Lava-Spirit Flow
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008Somehow our conversation turned to the history of movements of God within the church. Seemingly out of nowhere a fresh outpouring of the energy of God’s Spirit and Grace will change the terrain of the church. Yet it doesn’t energize and capture the imagination and support of everybody. Some would jump on board and be a part of that emerging gift of God, yet some would strongly resist any change in what they believed and how they expressed their faith. Each group would be convinced that they were a part of what God was doing and each would be convinced that the other is no longer with God’s program.
The history of Israel, the prophets, Jesus and his ongoing challenges to the Pharisees and Scribes, the desert mystics and the growing institutions, the split between Eastern and Western Church, the emergence of Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and the Anabaptists as parts of the Reformation movements, the Social Gospel movement, the Tent Revivals, the mission movement, and now the liturgical/spirituality/postmodern emergent church movements followed by whatever is next.
It seems like each one of those movements of God within the church go through the same cycle: breakthrough, energizing renewal, triggering resistance, then establishment and incorporation, only to have a new movement breakthrough in that stream and repeat the same pattern.
What is going on with that?
As our discussion continued, I had the image of the videos I had seen of the Hawaiian lava flows (someday I hope to actually witness this). Beneath the surface of the earth the liquid core of the earth is moving and keeping this planet alive mostly unseen. yet from time to time that molten energy would breakthrough the surface, cutting through the crust of the rock and want/need to go somewhere. If there was great resistance, then we had a volcanic eruption with widespread affect not only at the site of the explosion but through the ash cloud and the accompanying earthquake would have an affect beyond that locality. If the resistance was low (resistance is never absent) then a new river of lava would break out and run toward the sea. Along the way, this living river of energy would swallow up and transform everything it touched. Old structures would be overcome by what will become a new ground of being for those who live in that place. As the liquid rock pursues its course it would cool and new rock would remain and especially if it made it to the sea new land would be created. With more cooling houses and businesses would be built not on the sand but now on new rock. When one flow plays itself out, new ones would spring up in new places and the cycle would continue.
So how might this help us as we care for and seek the welfare of the Church of God?
In our discussion, we found it offering a longer view of what God might be doing among us, inviting us to appreciate and to trust in God’s grace in newer ways. I believe in both scenarios the gifts of God are real: the fresh energy of the outpouring breakthroughs as well as the solid grounding of the existing structures and ground. For the planet as well as the church to be alive we need both the solid forms upon which to stand and build our lives and faith as well as the indwelling fire of God to give those forms vitality. God’s Spirit is present in each of those gifts.
Where we get stuck is when we get overly attached to either the existing structure of rock or institutional form that we do not recognize and celebrate God’s new work to keep the Church alive. So the institutions we live within are not wrong in and of themselves, but when we turn our structures and forms into idols they become barriers in our lives and in other’s lives to the Living God. The idolatry pendulum swings the other way, too. We can become so enamored by the freshness and excitement of each emerging movement of the Spirit that we can forget that God’s grace is just as present in the lives of those who resist as that Love is present in us who are doing the pushing.
What is essential for each one in this great living work of God is that God is present working in both God’s patient way and in God’s expanding work.
Can it happen? One can only hope.
