Vineyard Church | Weekly Update February 21, 2024

When we kicked off the new year and began our series in the Gospel of Mark, we started off with a science experiment. If you were with us that Sunday, I asked everyone to put two fingers along their jugular and raise their hand if they have a pulse. After checking for proof of life individually, I asked everyone that had a pulse to raise their hand and take a gander at all of the other folks that have a pulse.… The point of that exercise was to demonstrate that we all share in common that our hearts are currently beating, which means that God is not done working in our lives.

We are incomplete. Each of us, together, are not yet finished works that fully reflect Jesus. We are not done. This is an important reminder because one of the ways God works in us is through the friction and conflict that come from relationship when two or more unfinished products have to rub against eachother. Viewed from the lens of our study of Mark, friction and conflict flow from Jesus interacting with the world. This friction and conflict become the battleground for the power encounter between the unfolding plan of God and opposing powers of culture, religion, and social norms. 

This power encounter creates an uncomfortable dynamic when it occurs between unfinished products, and the encounter can be leveraged for either division or reconciliation. One picture of this that has been very helpful is an analogy I hear from Brad Hudson, a picture of a hand holding a cup that is shaken, and the shaking leads to whatever is in the cup being shaken out.

When the hand is shaken, we can be tempted to look at the cup that failed to hold the contents, the hand that shook the cup, or whatever caused the shaking in the first place. Another route we can take is to be thankful for the shaking, whatever the shaking is, because it allowed what was in the cup to come out, and now the contents that were in the cup can be dealt with. 

For me, this comes in the form of what rises up in me in the midst of the shaking, in the midst of friction and conflict. Being offended, becoming hostile, and looking for “justice” are all tempting responses that I have indulged in over time. When I do, what I am demonstrating is what is inside of me to shake out, and now that it is out, I have an invitation to deal with it. 

The shaking has often revealed a posture I have had towards people that is an expectation of them to be perfect and, failing perfection, account for the failure of perfection in some manner that would satisfy how right I am.… To combine some quotes from other mentors of mine, expecting perfection from those we are in community with has a similar outcome as trying to pick up a turd from the clean end. 

None of us are finished products, and the reality that none of us are finished products cannot be the catalyst to break relationship with anyone else or hold illegal expectations on another. Holding the expectation that we are all in process and that God is at work leads to making an allowance for this work and the reality that when the cup gets shaken, we might get splattered, but we now have information on how we can pray for and love one another.

In John 13, Jesus said that the world will know that we are his disciples by the way we love each other. We will regularly have a chance to demonstrate that it is possible to press into difficult discussions and be drawn closer rather than be divided, regardless of the friction and conflict that come with being in process together. A messy church can be a healthy church because it means that God isn’t done with us, and we are willing to allow him to continue to work. 

As we continue through the Gospel of Mark together and through our Lent devotionals, we can trust that God is at work in each of us, and the shaking that comes is proof. Together, we can celebrate the shaking with mercy for one another and together be brought closer to the Throne of God. 

Adam Greenwell
Pastor  |  Billings Vineyard Church
www.BillingsVineyard.org