Bonus: For Such a Transition as This
As we are beginning to experience or looking forward to coronavirus restrictions being lifted, we may find that we are feeling all the emotions, again. Anticipation couples with worry, relief is tinged with regret. We thought we were more than ready, but then the next moment we are not so sure. Whether the waiting has gotten old, the transition unfolds too slowly for our liking, or we aren’t ready yet for another change, the truth is that this is new for all of us, just as the onset of a world-wide pandemic also was. As mission-minded people, how can we prepare our hearts and minds for such a transition as this?
Positioning for a transition.
Regardless of how close or still far off the transition to a less restricted life is for us, we can position ourselves to transition well by cultivating rhythms that reflect the missional life we are leaning into. A rhythm is continuous—a habit we form that we repeat regularly. We cultivate that rhythm by practicing it until it becomes second nature.
I’ve compiled six missional living rhythms we can adopt while stay-at-home restrictions are in place. These rhythms will be equally important once we can gather more freely with neighbors as they are today, so there is no better time than now to begin the habit-forming work.
Click here to download the pdf so you can keep these rhythms somewhere you will see them often. Podcast listeners, I’ll put any links in the show notes for you.
- Daily proximity with Jesus fosters a life worth imitating.
- Openness about our life allows the work God is doing in us to have a ripple effect.
- Gratitude voiced daily rewires our perspective.
- Real talk with God about our calendar moves us towards mission as a lifestyle.
- Noticing neighbors needs bids us love in practical ways.
- Visibility (both virtual and from a distance) shows that we want to do life with our neighbors.
I would love to unpack each of these rhythms for you to help you really dig into living them out. If you would like to receive a daily email for 6 days, each unpacking one of the rhythms, simply let me know here.
Retaining what we’ve gained.
If we begin practicing foundational rhythms of a missional living now, we will be far better equipped to continue their practice through the transition and beyond. We are talking about momentum here, not mastery. Momentum looks like a mustard seed of courage that pushes us to take one simple baby step. We then find that the next step is a tad less intimidating.
I fall solidly into type nine on the Enneagram—a personality profiling assessment of sorts that keys into our way of seeing and likely pit traps so in going against our grain we can begin to see less narrowly. Enneagram nines are subject to inertia—the term we remember from science class meaning that an object, once set in motion, is likely to continue moving, and stationary objects remain unmoved until something moves them.
Because of this, habit-forming is so very essential for me. And I want to be intentional about the habits I am forming because not all habits are life-giving. The more easily acquired habits, like the ones that keep me small and closed off or unproductive, certainly don’t serve me well.
I’ve found the most fool-proof method to ensure I continue moving towards a missional lifestyle is to take baby steps so often they become a habit.
Grace for glimpses.
As we find our world shifting again and we hope to come out right side up, please know that while we are pursing a missional life, we must also hold our expectations—especially those of ourselves—with open hands. Living on mission is often learned as we circle back around, again and again, each time gleaning something new from the same lesson. When we expect the learning to be linear with a stationary growth slope, we set ourselves up to be deflated by unmet expectations.
Instead, let’s expect that God is bigger than our falls. We will see glimpses of ways that our lives are beginning to more clearly reflect His—peace as we surrender control, joy as we give our thanks, connection as we practice humble vulnerability, to name a few. These glimpses will refuel you and confirm God is at work inside you.
If you’ve felt intimidated to begin living a missional lifestyle because you think you need to bridge the gap from where you are today to where you want your feet to land in a single, giant leap, I hope you find comfort in knowing that your job is to respond to each baby step as God brings it to your attention. Nothing more. The pace is not yours to set.
Thank you for joining me today for this bonus episode. Let’s close in prayer.
Jesus, You are bigger than my fears and my failures. You are bigger than the habits I want to break and the ones I wish to make. Lead me, Lord, and grant me the courage to stay right with You as I take one baby step after another. In your holy and precious name I pray, amen.
