ReJesus Part One

A year ago I read through "The Forgotten Ways", an exploration into the missional expression of the church.  It's a life-changing look at following Christ.  ReJesus follows these considerations up by examining the life of Jesus (without all of the perceptions that 2,000 years of church history can give).  While much of this book underscored a lot of my thinking, I was also challenged by some of the implications.  My imagination has been awakened!

"We readily acknowledge tha tnone of us have within us the fortitude, the grace, the courage, and the imagination to actually be like Jesus.  It is a lost cause.  But it's a lost cause made worth it by the forgiveness and grace shown us in Jesus' death on our behalf.  By dying for us to set us free from the penalty of our sinfulness, he doesn't nullify the call to good works and godly living.  Rather, he elevates from an endless and hopeless attempt to impress God to a joyful adventure of enjoying Christ's presence by imitating him."

Part of the reason why following Christ seems different is that we have made him "otherworldly", an alien from another world that is wholly different and beyond us.  This is only partly true.  Following him is something we do in a metaphysical sense, but genuine action is considered optional.  

The authors (Hirsch and Frost) conclude that, when we truly "reJesus" ourselves, we will see God differently (missio Dei), we will see the church differently (participatio Christi), and we will see the world differently (imago Dei).

"Those who are taken captive by Jesus see mission not merely as a practice preferred by God but as an aspect of his very character.  He IS mission.  Core to understanding God's nature is the realization that God cannot NOT be about the business of mission....In effect, he is both the sent and sending God."

Jesus said that he is about the work of the Father, that he simply does what he sees his Father doing (John 5:19).  In turn, we are sent by Christ (Matthew 28:18-20) to do what we have seen Him doing.  God sent his Son, Father and Son sent the Spirit, and now Father, Son, and Spirit sends the church into the world.

"Through Jesus' death God has entered into our world for good.  God will now no longer dwell in temples, but in the hearts of those who serve God."  

This is the understanding of Paul when we says that we are temples, ambassadors, and the body of Christ.

Regarding the church, "When we are taken captive by the Nazarene carpenter, we can no longer see ourselves as participants in a similar system to the one he came to subvert."  Religion holds no sway over followers of Christ!  

I meet people who say they are skeptical of organized religion.  Me too!  And I think Jesus would agree with them.  Instead, the church should be a gathering of people within the community who seek to make the community a better place. 

"As Robert McAfee Brown once said about the meaning of life, it is "our task to create foretastes of [the Kingdom of God] on this planet -- living glimpses of what life is meant to be, which include art and music and poetry and shared laughter and picnics and politics and moral outrage and special privileges for children only and wonder and humor and endless love.""

Finally, we will see the world differently:  "To say that we are all made in the image of God is to acknowledge that there are certain, special qualities of human nature that allow God to be made manifest in us.  It is a statement about God's love for humans but also a statement abou tthe uniqueness and beauty of humans."

Some thoughts and implications I gained from this reading...

1.  I need to communicate the missio Dei more often to Resonate Community Church.  We should never lose sight of the sent and sending God.  "To do what pleases God is not simply a matter of morality, but of sharing in God's life and mission."

2.  I'm glad we structure our Sunday gatherings as we have.  I think that the life of our church is so much more than what happens on Sundays.  However, I want to begin communicating that EVERY encounter we have with one another IS "church".  The stuff we do as a church (Bible studies, serving the community, Sunday gatherings, hanging out) is central to what we do, but just as important - and just as spiritual - are the neighborly pop-ins, impromptu coffees, and running into each other at the store.  Do our conversations reflect this?  Do these encounters remind us and others of Jesus?

3.  I desperately want others in our church to be as inspired and motivated by the mission as I am.  I hope that I can be the kind of leader and example that inspires them to engage in the lives of people - to infuse their lives with faith, hope, and love in a way that is different from "church as usual".   I love how we have such an eclectic mix of people and backgrounds, and how there's little shock about peoples past (or current) struggles.  We genuinely love people, and even if there's some other stuff lacking in "what we do", I'm pleased with that.