How Has The Practice Of Ministry Affected My Experience And Understanding Of God

Theology Question #2: How has the practice of ministry affected your experience and understanding of God?

Every worship experience at Wildwood, I direct the congregation to turn and face the door to receive the benediction. After we conclude our weekly observance of Holy Communion, as reconciled people, we face the door for the sending forth. We know that just outside that door is the mission field and a world of broken people. Many don’t know God lovingly put on flesh in refusal to be separated from them, and is available to transform their lives. Every Sunday we remember together this missionary God has invited us to join this mission (Mat 28:18-20). As God the Father’s “sent” people, we as the body of God the Son, go out, guided and infilled

One essential piece of God’s identity is that in God’s relational nature, God acts to redeem Israel from bondage. “Liberation is the activity of God.” God is to be remembered by the Israelites as the God who “redeemed you from slavery” (Deut 6:20-21). This God comes into human history and liberates humans from an enslaved condition (Exod 6:6-7; 20:1; Deut 24:18), thus revealing God’s defining essence throughout the Old Testament as חֶסֶד (checed) “mercy” or “unfailing love” (Exod 34:6-7). God’s unfolding self-revealing is ultimately fulfilled in the New Testament through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Never has God so clearly revealed Godself as in the person of Jesus, who is God made in human flesh, the Living Word. We can now say with all certitude that God is “liberator” and “pure, unbounded love” or ἀγάπη (agapē)(1 Jn 4:8). I see the “I am” statements in John’s Gospel as particularly revealing of God (Jn 6:35; 8:12; 10:9; 11:25; 14:6; 15:5). I am wondrously drawn to Jesus’ self-description as the “good shepherd” who “lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11). Jesus the good shepherd is God’s “active, initiating, seeking love,” with skin on. The liberating God of unfailing love comes as “Immanuel” (Matt 1:23), to seek and redeem all lost humanity from an enslaved condition (Lk 19:10). Luke 15 contains a series of parables about lost things being found, and ensuing celebration. They are more

Some of our members had an idea for a Fresh Expression in which we would be an incarnate presence of God’s love in the Wildwood homeless camps. I went to investigate and evaluate the safety of the concept. I met a group of folks experiencing homelessness there, some were content with their somewhat nomadic lifestyle. One gentleman, Niko, was obviously not. He expressed a desire to get a job and just needed help. We secured a place for Niko to stay and attained some necessities. He had no experience with church, but cautiously he began to attend. Soon, Niko came to me and expressed his desire to receive Christ and be baptized and we began the catechetical process. On January 3rd 2016, Nikolai Mulinov responded to the relentless seeking love of God and was baptized. Weeks later, I led a team into the jail, where Niko’s pregnant fiancé Chrissy also accepted Christ. Chrissy also was reborn into our community Easter Sunday. God refused to give up on Niko and Chrissy. God shamelessly sought and recovered