Gum balls. Plastic Spiders. Fake Tattoos or anything in a clear capsule with a difficult lid that was in a machine by the entrance or exit of a store. The childhood $.25 machine must have candy and toys. I remember as a kid, the longing i had in my heart for these cheap, worthless, fall between the seats 20 minutes later experiences. The only thing that stood between me and these blissful items was what was in my Dad's pocket. His permission was usually in place but was conditional not on whether he had money in the bank, but whether he had change in his pocket to give me. It was immediate gratification to place the quarter in the slot and turn the handle with three quick slotted turns. Then your eyes would follow the spiral trail from top to bottom, round and round leading to the plop of hitting the metal flap door and now... it was mine. Unless of course my dad didn't have any change on him. Then it still sat in the machine and we'd continue walking past with the spirit of the beggar rearing it's ugly head. "PLLEAAAASE!"
Life is infused with paradox and is necessary for our existence. What is a paradox exactly you may ask? A paradox is the collection of two truths (or paradigms) that oppose one another but are contained within the same value to make it possible. This is the origin of friction, tension, and energy. Examples of paradox are found all over. Left brain and right brain. Marriage between a man and a woman. Knowledge both subjective and objective. Northrop Frye said, "Freedom is not doing what you want, freedom is wanting to do what you have to do... this kind of freedom is always rooted in practiced habit." Economy is predicated on consuming and producing and on and on. Life is built on paradox. One of the challenges in life is embracing both sides of a paradox. One without the other will always produce a lopsided or incomplete result.
Church is a building. Church is a body.
One is rigid and unchanging and the other is fluid and changing constantly.
It's Easter. What a great time of honor and love. I am forever grateful for what has been given on my behalf to live the life I do. Within this seasonal experience, it's interesting to observe the behavior of "church as a building" and "church as a body". Building as we'll call it, is gearing up for the great celebration and in the midst, usually begins it's call to "body" to prepare themselves for the big bold invitations to fill up seats on Easter weekend. It's understood that we are supposed to invite people to church (building). There's a great potential for people all over the world to be impacted as they come and experience a side of God they may not know. Our gatherings are phenomenal tools to spread the message of the kingdom, but is that the only tool we have to share about who God is? I guess my desire is to make sure that we are reminded that inviting people to a gathering is only one side of the experience that we offer the kingdom of God within. Considering our over solicited society, an invitation to attend something may actually connect only with a very overused and culturally numb part of the brain.
How do we invite people to the church as a body?
Jesus is a beautiful picture of the balance we are needed to walk in when it comes to display of the gospel. Everywhere He went He carried the opportunity for someone to experience God in a way like they never had. Right then. When they encounter Jesus, they encounter God. While foundational I know, why don't we see ourselves in the same light? The invitation of the church as a body is simply an invitation to an experience with you, in that moment. Who are you? As a believer, you are the temple of God. A habitation of all of who He is. You bear His name, His authority, His anointing, His LOVE and His thoughts through the power of the Holy Spirit. While invitations to church as a building or a corporate gathering is a great thing, what if God is wanting to show himself in that personal moment? What if we identified with our ability to impact that person and mark them with an encounter with God's love and goodness that they otherwise would never be exposed to? I'm not saying to impose, but God has great thoughts towards people, so what would it look like if we believed we could share these things? We have His permission and the ability.
I look at it like the $.25 machines. There's definitely money in the bank and we can definitely afford the quarter. So do we invite people to the bank to recieve funds or do we prepare ourselves to always have money on us to give in the immediate moment. There's nothing wrong with going to the bank to pay for the experience, but what if it's a moment that you could never duplicate and provide for. What if the child is asking then... in that moment they desire to know the father as their provider but we are unprepared. Even if it's a plastic spider they'll lose 20 mins later or a gum ball that will lose it's flavor in milliseconds, their encounter will always be remembered as a day of great childlike joy. The day the Father acknowledged them and said "Yes".
2wordstory.com
Life is infused with paradox and is necessary for our existence. What is a paradox exactly you may ask? A paradox is the collection of two truths (or paradigms) that oppose one another but are contained within the same value to make it possible. This is the origin of friction, tension, and energy. Examples of paradox are found all over. Left brain and right brain. Marriage between a man and a woman. Knowledge both subjective and objective. Northrop Frye said, "Freedom is not doing what you want, freedom is wanting to do what you have to do... this kind of freedom is always rooted in practiced habit." Economy is predicated on consuming and producing and on and on. Life is built on paradox. One of the challenges in life is embracing both sides of a paradox. One without the other will always produce a lopsided or incomplete result.
Church is a building. Church is a body.
One is rigid and unchanging and the other is fluid and changing constantly.
It's Easter. What a great time of honor and love. I am forever grateful for what has been given on my behalf to live the life I do. Within this seasonal experience, it's interesting to observe the behavior of "church as a building" and "church as a body". Building as we'll call it, is gearing up for the great celebration and in the midst, usually begins it's call to "body" to prepare themselves for the big bold invitations to fill up seats on Easter weekend. It's understood that we are supposed to invite people to church (building). There's a great potential for people all over the world to be impacted as they come and experience a side of God they may not know. Our gatherings are phenomenal tools to spread the message of the kingdom, but is that the only tool we have to share about who God is? I guess my desire is to make sure that we are reminded that inviting people to a gathering is only one side of the experience that we offer the kingdom of God within. Considering our over solicited society, an invitation to attend something may actually connect only with a very overused and culturally numb part of the brain.
How do we invite people to the church as a body?
Jesus is a beautiful picture of the balance we are needed to walk in when it comes to display of the gospel. Everywhere He went He carried the opportunity for someone to experience God in a way like they never had. Right then. When they encounter Jesus, they encounter God. While foundational I know, why don't we see ourselves in the same light? The invitation of the church as a body is simply an invitation to an experience with you, in that moment. Who are you? As a believer, you are the temple of God. A habitation of all of who He is. You bear His name, His authority, His anointing, His LOVE and His thoughts through the power of the Holy Spirit. While invitations to church as a building or a corporate gathering is a great thing, what if God is wanting to show himself in that personal moment? What if we identified with our ability to impact that person and mark them with an encounter with God's love and goodness that they otherwise would never be exposed to? I'm not saying to impose, but God has great thoughts towards people, so what would it look like if we believed we could share these things? We have His permission and the ability.
I look at it like the $.25 machines. There's definitely money in the bank and we can definitely afford the quarter. So do we invite people to the bank to recieve funds or do we prepare ourselves to always have money on us to give in the immediate moment. There's nothing wrong with going to the bank to pay for the experience, but what if it's a moment that you could never duplicate and provide for. What if the child is asking then... in that moment they desire to know the father as their provider but we are unprepared. Even if it's a plastic spider they'll lose 20 mins later or a gum ball that will lose it's flavor in milliseconds, their encounter will always be remembered as a day of great childlike joy. The day the Father acknowledged them and said "Yes".
2wordstory.com
