Jesus is Lord

Hirsch says that “the heart of it all,” the foundation of our faith and life, is that Jesus is Lord. This reality affects everything else. I’ve been thinking a lot about unifying our lives and I appreciate how Hirsch talks about this. He says, “There is no such thing as sacred and secular in a biblical worldview. It can conceive of no part of the world that does not come under the claim of Yahweh’s lordship. All of life belongs to God…”

Do you ever find it hard not to compartmentalize your life? I think we have all been trained to do this in certain ways, and our youth and children are learning this practice from us. God is interested in and at work in all parts of life. In the Gospels we see Jesus talking to, eating with, and hanging out with people that are living very different lifestyles in a variety of places. Who do you hang out with? Where do you hang out with them?

I am guilty of being too busy doing “important sacred things” to notice how God is already at work in my everyday life and in the lives of people in every place I go. I appreciate Hirsch’s encouragement to spend more time reading and reflecting on the Gospels on a regular basis in order to understand how to speak, act, and lead others into missional engagement with the world. What is Jesus brewing within, amongst, and around you?

Remembering The Way of the future

Welcome to this new experiment in learning together! I’m honored by any time you spend reading and commenting on the words you find in this space. I’m currently part of a community reading through The Forgotten Ways (and The Forgotten Ways Handbook) by Alan Hirsch. This has been a meaningful journey already, but I hope the adventure is just beginning. One thing that stood out to me in the introductory chapters of these books is the idea that we need the Holy Spirit to “awaken in us a lost imagination” and innate ability to partner with Him in a “movement that can and will change the world.” Prayerfully studying scripture and the historical Catalysts and movements of the Church (like the underground church in China) as well as our unique God-given gifts (Ephesians 4) will help us understand how to be the Church today.

The goal of the book and of this blog is “not to stimulate conversations that lead nowhere, but to inspire and guide action.” I hope that we will spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10), seeking the peace and prosperity of the people we live with and around (Jeremiah 29) all for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10).

Will you join me in this adventure of humbly and boldly “acting our way into a new way of thinking?”