the Pitt 28: The Cruciform-Shape of Authenticity

Some time ago, my friend T Freeman wrote a short series called “Naturally Sacramental” on his blog.  One of the main pieces in our ensuing conversation that has begun to emerge in the conversation toward cuiltivating a faith community in Pittsburgh is the sacramental nature of people.  In the practice of people being sacramental, I believe this helps us move toward re-imagining a core posture of humility and authenticity with respect to being what we typically refer to as 'naturally supernatural':

“There are several ways that the practice of honesty shapes what Vineyard churches do and, more so, how they do it.  The most obvious is the casual, come-as-you-are approach to dress, style of speech, and style of music.  Even when performing the miraculous or experiencing intimacies with God the Vineyard is known for speaking in the native language of the people involved.  The phrase “naturally supernatural” came to embody this value in the movement. Whether in teaching, healing, praying, singing, or expelling demons, no one needs to put on airs or be what they aren’t or speak in King James English or a different tone of voice.  And tracking with the great commandments, transparency in the Vineyard is seen as facilitating close relationships among people as well as with God.  Many critics of the Vineyard assume that all the above practices are marketing-driven.  While it’s true that has played a role in varying degrees, churches and times, the value is more driven by a desire for true intimacy-people sharing what they really are-with God and others, and this value has shaped everything in the Vineyard movement.”

It’s about a deep honesty that engenders deep humility.  It is about being more human, not less human.  But this kind of humility and honesty does not lead us into stagnation, but rather propels us more and more to seek Jesus and the Kingdom of God, not only “in church” but everywhere we go in our lives in naturally supernatural rhythms.  We have begun to experience a new reality of the in-breaking Reign of God, in part but not in whole, at our most charismatic if not at our most mundane – thus perhaps we need to re-assess our experience of the Reign of God in Christ, because it directly affects the way we live in this world.  Too often the approach of the Church has been in either/or categories, not seeking to understand the tension inherent in our present reality, and I think this tension keeps us humble and promotes the way of being naturally supernatural.  When the work of the Spirit is embraced but naturally supernatural humility is not embraced, we tend to want to break the tension and either become gloriously myopic in the ‘now’ or ride off chasing after the ‘not yet’.  Seeking genuine wisdom, we want to move toward the essence of the mystery of the gospel of the Kingdom of God in Christ Jesus, and we embrace the tension and cruciform-shape to our formation and discipleship lived-out in our present reality as the people of God in Christ Jesus and as Spirit-empowered catalysts of the in-breaking Kingdom who journey through this present age as wounded healers in naturally supernatural ways. 

T goes on, "As always, the proof is in the practices. Vineyard churches, because they sacramentalize the believer, routinely make space in their gatherings (usually called ‘ministry time’) for large teams of people (generally not including the pastor) to “do the stuff” with/for anyone that wants someone to pray and listen to the Spirit for them, for one kind of healing or another, and routinely offer trainings/workshops (I have given them myself) for people who want to participate in this kind of ministry both in the church meetings and outside of them. I should probably also mention here that the practice of actually seeking or asking for God to be uniquely present or active is also viewed as sacramental in the Vineyard, in that it is commonplace in the Vineyard to expect God to be uniquely active when people ask or welcome him to be.  Even though the Vineyard does not teach that God’s response is at all dictated by people, they do teach and practice that sometimes God is not “uniquely present or active” because we  don’t ask, expect or really want him to be." 

We’re all wounded and broken, and we minister from this place and posture of weakness and brokenness.  This is our authenticity.  Dr. Terry Wardle at a recent formational prayer seminar spoke about “brokenness, brokenness, brokenness”.  He was referring to three types of brokenness:

• congenital brokenness (from the fall);
• communal brokenness (we are wounded and broken and we all go about wounding others and breaking others – Al-Anon has a saying resonating with this: “Hurt people hurt people.”);
• but the third one is sacramental brokenness: we minister healing from a posture and place of humility and weakness as Christ lives and heals and moves through us via His Spirit. 

This keeps me humble, and I think it seems to position all of us in a mutually transforming posture of something Ephesians talks about, mutual submission.  It is not I who live, but Christ lives through me.  It also seems to me that in a culture of self-promotion, humility becomes a primary spiritual discipline and even lifestyle of following Jesus while embracing all that it entails.  To me this seems utterly counter-cultural.  I also see this relating to the wisdom of the 12^th tradition of AA: “Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions...” 

Thus, in this way, I think our Vineyard distinctive of ‘naturally supernatural’ can be embraced as non-hyped but significantly life-changing via Christ Jesus with unlimited possibility and hope as we humbly submit and surrender to His Reign impacting us, moving through and on to others.  We’re merely broken vessels, and in seizing the authenticity inherent in brokenness, and acting on the wisdom of AA – that ‘alcoholics need other alcoholics’, i.e., the broken need others who are broken - we need to always endeavour to be mature, humble ‘pray-ers’ and as those receiving ministry to give good feedback and communication so that we move together in mutuality.  In this mutuality, we give ourselves over to Jesus to move and have His Being in and through us - joining Him in being the place where heaven and earth meet, trusting that the subsequent transparency and humility will affect mutual transformation and mysteriously – as Colossians 1:24 hints at – bring the sorrows and sufferings of Christ to wholeness.

[to be continued...]