Random Acts Of Copy
Father Rohr, Easter 2023
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
As we celebrate Easter, the Daily Meditations explore Father Richard’s teachings on the Universal Christ, which reconnect Christ to his cosmic origin.
Understanding the Universal or Cosmic Christ can change the way we relate to creation, to other religions, to other people, to ourselves, and to God. Knowing and experiencing this Christ can bring about a major shift in consciousness. Like Saul’s experience on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9), we won’t be the same after encountering the Risen Christ.
Many people don’t realize that the apostle Paul never met the historical Jesus and hardly ever quotes Jesus directly. In almost all of Paul’s preaching and writing, he refers to the Eternal Christ Mystery or the Risen Christ rather than Jesus of Nazareth before his death and resurrection. The Risen Christ is the only Jesus that Paul ever knew! This makes Paul a fitting mediator for the rest of us, since the Omnipresent Risen Christ is the only Jesus we will ever know as well (see 2 Corinthians 5:16–17).
Jesus’ historical transformation (“resurrected flesh”) and our understanding of the Spirit he gives us (see John 16:7–15; Acts 1:8) allow us to more easily experience the Presence that has always been available since the beginning of time, a Presence unlimited by space or time, the promise and guarantee of our own transformation (see 1 Corinthians 15; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22; Ephesians 1:13–14).
In the historical Jesus, this eternal omnipresence had a precise, concrete, and personal referent. God’s presence became more obvious and believable in the world. The formless took on form in someone we could “hear, see, and touch” (1 John 1:1), making God easier to love.
But it seems we so fell in love with this personal interface in Jesus that we forgot about the Eternal Christ, the Body of God, which is all of creation, which is really the First Incarnation. Jesus and Christ are not exactly the same. In the early Christian era, a few Eastern Fathers (such as Origen of Alexandria and Maximus the Confessor) noticed that the Christ was clearly older, larger, and different than Jesus himself. They mystically saw that Jesus is the union of human and divine in space and time; and Christ is the eternal union of matter and Spirit from the beginning of time.
Jesus willingly died—and Christ arose—yes, still Jesus, but now including and revealing everything else in its full purpose and glory. (Read Colossians 1:15–20, so you know this is not just my idea.)
When we believe in Jesus Christ, we’re believing in something much bigger than the historical incarnation that we call Jesus. Jesus is the visible map. The entire sweep of the meaning of the Anointed One, the Christ, includes us and all of creation since the beginning of time (see Romans 1:20).
About Conformity In This World:
There is a “scourge” of soft-conformity in our world. A scourge birthed in a system that rations freedom, salvation and heaven to those who show up for the meetings, and keep up with the assignments.
This “soft-conformity” is a threshold of acceptance and approval based on unspecified compliance with an approved curriculum and by pursuing outcomes that are non-achievable.
You’re “IN” if you quietly continue and faithfully contribute. You’re “OUT” if you morph from squishy to noisy and publicly practice what you believe privately.
This conformity comes to ground with an unspoken motto: If the shoe doesn’t fit, limp and wear it!
After my first 50 years as a believer, I began to wonder, why isn’t cultural Christianity setup for 5G? The infrastructure is in place… The market is wide open… The resources are plentiful… The people are amenable… Most crucially, Christ is available.
From the IDY Idea page
Einstein and I both discovered something God has done. The general theory of relativity is a law of the universe; my life was planed and prepared by the creator of the universe.
The universe and our world are here because God wants them. I am here because God wants me. A truly wonderful thought, but not THE happy thought in question.
I’m grateful for the life I’ve been given and I’m very thankful for the world I live in. And most importantly that I live by faith in the Son of God.
Still, I’ve always wondered, what exactly does God want from me? And how do I figure that out?
That brings us back to the Happy-Thought. While studying, praying, and contemplating that question, I came upon a most elegant solution: I’m here to do what God prepared for me. That’s when the light came on: Follow the preparation, find the mission.
That’s the happy thought that led to INDIVIDULARITY.
First, About Leveraging God’s Sovereignty: From The Idea page IDY
Since God has blatantly show his faith in me, I can either respond in kind, or kind of respond. I decided to respond in kind by leveraging what I have to offer, myself; in collaboration with what he wants to accomplish his desired outcome.
There is no way I can change or compromise his sovereignty, but I can and must press in on and pursue his original ideal and intention for my life. The only effective way to do that is to engage his sovereignty by injecting my Individuality into the mix.
Going back to the happy thought; “I am here to do what God prepared for me.” The immovable and immutable (sovereign) piece is his preparation for my life. The variable and personal piece (individuality) is myself and how I live my life.
In full faith in his sovereignty I had to leverage my individual autonomy, in an act of fearful audacity, I decided to pursue what I want. (Nothing against the truth)
The Preparation Reveals The Expectation
- The more important the guest, the more appropriate the preparation.
- The more wealthy the host, the more elaborate the reception.
- The more crucial the visit, the more specific the setting.
- The more loved the person, the more personal the greeting.
- The higher the expectation, the higher the communication.
Jesus said, “I am going there to prepare a place for you, so you can be with me.” His current preparation is in response to my participation in his original preparation. Or to put it simply, my role in eternity is a collaborative work in process, with Christ. That is a wonderful thought, but not my happiest thought
That’s the endgame of my life, I’m not there yet. Instead, I’ll show how JIP this (join in progress) and as a huge and happy bonus, I have the freedom to access everything that’s rewardable from my past.
Besides the obvious acknowledgement of God and his great work of creation, my joy came in the realization of how to figure out what I’m here to do. Believing in a great creator is one thing, knowing that the great creator believes in me, is everything.
I appears that God had enough faith in me to prepare exactly what I should do, before the beginning, and that hasn’t changed for as long as I’ve been alive. Even with the distinct probability that I would likely do something other than what he prepared for me, the risk was worth it to him. That is big bite to chew and swallow!
To take this up another rung, God has show the same faith, the same individual preparation, and assumed the same risk on every person he created, past, present and future. Have you ever wondered why God has that level of faith in you?
The Continuing Question:
Does God want you to know what he prepared and wants from you?
INDIVIDULARITY flows from the premise that you and I were worth the initial investment (creation), the securitization (salvation), the risk (our lifetimes) and the desired return. (the eternal outcome)
The INDIVIDULARITY Summary: In financial and practical, rather than theological terms.
- Creation: The initial investment idea and preparation for the desired return.
- Salvation: The securitization of every willing participant in the initial idea.
- A lifetime: The duration of the offering of collaboration.
- The outcome: An eternity of collaboration, revelation and satisfaction.
Einstein and I both discovered something God has done. The general theory of relativity is a law of the universe; my life was planed and prepared by the creator of the universe.
The universe and our world are here because God wants them. I am here because God wants me. A truly wonderful thought, but not THE happy thought in question.
I’m grateful for the life I’ve been given and I’m very thankful for the world I live in. And most importantly that I live by faith in the Son of God.
Still, I’ve always wondered, what exactly does God want from me? And how do I figure that out?
That brings us back to the Happy-Thought. While studying, praying, and contemplating that question, I came upon a most elegant solution: I’m here to do what God prepared for me. That’s when the light came on: Follow the preparation, find the mission.
That’s the happy thought that led to INDIVIDULARITY.
The Key To This Mystery: Openness
Do you know what you’re here to do, specifically? Do you know what’s been prepared for you, specifically? If not, then let’s call that a mystery. The key to unlocking that mystery operates through openness. Being open to love and by loving openness.
Dr. Truett Edsel Bobo once said, “an evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life is openness.” Openness is a volatile combination of courage, curiosity and circumstance. To activate this Spirit-led openness; first you accept your circumstances, appropriate the needed courage and apply your God-given curiosity. That is a dynamic recipe for engaging this mystery.
Setting Your INDIVIDULARITY Expectations
In the scripture the word Hope roughly means, “what you are expecting, good or bad.” You have the choice between two hopes: “I hope nothing bad or even worse happens to me.” Or, “I am looking for the hope God has prepared for me.” INDIVIDULARITY (IDY) is about the living hope, the hope God has prepared for you.
The first question is, what are you hoping for? As a believer you hope in the promise of salvation and eternal life, that’s the hope every Christ follower has in common. IDY is about what are you hoping for in this life?
Allow me to narrow the scope of the question.
The most obvious aspect of this preparation could be described in one word; complete. The most understated description would be; thorough. The most troubling feature would be, it’s all personal.
We are describing the apex-persona who has no peers, no limits, no malice and no regrets. His work is precisely what he intended, his ways are perfect and unchanging and you are exactly who he wanted.
It naturally follows that the preparation for your appearance on this planet is also complete, thorough, personal, perfect and exactly what you need to accomplish all that he wants from you.
And that means that everything he’s prepared for you must be available and accessible to you. Every eventuality, every contingency, and every possibility is included in God’s preparation for your life.
The Two Types Of Preparation
First, there’s the external type, the objective stuff.
The things that are in place and ready when you are. Scripture, knowledge, the wisdom of others, beauty, family, friends, and all the things that are are available to you that are not unique to you.
And don’t overlook the riches, power, authority, design, intention and God’s divine investment in the details of your destiny. It’s all there, it won’t expire or spoil, it’s not going anywhere.
Everything that’s been done for you.
Second, there’s the internal type, the subjective stuff.
Your unique and inseverable connection with God. Your gifts, passions and strengths. What you want, love and hate. The way see color and hear music. How you determine value and define success.
The way you learn and what you retain. How your brain is wired and even your apparent inadequacies. And your superpower; something you are here to add that only you can do. And lots and lots more.
God personal collaboration with you.
The INDIVIDULARITY Idea:
You are here to do what God prepared for you; that’s what God wants. You are absolutely free to do what God wants, or you can do anything else with your life.
The General Theory Of Relativity:
Gravity is a geometric property, or characteristic of space and time. In the picture above, the curvature, or warping of space and time is directly related to the presence and effect of the two planets. (the red balls) More about General Relativity
From: How to configure your church for “5G”
- Recognizing individuals.
- Functioning under Christ.
The Local Church Approach: How it’s normally done.
Most local churches do three things well: Sunday service, youth and children’s ministries and at least one specialty like a missions program, a food bank, a school, training and often times a partnership with an outside “para-church” group.
Those three usually use most of the resources, engage most of the volunteers and consume most of talent and vision of the staff and leadership. The idea of adding new and significant opportunities to the ministry-mix is desirable but not practical, feasible or fundable.
- Recognizing individuals: Not specifically, or personally. The main function is to provide consistent, practical and acceptable opportunities for interested individuals. The predominate support for and recognition of any specific calling is for minsters, staff members and missionaries.
- Functioning under Christ: No unifying or dynamic connections through the function of each body member under Christ. The assumption is that as the church of Christ, they are functioning under and honoring Christ in their gatherings, programs, outreach and worship. The pastors, elders and denominational officials operated in leadership roles as under-shepherds, under Christ.
The Common 5 Gifts Approach: How the Charismatics do it.
Most Charismatic and Holy Spirit oriented churches also do three things well: Spiritual gift focused meetings, specialized teaching, and Office-level, gift-led ministry. (Apostolic-Prophet-Pastor) The apostle-prophet-pastor leaders oversee and lead most of the ministry.
The focus of “5 Gifts Approach” is often focused on expressions of authority and power over regional, national and global interests, and aimed at combating and defeating spiritual wickedness and dark forces. The people are unified around the diverse miniseries led and conducted by Office-level gifted personalities, and their approved designates.
There are some “equipping” and grooming for spots at the top. The vast number of members are operate as participants.
- Recognizing Individuals: Individuals are not encouraged to “prophesy in the parking lot” or express their spiritual gifts without the “covering” or oversight of the those designated by the Office-gifted. To be recognized and authorized to exercise their individual callings, members need to meet specific criteria and attain approved spiritual status. Not commonly available at the local affiliate church level.
Summary: Neither approach is practically configured to recognize and support individual callings; to operate in cohesive spiritual unity; to function (in love) under the direct rule and headship of Christ because; their approaches can function without any or all of the above.
Solution: Configure an approach that cannot and will not function without all of the above.
Money Left On The Table
Think back, can you recall an instance when you were outmaneuvered in a deal, overpaid on a purchase, or made an agreement that obligated you more than the other person? You left money on the table.
A couple of opening fundamentals:
- Everything needed is currently available.
- Everyone necessary is willing and capable.
- There’s plenty of money on the table.
Finally Going Public:
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve attempted to launch the Motivotional. (MOVO) Somehow I found a reason not to do this.
It might have been fear, it might’ve been pride, I even considered letting my confessions die with me.
Nope. I’m too alive to let that happen: I need to share the story of my lifelong friendship with God.
My confessions are the public account of a life lived “in the face of God.”
Wait, There’s More, Lots More.
- More Ideas.
- More insights.
- More imagination.
- More reality.
- More life.
- More stories.
- More hope.
Welcome to the MOVO:
Mark Allen Schmidt
From the landing page: stuff that didn’t work for me.
In 2007, I came to the point where I could no longer continue what I was doing. At that time I was a minister in a large Denver area church.
Two years later I walked away from the church-job I had always wanted. Fast forward to 2023, I’ve found my part and place in God’s plan.
The MOVO is about finding your part and place in God’s world.
Expect to be stretched, baffled and surprised, but never set-up or proselytized.
My confessions are about practicing eternal life in real-time. Read and listen to a few posts and decide if the MOVO is right for you.
Mark Allen Schmidt
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