by Greg Kennedy
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1 ESV
On April 19 the amateur historians among us will be remembering the first day of the Revolutionary War. It’s hard to believe, but that morning on Lexington Green, outnumbered 10 to 1, and a full 8 1/2 years from the end of war, they began to win. It looked to the world that they were so much “sound and fury signifying nothing,” but they were part of something bigger than themselves, bigger than us, something truly important.
It’s good to know that somewhere deep in our DNA we are a people of resistance. We should find this comforting because day by day it becomes clearer and clearer that we live in a post-Christian day. There is a tide to resist and a tireless wind to stand against.
The foundational practices that keep us spiritually vital are deemed odd, antiquated, and maybe even dangerous. For example:
- Sabbath-keeping appears at best to be quaint in an age that is addicted to ceaseless activity and production. It is not just Sabbath.
- Our seeking of community is peculiar when viewed alongside our fierce protection of individualism.
- Generosity is senseless in our context of consumerism.
- Silence is, as they say, awkward amidst the ever-present noise and distraction of our lives.
- Worship in our culture of narcissism seems inauthentic.
- Lastly, prayer in our era of self-sufficiency and serving amidst our craving for autonomy both seem out of step in our new day.
At SonScape, we envision a world in which healthy pastors lead healthy churches, so that the Kingdom of God will be effectively extended. This health may well be inherently related to our willingness to resist the pull of our culture’s current and tenaciously hold on to those commitments that nurture our health. I suspect we all have within us at least a little of that resistant and stubborn spirit exemplified in John Parker – that still relatively unknown leader of the American forces in Lexington. Whether this is so or not, we are promised that we have within us the Spirit of our Savior, a Savior who fought a much more fearsome enemy and provided us a far greater freedom. It can be lonely to be out of step with culture, but I suspect it is our calling.
Resist and Persist!