christ Jesus; therefore, I believe that those of us who follow that Christ and are brought up into his Body are given the gift of grace so that we might continually reveal that God, particularly through pouring ourselves out.
I believe many other things, but these will be central to me for understanding what it means to participate as community with a purpose in what God has always been doing since time began—namely, to bring all people into God's family and all created things into God's perfection.
"With all wisdom and insight God has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth." - Ephesians 1.8b-10.
More coming very soon.
Grace and peace to you all.
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