Legacy Church Blog

Community is a work of art, not accident.

I learned this the hard way. I will never forget the day I walked into my first art class in college. I was confident. I had always been the kid who could draw. Grandmas, aunts, boyhood friends, and my mom’s refrigerator bore witness to that fact. I had a talent. And, now I would finally get the affirmation of a degree, proving it. It would simply be a formality. My art instructors would all nod in agreement while stroking the beards on their eccentric chins. I would get the stamp of approval and be sent out into the world to officially be, what I was already pretty sure I was, a talented artist. Uhh…then I met my teacher.

He was a thin man, wearing overalls and, if memory serves me, a tie-dye shirt of some sort. He was either barefoot or was wearing sandals. I can’t remember which; I just think I remember seeing toes. He was sipping coffee from a ceramic mug that was made to look like a cowboy boot. He had longish hair- the kind that 90’s grunge singers wore. He was mustachioed and bearded before this was ever popular, and this facial hair was, sculpted, curly, and waxy. He didn’t smile much, and if he ever did, he seemed to fight it, which resulted in a curious sort of half smile. I discovered quickly that he and I had different goals for the class, and I’m thinking this was true of some of my beloved classmates as well.

My new eccentric art instructor informed the class straight away that the class would not be easy. I can’t remember how it was communicated, whether by words or some other means, but I was getting the idea that he did not consider us to be artists yet. He had a smug and irreverent attitude toward our grandmas’ and aunties’ assessments of our talents. He would not recognize them. No, we would be proven by hard work and seemingly unreachable expectations. He did not assume that anyone would make it through the class with a passing grade, nor did he assume the opposite. Though there were a variety of skill levels, experience, and talent in the room, he quickly managed to convince us we were all overrated. In one session, he had, well, humbled us. We had nowhere to go but up. To my surprise it was very liberating! I was now free to learn from the kid who had less game than I did and visa versa. We would have to band together, working as one, pressing on to the lofty goal- a passing grade.

My instructor would have been a great Church community leader. Think about it. He refused to allow us to continue our childish desire for cheap affirmation. Haven’t we seen this in our Christian community? Don’t we strut into our community groups holding up our strengths and gifts, waving them around, in hopes we will be valued for them? Or maybe we are the ones, who hope we are not noticed, because then something might be expected of us, and we will be drawn out of our comfortable walls of protection. Then, if we are not affirmed, or we are called out, we leave. That’s because we think community is an accident. In other words, we don’t see God orchestrating it. We just think it’s convenient, every now and then, to bump into other Christians, but we’re pretty sure we’ve got this. Yes, we drag that baggage right in through the doors of our community groups. But, good news! Jesus leveled the playing field for us.

He has shown us how pitiful our attempts are at the art of this life. Jesus has pointed to the fact that He did it all perfectly in His work, into which, He poured His sweat, blood, and tears. And, now we can actually delight God! We can delight in God. We can! We can by the Spirit of the greatest artist that ever lived, who now lives and moves through us. Oh, and Jesus didn’t die for a bunch of isolated loners who happen into the same “classroom” randomly. He did it for his church. He threw Himself into the messy creative process of redeeming his people. Then he rendered the portrait of His bride, like a painting on a canvas. His grace became the vehicle carrying the paint of our lives toward the beauty he envisioned. We are now transformed a little each day from rawness to refined character. No, it was no accident; it was and is His work in progress. And, some day we will enjoy the finished masterpiece in the presence of the artist Himself. -Kevin

Do you remember Sunday school?

I know not everyone experienced it, but I did, and I have vivid memories of it. I remember the flannel board doubling first as the back- drop of stiff cutout Bible characters and then, second as a sort of Velcro-like adhesive, only much warmer and cozier. I remember the smell of the potluck dinner we would have after the service wafting down from the fellowship hall and into our classroom.  I always hoped there would be fried chicken. It would be my reward for enduring to the end. If you were ever there, then you remember the kid in class who always got the right answer, because her answer was always Jesus, God, the Bible, or John 3:16. That was, of course, unless the question was about the cause of evil in the world or about sin. Then, the answer was the devil.

So when Chris, our COM leader, gave us a set of questions to answer in our monthly meeting, I was intrigued. Could I answer them without resorting to trite, stock, Sunday school-isms? Could I answer them in a way that would stir my fervor for the Gospel and my faith in Jesus? There were five questions: Who is God? What has He done? Who are we? What do we do? How do we do it in our unique context/ contexts? (I paraphrased the wording but tried to stay true to the meaning) Chase, one of our elders, rightly pointed out that the knowledge of God is a great mountain; we could “climb all our lives and never get to the top.” So, I will just start here at the trailhead by sharing my ponderings on the first question this time. Here goes:

Question 1: Who is God?

• I know He’s one God, but also three: The Father, Spirit, and Son. Honestly, this is so hard for me to swallow, though. I think about it pretty often, and it’s a faith builder every time I rediscover, then believe God’s Word about this truth; then I fall in love with it all over again. I know that sounds like a sappy Journey song, but it’s true, and the root of that truth grows a little deeper in me each time. The cool thing about it, I heard a good preacher say, is that it helps us better understand the very often quoted, very often misunderstood, claim that God is Love. How? Ok, the Father has loved the Son forever and the Spirit has loved the Father and the Son has loved…well they’ve all loved each other forever and will, for all eternity. God is the first family. The picture of perfect community.

• What about the fact that He exists eternally? I can actually imagine someone existing eternally in the future. What boggles my finite mind, though, is that He has always been! He was never made. Never imagined by anyone. He’s not the product of anything or any being. He is utterly other than us. He’s not just holy (set apart). He’s Holy, Holy, Holy! It’s so difficult to grasp, but it is a must-believe. Without that piece of who God is, we are doomed. He is I Am. We are, well dead, until he blows His breath into our dead spirit nostrils. You have to have breath to blow breath. He had that breath first: His Spirit. He did it when he created the first man, and he does it every time he brings another dead, non-breathing spirit to life- to His life.

• God created everything. I get that. I make things too. But I run into a wall in my understanding when I contemplate the astounding truth that He made it all out of nothing. Absolutely nothing! I don’t do that. I have a hard time making something out of what He gave me to work with. I feel like a kid fumbling with finger paint sometimes- figuratively and literally. (I’m an art teacher) Oh, and let’s not forget that Jesus was there as well. The Spirit too. They were all there! Yeah, I know Jesus was born as a man, but He has always existed and always will. That makes Him God. I’m glad about that, because without that integral truth, we are left hopeless. How could a regular fallen man have done any eternal work toward reconciliation to the God with whom we made enemies? It is impossible for man, yet possible for God. Praise Him! He not only created everything, but He is recreating us. He is the true artist, and the best teacher.

I could go on and on (I know that surprises some of you), but I’ll pause here. My aim was to stir up some food for thought on God. I hope your curiosity was rekindled about what God says about Himself, and I hope your desire to explore the amazing truths about God was enlivened a bit. I’m still chewing on these few I shared with you here. I will be mauling over the other four, well, forever.

Thanks for asking them Chris; it was a healthy exercise. I’m more excited about the Gospel, and I am spurred on to more fervently seek out the soul nourishing wisdom of God. However, even more importantly, I am getting hungrier for the very one who calls Himself the Bread of Life, our glorious Lord, Jesus Christ.

Kevin