So what now? While it may appear to be a simple question the history of empires and the world often turn on how it is answered. This past week I watched a bit of Ken Burns' documentary on the Civil War. The episode I saw was on the battle at Gettysburg. The battle finally turned on what is called Picket's Charge. The Southern commander, Robert E. Lee, ordered one of his subordinates, Picket to send his entire brigade into the heart of the Union lines. The Union soldiers were hidden behind fences and trees while Picket's soldiers would have to cross more than 300 yards of open fields before they reached the enemy. The results were as horrendous as many of the southern commanders feared…the destruction of Picket's forces, the loss of the battle and essentially the loss of the war. As the battle ended both sides had to ask themselves…what now? The south answered with an organized, yet life-saving withdrawal to Virginia. The northern troops answered by staying where they were, refusing to capitalize on their advantage, a mistake which led to almost two more years of warfare.
So what now? That was the same question which faced the followers of Jesus after the resurrection. Though they were not as scared as they had been following Jesus' death and burial, they were not willing yet to follow-up on the advantage that the resurrection offered. The advantage that the resurrection offered was that the powers of Rome, and I suppose hell itself, were not mighty enough to destroy Jesus and the Promise he proclaimed. Though crucified he was now alive and was calling his followers to action. Yet he had told them that they would have to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit before they could launch their world transforming mission. This must have seemed an odd thing to ask because while the Spirit was not an unknown entity to first century Jews, it was not at the heart of their faith. First century Judaism was focused on the Torah (the Law of Moses) and the Temple (the place where God was thought to reside). Yet wait they did.
On Pentecost (a long standing Jewish holy day) the Holy Spirit arrived. Like an overwhelming flood of power it flowed over and into the disciples. The Holy Spirit transformed the disciples from a bunch of fishermen, tax collectors and ruffians to a faith focused "army" whose mission was to transform God's people into a spirit empowered Promise proclaiming community of faith. The question of "so what now" was answered with a resounding call to a new way of living based on the life and work of Jesus. Immediately upon the arrival of the Spirit the disciples (including women) emerged from their hiding place and engaged the world in a way that altered history forever. Peter took the lead and by proclaiming the good news about Jesus led more than 3,000 people in a single day to become part of this new Christ centered community.
So what now for us? I believe that as we search for our vision we need to remember that it has to be Spirit inspired and Spirit led. As with any organization it is easy for the church to fall into the trap of visioning for ourselves as if we are merely another human institution. In other words we organize, market and vision for the church as we are a business. What we have to remember however is that we are a spiritual enterprise. This means that not only are we to act differently than much of the world, we are to draw our strength and power not from profits or customer service, but from the Spirit itself. We are to be a supernaturally inspired and directed community. Any vision worth having then needs to be founded upon prayer, passion and the presence of God's Spirit.
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