In our latest series on this space, we have been attempting to form appropriate responses to three questions asked by the leaders of our movement. Jonathan started us off by framing an answer to the purpose of the Church of God movement. Joe and David each gave us a response to the Church of God’s unique contribution to the Kingdom. And Shannon began to help us think about what this would all mean as we move forward. In this entry, I will attempt to respond to Shannon’s thoughts:
Upon what should the Movement focus going forward?
In a world that is rapidly changing, we see Christ communities of various forms struggling to remain both relevant and counter-cultural. To try to form a few coherent thoughts about moving forward is a big task. But try we must, so we press on.
A Personal Focus
Shannon’s post took us down to the very grassroots level of individual responsibility and focus. She is very accurate in articulating that if we personally “cannot get on board with the answer to this question (or the others) … then why [are we] a part of this movement?” And so we boil it down to the simple focus that Christ called us to, and press on with the task at hand: to make disciples (Matthew 28:19).
A Communal Identity
However, I would also suggest that perhaps it is not enough to simply boil things down to a personal focus. We are created to live in community, and as such, it would be equally important to have a communal identity. This is not so that we have something to hold on to as a scorecard for or against anyone, but so that we have pillars to lean on as we attempt to make sense of how to live out the Great Commission in an ever-changing world.
If we examine the story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness after they left Egypt, we find that they were given a set of laws to live by. This set of laws, now known to us as the Ten Commandments, was not given simply to be rules to be followed, but to be a guide as they began to re-form a sense of identity as a people.
Likewise, as a Reformation movement, it becomes important for us as the Church of God to lean on the pillars of Holiness and Unity to guide our identity as a people. But we do not do so simply out of obligation to tradition, or so that we can justify doing things the way it has always been done. We do so because these pillars guide us to live as reformation people who respect history and tradition to keep us rooted as we navigate what it means to make disciples in an ever-changing world.
So perhaps a one-sentence answer would look like this:
The Church of God Reformation movement should focus on being faithful to the call to make disciples, holding in tension the traditions of holiness and unity, and the call to be a reformation movement in an ever-changing world.
Your thoughts?