by Leo Schuster • Lead Pastor
Can we believe and not believe at the same time? That seems to have been the experience of a desperate father who brought his troubled son to Jesus for healing: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). The more we look at the Bible, it turns out, the more we’ll see this man’s experience might have been the norm rather than the exception.
Instead of imagining faith to be a static position of certainty, the scriptures portray it with far greater nuance. Our first series of the 2023-2024 ministry year and the overarching theme for the year will draw upon dance as a metaphor to explore this perspective of faith. As we do, we’ll find faith to be more dynamic than fixed, that there’s a movement to it—a dance of sorts between faith and doubt, devotion and ambivalence, strength and sorrow, love and loss.
This dance will help us empathize with those who don’t believe, for there’s a dance in their experience as well, and with those who struggle to believe—because we all do. A person can experience faith as liberating, life-giving, and joy-filled. But they can also find it to be dry, cold, agonizing, and at times even torturous. As David Bowie sang, “Dance the blues!”
It’s at challenging times like these that a movement of hope is possible by observing and even joining in what others have described as the dance of the triune God of the Bible. When a person’s heart connects with God, experiencing the music of his redeeming grace, it enables them to move toward hope, gratitude, and even deep happiness.
This series will be very accessible for people who wouldn’t describe themselves as religious or who aren’t connected to a church. Please invite someone to join you this Sunday.
