Canticles of the Unhomed
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
The Calling
So last night Chuck and I had a really excellent conversation over cheap pasta with a couple of people from Sol Cafe. We started to talk about "calling." This is an idea that I got from Joe; the idea that we need to approach Sol Cafe from the perspective of a "calling," rather than a "hobby." As I satrted to think more about this, more it became obvious to me. To allow Sol Cafe to succeed, the shift that we have to make is to thinking about Sol as a calling. The first reason for this is that Sol is going to require much more than just some regaulr church. In many "traditional" churches there is a certain amount of... momentum, whether that be tradition, history, or just plain numbers. Strangely, we have none of those three at Sol Cafe. WIthout that momentum to keep us going in the midst of transition or upheaval, we will need to step up all our efforts. We cannot afford spectators. And to ask people to invest at this level, requires a calling. A special invitation from God to a task, because it will be hard and arduous, and it will not always be fun. That calling needs to come from God because in the midst of the trial, you MUST believe that there is a goal, or purpose. The other reason is that it will require special measures of grace and strength from God to sacrifice. It is interesting to think about sacrificing to attend church. Some might think that it is not our place to be asking people to give things up to come to church, or help the church survive. We tend to think that people are busy, or that they are already giving as much as they can, etc. But now I wonder if we might need to start calling people to sacrifice for the sake of Sol Cafe. Of course, I have no idea what that means or what it will look like.
So I am thinking about "calling" this week in preparation for talking about it for service on Sunday. The passage that is defining my thinking is Ephesians 4:1-6, which says, "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to one hope when you were called–one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." The interesting thing in these verses are the words, "kaleo," "eklethete," and "parakalo." These are all iterations of the greek verb "kaleo," which means to "call, or invite," but also has the implications of "giving a name." I can appreciate how this passage connects calling with community. I think there is something here.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
:: written by Matt Thompson, 4:34 PM
