Much of the discourse concerning church models in reaction to attractional or conventional models of church has been centered around questions such as, “What does it look like to…? How do we live into…? How do we go and join God in his mission to…?” These are important questions and it is imperative that we continue to ask questions such as these in forming ourselves as Christ’s church. Additionally I think it is important to understand that many of these questions, by there very nature, move us toward a posture that is always seeking to move forward to new territory, the unknown. Much of the church’s new Manifest Destiny seems, at times, to be centered around questions that lead us toward finding those unknown contexts in which God is moving and joining him there. While we ask questions that shape us to seek the unknown it is important to couple these questions that lead us toward a looking to the past and within.
So much of scripture celebrates narratives where the hero or heroine living into God’s plan is unaware of the ways in which he or she is being prepared for that plan. They didn’t plan on joining God in a specific mission some day but lived lives in such an ordinarily faithful way that they were equipped to powerfully enact God’s will in a specific context at a specific time in a specific way. David was just a faith-filled shepherd carrying out the normal duties until one day God used his unique background to defeat the Philistines and bring glory to Him and His people. Moses was raised in a foreign culture and though he ran from his life in Egypt, God called him back and utilized his unique position as an Israelite who had the capacity to communicate with Egyptian rulers. Esther had the unique position to speak compassion to King Xerxes. Peter was a fisherman who employed a variety of methods and strategies to catch fish that eventually translated into his ministry as he sought to “catch” men and women for Christ. Saul was an expert in the law who was able to provide extensive understanding as to how Christ was the promised fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures.
In light of the stories of some of scripture’s most celebrated characters perhaps we can add to the list of questions we ask ourselves as we seek to find our identity as a collected body of Christ followers. What are some characteristics of my upbringing? What types of people do I find I relate to well? What are some skill sets I possess that may seem ordinary in one context but may be extra-ordinary in others? What are some of my passions? Who are people in my life that I have known for many years? What are some ways in which God may have been working for a while and now calls me to live into His purpose in the context of which I am already a part? Perhaps, in addition to asking the question, “How do we join God in the places He is already moving?”, we must also ask the question, “How do we join God in the places in which He has already moved?” Or even, “How do we join God where we have already been?” The differences between the prospective and retrospective questions are subtle yet profound. While questions that lead us to the unknown are important and may at times be the primary questions to ask, questions that lead us deeper into our own story may reveal a specific identity that God means to use in a way that keeps us remained where we are. We remain and yet we remain differently than before. The relationships that have always been are still there but are approached through a purposeful lens. To quote the Apostle Paul,”whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
