Calling in the Context of Collapse

The new school and work year are here. The pandemic has passed and we are settling into a new normal. In our political context, what seemed crazy in 2016 has been normalized in a way that it is not nearly as shocking though still quite disturbing. 

In the midst of it all, I believe that our country is the standard bearer for a way of living that is completely unsustainable. Like all empires before us, we have come to the point where we must evolve or die.

Over this fall I feel called to talk about this context, what I think God has called us to do about it, and who we need to be as individuals and as a congregation to be responsive to this moment. To say it another way – I believe that we are living in the midst of a major shift in our country and world. I believe that God has a response to this moment – that Spirit is raising up people around this world and we are called to be a community of folks responding to this moment. But I want to be clear that we will not respond as we are called to just by each of us doing what we are already doing. Over these coming months I believe that God is issuing a challenge to us as individuals and a collective to take ourselves to a new level, to commit to a new level of spiritual growth, to a greater level of ministry to each other and the larger community. That work of ministry and community building will require some shifts in how we operate. I have a role to play in this, but this is not just about what God is calling me to do but what Spirit is calling WE to do. 

In the coming week I will be sending out an open letter to the congregation, sharing some of what I hear God saying and inviting you all into dialogue about that. At the same time, to understand where God is calling us, we will be re-reading Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler and looking at the Exodus story into the establishment of Jubilee in the Bible. Both of these stories have been talked about before in this community, but not everyone was here for all of those conversations, so we will look closer and really ask God to reveal to us what these stories can tell us about what we are called to in this moment.  

Since we started as a congregation we have had a tradition of talking about Calling in the month of September. This month we will lean in on the topic – Calling in the Context of Collapse.

James Baldwin said, "Not everything that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed until it is faced." So we will use these two stories to connect with and face the reality of the moment we are in. So now we will read our scripture in Exodus and do a short summary of Parable of the Sower.

Parallels between the book and now –

Egypt – obsession with birthrate; blaming foreigners for domestic problems

Parable – inability of the church to speak to the challenges and offer solutions

Shared – economic inequality; unjust wages fuel development; leadership w/fearmongering; scarcity mentality

Key Points – Three Pitfalls that Hasten Your Collapse Rather than Addressing It

-We should know and learn from our history, but trying to take things “back to what they were” is often a rejection of the becoming who God is calling us to evolve into. God calls on us to grow not to remain stagnant.

-Blaming folks at the bottom for your situation rather than looking at folks in power and ourselves. Making it all about someone else that needs to change.

-Hyper-individualism. Each person is to blame for their shortcomings rather than system failures. AND/OR Waiting for some transformative figure to save us. AND/OR Investing in our person security that can never deliver rather than investing in collective solutions.

Reflection Questions

1) Remembering James Baldwin’s words – “Not everything that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” Are there signs of collapse that you are struggling to face? What is an area that you might be called to face in this season in your life – family, community, job or school?

2) In what ways are you blaming others for challenges in your life or community? How can you look at your own power or direct your focus to calling In to folks with the power to make change?

3)Where do you need to challenge hyper individualization in your own life? How have you resisted being active in a collective or waited for someone else to be the solution?