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Text of the page (random words):
life into our own bodies so that we may be renewed but the sacrament extends beyond this holy space inviting us to go out into the world as earthen vessels filled with the transformative power of the holy spirit wherever and whoever we are we bear the holy spirit in our mortal frames making it safe for us to proclaim to those around us come and meet the one who introduced me to myself come and meet the one who is loving me into goodness originally presented as a sermon at christ church georgetown on sunday march 12 2023 share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest email a link to a friend opens in new window email like loading abuse gospel healing holy spirit lent loved into goodness sacrament safety shame trauma defining metanarratives identity relationships spiritual formation polarization and the root of our identity wars september 24 2021 tiffany clark 4 comments my children joke that every few years i go through an identity crisis they aren t completely wrong the upheaval of each international move followed by a change in role and community does give rise to a certain identity angst and its accompanying quest for belonging decisions over how to dress and what labels to use in introducing myself give rise to the deeper questions of who i am from where i derive my value and with whom i belong without the taproot of a secure connection to god we are unable to relate securely with each other the more i look around i suspect our society is in the midst of an identity crisis whether this crisis is the inevitable aftermath of soul denying modernism or the product of media induced hyper connectivity at the cost of local community the signs are obvious we are scrambling to stake out who we are what matters to us and with which tribe we belong issues such as our opinions on health practices racial narratives and political parties suddenly define us more than where we live to whom we are related or to whom we belong interestingly it is not enough for us to simply know these things about ourselves we feel compelled to make sure that everyone else knows them about us and while we are at it that everyone associated with us identifies themselves in the same way yet our fierce insistence on our labels only reveals how deeply insecure we really are but what is making us insecure why is this new form of tribalism suddenly so urgent that it would transcend our former relationships and suck us in to virtual position wars while recently working with a cohort of christian leaders in nigeria we identified displacement loss of livelihood and loss of cultural or religious identity as threats that give rise to oppositional identity this posture of my identity at others expense comes from fear of scarcity or loss and leads to distrust division hostility and eventually violence it doesn t take much to see the similarity between ethnic conflicts in nigeria and tribal polarization in america we erect media barriers dig positional trenches and lob slander grenades to preserve an identity that we feel is under threat praise be to the god and father of our lord jesus christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in christ for he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight in love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through jesus christ in accordance with his pleasure and will i wonder however if the real threat is from within we don t know who we are what gives us value and to whom we belong our identity dysphoria leads us to lash out at anyone whose difference exposes our inner insecurity untethered from any deeper sense of meaning value or belonging we frantically lash ourselves to those labels and groups which provide the illusion of a stable identity and community his purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two thus making peace and in one body to reconcile both of them to god through the cross by which he put to death their hostility he came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near for through him we both have access to the father by one spirit consequently you are no longer foreigners and strangers but fellow citizens with god s people and also members of his household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with christ jesus himself as the chief cornerstone the human need for a secure identity is primal knowing who we are forms the foundation for interpersonal relationships and social functioning years ago i took a seminary class on the book of ephesians while at the same time discipling a group of south asian women who were new believers in christ they had left behind their former cultural religious narrative and needed a new sense of history belonging and purpose my professor emphasized the major theme of identity in ephesians pointing out paul s agenda to root pagan background greek christians in a narrative that would hold them together with their jewish christian counterparts that shed new light on paul s labelling them as god s holy people in ephesus his retelling of the story of their adoption inclusion and eternal purpose his prayer for them to be rooted and established together in love and his instructions on how to live in community this was just the sort of identity formation my south asian sisters needed they needed a taproot of secure connection to god and each other if they were to flourish for this reason i kneel before the father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name i pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being so that christ may dwell in your hearts through faith and i pray that you being rooted and established in love may have power together with all the lord s holy people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of god perhaps the same could be said of us without the taproot of a secure connection to god we are unable to relate securely with each other we need his direct steady affirmation of love for us we need to know who we are in his eyes and what we are in his telling of our story this comes as we sit long in his presence consume a steady diet of his media and imbibe deeply of his spirit deepened intimacy with god produces a security within ourselves that will in turn enable greater elasticity in our engagement with others far from encountering difference as a form of threat we will experience it as an opportunity to learn and grow as i have learned through my many life transitions identity crises present a beautiful opportunity to return to our source and deepen our roots in his love the questions they raise can lift our eyes to the grand narrative from which we derive our meaning and in which we currently participate if we know who we are from where we draw our value and to whom we belong we can be open to those around us able to receive the gifts and absorb the shocks that come through our interactions far from encountering difference as a form of threat we will experience it as an opportunity to learn and grow 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 but to each one of us grace has been given as christ apportioned it in 2021 our tribalism is competing with our identity in christ threatening to transcend the unity we share as his church among the saints at ephesus just as in the church of our day one lord one faith one baptism does not negate our differences rather it encompasses them tethering us all to a shared center this is the holy common ground on which we take our stand until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the son of god and become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of christ ephesians 1 3 5 2 18 20 3 14 18 4 1 7 4 13 share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest email a link to a friend opens in new window email like loading attachment belonging belovedness church community ephesians identity crisis identity formation intimacy labelling oppositional identity polarization relationship leadership spiritual formation weak humans safe leaders our need for ongoing nurture of the soul june 7 2021 tiffany clark 2 comments good leadership is a big ask it entails unravelling intricate relational knots settling ruffled emotions overseeing controversial decisions and guiding others forward through trying circumstances all while experiencing them ourselves we hold ideals for what our leadership should look like participatory humble wise meeting people where they are and yet frequently find ourselves responding in ways that don t match up with our intentions our best laid plans for building up others and bringing about needed change get hijacked among other things by our own stress behaviors and unintended reactions i don t have to look far for an example of this in my own leadership a few years back i was asked to develop and facilitate a spiritual formation program for a group of global leaders months of careful preparation led up to what i hoped would be a sacred space for honest self examination vulnerable sharing with others and transformative encounter with god but the week did not unfold as i had imagined some of my sessions fell flat my content and style met with critique and i myself found it difficult to connect with people in the moment i could tell that i wasn t responding to the situation with the level of flexibility and grace that i aspire to but what i couldn t see was how my reactivity was shutting down the very processes i was trying to facilitate where was the breakdown and what within my way of being had so radically interfered with my way of doing as humans the state of our soul inevitably affects the quality of our leadership leadership does not happen in a vacuum we are humans before we are leaders whether we are aware of it or not we carry our inner selves shaped by our ongoing experiences and deepest needs into our leadership this functions both as an asset and a liability our humanity enables us to relate with others to share with them the comfort that we have received and to point them to the hope that we ourselves have walked deeply with jesus to take hold of and yet our humanity also gets in the way of our ability to relate with others exhaustion anxiety and insecurity hinder our capacity to love as god loves and our own unmet needs can produce reactions that distance and destroy rather than nurture and build up in my case recent developments in our family situation had re surfaced deep insecurities about my personal significance and my sense of acceptability before others we had a child in crisis were facing yet another move and were in the process of relinquishing our vocational stability plan for the future and belonging to a particular community and place with my sense of identity and belonging laid so vulnerably bare my stress behaviors were triggering off the charts i went about seeking to establish my significance and secure my place in this organizational community by proving what a great job i could do only my heroic efforts had more the effect of a bull in a china shop what others intended as gentle critique came across to me as goading rejection what i intended to be interactive life giving facilitation came across to them as rigid and domineering though my words invited creative response my demeanor shut it down i have learned the significance of taking the time to notice these reactions within myself and prayerfully identify their deeper causes as humans the state of our soul inevitably affects the quality of our leadership this truth goes far beyond simply addressing the need to guard our souls from sin and to nurture love for god in our own lives the importance of which always merits emphasis it points us to the significance of recognizing and addressing our own deepest needs in an ongoing manner just as our need for food sleep and oxygen is ongoing so are our needs for love acceptance belonging and significance where these have been damaged through past relationships or deprived through current circumstances we will be vulnerable certain situations or interactions will act like triggers bumping against our tender areas and provoking unexpected reactions which usually are our built in mechanisms for self protection need meeting and situation management the problem is that these coping mechanisms are rarely experienced by others as loving let alone consistent with good leadership so we are human and our humanity affects our leadership what can be done about it i have learned the significance of taking the time to notice these reactions within myself and prayerfully identify their deeper causes beyond confession these moments of deepening self awareness move me to bring my whole self into more intimate relationship with god i come as a little child asking him to kiss the parts that hurt and assure the parts that are scared until i am once again securely at rest in a world over which he lovingly reigns only then am i a whole enough person to safely lead others questions for reflection what reactive tendencies do you notice in yourself how do you behave when under stress you may want to ask your spouse children or teammates to help you identify these in what sort of situations or interactions are these behaviors likely to come out what do you notice as a common factor as you consider this common factor ask the holy spirit to help you see the fears insecurities or unmet needs that may be driving your reactions what might these be what could be a more godly and helpful approach to addressing your areas of vulnerability share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest email a link to a friend opens in new window email like loading childlikeness deepest needs leadership prayer relationships safe leadership self awareness spiritual formation advent kingdom coming spiritual formation come lord jesus december 24 2020 tiffany clark 1 comment i m not sure if i am ready for christmas this year 2020 has overindulged me with food for advent the period of preparation leading up to christmas never have i found it so natural to enter into this season of watching for god to come as in the midst of this year s political turmoil social unrest ...
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