• Our hope-filled future is bound up in sharing the story of Jesus, in discipling others, in bringing those disciples together into communities of believers, and in developing and releasing those believers to create other communities... till Jesus the King comes again!

the Dance

Posted on May 7, 2012 by wtdavid

Today’s post comes from Kevin in the US office.

The first chapter of the King’s Cross, “The Dance”, is really about identity.  Jesus is referred to as “the Christ” and the “Son of God” in the first part of the Gospel of Mark, and Keller’s develops this further.  But he connects the Trinity’s love and submission to a “dance.”

Dancing.  Ugh.  I.  Don’t.  Dance.

I know dance is a metaphor used by CS Lewis and others, but it’s a tough one for me.  I just don’t get dancing.  I once saw the play “Cats” in London, and that set back my appreciation of dance even further.  I didn’t know what they were doing or were trying to communicate.   I just don’t understand dancing, and part of that is because I can’t do it.  There is nothing in me that screams–or even whispers–dance.   If there was a dance contest, and the contestants were me, a crazed elephant, and a piece of furniture, I’d come in third.  Not even close.

But this dance Keller is talking about is reality–the “really” real.  This reality is God Himself.  He’s completely unified, He’s totally self-sustained, and He’s resoundingly happy and content in Himself.  And this triune God, in love and service to each of the Godhead, can dance together in joy and complete harmony.

Matt Chandler’s new book Explicit Gospel really develops the God-centeredness of the Gospel as he reminds us of God’s self-sufficiency: “I’m not served by human hands as though I need anything” (Acts 17:25).  He created us for His glory.  His identity is in Himself.  Our identity should be in Him.

Did you get that?!  We were created to join Him!  The God of all creation, Who is thoroughly content in His Own identity, is reaching out to us–to me!–to join in this dance.

The challenge is for my self-absorbed brain to break away from my selfishness long enough to see and understand His love.  When things don’t go my way here on earth, I’m prone to ask the me-focused question, “Why me?!”  My identity somehow drifts into me, my circumstances, my dreams, etc.  However, if I really understand God, and if I’m truly amazed by Who He is and what He has done, then I would live a life full of devotion, focused on Him.  I’m asked to join Him in this dance, ignore my inhibitions and ignorance, and humbly ask, as I dance with my Savior, “Why me?!”  I don’t deserve the opportunity to join in the dance, but that’s just it.  It’s all about Him inviting me, not what I deserve.

It’s really about identity–what His is, and what mine should be.  He’s already dancing, and somehow I can awkwardly join Him.  Amazing.

reflection question: how does self centered talk or living keep you from ‘joining in the dance’ with God?

Filed under: King's Cross | 10 Comments »

Join Us

Posted on May 3, 2012 by wtdavid

Join us each Monday for the next few months as we read and discuss together Tim Keller’s book, King’s Cross.

Each week a different member of the WT community will be writing a post about a chapter. A question will be included to help us interact further throughout the week.

Join us this coming Monday, May 7th, when we will be looking at chapter 1: “The Dance” (pages 3-13 in my copy). 

Let forward to you talking with you!

Filed under: Lifelong learning, Reflection | Leave a comment »

Collaboration or what?

Posted on May 2, 2012 by wtdavid

A little over two years ago, we as a World Team community launched a mobilization effort to increase the number of workers in cross cultural ministry by five to seven percent.  This is a laudable goal; an objective that requires we work together and respond corporately to this challenge.

One on-line author [http://blogs.hbr.org/ashkenas/2011/05/when-teams-only-think-they-col.html] describes three possible ways for teams to respond in such a situation.

One approach is compliance. This is where each individual independently responds to the challenge.   Now there is nothing wrong with this approach as it works to spread the burden across a large number of people.  However, working together is not a natural outcome of compliance.  In fact, people could comply without even talking with others.

A second approach is cooperation.  This is where individuals work on a response to the need, but share their ideas with others.  In spite of the sharing, though, the ultimate focus is still on individual efforts and not on a collective response.

A third approach is collaboration.  This is where the effort from the start is focused on the larger group rather than the individual.  How the group can discuss and work together towards a collective response becomes the objective.  There may be a sharing of resources across groups or areas in order to better respond to the challenge.

The on-line author (see link above) summarizes this way: “What’s interesting is that teams do not consciously decide not to collaborate.  Instead they do what comes naturally; which is to work either completely or partially on their own.  The reality is that true collaboration is difficult and time consuming.  It requires subordinating individual goals to collective achievement.”

To achieve our mobilization challenge, it is collaboration that we need.

 

 

Filed under: Collaboration, Community, Mobilization | 4 Comments »

A beginning

Posted on April 30, 2012 by wtdavid

Today, the journey begins.  I have invited all of us as the World Team community to join me in reading and discovering together the message of the book, King’s Cross, by Tim Keller.

In his opening section, simply called “Before”, Keller summarizes the aim of his book: “It is an extended meditation on the historical Christian premise that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection form the central organizing principle of our own lives.  Said another way, the whole story of the world – and of how we fit into it – is most clearly understood through a careful, direct look at the story of Jesus.”  From the outset, Keller strives to focus our eyes on Jesus, rather than on our lives, work and ministries.  It is from that ‘look’ at Jesus that life, work and ministry flows.

The one statement that stood out for me in this section was when Keller described his own life-changing encounter with Jesus: “The best way I can put it is that, before the change, I pored over the Bible, questioning and analyzing it.  But after the change it was as if the Bible, or maybe Someone through the Bible, began poring over me, questioning and analyzing me.”  I guess I would have ordinarily used the first part of this phrase to describe the transformation that occurs when someone encounters Jesus. A new believer is someone who pores over the Bible, reading and studying it for themselves.

How many of us have watched with joy as a new believer takes a great delight in the Word?  But Keller is pointing to another indicator of that life-changing encounter with Jesus, namely that a new King now comes to reign in a person’s life.  Someone other than ourselves comes to pore over us, question us, analyze us, convict us, lift us up and restore value to us.

Here’s a question to ponder: what does that shift look like in my daily journey when God the Holy Spirit begins poring over me?

 

 

Filed under: Cross of Christ, Gospel, Reflection | 4 Comments »

What’s our responsibility?

Posted on April 27, 2012 by wtdavid

Sometimes when I’m reading along in a book, a quote just jumps off the page and really forces me to reflect at a deeper level.

That was the case with this quote I read the other day:

“The responsibility of the church in the new age is the same as its responsibility in every age.  It is to testify that this world is lost in sin; that that the span of human life – no, all the length of human history – is an infinitesimal island in the awful depths of eternity; that there is a mysterious, holy, living God, creator of all, Upholder of all, infinitely beyond all; that he has revealed himself to us  through Jesus Christ the Lord; that there is no other salvation, for individuals or for nations, save this, but that this salvation is full and free, and that whoever possesses it has for himself and for all others to whom he may be the instrument of bringing it a treasure compared with which all the kingdoms of the earth – no, all the wonders of the starry heavens – are as the dust of the street.  An unpopular message it is – an impractical message, we are told.  But it is the message of the Christian church.  Neglect it, and you will have destruction; heed it, and you will have life.”

I had to ask myself again if my life and ministry are aligned with that singular purpose and responsibility. Then I asked myself if our lives and ministries together as a community reflect a singular commitment to this calling.  It certainly makes you sit back and reflect.

 

Next post: Spheres of influence?

Filed under: Church, Mission, Reflection | Leave a comment »

It’s a big word, collaborate

Posted on April 26, 2012 by wtdavid

We often use words like ‘cooperate’ or ‘work together’ to describe our desire to carry out projects with others.  Collaboration though is much larger than these ideas.  It is more extensive and involves greater partnership on the part of each person collaborating.

You might define collaboration as “people from wide spheres and backgrounds laboring together towards a jointly held project or outcome.”

Collaboration would then:

  • Affirm our core value of interdependence by taking the time to work in a group or community
  • Seek involvement from co-workers in my area as well as from outside, including outside my own ‘culture’ or context
  • Break down the silo mentality that keeps us from making the effort to draw others into project because it ‘takes too much time to involve them’
  • Genuinely seek and listen to the contribution of each collaborator, knowing that the result will be a better project and greater ownership

I put it this way in drafting a third global priority for WT: “Seeking broader collaboration, our workers/leaders will move away from a strict organizational chart approach and move towards more overlapping spheres of influence.”

 

Next post: Spheres of influence?

Filed under: Community, Priorities | Leave a comment »

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