What Could Be

My stream of thought is continuing, and one thing is leading to another. I’d like to elaborate on these ideas from my last post…

“…some of us are even wondering what we need to do with our gifts, because we mistakenly defined our gifts by the system in which we were working.”

“There are probably a dozen other applications for our gifts that we haven’t even thought of, because we were so conditioned to the parameters of institutional church.”

“Part of our problem is we’ve been conditioned to have someone else do our thinking and praying on our behalf.”

Until I considered it, I don’t think I even realized how true that last statement is. There’s so much about institutional Christianity that is pre-thought and automatic for us–especially when we’ve grown up learning the ropes. So much of our thinking about gifts and ministry is based on set parameters. There are small differences here and there, based on what stream you happen to be in…but there’s usually a set of protocols on how to “do ministry”, a chain of command to follow…and if you want to do ministry professionally, a standard course of study and hoops to jump through. Take all those parameters away, and suddenly, it looks like all our outlets are closed off. We don’t know what to do with ourselves. But the desire to do things for God’s kingdom, and the gifts we have been given, haven’t gone to sleep. The reason we are at a loss is because we are still thinking within the old parameters. Our point of view–and the way we think about gifts and ministry–need to expand.

I’m thinking again of the children of Israel, and how things must have looked the day the manna ceased. Can you put yourself in their place? Imagine living your entire life gathering your daily portion every day from the ground outside your tent–and one day, it isn’t there anymore. If manna is all you’ve known, this would be possibly quite frightening. How are you going to eat?? In reality, your need to eat has not gone away–neither has your ability to gather provision. All that needs to happen is…you need to think bigger. You cannot rely on the old parameters anymore. Gathering food has ceased to be a no-brainer; you have to get creative about it.

Same thing here. At least from where I’m sitting. When the existing parameters change around you, but need and desire have not…then you get creative. You learn to think outside those parameters. You start taking responsibility for creating your own parameters.

As a side note…I recognize that part of this process for us followers of Jesus is to listen for His voice. I fully believe in being led by the Holy Spirit, and that He can, and will, inspire us to certain things. But when I say we need to expand our thinking, I am not referring to relying solely on reason, but rather to expand the way we look at our situation. It is my experience that even when the Holy Spirit inspires us, He usually works within the parameters of our thinking. So it can only help us to try thinking outside the box–we are more apt to hear what He is telling us if we expand the grid, so to speak.

For me, personally, I see this playing out on several fronts. As a musician and worship leader, I’ve been in a bit of a quandary as I have progressed away from the institutional forms. But I’ve been deliberately taking steps to expand my thinking–taking up guitar, and beginning to write songs on it. And there is a whole creative stream unfolding in me, and some creative ideas for how I can use these gifts that I never would have imagined within the old system. I’m dreaming again. And that feels pretty good. I still don’t know all of what this is going to look like. But I have now seen enough to know that there is a future for me outside the walls.

The more I ponder this, the more I realize that this season is not an end, but a beginning. It is natural to ponder what has been, but we should not stay there. We need to be looking at what could be. This is a place full of possibility, and what could be has the potential to be much more fulfilling that what has been.