What Desires Do Our Churches Enflesh?

A big part of the learning journey that churches in one of our cohorts go through is and exploration of embodiment, the idea that it is not enough to hold abstract truths about faith. Faith, in order to be genuine, must be fleshed out. It is the incarnational way that Jesus showed us. Faith is fundamentally about embodying the desires of God as God’s people. It turns out, as social, feeling humans, it is simply not possible to exist without embodying desire of some sort. The ultimate question becomes: Whose desires do we enflesh?

The problem is that desire comes to us from every angle, seeking our constant and undying attention. Our global capitalist society thrives on weaving a narrative that embodies the desire for endless consumption—of images, ideologies, and instant gratification. The powers and principalities are schooled in a psychology that is designed to awaken and take hold of our desire, but this taking hold is largely an unconscious process, enticing the unwitting. In short, desire is caught, not taught.

And to exist in today’s world requires exposure at some level.

The time has come for the Church to examine whose desires we are embodying. By what logic do we order our lives? By what loves do we occupy our minds? To what longings do we offer our bodies? Our Learning Journey is the slow work of making space for the Spirit to show us, exploring what transformation towards God’s desire entails. This reorientation and enfleshing of new imagination is the foundational work of congregational formation. Some of us long for this. Some of us long for the longing. Some of us still don’t see it at all. Some will resist it altogether.  (an excerpt by Josh Livingston from the Cultivating Communities 2022 Annual Report)
 

Cultivating Communities works alongside cohorts of churches that are in close-proximity to each other, providing resources and helping them discern what it might look like for their congregations and their places to flourish. Our first two cohorts (one in the mountains of East Tennessee and one on the west side of Chicago) are now underway.

(Learn more about our cohorts and 
the Cultivating Communities Learning Journey)

Using property owned by religious institutions to help address an affordable-housing crisis. "One of the problems that they have in San Diego, especially, is getting affordable housing in neighborhoods because a lot of people don’t want you to build affordable housing," Rev. Harvey Vaughn said. He believed that his church could be part of the solution. (via Faith & Leadership )

Did Jesus tell us to pray for our enemies? And if so, what did he mean? A meditation by New Testament scholar Nijay Gupta.  (via The Christian Century)