Beyond the Hands and Feet of Christ

Beyond the Hands and Feet of Christ

Beyond the Hands and Feet of Christ

 

A recent pastoral prayer I heard reminded me that it’s time to up your prayer game beyond praying to be the hands and feet of Christ. Longing to be a mere appendage of Christ is aiming too low. Rather than being the hands and feet of Christ, aim for the consciousness of Christ.

While Teresa of Avila popularized the idea that “Christ has no body but yours; No hands, no feet on earth but yours,” the scriptures make an even bolder assertion. You “have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor 2:16)

While being the hands and feet of Christ denotes doing good deeds and offering compassionate service, having the mind of Christ denotes unity with God. The truth is anybody can do good deeds. (And thankfully, many, many people do.) But you are called to more than that. You are called to operate from divine consciousness. This consciousness is what enables the move from discipleship to apostleship, and from believing in Jesus to believing like Jesus.

As I write elsewhere belief in Jesus means trusting in his power, his love, his teachings, and his saving grace. This is the kind of faith commonly taught in church. You’ll hear this motif reflected in songs and hymns, sermons and Bible studies, as well as children’s messages and youth curriculum. It is the focus of much teaching on salvation. Belief in Jesus is the stuff of discipleship.

But having the mind of Christ, of believing like Jesus, is more apostleship than discipleship. This divine consciousness leads to a deep knowing that you are one with God and one with the Holy Spirit. With it, you cultivate an unwavering trust in your life purpose. You have rock-solid faith that all things are possible. As a result, you entertain an ever-ready expectancy of miracles. Most of all, with the mind of Christ, you live in constant communion with, and surrender to, God. Here’s the bottom line. When you have the mind of Christ, you operate in an elevated state of consciousness in which there is no separation between humanity and divinity, between you and God.

I can’t help but wonder what would happen if we prayed for the consciousness of Christ. When the disciples moved into the apostolic mode Peter healed a paralyzed man. Paul and Silas sang in jail until the chains broke. Mere shadows of the apostles caused people to heal. The apostles oversaw the rapid multiplication of the church, with thousands upon thousands becoming believers.

What could be possible now, in these post-pandemic times? What new visions might you dream? Are there new miracles you might manifest? New areas of growth you might shepherd?

Learn more about our step-by-step approach that moves you from discipleship to apostleship: Creating a Culture of Renewal®

 

What My First Marriage Taught Me About Acceptance

What My First Marriage Taught Me About Acceptance

What My First Marriage Taught Me About Acceptance

 

Even though we weren’t married long, my first marriage taught me about acceptance. Doug, my first husband, was a smart, funny, kind person; a man of deep faith, and a lawyer by training. He had a heart of gold. He served as a guardian ad litem in the court system for children in precarious situations.

But Doug had a persistent, hidden pain.  He couldn’t reconcile his inner spirit—his gender identity—with the body he was born into and the gender he was assigned.  He wrestled with it from the time he was a small child and carried this pain into adulthood. Many years later, after our brief marriage dissolved, Doug finally transitioned into the life of a female and became known as Danyel.

While this decision came with a deep sense of relief, there was also a great price to pay. While Doug was beloved, Danyel was disowned by a sister. Other friends couldn’t hang in there either.  But even through all her personal changes, Danyel, who has since passed away, continued the professional work of  advocating for the dignity and safety of children.

Challenging Topics for Leaders

I don’t pretend to understand what it feels like to wrestle in this way.  Or even why some people experience gender dysphoria. However having personally witnessed a slice of the searing journey Doug took to become Danyel, and the peace that at last came with it, I have nothing but respect for the courage of trans people.

Over the years I have come to know a handful of other men and women with similar stories. Each of them, interestingly, has been a professional person with deep convictions about their calling in life. While I don’t know Rev. Megan Rohrer, the newly elected bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, it sounds like she shares a similar journey to the folks I have known.  She is the first openly trans person to be elected Bishop of a mainline denomination.

As a leader, you may be asked to comment on the connection between Bishop Rohrer, the Bible, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. While her election doesn’t directly impact the United Methodist denomination, it does give you a chance to reflect theologically and personally on what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God, to be a beloved child of God, and to experience grace.

I don’t know what you will say, or even how you feel about this. But I would like to offer some questions for you to consider how to frame challenging topics.

How to Frame Challenging Topics

1) How to disagree without demonizing?

How can you talk about experiences like this that fall outside the norm, the expected, in such a way that you do not demean, demonize, or dehumanize people? Neither the people in favor of it, nor the people against it, nor the people who don’t understand it, or don’t care? Truth is, most people have their own inner conflicts. Hearing how you address this topic will help them consider their own unspoken concerns that may fall outside the norm or the expected.

2) How to dialogue rather than jump to judgement?

How can you draw people into dialogue or inquiry rather than making snap judgements? Adding to the culture wars ethos so prevalent today doesn’t help us come together. SO many things are immediately set up as a “for or against” proposition. Taking a reasoned thoughtful approach helps people think rather than react. Also, you may have people wrestling with gender dysphoria in your congregation.  Choose your words carefully.

3) How to think theologically?

How can you use the tool of the Wesleyan quadrilateral to help people think theologically?  It’s okay for people to arrive at different decisions.  Teaching people how to think theologically is more powerful than telling them what to think. The quadrilateral also allows for people to flex and change their mind, rather than harden into a set position.

In the end, I’m grateful for what my first marriage taught me about acceptance.  I have found that telling my own story—without making others wrong—and then listening—really listening—to their story, is a powerful way to approach sensitive subjects. It allows people to be heard, and to discover something new from each other. Best of all, this approach helps us to experience the grace of God and each other’s inherent humanity in such a way that we each get to express our true selves.  That’s a gift we can give each other in the midst of challenging times.

Do You Have the Faith of a Mailman?

Do You Have the Faith of a Mailman?

Do You Have the Faith of a Mailman?

 

While I’m happily married now, and have been for almost 20 years, I fielded all sorts of unusual questions when I was a single pastor, and dating. One in particular sticks in my mind. “Do you think I’m an apostle?”

Do I think you’re an apostle? This was a first. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how to answer this guy. To begin with, he was Catholic, and I didn’t think Catholics talked about apostles; it seemed like a word more connected to Pentecostals. Second, he was a mailman. It was the first time I had heard a regular person apply the word apostle to themselves.

The word apostle seems to be reserved for the select few, or as alter egos for the disciples. Or maybe as I said for Pentecostal leaders. But mail carriers? I wasn’t sure.

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Its usage begs the question: What’s the difference between an apostle and a disciple? And is the word apostle even still to be used?

Disciples and Apostles

The word disciple comes from the Latin discipulus. It means scholar. A disciple is a student who learns from a master teacher. The disciple’s primary focus is the teacher, and their primary job is to learn from those teachings. All so that the disciples can live out the “way” or the path of the teacher.

(Recall Jesus saying: I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”) John the Baptist had disciples, the Pharisees had disciples, and Jesus had disciples. Of all three, we know the most about Jesus’ disciples. His disciples traveled extensively with him to observe and absorb all they could about his life and ethos.

An apostle, however, is an altogether different animal. Even though the word apostle sounds similar to the word disciple, it hails from the Greek, apostolos meaning envoy. While disciples are students, apostles are agents. They don’t follow the master. They’re sent out by the master.

They’re delegates, commissioned to act on behalf of another.

The Twelve functioned first as disciples and second as apostles. According to Mark: 3:13-15, Jesus went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.

The Twelve first learned from Jesus, then were sent out in his name. They were followed by many others who were also sent out in his name including Paul, Silas, Barnabas, and Junia.

In today’s language, we might say that disciples are followers and apostles are leaders. But there’s more to it than that.

Disciples and apostles have qualitatively different kinds of faith. Disciples have faith in Jesus while apostles have the faith of Jesus. Otherwise, there’s no way that apostles could do what Jesus did. And make no mistake—the apostles did.

Jesus first sent the 12 out, and later the 70, to do exactly what he did. Even while Jesus was alive, his apostles healed the sick, cast out demons, and preached the Kingdom. They had authority over unclean spirits. After Jesus ascends into heaven, Peter heals a paralyzed man. Paul and Silas sing in jail until the chains break. Mere shadows of the apostles cause people to heal.

faith of an apostle

Disciples have faith in Jesus. Apostles have the faith of Jesus. So what is the difference between the two?

Faith in Jesus

Faith in Jesus means trusting in his power, his love, his teachings, and his saving grace. This is the kind of faith we commonly teach in church—in songs and hymns, sermons and Bible studies, and children’s messages and youth curriculum. It is the focus of much teaching on salvation.

Faith of Jesus

Having the faith of Jesus takes things to a whole new level. It means trusting in what Jesus trusted in, abiding in a deep knowing that you are one with God and one with the Holy Spirit. Having the faith of Jesus means cultivating an unwavering trust in your life purpose, and entertaining a rock-solid knowledge that all things are possible. It means living with an ever-ready expectancy of miracles.

Most of all, it means living in constant communion with, and surrender to, God. In other words, having the faith of Jesus means operating in an elevated state of consciousness in which there is no separation between humanity and divinity, between us and God. This kind of faith is hinted at in church, but is often not emphasized, even though it is a big part of Jesus’ teachings (see for instance John 15). Is it any wonder that apostleship is so little known?

You may say: I’m a disciple; I can’t be an apostle. I challenge you to re-think that. You see, discipleship was always and only meant to be the first step in your relationship with Jesus. The end game was always apostleship. You’re called. Anointed. Appointed. Authorized. Accountable. You’re agents of the Kingdom.

If you’re ready to step into apostleship, then it’s time to pray the prayer of the apostles: “Lord, increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5). After all, if a small-town mailman can envision himself as an apostle, why not you?

By the way…back to that date some 21 years ago. After he asked me about apostleship, I had to question my own level of faith. After all, he was a mailman and I was a pastor. Where in the heck was my trust in God? Maybe this guy was an apostle. I prayed my own version of the apostle’s prayer: Lord, increase my faith, when the mailman eventually asked me another big question. This time on bended knee. With a ring. God showed me the right answer and I said yes.

When God speaks to you, what will your answer be to God?