a list of personal insights from a Christ follower about the days in which we're living

Today, I spent two hours washing the walls of an indoor porch I'm preparing to paint.  As I washed and worked, my mind was busy considering several blog posts I have within me regarding the days in which we're living.  I will outline a list here and spend some time over the next month expounding on them.  They are in no particular order.

1.   Mourning the deaths of black lives and mourning the deaths of police officers are not mutually exclusive.  We can grieve the loss of each life along with grieving the fear and the hostility that exists between people groups.  We can honor the lives, families, and professions of both at the same time while working for justice. 

2.  Just as the Dallas police officers ran toward the gunfire this past week, we must run toward the pain in our communities.  

3.  Prayer must become a primary strategy and practice.  "Apart from me you can do nothing." - Jesus

4.  Young white moms are waking up, learning, growing passionate, taking risks, and leading others.  This is not exclusively true, but I do observe a movement within this demographic. God began to move me away from a serving mindset into a deeper, incarnational vision when I was a young mom of preschoolers.  Not sure what exactly it is about this, but I'm paying attention.  

5.  Falling to the Center.  There's a lot of uncertainty and change taking place.  It may feel like things  are out of control and falling apart, but what if, in fact, this falling is taking us directly into the Deep toward the Center- Jesus?  I think this 1 minute 50 second video is a great picture of what's happening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EszQ_vkrIo

6.  We must learn history and learn from history.  We need to learn about American history from an African-American vantage point (as well as other minorities) if we are to understand what is happening today and why it's happening.  We must pay attention to and dialogue about patterns throughout history that will help us to recognize systems at play and will help us identify how the Church has tended to respond  throughout history so that we can move differently toward the future.  

7.  The traditional missional models of the white evangelical church will not be adequate for the future.  

8. Justice work without Jesus as center is a recipe for disaster.  It will always be a human power struggle unless we enter into the power of Jesus and the new beloved community promised in His power alone.  Jesus without justice work is also a recipe for disaster.  

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9. "See, I am doing a new thing" Isaiah 43:19  God gave me this verse back in 2006 when I knew He was calling me differently.  Categories, boxes, polarization, dualistic mindsets are being challenged and deconstructed.  God wants to do a new thing through Jesus.  We can no longer think in terms of Jesus OR Justice, evangelism/discipleship or social justice.  The Good News of the Gospel is wholistic in every way.

10.  As followers of Jesus, we have to begin to reflect deeply about security and safety from the world's standpoint and from a Kingdom of God standpoint.  

11.  Abiding in Christ is necessary for the rejection and difficulty to be encountered on this way.  

12.  For me, this journey is leading me to discover life and freedom and a knowing that I cannot unlearn, unknow, or take back to a previous worldview or way of life.  I often think of the movie "The Matrix" when I consider this.   

Looking forward to unpacking these reflections in future posts-