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Psalm 34:1-8

BY MELISSA LAUBER

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us,” said theologian A.W. Tozer.

In mid-October, people from throughout the Christian community gathered at Good Shepherd UMC in Minneapolis, Minn., to share what was on their minds and what they think is in store for a church they believe is redefining itself.

The conference, Christianity 21: Faith in the 21st Century, drew 21 speakers speaking on 21 themes for 21 minutes each. It was produced by JoPa Productions, led by emergent church leaders Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones.

The conference opened up with Phyllis Tickle, who explained how every 500 years the church undergoes a sea change — starting with its natal break with Judaism, the rise of the monastic movement, the Great Schism when the Eastern and Western churches split, the Reformation, and now today.

It’s like a rummage sale, said Tickle, who explained that the turn of the millennium marks “a great emergence for the church” – a time to throw out things that aren’t working and to intentionally hang on to and embrace that which is precious.

For those present, it became clear that one of the most vital gifts of the church is its story and the way individual stories proclaim the identity and glory of God.

It was G.K. Chesterton who wrote “I had always felt life first as a story: and if there is a story there is a storyteller.”

At the C21 conference, those present lamented how too often the church doesn’t act like God’s story is compelling enough to change the world.

In our post-reformation culture, too many people want to reduce the Bible and religion to fact – “taking away its mytho-poetic power, its ability to speak to us,” Tickle said.

But the church is gradually enabling voices to rise and share their own transcendent truths. In a million manifestations, each person’s story is being woven with others to create an unfolding drama of a boundary-breaking God.

“Your story must be told,” became a mantra of the conference.

Those stories differ for each of us, but the sentiments of Psalm 34:1-8 come to life “with God continually in our mouths, our souls boasting in the Lord.”

In the church’s story, we are called to embody life the way Jesus embodies life. We are prompted by God to live out of a sense of holiness – created to love and be loved.

When we really “taste and see,” discovering that the Lord is indeed good, the world becomes more than just black and white. It is purple, and it’s ripe with opportunities to “bless the Lord at all times.”

What comes into your mind when you think about God? How do you allow those thoughts to shape your story? And how will you transform the church as we move into the 21st century?

Sursum corda, “lift up your hearts,” is an ancient-future command. God calls us to lift up our hearts – even when they’re broken. How we do this together may be another “most important thing about us.” We’re called to speak the extraordinary story of God into life. Which words do we speak next?