Orderly. Stable. Secure. Safe. These are terms frequently expressed when we talk about church or the Christian life. Especially now, in these COVID-19 times, we are experiencing anxiety and uncertainty about the unpredictability of the present world like never before in recent memory.
Admittedly, I prefer these states of comfort and presumed peace in my own orbit. Realistically, who does enjoy disorder, instability, danger and uncertainty anyway? It is only natural that humans crave abundant provision and calm constancy.
Yet, as we dive deeply into scripture and uncover the most flourishing times in church history, we witness a God at work who is anything but predictable, controlled and static. The Creator is the instigator of surprises, a thrower of curve balls and the architect of supernatural design. As Genesis begins with God creating out of chaos (1:2), it ends with God fashioning everything distinctly different. “See, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)
This is not a God of stability, security and the status quo. In fact, several theologians argue that God is not even safe!
In that well-known passage of C.S. Lewis’s book, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the Lord Jesus is described as anything but docile. When Mr. Beaver explains to Susan that Aslan (the ruler of Narnia) is a great lion, she is astonished, thinking Aslan was a man. She says to Mr. Beaver, “I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.” She inquires as to whether Aslan is safe, to which Mr. Beaver replies, “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King.”
Alan Hirsch, one of the top missiologists in the world today, says we are frightened that God will take over. “We fear God will undo us and yet he is good. … We can trust Him, utterly, but he’s not safe. Not if you want to be middle class and secure.”
As we regularly, earnestly pray for safety and security I wonder if we in Churchland are attempting to tame God and therefore clutch tightly to life as we knew it in our faith communities? We can feverishly work to order and shield our congregations from substantial movement, weighty decisions and exposure, lest we sense anxiety, tension or discomfort. Perhaps from time to time, we default to protecting, defending and a scarcity mindset, as we attempt to maintain that which is familiar and easy. This is all truly understandable since we are experiencing monumental societal shifts in community and family life. Additionally, we acknowledge the genuine grief of losing what was known, loved and comforting.
In returning to our Anglican roots and our highly valued sacraments, we remind ourselves of the mystery therein. Our faith tradition and liturgies are based on the unexplainable, divinely powerful Grace and ‘real presence’ of Christ, which cannot be captured nor controlled.
Canadian author Mark Buchanan says the very nature of God’s presence and action in God’s Church is untamable. “Mystery is entered into through imagination – this is My body. The holy wild is pervaded with mystery,” he writes.
In his book, Your God is Too Safe: Rediscovering the Wonder of a God You Can’t Control, Buchanan says cultivating our imagination and wonder about this omniscient God and what God can do in and through our churches is a missionally compelling adventure. The Divine may not be safe, but in God’s goodness we trustingly trek, faithfully responding to the wilderness call.
“God gives where he finds hands open.” St. Augustine
Buchanan says, “If anything, an ethic that sends us out into the world, with all its dangers, toils, and snares, makes us more prayerful and prepared. It makes us more God-hungry and God-dependent.”
Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch in their book The Faith of Leap: Embracing a Theology of Risk, Adventure and Courage, say a “missional urgency” is being created by congregations forming the church of the 21st Century. “All disciples of Jesus (not just a select few) are called to an ongoing, risky, actional, extravagant way of life – a life resonant with that distinctly wild – and yes, Christlike – faithfulness of their Lord and Master.”
Some of the indicators that we’ve feebly tried to harness and control this wild, unsafe God in our parishes is that of exhaustion and what Buchanan termed “chronic spiritual fatigue.” If we are constantly emotionally, physically and spiritually wearied (and even burnt-out), it may be because we’re working against this “wind that blows where it chooses” (John 3:8). There’s a severe deficit in joy and energy, as well as the other Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23).
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
Another symptom of the idolatry of safety and security is our tendency to clutch our assets – our funds, buildings, and other strengths. When we tightly close our hands and refuse to entrust all that we have, we preclude ourselves from flourishing ministry. The Spirit is thus choked-out.
So, as we lean toward this unsafe but good God, what does it look like to risk faithfulness in our churches? Here are some approaches to consider:
LAMENT & RELEASE Take time to grieve the losses, then (literally) mark a date to actively take steps to move forward. It can be helpful to name and claim a season of mourning, but there comes a time when the congregational leaders need to be freed up to the present/future ministry progression plans.
PRAY & LISTEN We cannot accurately say ‘yes’ to God unless we know where God is leading us. Often overlooked or hurried, this discernment (prayerful ‘sifting’) to determine our next steps is absolutely critical to flourishing missional ministry.
FACE THE COSTS Love and growth require risk, sacrifice and discipline. Congregations that flourish are prepared to suffer (in a variety of ways) in order to share this gospel that transforms others’ lives. Courageous honesty means bravely evaluating ministries, risking failure and letting go of that which holds us back.
CHOOSE TRUST Fears of the unknown, uncertainty and potential pitfalls of risking may tempt us to play it safe and maintain the status quo. Faith is intentionally trusting God for the future. This most often manifests itself in a deliberate decision to honestly acknowledge the fear, but to take wise steps to move forward anyway
EMBRACE LIMINALITY Gladly live-into this threshold time, between what was and what is to come. Actively seek out the possibilities in crisis and encourage others to enjoy the adventure and risk of following a wild, holy God. Frost and Hirsch say that congregations that refuse to ride the change – the space of liminality, become obsolete or irrelevant. This also means keeping the missional urgency front and centre of parish life and decision-making.
The pandemic is sharpening our theology (understanding of God), ecclesiology (how we be church) and ultimately our missiology (our methods for mission). Laid bare is humanity’s utter helplessness to ‘save’ ourselves and our total desperate need for gracious God. Ultimately, we cannot be safe and control this virus, but we can listen, lean forward and respond faithfully. We trust our wild God to do the rest!
