Once in a while I’ll wake up from a bad dream that leaves my tail between my legs and I realize that the dream was so troubling because it would hit me at some of my deepest insecurities. As I begin to become more attentive to the details of these dreams, I realize that they often deal directly or indirectly with past failures and embarrassments. And I’m learning that often the unconscious response to those dreams is to not trust myself and who God is making of me.
I’m believing that one of the primary ways the devil takes the western church out at the knees is to get God’s people to not trust themselves as well as to not trust the brothers and sisters in their community. The bad guy uses much of our culture to help out with this. Bad politicians and government officials have given us reason to not put our trust in our country. For many, broken marriages or hurtful relationships have created distrust in the opposite sex. People have been given many reasons to have a growing distrust in religious institutions, which often leads to a general distrust in the presence and/or goodness in the one true God.
This week I’ve been reading and re-discovering the story of the Thessalonican church of whom receives Paul’s letter which is 1 Thessalonians in our Bible. As Paul is being persecuted in Athens, he sends Timothy to check up on this community that he started and continues to care so deeply for. Timothy brings back an encouraging report that the Thessalonian church is actually doing quite well. Their leadership has been decentralized, their charismatic, inspirational leader is stuck miles away with no certainty that he’ll ever return and yet they press on being a community after the heart of Christ.
The essence of my current conclusion… The church in Thessalonica learned the transformational power of trust. Perhaps it’s similar to what the church in China is currently experiencing. I found this story over on Alan Hirsch’s blog regarding a conversation between Michael Frost and some leaders within the Chinese church...
“…Michael Frost, a friend of mine was recently privy to a meeting with three Chinese leaders from the underground church who were smuggled out to a group of Western leaders about issues they were facing. When they were asked what wanted prayer for they asked for three things: Whilst acknowledging that the government has become more lenient, they were still not allowed to gather in groups of more than fifteen people and that when they grew beyond that they had to split and start a new church. Could the westerners please pray for that? The second issue they asked for prayer for was that they were not allowed church buildings and were thus forced to meet in homes, cafes, karaoke bars, and social clubs. Could the westerners please pray for that as well? The next thing they felt they needed a breakthrough with was that they were forbidden to develop separate organizations where they could collectively train leaders; they were forced to train leaders in the local church. Michael, himself a vice-president of a seminary, says in all good conscience that he simply could not pray for them in this way because he and the group gathered there realized that in many ways the Communist state was forcing the church to remain more true to themselves. Philip Yancy likewise reports on his life-changing trip to China. He says “Before going to China I met with one of the missionaries who had been expelled in 1950. ‘We felt so sorry for the church we left behind,’ he said. ‘They had no one to teach them, no printing presses, no seminaries, no one to run their clinics and orphanages. No resources, really, except the Holy Spirit.’” Yancy wryly concludes “It appears the Holy Spirit is doing just fine.”
If we were to take a different look at Jesus’ Great Commandment… I think we’d be well informed (and I think we’d have permission) to replace the word, “love” with “trust”. Would it change our perspective to hear Jesus say TRUST God with all your heart, soul, and mind and TRUST your neighbor as yourself? Isn’t trust one of the central components of love?
If we’re to be the church in an incarntional, mustard seed, revolutionary sort of way, trusting God, self, and neighbor will be the key to unlocking the kingdom in the here and now. When we get there, go ahead, take away our seminaries, our professional ministers, and buildings.
What kind of report would Timothy send Paul if he were to visit us?
If we began to lean into the presence and power of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s work in us and our neighbor maybe we to would be worthy of an encouraging report as well.
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