Participating Fully in the Mission of God

It’s been a bit!! 

My family and I set aside the months of December and January to do some recalibrating with our busy schedules and inquire of the Lord. To the best of our ability, we paused our commitments and asked God to help us have clear vision for this stage of life. Our schedules aren’t quite the same, we are certainly not the same, and we are moving forward with a renewed intimacy driving our hearts. 

Vision does that. Vision transforms and inspires and clarifies and strengthens us. 

In this time of reflection and prayer for our family, I’ve been thinking about how Holy Spirit uses this gift of vision to align God’s people to his purpose. We weren’t at church this last Sunday, but I know everyone there had the opportunity to be together as a family, and to see together as the body. Everyone was invited to the building project room to stand together in the actual space we have been praying for and participate in personally writing those prayers on the floor. 

As a leadership team, we walked the floors of the new building several weeks back. So much progress has been made since we took that walk, but when we stood in the space, smelled the construction, saw the new paint and listened to Ryan and Dale share about the process, I was overwhelmed by the presence of God. This past Sunday I prayed for our family to have their own experience as they occupied the space we have been praying for. 

Have you seen the movie Three Amigos? It’s one of our family favorites and like many movies we’ve seen countless times, the coined phrases and favorite scenes pop into my mind as they relate to pieces of current circumstances. 

The Three Amigos, who are “trained” actors of western movies, are summoned by the small village of Santa Poco to fend off a mortal enemy. In the language and communication barrier, the Amigos think they have been hired to put on a show, when in fact the threat is legitimate and the villagers are banking on these actors to defeat their enemy. In the revealing scene, the Amigos are suited up and wildly taunting the oppressive gang of thieves. They shoot blanks from their guns and ride their horses in circles while shouting insults. The gang is perplexed and momentarily caught off guard, but to bring the situation back to reality, they shoot at the Amigos and a bullet hits one of them in the arm, immediately causing pain and even a little blood. Shocked and incensed, the Amigo jumps off his horse, marches over to the bandit, demands to see his gun, and upon inspection turns to report to the other Amigos…”Guys, this is real.” 

Standing in the bay is an opportunity to look around, to see and feel, “Guys, this is real!” It’s not just something we’ve talked about or prayed for or dreamed of, it’s actually happening. I know we also have “shot in the arm” moments that feel less inspiring and exciting and more daunting or terrifying (paying for materials and labor, watching the funds we set aside many years ago start to get used for the purpose they were intended can sometimes feel like bleeding!). But, we are alive and participating in the work God invited us into! 

Spoiler alert, the Three Amigos get their act together…not their movie act, but their passion! They come back and use their gifts (and antics) to rescue the people of Santa Poco. I am praying our church family is inspired this week, after seeing and feeling, to come in their gifting and participate fully in the mission of this kingdom project. As we start this month of identity study, may we be engaged by the overflow of intimacy to bring our full selves to one another and consequently to this project, supernaturally propelling it forward toward completion!