Been thinking about how the Kingdom grows lately. These thoughts have mostly come from my readings in Jesus for President and my aggravation with some poison ivy that’s sprouted up in our backyard.  Jesus says that Kingdom growth a lot like a mustard tree.

I hear that Jews were not too fond of mustard trees.  There were actually Jewish laws against them being planted in gardens.  The reason why is that they essentially took over the area, planting and sprouting and generally being a nuisance.  Those stubborn little bushes would pop up and ruin all the plans and purposes the farmer had for the garden.  No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t stop those tiny little seeds from spreading and getting into your garden!

Growing up, I always heard nice sermons about the remarkable power of a mustard seed - tiny as it is, growing into a giant redwood or something.  The only problem is, when you actually look at a mustard tree, its pretty scraggly.  Check out this mustard “tree” below that is busting out of some concrete in Bethany:

This insidious viral plant spreads like wildfire and is under no one’s control.  It breaks all kinds of rules about how plants are supposed to behave.  And what’s more - the fowl are supposed to take refuge in its branches!  This is not the cedars of Lebanon that Israel hoped the Kingdom of God would produce.  This looks more like a renegade sleeper cell just waiting to spread its potent seeds of destruction all over your lawn - and attract and house the worst kind of flying beasts - the kind that poop all over your car and hang out with the wrong crowd.

If we think about the Kingdom of God as Jesus taught about it, what might change in how we live as followers of Christ?  It might mean we see growth as slow and insignificant - rather than splashy and impressive.  It might mean that we are not just on earth to be “nice” to everyone and everything, but rather to help upend and nonviolently overthrow the prevailing systems that dominate and oppress humanity and creation.  Maybe it means we spread like a disease, or a terrorist group, or a clan of starfish. (an earlier post on that here).

The neat thing about mustard seeds is how potent they are!  But you have to crush them up for them to be of any use.  The Anabaptists used to talk about how everything on earth finds its purpose through suffering.  The delicious lettuce you eat in your salad started as a seed in the ground, and grew slowly to produce a head.  It was picked, shipped, and carried to your dinner table, where you rip it apart, cut it into pieces, and then grind at it down till it is no more.  And yet, if you hadn’t done that, the lettuce’s purpose in life would have been in vain.  What if the Christian’s purpose is not so much different from that lettuce, or that mustard seed?  What if Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection was not just a one-time event for our esoteric sins, but actually provided an avenue and a model for us to experience our greatest purpose in life?

Jesus moves beyond mustard to talk about yeast mixed into dough, weeds mixed in with wheat, good and junky fish of all kinds mixed up in a net…all stuff that is a recognizable annoyance in the lives of his audience. It’s interesting that Jesus waits till the end (of time) to call out what is the weed and what is the wheat.

To the some, the mustard-tree Kingdom looks like a weed - to Christ, to the world, and to the marginalized, it is the bread of heaven!

Katrina here. Today is the dawning of a new day! I’m going to start writing my *great* posts here on this blog. All of the posts on katrinawillis.wordpress.com will be art-specific, so be sure to check those out (or sign up for an RSS feed) if you’re interested in the art posts (I post those quasi-monthly).

In North America, we have a hard time sitting still, being quiet, or being with others in silence. Noise = comfort. In high school, I used to study with the TV running and the computer and a side conversation going at the same time. And I would venture to say that high schoolers today are doing the same thing still. I’m actually listening to music as I write this now. Try this exercise: take five minutes, and if you have one near, set an alarm to let you know when the 5 minute mark hits. Turn your computer screen off. Sit upright in the quiet and focus on one thing in the room. Breathe deeply. Try to let you mind STOP. Do not go to sleep.

….. how was it?

If you’re anything like me, you probably have experienced days where you’re thinking deeply on something… and there is constant brain chatter (leading to anxiousness). I wake up thinking about “things” and I spend the entire day thinking about “things” as if my thinking will result in some sort of change. “If I just think deeply or hard enough, I’ll live wisely.” If I meet someone who doesn’t “think” as much as I “think” then they’re obviously more hollow headed than me. End of story. Until recently…

I have been seeking peace of mind. Jesus told us that those who listen to him and do what he says will be like the man who built his house on the rock. When the rains come and the winds blow, the house will sit firm. But those who only listen to his words build their house on the sand. The writer of Proverbs says that as a dog returns to its vomit so a fool returns to his folly (26:11). In English, we call this rumination. We’re so comfy with our own vomit that we won’t seek out new food.

I’ve just recently read Armchair Mystic by Mark Thibodeaux and Getting Things Done by David Allen. In the mix, I’ve also been meditating on the Matthew 6:33 mantra (Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all of these things shall be added to you…)

The result has been the freeing art of the brain dump. What? How do you do that? Stay tuned.

I've been reading through the Gospel of John lately. As I read and prayed through John 4's story about Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well, I was struck by Jesus' comments he makes later to his disciples.

The conversation between the promiscuous woman and Jesus Christ seems to continually intrigue preachers and scholars alike. This is one of the most revealing conversations Christ has about himself (is there anywhere else in the Gospels where Jesus openly admits, "I AM the Messiah"?). The woman meets Jesus, and by the end of the conversation she is running back to town to tell everyone that she has met a prophet who might just be the Messiah they've all been waiting for!

Just about that time, the disciples return. John describes their worried confusion - (could they have suspected that their Lord had less than pure motives meeting alone with this Samaritan woman?), but they offer him some of their food nonetheless. Jesus refuses it saying "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God." He pulls the conversation to new levels as he says, "Wake up and look around you! The fields are already ripe for harvest!" He explains that the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life in God. He continues this mysterious parable with, "I sent you to harvest where you didn't plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest."

What harvest of people is he talking about? Who are the "others"? Look at their circumstances! Jesus had gone before them in paving an inroad to the little Samaritan village, and the real "work" in planting the harvest was being done by the Samaritan woman running about from house to house sharing the Great News that was changing her life! All the disciples had to do was sit back and wait for the people to return to the well to greet them and worship their Messiah.

Jesus Christ is hard at work, molding and tugging on people's hearts. His "prevenient" work (always going ahead of us) is what brings his harvesters the greatest comfort. As his disciples move from one harvest field to the next, they can know that Christ has been coming alongside people just like this Samaritan woman, preparing them for to be a worker in the harvest field. Truly, all disciples have to do is to be there to share the Good News when people have been so caught up with Christ that they absolutely MUST hear how they should respond. What's even better is that Jesus says that these laid back workers will be paid great wages for the easy work they get to do in bringing in the fruit of the harvest! I'll take that job any day!

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Whatever happened to the "Great Commandment", to "love God…love neighbor"?  Where does Jesus get this business about US "making disciples"?  What does the word disciple even mean?  Do we have a good english equivalent of the Greek word for disciple, mathaetaes?  Does following our Master Jesus mean more than just being a good disciple?  It sounds to me that the Great Commandment calls us to being the best disciple we can be, to the best of our knowledge, with everything that we do.  The Great Commandment on the other hand…was he calling JUST the 12 to "Go", or are we all not just disciples, but also disciplemakers?  

If the answer is yes, how does one define "disciple"?  What constitues as discipleship?   What about those who aren't wired for evangelism and pastoral care?  What about Jesus' followers who love to restore nature, or combat social injustices?  Is that discipleship too?  What about those who love animals, or love to skateboard?  Can they effectively bring God glory, as well as bring others to God through do what they have been gifted to do?  Just what about discipleship is bringing people to God, and what about discipleship is putting some of yourself in another person?  

When you boil it all down, I'm not here to plant organic churches.  I'm not here to have fellowship with fellow domestic missionaries and servants of the Lord.  I'm not even truly on this earth to sing songs of praise and worship to God.  Those things truly point me toward the joining of God in restoring his Kingdom on this earth.  Everything else is a means to that end.  

I realize now that most of my first year in this residency has been a deconstruction of what my role in God's mission is and how I view the churches that emerge out of that ministry.  I am not able to sustain churches, only the Holy Spirit can do that.  I'm only really needed to reach out to those specific "people of peace" that I connect with and begin to show them the way to Jesus.  What is discipleship look like in our setting, today?  

“Where is Jesus’ church?”

I’m not talking about the contemporary church of today (although, that is a post left for another day I’m sure). Rather, I’m asking, “Where did Jesus find his spiritual community?” And to what degree should we look for similar community today?

When I first think about who might have been a part of Jesus’ church, my mind immediately turns to the disciples. Those 12 men were with Jesus all the time, and he was constantly teaching them God’s truths, developing intimate relationships with them, and sending them out in mission. When they first came on board, he only shared with them the basics of the faith, then let them live into his teachings. Slowly, he let on that his purpose was the cross, and that anyone who wants to be his follower would find a similar fate. In bite-size portions, Jesus opened their eyes to the spiritual reality of this world. They were his church.

But were they the ONLY church Jesus was a part of? No, he had a larger following of disciples too – the 70 disciples were trusted enough by Jesus to be sent out into places Jesus had not yet gone. They were his ambassadors, setting the stage for Jesus’ ministry. Jesus knew the dangers of letting his disciples go; nonetheless he sent them “as lambs among wolves”.

Jesus also kept fellowship with the larger crowds that gathered on the hillsides to hear him teach, to be healed and fed. Many of these people had little or no expectation placed on them by Jesus; they simply came, and received from the Lord. They were only consumers of his spiritual resources, but they were still a priority to Jesus.

Within the disciples, Peter, James and John seemed to have all the real fun with Jesus. They were present for basically everything Jesus did, including his Transfiguration. These disciples later became each writers of literature in our New Testament. Some would say that this was Jesus’ true church, and that even more minutely, John was his beloved disciple.

So where is your church? Who are you spiritually responsible for/to? Jesus seemed to keep his fellowship with layers of friendships, requiring something different from each group. Maybe it was their willingness to “hear and obey his teachings” that brought them closer in proximity to Jesus. As I begin looking at local church planting, I have to be aware that not everyone will be interested in a close, intimate community; for today, some just need to be consumers – and that’s okay, but it is not my priority. I will live, work, and die for the handful in my close-knit “church”. I am called to nothing less.