passing the baton

Closely linked to the idea of the imitation of Christ is the idea of embodiment, which involves the dual tasks of patterning, and modeling. When we look at the phenomenal movements in history we will find that these people movements found a way to translate the grand themes of the Gospel (Kingdom of God, redemption, atonement, forgiveness, love, etc.) into concrete life through the embodiment of Jesus in ways that were profoundly relational and attractive. Through this the Jesus phenomenon became a movement of the people and not a closeted religious philosophy mediated by a religious elite as often happens in history of religions.

Embodiment means to literally give flesh to the ideas and experiences which animate us. If these ideas and experiences are really believed in and valued, then they must be lived out. Embodiment is an important factor in the healthy leadership of all human organizations, but is absolutely crucial to the viability and witness of the Christian movement and therefore to both discipleship and missional leadership. And this cannot be passed on through mere writing and books: it is always communicated through life itself, by the leader to the community, from teacher to disciple, and from believer to believer.

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The idea of the embodiment of our message highlights, as well as substantiates, the truth that we seek to convey. And it is precisely this that Christian discipleship must seek to achieve. Jim Wallis says that “the only way to propagate a message is to live it.” When we try to translate this idea of embodiment in terms of missional strategy as to how we impact people with the Gospel, it will mean that we ourselves must become a substantial representation of what for many outside of Christ is an otherwise rather nebulous theory. This concept is therefore not just existentially significant for an authentic life, and it is that, it is absolutely crucial both for the transmission of the Gospel beyond ourselves, and for the initiating and survival of missional movements. It is critical to the authenticity and vitality of the Church’s mission. For remarkable examples of this in western church history we need only look at someone like St. Francis, who lived out his message in a community that embodied his teachings. But we can find similar patterns for instance, in Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians.

With these reflections in mind, listen to Paul. Try to discern the meaning of embodiment, and consider its impact on others in the surrounding social systems.

Because the apostles were essentially custodians of the DNA of God’s people, the embodiment of the gospel had to be observed as living integrity in their lives for the message to have any lasting effect. It is this consistency between message and messenger that authenticated the apostolic message and cultivated receptivity in the hearers. The Pauline churches in turn could be faithful because they had observed in Paul a living model of faithfulness. Consequently Paul’s converts modeled and embodied it so others could see and this led to lasting impact. The teachings must embed themselves in the lives of the followers and this can only be achieved through the discipling relationship.

To be effective, movements, and the central ideas associated with them, must take root in the lives of their followers. If this does not take place, the movement will simply not ignite. And again, it’s not just an issue of personal integrity alone, it’s also about patterning. The pattern of a movement is usually set in a definitive sense, by its founder. Therefore in terms of the movement dynamics and mission of the Christian church, this notion of modeling the message is therefore absolutely crucial to the transmission of the original message beyond our Founder to that of subsequent generations.

September 18, 2007 | Filed Under discipleship, educational, movements, the forgotten ways |  

Comments

11 Responses to “passing the baton”

  1. makeesha on September 18th, 2007 3:22 pm

    I have big feelings about this - I’ve been talking with David a lot about it lately and you articulate a good and slightly different angle.

    I think I’m going to do an audio blog about it soon because it’s just “too much” for me to articulate in print - - so…more to come….I just wanted to say thanks and well said.

  2. Mike on September 19th, 2007 1:06 am

    Well said, Alan. I’ve been ranting for a while on the need to “do”, not just “believe”. The notion of modeling is great language to use… thanks.

  3. Richard Clarke on September 19th, 2007 1:57 am

    Sounds like true discipleship and it’s outcome in a reproductive model. Hmm, weren’t we just talking about that?

  4. Patrick on September 19th, 2007 6:45 am

    One of the realities of the emerging missional churches I’ve seen is that modeling to be relevant is more expressed than modeling to be holy and a disciple of Jesus. There’s been a moving away from seeing thorough discipleship towards trying to be ‘real’, expressed through language, and action, and openness to situations that the earliest disciples would have rejected. This has come about maybe because church became such its own culture that reacting against the old meant embracing the culture.

  5. alan hirsch on September 19th, 2007 7:41 am

    There’s always a tension between relevance and faithfulness. A true view of the Incarnation should guide us here. Perfect holiness, perfect relevance.

  6. Dion on September 19th, 2007 11:22 am

    “Perfect holiness, perfect relevance” I like the sound of it but that is incredibly hard to flesh out. It requires an inseparable walk with our savior much closer and deeper than I know I’ve been at before. I keep getting in trouble because I tend to move toward one or the other, it’s holiness or relevance, but that can’t be! It must be both to truly walk as Jesus did.
    Only through sensitivity the the Spirit at ALL times can we ever even hope to get close to living it.

  7. Dub on September 19th, 2007 11:32 am

    “To be effective, movements, and the central ideas associated with them, must take root in the lives of their followers. If this does not take place, the movement will simply not ignite.”

    Alan, I think your statement recaptures an element of the Great Commission that is often ignored by the Western Church. We read “teaching them everything I have commanded you” (just learn the central idea, doctrine, orthodoxy), when Jesus said “teaching them TO OBEY everything I have commanded you” (trust me enough to put my teachings into practice). For orthodoxy to mean anything, there must be orthopraxy.

    It has been my experience that when men and women are faithful to God, when obedience will cost them everything in the world’s eyes, the Gospel ignites with a fire that cannot be quenched (except by our desire to be safe and comfortable).

  8. makeesha on September 19th, 2007 1:51 pm

    dion - you and me both.

  9. John L on September 20th, 2007 4:43 am

    Alan, perhaps there’s a direct line connecting embodied holiness to embodied ecclesia. In other words, our “modeling of the message” is only as authentic as our love for one another – a love that can only be nurtured (discipled) in shared, participative community.

    Today’s church rarely progresses beyond a consumer model of gathering - we “show up” as individuals to a “service” but rarely connect beyond superficial chit-chat to those around us.

    Professional discipling (paid managers, building-centric, liturgy-centric, pervasive lay-clergy duality, CEO/MC control of gatherings, etc.) begets DNA with a similar understanding of ecclesia, evangelism, etc.. Those “outside of Christ” see a dynamic that looks little different than a modern corporation. No wonder our churches are unattractive to “outsiders”. They don’t see spiritual transcendence – they see programs and strategies.

    I think we’re missing (and perhaps have been missing for 1700-1800 years..) the radical call of Jesus away from political / business / institutional notions of community, and into an ethos that is truly not of this world, not made with hands.

    Perhaps our communities should mimic the Spirit, always fluid, re-forming, and re-forming again, dying daily and being reborn in infinite creativity. We tend to get stuck in routines of our own making, but Christ is always making everything new. Our hearts, our communities, should reflect this reality – and by extension the “baton we pass.”

  10. Patrick Oden on September 20th, 2007 7:04 am

    “Perfect holiness, perfect relevance.”

    Absolutely. I think some of the problem is that the word holiness has been wrongly understood. In essence what is being sought by so many religious folks is perfect sacredness.

    That’s the contrast. Perfect sacredness is the pharisaic model.

    Perfect holiness is the Jesus model.

    Perfect sacredness says don’t go near prostitutes. Perfect holiness says don’t lust.

    The person who is perfectly holy is free to be perfectly relevant. They bring healing to the broken and hope to the lost.

    It’s much easier to be sacred though.

  11. Peggy on September 20th, 2007 9:39 am

    Oh, Alan…you know this makes me yearn for it to finally be time for CovenantClusters to get off the paper and into the neighborhood! I know that attending Missional Order is an important piece…I am hoping that it is the final piece and, actually, is part “launch”! It is very hard to wait for the Spirit to give the order to move, but I am determined to obey and not move ahead of the Spirit! I am doing everything I can to be ready for the word to be given…thanks for keeping the vision fresh–even if it makes my heart ache…it is a good ache 8)

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