Going Further Out Requires Letting Christ Further In

Henri Nouwen, a Catholic theologian, once wrote 'the further out the journey takes you,  the deeper the inner journey needs to be'.

Wise words, and necessary ones for us to hear. God calls us out to share the gospel, and go we out we must. Yet it will be tough out there. Quick fixes won't cut it, short-circuit solutions will prove fickle and hollow.

The resources we need to function, to cope, to even survive as this journey takes us further and further are to found in our own relationship with Christ. As we move out, we must let Christ move in us - to ever deeper levels, just as a taller building needs deeper foundations. I'm convinced the two journeys go hand in hand: the venturing out in faith opens up the possibility for Christ to work further within us. Our spirituality, the practices and rhythms that we adopt, are crucial to allow this 'double journey' to run its course.

Paul linked the two as well. In Ephesians chapter 3 Paul talks of God's incredible outward plans to the Gentiles. Paul was spear-heading that initiative, but wanted the Ephesian Christians (and all others I'm sure) to be in on it. 'For this reason' (v15) he prays for them a 'deeper knowing' of Christ's love.

You see going further out requires letting Christ further in.

Leadership = Servanthood, enables mutuality

Rehoboam hears two sets of advice. One good, the other bad (see 1 Kings 12).

The good advice is summed up in verse 7: "if you will be their servant, they will always be your servants". Note the two aspects. First is servant leadership, a common theme through the whole Bible. The second is the mutuality that flows from this: by serving the people the people will serve him. Its brilliant, and it embodies something of the community within God Himself.

Unfortunately he listens to the bad: "use the power of your position to lord it over the people. Make them knuckle down. Anything else could be interpreted as weakness, and you don't want that".

Surprise surprise things go very wrong from that day on.

The elders had experience and wisdom, the young saw their opportunity to grasp power. It would be wrong to make a direct correlation with age from this, but in this case the young were off beam. They hadn't understood God, and therefore hadn't understood Godly leadership.

Big Picture versus Everyday Distractions

A key skill is to keep a firm grasp on the big picture, and translate that into practical action. No good just having your head in the clouds - tasks on the ground do have to get done. Yet the ground level brings a host of distractions or temptations that can veer even the greatest off course.

Solomon started so well. Heart after God, seeking wisdom, actuating David's plans for building the Temple. Yet reading 1 Kings and you find that he loses the big picture of leading Israel in its relationship to God so quickly it should scare all of us.

The plain fact is he was distracted by wealth and beauty which led him away from true relationship - with disastrous consequences.

I recently read a book that poses just 3 simple questions that should help us keep in tune with the true big picture:

• What makes you cry?
• What makes you dream?
• What gives you energy?

There will be plenty of things around us that pretend to satisfy, and claim allegiance from us with regard to the last two questions, but turn out to be false. Our culture and context is now complex and full of all kinds of offers and opportunities. Yet we must discern what are distractions and ultimately unhelpful for us. We must keep sight of the big picture, even as we get on with good stuff down on ground level.

Bruised, hurting and dirty

This quote by the pope is onto something. An active church will find itself in trouble, discover that initiatives blow up in their faces, and face frustration and disappointment. Hopefully not because they are bad at doing things right ... but because mission is messy.

Check out both 1 and 2 Corinthians and see how many times Paul talks of being beaten, bruised, in tatters and the like. Paul's view was that this was not something that should be reserved for just him (or maybe him and a few others). Paul understood this as basically the norm for the church!

He expected the Corinthians to become like he was. Not through self-harming, but through the business of getting out there and trying to help the last, the least and the lost as servants of the world. You can't do that without getting hurt.

Several times Paul and his companions put their own security at risk. Paul could not guarantee success for any of the churches he planted ... and yet he pressed on in mission.

We are to do the same.