A Third Way

By Rev. Mark E. Tidsworth, Founder and Team Leader

“But in all these things we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us. I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.”

—Romans 8:37-39, CEB

For I am convinced

That neither

A chaotic governmental season

Nor deconstruction of your faith

Nor deep hurt at the hands of the religious

Nor concern for the ecosystem

Nor fires ravaging the West

Nor storms sweeping the East

Nor the job you just can't find

Nor no way to combine your three jobs into one living wage

Nor your denomination's conflict

Nor denial and twisting of truth for selfish gain

Nor any other thing

Can separate us from who we are in Christ

For regardless of powers and principalities

Regardless of the obstacles to progress

We remain and move forward

Through Christ, in Christ, because of Christ

We receive the gift of this day

Joining God's mission to reconcile the world

Living into the beautiful Way of Jesus

Regardless of, and including the brokenness, pain, and suffering

This day and forever more

Convinced, remaining, and moving forward we are

Through the grace, power, and love of our brother Jesus the Christ

Amen

The polarities are widening it seems. The differences between political parties, conservatives and progressives, dualistic options for how to move ahead… are widening as we speak. The VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) context is increasing, with challenges on all sides. The likelihood for health in our communities, for commitment to working for the good of all, seems lesser as we move along. Yes, the darkness seems darker than ever in too many ways. Perhaps the prayer above captures some of what it’s like for many of us at this time.

So where does that take us? Into despair, defeat, abandonment of all hope? Sometimes even we as Christ-followers find ourselves there. When we do, perhaps that’s the time to turn to each other, sharing the burden, finding hope together. Perhaps that’s part of what it means to be church in this current context.

We hope then that we are able to do what we in this Christian movement have done since the beginning… look to Jesus, the author and pioneer of our faith (see Hebrews 12). Somehow, our world needs an alternative to the stories or scripts running below our current culture. We might call this the third way, a way that is beyond limiting categories, a way leading to life.

The Apostle Paul described the way he was able to sustain hopeful living in another VUCA context. My prayer above is clearly inspired by Paul’s prayer in Romans, calling us into a better, third way of being here on planet Earth.

Where does this take you? How much do you believe the Way of Jesus is an alternative to the common ideologies popular in our culture? What does the Way of Jesus have to offer that this world needs? What is your church’s vision for this world? How enlivening and hopeful is your church’s vision for the near future? What does the Third Way look like your community context, as embodied by your church?

I’m hopeful these are the questions driving our efforts as disciples of Jesus and bodies of Christ. May we have the courage to live into the beautiful Third Way in our contexts, being the body of Christ this world needs.

This article is based on Day 37 Devotional in Crossing Thresholds Prayer Guide, a resource for churches preparing them for visioning and strategic planning by Mark Tidsworth. This Prayer Guide can be found on Amazon, or we at Pinnacle are able to order multiple copies at a reduced cost when contacted directly.