I eagerly await the next post. (Who would have imagined that an Episcopal lay theologian would end up articulating the foundation of this essay occasioned by current events. . . What a multivalent world we inhabit!)
Thanks, brother, for taking a stand and doing a great job in helping people with a framework to make sense of what's happening and, beyond that, a guideline in living a subversive kingdom lifestyle in the face of the new Cesars and the power of the empire.
“Even as the principalities are fallen, they are not beyond redemption. And so we resist them—not with hatred or despair, but with hope, truth, and the daring belief that even now, they can be transformed.”
This strikes me as the posture the apostle Paul himself would have embodied in our time.
It is indeed a daring hope, one I sometimes lose hold of, but it is part of our resurrection hope, and it does follow from our call to be salt and light in the world.
As you said in one of your V3 Movement talks “Discipleship… is about being the people of God who live in the world for the sake of the world in the way of Christ.” Implicit in this reality is the very real fact that (as you said there too): “if you don’t have a life worth imitating, you don’t have anything to invite people to.”
I couldn’t agree more. And I think the most powerful thing that the church can do, if we really want to be a force for good in the world, is to unwrench ourselves from the leading ideologies in our surrounding culture, and to come home to our own Story—to the biblical Story of God’s dealings with the world. It is from THERE that we have good news to offer.
But those other ideologies—on both the political left and the right—however aligned they might be with this or that Christian value, are part of broader narratives that actually compete with the narrative-world of the Bible. Those competing narratives are dividing God’s people, because left-leaning Christians don’t listen to right-leaning Christians, and viceversa. And we need to stand together if the church’s voice is to be credible, and our presence a redeeming force (John 17).
Naming the powers and principalities, remembering God’s plan to redeem as much of it as possible, and our call to be his agents in the world for the sake of the world, seems to me a great starting point from which to reframe our whole existence in this dangerous moment: who it is that we are, who it is we’re supposed to be with, and what it is that we stand for.
I know it’s an uphill battle, but I’m feeling hopeful.
So good. Thank you for your reflections, admonitions, and I'm glad you are hopeful. We need a movement of hope based on the extravagant love of the Father, the sturdy faithfulness of the Son, and the animating power of the Holy Spirit! I appreciated our conversation today.
I eagerly await the next post. (Who would have imagined that an Episcopal lay theologian would end up articulating the foundation of this essay occasioned by current events. . . What a multivalent world we inhabit!)
He was ahead of his time!
Absolutely.
Thanks, brother, for taking a stand and doing a great job in helping people with a framework to make sense of what's happening and, beyond that, a guideline in living a subversive kingdom lifestyle in the face of the new Cesars and the power of the empire.
For sure bro. Just tying to do my part. Thanks for your work as well!
Right on, brother.
I appreciate your ending on this hopeful note:
“Even as the principalities are fallen, they are not beyond redemption. And so we resist them—not with hatred or despair, but with hope, truth, and the daring belief that even now, they can be transformed.”
This strikes me as the posture the apostle Paul himself would have embodied in our time.
It is indeed a daring hope, one I sometimes lose hold of, but it is part of our resurrection hope, and it does follow from our call to be salt and light in the world.
As you said in one of your V3 Movement talks “Discipleship… is about being the people of God who live in the world for the sake of the world in the way of Christ.” Implicit in this reality is the very real fact that (as you said there too): “if you don’t have a life worth imitating, you don’t have anything to invite people to.”
I couldn’t agree more. And I think the most powerful thing that the church can do, if we really want to be a force for good in the world, is to unwrench ourselves from the leading ideologies in our surrounding culture, and to come home to our own Story—to the biblical Story of God’s dealings with the world. It is from THERE that we have good news to offer.
But those other ideologies—on both the political left and the right—however aligned they might be with this or that Christian value, are part of broader narratives that actually compete with the narrative-world of the Bible. Those competing narratives are dividing God’s people, because left-leaning Christians don’t listen to right-leaning Christians, and viceversa. And we need to stand together if the church’s voice is to be credible, and our presence a redeeming force (John 17).
Naming the powers and principalities, remembering God’s plan to redeem as much of it as possible, and our call to be his agents in the world for the sake of the world, seems to me a great starting point from which to reframe our whole existence in this dangerous moment: who it is that we are, who it is we’re supposed to be with, and what it is that we stand for.
I know it’s an uphill battle, but I’m feeling hopeful.
So good. Thank you for your reflections, admonitions, and I'm glad you are hopeful. We need a movement of hope based on the extravagant love of the Father, the sturdy faithfulness of the Son, and the animating power of the Holy Spirit! I appreciated our conversation today.
Bro, this is so good!!! This is so, so important to me... probably everyone.
Good to hear!