Extract of Rick McKinley's book "A Kingdom Called Desire". Click here to visit original post at Imago Dei blog.
In the West, Christians have leaned too heavily on the pragmatics of how. When we assume the answer we most deeply need is an answer outside of us that only an expert can give, we become a paralyzed people waiting to be told what to do next:
Go to church on Sunday? Check.
Belong to small group? Check.
Read Bible and pray daily? Check.
Wear appropriate Christian apparel, listen to Christian radio, home school, work in the soup kitchen, write letters to missionaries, take casserole to church potluck, drink fair-trade coffee, work to alleviate extreme poverty, eat vegetarian, recycle, sign human rights petition? Check, check, check, and check.
When we turn following Jesus into a product instead of a relationship, the only question we end up asking is, how do we do that? And we look for clues in what everyone else is doing and do that too. Pretty soon we are doing all sorts of things but we don’t know why anymore.
I realize this is a tremendous oversimplification, but time and time again it comes back to haunt us. Truthfully a lot of the books we buy in regards to following Jesus are couched in this how-to language as well: Will someone out there tell me how to follow Jesus?
Jesus didn’t spend a lot of time answering that question.
I find that to be really hopeful. When he did answer the how question, he did so in a way that was very personal to the one he was talking to. For example, a rich young ruler came and asked Jesus how to gain eternal life (Luke 18:18 – 27). Jesus told him to keep the commandments, to which the man basically replied, “Been there. Done that!” He had a checklist for salvation, licking his pencil as he marked off each step.
So Jesus masterfully tapped into the deeper question of desire in the rich young man’s life. The question is: What are you really putting your security in? What do you really think is going to save you? For that rich young man, the answer was his own personal wealth and his ability to do the right things. That’s where his security was. And when Jesus pointed out one area where the young man couldn’t do the right thing, the man gave up.
In other places Jesus simply asked people, “What do you want?” or “Do you want to get well?” — questions that pushed right past the how-to questions and went directly to the issues most important to the person, the issues of desire.
“Do you really want to follow me or do you need your money to make you feel secure?”
“Do you want to be healed or do you need to be sick because you don’t believe anyone will care about you if you are made well?”
The questions are deep, involved, not simple or reduced, and they cannot be packaged into a one-size-fits-all container. What do you desire most? Do you really want Jesus, or do you want beauty, a career, success, and happy relation- ships? Do you really want Jesus, or do you just want to fill in some boxes to prove that you are saved?
To the rich young ruler, Jesus said, primarily, “Come, follow me” (Luke 18:22). Get rid of the checklists. Stop thinking you can buy your way into heaven. Follow me. Quit asking how and starting asking who!
Rick McKinley will be speaking at the "At the Corner of..." conference 2011. Click here to register.
"The conviction is that God is on mission, we haven't joined Him yet. When you throw yourself into that posture I think the Holy Spirit is really excited to use your gifts in a creative ways to reach the world."
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We got to address and answer a different question: How can we be church where people already are? A different trajectory of a different set of questions and a different set of issues if we are going to be salt, light, and fulfill the great commission.
You know the spots we get into where we are sure that God is calling us somewhere and huge obstacles stand in our way? The places where what stands between you and God’s dream for you seems insurmountable?
I have been thinking about those places a lot lately. Personally it may be a battle with an addiction, it may be a child with a disability that you can’t change or fix, it may be trying to climb out of debt. The list could keep growing.
As a church it seems that there are always huge gaps between what God is calling us to and the resources to get there.
I don’t know what they are for you but I know that you have them because the more I read in the scripture that more I realize that these places are normal places to be in when you are following God.
God is the God of the impossible. The insurmountable moment of the people of Israel standing between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, The Giant and the kid with the slingshot, The walls of Jericho and a Jewish marching band, The Roman Empire and a homeless King hanging on the cross breathing his last breath.
I am thinking now that if we are not in these places we may need to ask ourselves how closely we are following in God. Time and again this is where the people of God end up. God takes us to these places for a reason. It is here that he does some of the deepest transformational work in our lives.
Here are some of the things that I am learning about God in the midst of insurmountable odds.
Awareness
The first thing that I notice is that God has my attention. I am no longer resting in the ease of things. I am God attentive. Aware of the obstacle before me I come face to face with my own limitations. I don’t have the resources to overcome it. I am in great need. God alone has the ability to take me through this place he has lead me. He is the only one that can make it happen or bring about the change.
Faith
All of my doubt is coming to the surface here. My quickness to blame the situation on others bubbles up to the top. I think of the Israelites asking Moses why he led them to this place. “Were there not enough graves in Egypt?” EX 14 I am quick to look for who is at fault for me being in this place. I may be asking a different question than they did but it is this really the same doubtful question in the midst of my fears. “Were there not enough failed pastors that you needed another one?”, “Did I not have enough pain in my life already that you wanted me to have more?”, “Did I do something wrong that you brought me here to ruin me?”
Waiting
It is in the in-between that we are called to stand. Nothing more than that, just stand. We can try to avoid the waiting by working hard to find our own way out of the situation but it wont work. We know it won’t work because we have tried it over and over yet we still end up here. It is in the waiting that I am learning about God and myself and the school of discipleship is taking root and growing Christ in me by his Spirit. So I wait. God allows me to wait. It is in the waiting that my emotional doubt starts to subside. I have to get them out of my system and give voice to them so that the deeper voice can begin to be heard. The voice of God. There is a lot for me to learn in the waiting but I wont catch it until my soul gets quite and begins to be still and know that he is God.
These three things seem to be the starting point of moving into and through the insurmountable places that God leads us to. I wouldn’t call any of them very fun. There is more going on here than fun. God is doing something with us and in us and through us and he is taking it very seriously. For God more is at stake than quick passage through hard times. He is shaping a people for himself that will be salt and light in the world. That comes through deep and profound change. God is making that change in these in-between moments where we stand between our Promised Land dreams and the obstacle of large seas and oppressive armies.
What has God taught you in the in-between places when you are facing things that are too big for you and promises that you are called to stand in?
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Rick McKinley will be in Houston for the conference "At the Corner of..." 2011. To register click here.
Bill and Sandy Byrd tell the story of how God used At The Corner Of… Conference 2010 to inspire them into a journey of pouring themselves into the lives of orphans in Bogota, Colombia and jump-starting Orphan Hope International.
What corner have you been called to? Is God merely asking you to cross the street or are you looking at a whole new intersection? We asked these questions and more, and explored in relational storytelling at the 2010 At the Corner of conference gathering more about the living out of our faith.
Several storytellers talked about their journey, their discoveries, challenges, successes, and even “what’s next” thoughts. Something had stirred in them over time, bringing transformation to various intersections in their lives. Their stories brought tears, laughter, conviction, and inspiration to conference participants to pursue a life lived missionally toward bringing transformation to Greater Houston. Though the stories were different, underlying them all was the clear sense that we aren’t being called to the same old faith, full of “programs” and “10 steps to…”
Even the act of telling the stories brought new insight and hope that our corporate and individual faithwalks can indeed be categorically different from what we’ve lived in in the past.
Let's have this conversation again! Join us for ATCO 2011 on October 14th and get a glimpse of new stories of faith and radical obedience that are happening just around the corner.
Like some of you, I’ve served in many roles and places over the years. When I think back, though, my limited memory tends to visit familiar stories and settings while other experiences seem to fade away. I recently walked into a group of people assembling for an event. A familiar face elicited fond feelings but initially I couldn’t remember which “world” he represented. If we’d not crossed paths that afternoon, I may never have reconnected with him but there he was, smiling broadly with an outstretched hand. After we visited, what was nearly lost became fresh again with a spirit of renewed gratitude for the past and anticipation of the future. Please consider the October ATCO gathering an offer from the Lord and the body of Christ in Houston to re-engage where God has worked in your life so you may embrace new insights, hope and support for the journey ahead.
The event promises to be informative and inspiring. The theme and format of the afternoon assume that we are called to discern God’s calling on our lives. Whether our current sense of direction is clear or cluttered, the time together should help us in at least two ways. First, we’ll hear stories of how God is transforming individuals, families, congregations, and communities around us. Reggie McNeal and Rick McKinley are national leaders in articulating and incarnating the missional church. We can become more aware to how God is moving among us. Second, we’ll have the encouragement of old and new friends to discern what God is saying about our own vocations. Our hearts can become more ready to follow God’s pathway for us.
What exciting possibilities for one afternoon! See you there.
Dr. Furr is President of the Houston Graduate School of Theology.
