CRAZY FAITH

As part of our innovation to help underscore our core values, we have started an on-line Bible study called BIBLICAL JOY. This is a small group for people who don't have time for a small group. It is a way to do some serious Bible study and connect people over the internet for an exchange of ideas about the Biblical text. We have some great sharing. This particular reply was to a study in Matthew of Peter walking on the water. Sara, who writes it, actually has a great description of the challenge that people and churches face when they decided to get out of the boat and venture out onto the water, out of the comfort zone into the zone of the unknown, where Bill Hybels says "the Holy Spirit does its best work." - Steve

I have thought about this story quite a lot in the past few months, actually.

What sticks out to me, before we even get to the part about Peter sinking into the water, is this: Peter getting out of that boat is a WAY bigger deal than it first seems to be. And those 11 “failures” that stayed behind? Well, from the worldly point of view, they are the sane ones. Why?

First, the water was choppy, wild, it was crazy windy. I wouldn’t want to be ON the BOAT, let alone getting out of one to walk on the water.

Second, when they first see Jesus, they think He is a GHOST. The other 11 are freaking out in a boat being tossed about by crazy waves, and Peter is like, “Hey, is that you Lord? I’m going to trust it’s you and not a scary ghost about to eat us. Let me get up out of this “safe” boat and come out to you while you walk in the crazy, choppy, scary water.” Peter faces down a possible GHOST to get to Jesus. A lot of times, our fear of the unknown or the uncomfortable can steal away amazing blessings!!!

But Peter, he shows us some crazy faith. If it speaks to us today, it tells us that even as our lives seem chaotic, like we need to hold on to something for dear life- maybe what we really need to do is hear our Lord, trust Him, and let go, even if that seems like a crazy, risky thing to do. God says to trust Him with all our heart and lean NOT ON OUR OWN UNDERSTANDING. That can be very uncomfortable, but like I said- we miss out on fantastic blessings if we let our comfort-zone dictate our acts of faith!"

You might want to explore this site for ideas of how this might apply to your church's ministry. Go to BIBLICAL JOY

THE SCRIPTURAL COMPASS

When the Church of God of Landisville began its journey to follow the Holy Spirit from an inward to an outward-focused church, our elders started with a prayerful examination of the Word. As we began to sift the data of our particular congregational culture and our distinct mission field, we were drawn to the words of Matthew 9:35-38.

Originally we spoke of this as our scriptural map but as we moved along in our journey, the idea of a compass seemed a better way to communicate to the postmodern mind, especially Generation Xers and beyond. Maps come in various forms. Road maps, for example, mark the locations of various destinations and identify the roads and bridges that have been constructed to allow persons to go from one spot on the map to another. A topographical map focuses on the contours of the terrain of an area--ridges, mountain ranges, passes, valleys, lakes, and rivers. Sometimes towns and villages are included, but a topographical map is about describing the land not identifying the destinations.

When the first explorers enter a new territory, they do not generally have well-developed maps. They operate with a compass. Their first intention is to see what lies within that territory. The compass gives them a sense of direction in what is yet uncharted territory. A compass helps the explorer arrive at a destination even when a map does not exist. You simply need to have a way to orient yourself to "true north" and a general sense of where that destination lies in relationship to "true north" from your starting point.

Postmoderns value mystery, exploration, intuition, experience. They see life as a journey more than a destination. Maps are the tools of destination. They are comforting, sometimes commanding clearly prescribed routes. Compasses are about journey to the destination. The idea of compass fits the imagery of the Church and the Holy Spirit. Christ is the "true north" and the DNA of the Holy Spirit are the compass settings that keep us oriented on the "true north". In keeping with our understanding of discovering the will of God by what be considered the magnetic leading of God, a scriptural compass is a solid metaphor ... the starting point for the theological foundation that gives life to the ministry of the Church of God of Landisville.

This material is from my D.Min. project Fanning Into Flame the Gift: Understandings and Strategies That Effectively Implement a Spiritual DNA of Outreach in a Local Church. (C) 2005 by Stephen L. Dunn, pp. 35-36.