P.S. There’s More: From Moment to Movement (MPLS)

Acts 1:6-11

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Today’s reading could seem like a dramatic ending to an epic story. Picture it in your mind’s eye: the disciples gathered around Jesus. They’ve just spent a bonus 40 days with their beloved teacher whom they thought was dead. It’s been a series of traumatic events — Jesus’ suffering, death and then the empty tomb, a risen Lord? What did this mean? 

When God walked among them in the flesh they were his students; they followed him. When he was killed — everything crumbled — their hopes and dreams died with him. And when he doesn’t stay dead? Their world is rocked again. There’s nothing familiar about this moment. There’s no map for what comes next — not just for them but for Israel, and for all the world that God’s reign be restored. Grief, uncertainty, joy, hope, fear — heaven, earth, life, death — it’s all mixed up together. What’s next?

They dare to ask for specifics: what’s the plan here Jesus? Some kind of timeline would be really helpful — then we can prioritize, strategize, mobilize. 

Jesus doesn’t answer their question. God’s time is not the same as human time. God’s way is not our way. Jesus does make them a promise: you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Then… he ascends into heaven, disappearing into the clouds. Keep your eyes on the screen… the credits begin to roll…

Except they don’t. As it turns out this is not the end of an epic story. The story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is just getting started. Jesus’ ascension and all that follows is a new chapter in the always unfolding story of God’s redemptive love for the whole world. 

I get why the disciples ask for a timeline though… It’s something to hold onto when things feel uncertain, or out of your control. What a difference it makes to know the due date when you’re pregnant; or the start date for a new job when you’re unemployed; or the end date for treatment for an illness you have. A timeline gives a semblance of order when mystery and uncertainty rule the day.

Being in a threshold of change is familiar but that doesn’t mean it’s comfortable. It’s called liminal space — when you know a new reality is coming but you haven’t figured out what it will look like or how to live in it. Anthropologist Victor Turner describes people in liminal space as “neither here nor there; they are betwixt and between…it is also a realm of pure possibility.”

This is the space in which the disciples find themselves in today’s story. They’re in the midst of a shift in identity from those who follow Jesus to those who are sent by him. Soon they will be his “witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.” But not yet. They are betwixt and between. Now is the time to return to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit Jesus promised.

Some 2,000 years later and that’s where the church is today. We are betwixt and between. We are in transition, moving from what was to what will be. It’s not the first time we’ve inhabited this space. It won’t be the last. Next Sunday we’ll celebrate the birth of the church, and it’s been growing and changing ever since. The body of Christ never stands still. By the power of the Holy Spirit the church keeps moving, evolving — not going back to what was before but pressing forward to something more beautiful for the welfare of all.

“Why do you stand and look up to the heavens?” the messengers ask. They nudge the disciples to look around instead. Look at each other, at the world, at ordinary people because that’s where you’ll see Jesus — not like he was before, but in a new way. The risen, ascended One is Lord of all and he is on the move. Bear witness to his love and you will see him. This is the church’s work.

Several years ago Bethlehem member and past president Dave Raymond introduced me to the work of Carey Nieuwhof, a former lawyer, founding pastor of Connexus Church in Ontario, Canada, influential thought leader, and prolific writer. 

A recent blog he posted titled, “The Coming Church Split” caught my eye. 

He writes: “It’s not your typical (and usually awful) church split about doctrine, polity, personality or the color of the carpet. It’s bigger than that, and for the most part, you won’t even realize it’s happening until you look back a few years from now and see what took place…The coming split is a split between the kinds of churches that will thrive in the future and the kinds of churches that won’t.” He names four emerging divides that are happening before our eyes. 

The first divide: Being a church that is online-optional vs. fully hybrid. Forward thinking pastors and congregations realize that the best answer to the question should ministry be digital or physical is “yes!” 

We’ve learned so much since moving worship online. Who would have predicted that only 54% of our viewing congregation is in the state of Minnesota? We’ve grown exponentially. We gather across time and space to worship God. We’re making new connections. We’re becoming a new community. 

Now we’re returning to in-person worship. It feels good and right! But being community in virtual space is here to stay. We can’t go back to what was or we lose who we’ve become. We are one congregation with multiple locations: Minneapolis, Minnetonka, Spirit Garage and couches in homes. We are becoming together as we lean into the new thing God is doing. 

Whether you worship from home or in our sanctuaries there’s a role for you in this hybrid way of being church. On the back of the worship guide insert you will see familiar terms/titles but the roles have changed. Consider trying one. And switch it up. We’re figuring this out together. Links (MPLS / MTKA) will also be posted in the chat. Showing up in these ways is a gift to this community as we go about the work of being church.

Nieuwhof names three more emerging divides: Bringing people back vs moving people forward; churches that embrace vs churches that judge and finally ideologically-driven churches versus gospel-driven churches. I encourage you to read the article. It’s good food for thought. It challenges us as God’s church to stay open to where and how the Spirit leads.

There is no map for what’s next. Do you find that terrifying? Exciting? Both at the same time? Welcome to liminal space. Good news — it’s right where God chooses to be — in the dying and the rising, in the tearing and the building, in the now and not yet. It’s a place of pure possibility!

We are in one moment in time. We are God’s church — a movement for all time. So let us hold fast to the confession of our faith that Christ has come, Christ has died and risen, Christ will come again. May we wait with hope for the Spirit who comes and empowers us to love and live in the way of God. And may we pray and work for God’s justice and peace — for the day when all things are returned to God and life is restored as God intends it to be.