Your Kingdom Come

There's a man in San Antonio who's been teaching post-secondary education in the field of theology and biblical studies for over 30 years. Though he's recently retired, I had the life-changing experience of studying under him a number of years back. This is and excerpt from my favorite lecture:

"What are implications of the word “eternal” as applied to the King who is also God? God’s kingship precedes creation. Being eternal, the King has no origin or conclusion. No one was there to coronate Him and no one will succeed Him. God has been king as long as He has been God and will be king as long as He will be God. A kingdom is the extension of a king’s rule. Without a kingdom a king is not truly a king. So, the kingdom is as eternal as the King. God’s kingdom has always been in force but has been expressed in various ways."

-Van G. Gill 2007 "The King and His Kingdom"

"God’s kingdom has always been in force but has been expressed in various ways." Those words have been burned into my mind for 6 years. Later that year, after laying a foundation that would challenge my own naive systematic theology, Brother Van Gill took an opportunity to sidetrack our conversation and educate me on three implications of being created in God's image...

Hang with me, this gets less wordy.

The three implications he posed were:

1. We were meant to subdue (rule over) and cultivate the earth.

2. We were meant to continue the creative process.

3. We're charged with a responsibility to recognize what we create, as "good".

That may seem simple but it blew my mind into a thousand little pieces and re-arranged it unrecognizably. As a musician and artist it validated me. My desire to create and express wasn't just me being a lazy kid who hates math. It didn't mean that I was immature and needed to buckle down and move on to more important things. In fact, that desire was placed in me by a very creative God. One Who wants us to creatively communicate His eternal kingdom to a broken world very badly in need of it. 

I moved to Dallas a year and a half ago with the resolution to take time off from a handful of things that i'd become frustrated with. Among those things were Church Leadership and Music (writing/playing it). 

What a stupid idea that was.

Sure I was burnt out, but not because of an issue with either of those things. It was only because i'd been doing them poorly. As that first year unfolded I would become very depressed. I wouldn't realize it until the year was ending, but looking back on that first year there was a very important piece of spirit that I didn't engage. I operate better when i'm creating - when i'm writing/playing music - when i'm engaged in a community that's thirsty and learning - when i'm praying with and for people in that community, and it's because it's been fused into my DNA to do so. 

In The Awakening, we've been talking a lot about how we engage in worship with God outside of 2 silly songs every Sunday morning. How do we tap into the heaviness of the spirit that settles on our shoulders when we let it, and how do we do it continuously. For me, it's wrapped up in these things I described above. For a long time, I assumed creativity and the creative process were limited to the obviously creative avenues (painting, music and the arts), but a conversation with a good friend this past Sunday reminded me of how narrow-minded that is. 

Business endeavors, arts, administration, social work, health careers, I.T.... 

It doesn't matter what your vocation is, what matters is that the thing you're irresistibly drawn and called to is an extension of a desire that God has put in you to continue the creative process in an effort to express His eternal kingdom.

So hold that thing in your mind for a moment. Close your eyes, and picture yourself doing it. That business endeavor you dream of starting - That project that you dream of beginning, let alone completing. Then, ask yourself how that could be, if it isn't already, expressing the the eternal kingdom of God to a people who've forgotten what that kingdom looks like. 

I'm not telling you to quit your job. I sell insurance, and in the midst of that God has prepared a way for me to engage in the things that impassion me. But if I can pass along one last bit of advice on the subject that was recently passed on to me... don't wait until you think you're ready, because you never will be. Be responsible, but don't wait for everything to be perfect first. Start now. Start perfecting and crafting your talents and skills to do the thing you most desire to do and recognize that as an act of worship.

Below is a link to an instrumental piece of music by Derek Webb entitled "Your Kingdom Come", i'd encourage you to give it a listen at least one time through and think over this post. 

Derek Webb - Your Kingdom Come

The Perfect Storm...

This week has been a perfect storm. The perfect combination of gray skies, bad drivers and monotonous cycles to suck the motivation out of me. 

Some of you may know that I started a new job this week selling insurance. Well, kind of. I'll be selling as soon as i'm licensed. I showed up bright eyed and eager on Monday to begin studying for the first of 2 tests and (though I got off to a slow start) I like to think that I powered through it. Second Day of studying came and went and I was 3 days further into the curriculum than I even needed to be.

...But then, today happened...

I don't know if it has to do with the greasy gray skies, the annoying peck of cold rain I can't shake off or what, but somewhere around Section 3E:part 4 of Properties and Casualties Insurance... I lost it. Any pathetic amount of motivation, focus or drive. My mind began to wander towards things that actually interest me and The Awakening came to mind. With an upcoming (this semester) series on worship and my ongoing brainstorm on how to better consistently lead this community in worship, this question crossed my mind:

What role does worship have in this place?.  I mean this very place. Right here, in the back of a freezing office burning with harsh florescent lighting (the worst).

I began to think through all the different elements of worship:

1. Giving. Is there a way I could be giving better in this scenario? Nope. 

2. Singing... Nope. Not gonna go there my 3rd day in the office (although the place has solid acoustics). 

There are many more, but I finally came to prayer. Why it took me so long, I dont know. 

Am I in any kind of constant communication with God? I mean constant, not JUST "Jesus help me get through these next two weeks.". What's God doing in my life right now? I'm honestly not sure I can answer that question and clearly as i'd like to. What's God saying to me? 

Do I pray for healing?

And i'm not even talking about the hardcore pick-up-your-matt-and-be-crippled-no-more kind of healing, but we so desperately need to be healed and delivered from insecurities the enemy throws at us, desires for things that dim light behind our eyes and our own pursuit of broken relationships, among countless other things.

How often do I let that thought interrupt my day?

That thought led to others. Thoughts that excited me about where I want to be, how I see God moving me in those directions and the vision that He's given this leadership for The Awakening. Before you know it, i was actually kind of refreshed. It was as if the clouds had parted just long enough for me to take a short but much needed walk around the block, because I let my perspective shift to things beyond the immediate, linear distractions around me. 

I wonder how often God watches and waits for us to allow these thoughts to push past all of the noise that we pretend is so important. I wonder how badly he desires us to lift our heads from out of the gray clouds and maintain a more elevated sense of awareness.

So what's God doing in your life? Unsure? Great, start a dialogue... right now. Just because He isn't always answering the specific questions we have doesn't mean he isn't speaking to us. It doesn't mean there aren't conversations to be had.

I think that this concept of a relationship and the power that we posses when we maintain a constant level of communication (prayer), is one that is sorely missing from our worship... today reminded me.