Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Missio Lux: Going to the Unknown Land

Sunday I woke up very early. This was Commissioning Day and I knew that the Lord would have something very important to speak to me. He did.
He took me to Genesis 12:1 where he told Abram to "Go to the land which I will show you."

He basically told told him, "When you start moving, then you will know where you are going."

In many ways, this is what the Lord is showing us with Missio Lux. We started moving by getting together monthly, by reaching out into our community, by holding monthly healing prayer worship services, by meeting weekly for Celebrate Recovery. But, Sunday we took the BIG STEP by getting commissioned, which means 'sent out with authority', from Pine Lake.

As people went through the receiving line, their questions were many.
Where will you meet now?
When will you meet?
What's it going to look like?

We have those questions too, in some ways. But, in other ways, we are holding our hands open: ready to receive and ready to go like Abram to the land which God will show us.

Abram went and the Bible speaks over and over to his faith. His act of going was preparation for the larger act of faith in being willing to give his long awaited son back to God.

My hope is that each person in Missio Lux will remember Abraham (who got the ham to his name after his acts of faith) when they begin to ache for the familiar. And, we will all remember that comfort is not nearly as nice as it is cracked up to be, it is the adventure with God that brings the ham to our names.

So, how does it sound: Tamaraham? What's your name?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is what our nine year old HAMS had to say: The night before we thought we'd better make sure that the girls understood what was going to happen during the commissioning at church. So at dinner I asked them what their understanding was. Britta said, "Well it is like football."

Annika interupted, "You're bringing up football at a time like this?"

To which Britta said, "No it is. You know how Josh Brown was just traded to the Rams (from the SeaHawks)? Well, he is now a player on a different team but he is still playing football, just with the Rams."

Anonymous said...

Yes, everyone was/is asking what the plan is.

It made me think if something I'd read on the Covchurch.org website that day:

'When the disciples ask Jesus in Acts chapter one, “are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” what they really wanted to know was, “Jesus, what’s the plan? Now that you have defeated sin and death what is your plan Jesus for our lost and broken world?” Jesus said, “You are the plan! You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus said the task of sharing his salvation and his love with a hurting world is ours. We are the plan!'

Tamara Buchan said...

It makes me feel more confident that I can walk into the unknown when I think of the disciples, who after spending 3 years with Jesus and seeing all that they saw and experienced, still had the old framework in their minds; even as Jesus was ascending to Heaven.
If he trusts them with his Church, he will trust us too!