Perhaps the church is neither emerging nor re-structuring so much as re-claiming its true nature as an underground, insurgent movement. By that I mean that the truest work of the Holy Spirit always seems to be initiated among the least and the unseen bringing forth true kingdom life that is contrary and even subversive to the surrounding culture.
Tom Sine, in his new book (not yet published) “The New Conspirators” talks about “joining the conspiracy of the insignificant”:
In spite of the fact that our world is changing at blinding speed and the church is going through some very tough times God is still at work in ways that aren’t always immediately apparent. For some reason, God seems to delight in conspiring through the small, insignificant and ordinary to renew the church and transform the world. Eugene Peterson wrote, “The metaphors Jesus used for the life of ministry are frequently images of the single, the small and the quiet, which have effects far in excess of their appearance: salt, leaven and seed.”
He goes on to say:
Changing the world through the conspiracy of the insignificant has always been God’s strategy. God chose a ragtag group of Semite slaves to be the insurgents of a new order. God sent a vast army to flight with three hundred men carrying lamps and blowing horns. God chose a shepherd boy with a slingshot to lead his chosen people. And who would have dreamed that God would choose a baby in a cow stall to turn the world right side up?
Perhaps the real emergence of today’s church, the primary re-structuring that needs to take place, is in our own hearts. That we would be willing to be the unseen, unheralded ambassadors who heroically refuse to walk in the ways of this world for the sake of demonstrating a love that throws money-changers out of temples, embraces sinners, and forgives those who nail us to a cross.
Maybe, the moment we are no longer underground (unseen) nor insurgent (counter-cultural), we are no longer really the church.
Maybe, the moment “our movement” is recognized, written about, or even blogged about, it no longer has the characteristics of the true church.
Maybe, the moment we receive an accolade or an applause for what we are doing, it is time to look to see if the recognition has come because we have begun to agree more with our culture than the radical kingdom that Jesus preached and demonstrated.
Perhaps it is the underground, insurgent nature of the church that needs to be re-claimed above all else and maybe, just maybe, all of the “emerging” and “re-structuring” will take care of itself.
The first chapter of Tom Sine’s yet-to-be-published book can be found here.
Comments
6 responses to “An Underground, Insurgent Movement”
When men begin to take credit for a movement of God, then it seems to lose its vibrancy. Let God be God, and let Him do what He wants to do, when He wants to do it. We cannot fit God in the box of ‘simple church’, ‘traditional church’, ’emergent church’, or any other designations of men. Let’s just catch the wave of the Spirit and enjoy the ride.
(Just a comment on this post.)
“Perhaps the church is neither emerging nor re-structuring so much as re-claiming its true nature as an underground, insurgent movement.”
As I read this I thought about how it’s His nature which is in us … and how HIs nature becoming deeper is what is moving us in the right direction, as far as functioning as His body, as One, in tune and always in love with Him. Love that grows deeper and is lived out in a way that captivates the hearts of the lost, is something that to me has to bypass the desire for approval or praise from others ..
I agree with both of the above comments. As soon as we humans in all of our infinate wisdom think we know what God is wanting to do, we start making plans as to how to make it better or who has the right idea.
God is the creator of the plan, we just need to let Him be God and obey Him.
When I think of insurgent warfare, I typically associate it with an outclassed or defeated foe. Throughout history, whenever a movement has been unable to sustain itself on the battle field against a superior military force, it has evolved into an insurgency.
Since God is obviously not suffering from battlefield inferiority, I think the “insurgency” you mentioned would better be classified as “asymmetrical warfare.” In this way, we choose to move away from traditional tactics, not because we are outclassed but because we feel the heart cry of God to become more effective.
While you are right about the idea that we like to pretend we know how to do things better than God does, it is important to understand that God’s will isn’t some magical thing that is evasive and difficult to find. God gave us His Word straight, and it would be out of his character to then have to fight through so much muddle to try to puzzle together what He really wants from us, personally, in our unique situations. For an interesting blog on house churches and the Bible, look here. http://journals.aol.com/outletdance/house-churches-and-the-new-testa/
I find this post most enlightning, thank you.