When you think of “borderlands” what comes to mind? Culture . . . language . . . geography . . . people? Excitement . . . adventure . . . fear?
Borderland Times are not new to God’s people. Israelites journeyed in the wilderness, along the borders and edges of new lands. Early Christians became strangers living in a strange land wrestling with how to be “in” but not “of” the world. Early Disciples on the American frontier lived in Borderland Times articulating their faith in a new geography and in a rapidly developing culture and ethos. All times filled with a rich and deep sense of God’s presence and leading.
To be sure, Borderland Times for God’s people are rich and also challenging. We wrestle with new languages to speak our faith in a rapidly changing world. We wonder about what we can we leave behind and what is essential on this journey into new territory. And we meet new neighbors on the border, some who speak languages that are not familiar but in which we may hear the voice of God. Where are the lights in these new lands that show us where we are heading? How will our lives with one another be enriched by the discoveries found on our journey? How will we faithfully explore these new lands with our new neighbors?
Join your Northwest Disciple family at the regional assembly for worship and the Word to help find our way through these open spaces at the edges of our times. |
