{"id":38145,"date":"2024-09-04T22:00:18","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T05:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=38145"},"modified":"2024-09-04T22:00:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T05:00:18","slug":"a-welcome-signpost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/a-welcome-signpost\/","title":{"rendered":"A Welcome Signpost"},"content":{"rendered":"

Given the overwhelming number of global and national issues we currently face, our reading this week is a welcome signpost guiding the way. In the introduction to Jesus and the Powers<\/em>, authors N.T. Wright and Michael F. Bird noted the powerful objective that undergirds their book. They write, \u201d\u2026 in an age of ascending autocracies, Jesus is King, and Jesus\u2019 kingdom remains the object of the church\u2019s witness and work.\u201d[1]<\/a> I appreciate the historical and scriptural insights which encourage the church-at-large to engage the havoc that reigns within our current political climate, the powers that influence it, and for what purpose. I\u2019m reminded of Anabel Beerel\u2019s thoughts on leadership, \u201cThe key task of leadership is to identify<\/em>, frame<\/em>, and align<\/em> people to new realities.\u201d[2]<\/a> Wright and Bird have provided a compact introduction to addressing our current reality. Using Beerel\u2019s framework, here\u2019s what I gleaned from their writing on the challenges and dilemmas the church is called to encounter in our ever-changing and complex world.<\/p>\n

Identify: The church needs to respond to the global crises of our day.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Frame: The church holds the tension of the now and not yet kingdom of God, while facing powers both earthly and heavenly.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

Align: The church\u2019s vocation is to build for<\/em> the kingdom of God.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

Wright and Bird make a clear point that the Christians of our generation need a realignment to the challenging realities of our socio-political world. This is what they propose, \u201cThe Church\u2019s mission is to be ambassadors of reconciliation, speaking the truth to power, and seeing the powers reconciled to God.\u201d[6]<\/a> I find connection to Matthew Petrusek in Evangelization and Ideology<\/em> when he referred to the hyper-politicized climate of our nation. He proposed there is an opportunity to make Christ known.[7]<\/a> Wright and Bird present the Christians with the opportunity to build for<\/em> the Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n

What does building for<\/em> the kingdom actually look like? Personally, I think it looks like a commitment to prayer, discernment, words, and actions grounded in divine love. Each response nuanced depending on the situation. When done well, living for<\/em> the Kingdom can be costly and may not appear successful to those observing or questioning. It\u2019s a strange paradox and potential derailer when living for oneself is more successful, productive, and secure than building God\u2019s kingdom. Building for<\/em> the kingdom is a call to reflect on whose kingdom we are actually building. Are our churches, ministries, vocations, even our personal lives focused on building for<\/em> the kingdom or for personal success, recognition, power, or something else?<\/p>\n

But what about the powers? Citing Walter Wink, JR Woodward in The Scandal of Leadership<\/em>, noted the powers are good because they were created by God, though fallen, and therefore capable of evil misuse. More importantly, the powers are redeemable.[8]<\/a> This is, at least in part, what Wright and Bird are getting at with their invitation to the church and individual Christians to actively build for<\/em> the Kingdom. The call of Christians is to make an impact for the Kingdom in the midst of harmful ideologies and a divisive political climate, and to redeem those powers. The church seems uniquely suited for this task. Jesus proclaimed,<\/p>\n

\u201c The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, \u2018Here it is,\u2019 or \u2018There it is,\u201d because the kingdom of God is in your midst.\u201d Luke 17:20-21<\/p>\n

That is an awesome and nuanced truth requiring careful interpretation. Jesus\u2019 kingdom is here and not yet. How often do we fail to realize the impact we can and do have in our spheres of influence? We live in anticipation, eagerly awaiting God\u2019s kingdom and while we wait, we remind and demonstrate to the world what Jesus\u2019 reconciled kingdom looks like. God\u2019s mission for us is to bring light into the dark spaces of our culture, address wicked problems, and speak to the powers of our world in order to redeem them. By addressing the powers of this world we challenge the powers in the heavenly realms as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.\u201d Ephesians 6:12<\/p>\n

The struggle with the powers impacts leaders. JR Woodward reminds us of why we need each other. He writes, \u201cAn emotionally healthy approach to leadership is polycentric. Within such a community we learn to lead and follow, to share our brokenness and victories, and to help each other mature in Christ for his glory and honor.\u201d[9]<\/a> We are ushering in the kingdom of God as beloved yet imperfect people. It\u2019s overwhelming to take on facets of our culture and the injustices that surround us alone while building for<\/em> the kingdom. It\u2019s also dangerous as leaders can easily get caught on the wrong side of the struggle.<\/p>\n

With regards to my NPO, I see the toll it takes on ministry leaders to attend well to building for<\/em> the kingdom in spaces where their faith is devalued, principles misunderstood, and the powers particularly challenging. I see the hard won victories, the heartbreaking losses, the exhaustion, the mis-steps, and the burdens leaders carry. I see seasoned ministry leaders with battle scars and unhealed wounds whose stories of addressing the powers need telling and whose wounds need gentle healing. We need to attend to one another and ask: Where does it hurt? How were the victories won and the defeats managed? What were the challenges and how did we make it through? I\u2019m also considering how my project needs to impact next generation leaders who will take up the challenge to build for <\/em>the kingdom.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> N.T. Wright and Michael F. Bird, Jesus and the Powers, <\/em>(Grand Rapids, MI, 2024), xiii.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Annabel Beerel, Rethinking Leadership: A Critique of Contemporary Theories <\/em>(London, UK: Routledge, 2021), 286.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Wright and Bird, Jesus and the Powers,<\/em>7.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., 51.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid., 7.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid., 73.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Matthew R. Petrusek, Evangelization and Ideology: How to Understand and Respond to the Political Culture <\/em>(Park Ridge, IL: Word on Fire, 2023), 3.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> JR Woodward, The Scandal of Leadership: Unmasking the Powers of Domination in the Church<\/em> (Cody, WY: 100 Movements Publishing, 2023), 83-84.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> JR Woodward, Creating a Missional Culture: Equipping the Church for the Sake of the World <\/em>(Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2012), 102.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Given the overwhelming number of global and national issues we currently face, our reading this week is a welcome signpost guiding the way. In the introduction to Jesus and the Powers, authors N.T. Wright and Michael F. Bird noted the powerful objective that undergirds their book. They write, \u201d\u2026 in an age of ascending autocracies, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2310],"tags":[3211,2489,3210],"class_list":["post-38145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-bird","tag-dlgp02","tag-wright","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38145"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38148,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38145\/revisions\/38148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}