The Spirit of God is Upon Me

They say that the Eastern Orthodox Church prides itself on having not substantively changed since the fourth and fifth centuries in which the great creeds were hammered out and doctrines laid fast line upon line.  When confronted with challenge, they appeal to the primitive faith.  To that I want to say, "And how's that working out for you?"  People change, society changes, culture changes, history changes, our own stories change, and yet we expect the faith to be delivered once to the saints and to stand the test of time.  But I think when we demands this, we confuse foundational truth with dogma, God Himself, with our understanding of God.   By their very nature some things must never change, can never change; but also by their very nature, some things must continuously change.

Now I am not a big fan of innovation, I do not wear the label of "enthusiast" very well.  And I am well aware of the opposite side of the spectrum within the church that wants to throw out everything that smacks of tradition and bring everything up to date with the contemporary.  I once likened the two extremes in this way.
The traditionalists are like petrified logs.  They have the appearance of life, they have the stuff of life etched into their form and shape, but they are, as we say, cast in concrete.  They will never change, but they do not live.  The enthusiasts are like inflated balloons that will soar upwards if you let them go, but they lack substance.  They are, as we say, a membrane stretched thin over a lot of hot air.  So how do we find the balance between our churches turning into relics under glass on the one hand, and a whirling dervish of change for the sake of change on the other hand?

Good question.  I wish I had a good answer.  But as I was thinking on this all I did have a picture form in my mind that comes from two scriptural passage.  The first is John 3:8, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."  And the second is Hebrews 6:19 "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain."  My feeling is that it is time to cast off into the deep for a catch, to raise the sail and let the wind of the Spirit drive us before Him.  And if, or when, we enter those waters where it is apparent that shoals are present or that the way is uncertain for a time, then drop anchor and hold fast in the sanctuary of God until the time comes to move on.  We must not become so set in our ways that we become an idol of stone rather than the temple of the living God, and we must not be so quick to throw out our history and tradition for the sake of relevance that we lose all sense of our mooring in the Kingdom.

Re-Vision

I love the dictionary, it is so circular at times.  I was recently thinking of the word revision and what it means.  The dictionary, in its perfectly obtuse way, told me that revision was the act of revising.  Needless to say I finally found the formal meaning buried layers deep in my search through noun and verb forms.  To revise means to "look over again to correct or improve; to make a new, amended, improved, or up-to-date version."  Now where this all started out at was my thinking about spiritual vision, and the need occassionally to revisit vision, or to re-vision.  The notion that "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" is not the type of direction the church or I need in this time and age.  In the Old Testament the cloud and glory of God dwelt in the camp of Israel as they came out of Egypt.  It was an awesome wonder, a place of revelation, of glory, of spiritual visioning, a people being formed by the hand of God.  But in a day, a week, the cloud moved on and so did the camp.  To stay in the old place would be to remain in the wilderness and never enter into the promise.  God moves and our task is to track that movement and be present.  Too many of our congregations remain stationary in past encampments.

A lot of churches have written visions, those spiritual blueprints that try to say where a congregation believes it should be a year out, five years out, ten or more years out.  The problem with any attempt to develop a vision "cast in concrete" is that it is based on a present understanding that may be outdated in a year or five years.  The Spirit of God moves where He wills, we can't see where He originates, we can't see where He is going, we only feel Him passing in the present.  Too many church visions are concerned with building up the church.  But there is a big difference between "building up the church" and "being built up as a spiritual temple".  One is our idea of what needs to be done, the other is the exclusive movement and action of the Spirit of God.  I remember reading something about the kingdom of God, and the author said something to this effect; there is no reference in the scriptures to building up the kingdom of God, we are only called to receive it, to enter into it.  We do "church" very well, we've had years to perfect our organizations.  But I wonder if it is not time to "re-vision", to lay aside what we think we should be about and start looking again for where the Spirit of God is moving.  To borrow the words of Revelation, let the one with ears hear what the Spirit says to the churches, in this time, in this location.  God moves, it's time to get in step with Him..