An Inauguration of Faith
Whether you have resumed gathering in-person or are still online as so many have been during this pandemic season, Sunday morning worship is a customary, sometimes underappreciated linchpin in the life of Christians across the world. Maybe like you, Sunday holds many special memories for me. I sang “King Jesus is My Captain” in the Sunbeam Choir and memorized countless scriptures during BTU (Baptist Training Union) every Sunday evening. In these COVID days, the recurrent symbolism of sharing communion face-to-face with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is something I miss dearly. I yearn to hear a server speak Jesus’ words over me: “This is my body broken for you. This is the blood shed for you.” Changes in worship styles and the remixing of spiritual practices—the old becomes new, the new becomes old, and so on—is nothing novel. Since Christianity’s inception, there have been shifts around this, and that will never stop. The people of God need to articulate and embody responses to an already consistent, perfect, and relevant Gospel in ways that connect to new generations, adjusting to unique challenges with equally unique creativity unto God. Re-imagining one’s faith tradition sometimes requires detaching from prevailing traditions in order to attach to something more authentic, robust, and meaningful to a specific moment or people group. According to a 2014 Pew Research study, 36% of the nation attended church at least once a week with another 33% claiming attendance once or twice per month. With that and other data in mind, we know that not only young people are leaving the church or coming of age devoid of any faith tradition at all from the beginning.
There will never be a perfect church because we who make up the Church, universal and local, are imperfect. And because of this, we need one another. Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17) and the church is God’s primary vehicle for that work. We were not designed to live alone, much less live a life of faith on an island. For Christians to increasingly grow disconnected from fellowship, worship, and generally “doing life” with other Christians is averse to the deepest values that nurture and advance our faith deepening. Without robust Christian community, the strongest believers are prone to wane in their belief or to be compromised somehow. To be fair, these divides are not arising today from the complications of religious tyranny. In the American context I am in and know best, we are not the three Hebrew boys from the book of Daniel. Rather, many are abandoning faith commitments voluntarily, opting to fend for themselves at the expense of any responsibility to invest and be invested in pertaining to spiritual matters that encompass life and death. I am not suggesting that you need to be best friends with every person who professes Christ. With Jesus having said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 7:21-23) we know that someone’s ability to outwardly “perform” certain parts of Christian output never guarantees they are a Christian. Furthermore, there is a lot of legitimate distinctiveness among Christ’s followers: personality, race, ethnicity, theology, age, stage of life, social location. Of course, we should never excuse dysfunction, discrimination, abuse, corruption, or anything else that displeases God for the sake of a false unity, but the body of Christ needs its various parts to make the difference God intends inside and outside. Internal maturity and external service exemplify a holistic testimony as to the difference a life of faith makes.
It should go without saying that God does not intend us to live as robots, doing the same things in the same ways for a lifetime with no original thought or variance. We are to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), which is only possible when embracing the full range of biblical diversity that speaks to our creation. God desires our personality to shine through, even while upholding timeless orthodox commitments. In 1916, Lucy Smith started prayer circles in her home that consisted of shouting, speaking in tongues, intercessory prayer, and the laying on of hands. These healing services became the foundation by which she would grow as a church elder and establish her own fellowship, All National Pentecostal Church in Chicago. Though practiced with less charismatic sway than Smith, I have been a participant and leader of various small groups in my time, where women gather to discuss life’s tests, support and pray for one another, and grow by studying the Bible and discussing the kind of books that help deepen our compassion toward and competency about our neighbor.
I wonder what your daily communication with God takes shape. Is your routine to rise before the sun does for a devotional period? Do you pray in the shower? Maybe you listen to an audio version of the Bible during your commute for work. Are you in the habit of maintaining a nightly gratitude journal? Or it could be that in this needed but wacky time of social distancing, that you enjoy a weekly Bible study with a few friends over Zoom. How we experience God through the rhythms of our individual lives will differ, but it is vital to be regularly engaged in studying the convictions necessary to personify a robust faith. It is not a competition. However, like any other relationship, our connection to God must be nurtured by spending time with Him and others who love Him. There are no short-cuts to spiritual maturity. Reading, studying, and meditating on God’s Word is non-negotiable if you are to imitate Christ by way of your actions. (1 Corinthians 4:16) The Bible is not a source of mere inspiration. It is the authoritative roadmap for our living. In it, we locate the chastising liberation of truth and encouragement in a world whose prevailing thought is that anything goes. Within its 66 books, the Bible reveals the glory of God for human consumption. It teaches us how to live and why living a particular matters. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 stands out because of its counsel that, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
On the wall above my study area at home, framed on a canvas are these words:
Girl, read your bible.
You can eat all the kale,
buy all the things
lift all the weights
take all the trips
trash all that doesn’t spark joy
wash your face and hustle like mad,
but if you don’t rest your soul in Jesus,
you’ll never find your peace and purpose.
I cannot stress enough that there is no substitute for the Word of God. As much as I love to lift my hands and make a joyful noise to praise the Lord, which is appropriate, it does not replace keeping the content of the Bible close to my heart. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) It is only when I begin to more accurately understand the Word of God that the lyrics to Gospel songs come alive. As we read, memorize, and study scripture, on our own and with others in Christian community, that the truth read penetrates our heart and becomes what we then more valiantly govern our lives by.
We cannot go days, weeks, and months not making time for Christ. Posting inspirational quotes and memes do not constitute intimate time spent with God Almighty. If Christ is the most important part of our lives, it becomes evident, at least partly, in what or who we allow to most occupy our attention. During the horrific era of chattel slavery in the U.S., enslaved people would sing “Steal Away to Jesus,” often as a stealthy signal that the time for an escape had arrived. But it also doubled as a kind of intoned prayer, giving voice to how they trusted God to be with them in their time of trouble. A proud product of Pittsburgh, spoken word poet Joel Dias-Porter (who also goes by DJ Renegade) was onto something when he wrote that, “Spirituals are how angels would sound singing in a cotton field.” In Barbara Peacock’s book Soul Care for African American Practice, Harold Carter reflects that “prayer gave them sustaining power amid severe beatings, overt oppression, and perilous persecution. Prayer was often held in hushed harbors or in sugarcane fields, where slaves could hide among the tall cane and call on the name of Jesus.” God is as accessible in the nonchalant mundane moments of life as when crisis and chaos are upon us, and we are desperate for immediate intervention. He never goes off on vacation. Hallelujah!
If you are not consistently conversing and spending time with your heavenly Father, I suggest using this beginning of 2021, specifically the time between Advent and Lent, as a personal awakening to revive that relationship, to make it number one. Try writing yourself some Post-it notes or setting a phone alert that asks the question, “Have I spent time with God today?” This is not about shame. Certainly, we all face seasons where we feel off-kilter or out of sorts and need help locating sustainable ways forward. But you cannot heal what you refuse to identify or confront. Being honest about where we are in devoting ourselves to God offers the best opportunity to then know what edits need to be made. I dare you to prioritize Christ into your daily routine and see the amazing transformation that will follow as you fall in love with God over and over again. Start small by simply reflecting on a favorite Bible verse or cataloging words of thanksgiving for who God is. Majoring in the minors will hurt more than it helps, so do not beat yourself up. Seek the Lord through Epiphany and spiritual droughts. He is God in all seasons, “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6) As it proves appropriate, remix and shift along the way, and ask for help, but never stop seeking God.