"wow worthy"

Many are questioning and many more are asking, is the church relevant in much of the western world today? Over association with a divisive political climate and a society that no longer has "religious dots" for the church to connect to are major challenges of leaders today, according to famous church planter Tim Keller. Keller advocates that the church must bring a different narrative to people who are lost and needing answers in chaotic times. Keller even suggests that atheists have lost their fuel because the church is shooting itself in the foot without them. I think Keller would say the world is not effectively seeing the church as "wow worthy." Where is the glory that gets the world's attention, like the glory of a bride as she comes down the aisle? After all the church is the "bride of Christ." 

Today I heard the story of Jesus telling His disciples to be "shrewd as a serpent." It's interesting that Jesus used the serpent in a positive way, since the serpent was vilified in the fall of Adam and Eve. What really got my attention is the idea that shrewd is acquainted with wisdom. Shrewd represents practical, subtle insights to complex issues. Shrewd is considered wise because it stirs things up, finds what fits and solves problems. The speaker went on to describe a wise person or action as something that brings glory in mundane moments. 

Glory is a word often found in the Bible as something God desires for Himself. Jesus claims He completed His purpose because He brought glory to His Father. Some say the main purpose of mankind is "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Glory is a commonly used word, but not one easy to define.

What should you expect people's response be when someone reflects God's light in a dark world? Would "WOW" be appropriate? Isn't that what we typically say or think at a beautiful sunset? "Wow worthy" has been a way some have defined GLORY. If there is one thing the world desperately needs these days are "wow worthy" moments. Many of them. But can the church make the mundane to be majestic?

Let's first make sure we clearly understand how something can be "wow worthy." There are actually two possible ways, and we cannot confuse them. The differences are profound.

A person or an action can be "wow worthy" either quantitatively or qualitatively. I know you'd prefer I quit using difficult words but bear with me. A quantitative approach to "wow worthy" would be characterized as having an extraordinarily high SUPERnatural factor. In other words, something that is seen as natural but abnormal. The quantity is viewed as off the charts high. Examples might be extraordinary acts of kindness, or courage, or generosity, or fairness. These kinds of people do produce a "wow."

Contrast abnormal supernatural quantity of "wow" with the idea that its wow factor is not even natural. Something that transcends or becomes something of a different form than what is natural is called SUPRAnatural. Thus, if you encounter something that is way different, completely different, totally unexpected from what is natural, you'd likely say "WOW." This is a different wow than being amazed at something extraordinary because it is abnormal in amount of something, not abnormal in its very nature.

You may not have ever thought much about "wow" in two different ways. Usually we use it when we see some extraordinary feat that we cannot imagine doing. Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Barbara Streisand, and others have brought us wow moments with talents that evade our reality. Other times we see people like Mother Theresa who don't do things with talent or effort we can't do, but seem to be so different in subdued ways that we say a different kind of wow. It's supernatural courage to act in the face of fear. It's supranatural to not fear. It's supernatural to be really generous with what you have. Its supranatural to be generous beyond what you have. It's supernatural to be kind to those less fortunate. It's supranatural to hug and pray for your enemy.

Let me see if I can give you a picture of the difference between supernatural and supranatural.

In the center of this model is "self." The soul is a way we reference a person, which represents them beyond his/her body. The soul can be determined by any examination of a medical doctor. The core factor of a soul is its identity. A person sees themself socially as a part of a bigger community (company, nation, family, etc.). They have a personal identity unique to them that may include their personality, abilities, experiences, etc. Each person also has an identity based on their nature. For instance, humans are fundamentally different from fish but like all other humans in some non physical ways. Confirmation bias and need for freedom would be examples of natural identity. A person's identity is primarily determined by who/what they trust. 

The study of the self is called psychology, whose root is taken from the ancient Greek word for soul. Psychology has two sources. Human psychology comes from the study of humans by humans. Biblical psychology on the other hand is provided to humans by God through His narratives in Scripture and revelations by His spirit. For instance, Jesus covers the same topics in the Sermon on the Mount as I did in teaching organizational psychology in the university. These include topics such as satisfaction, motivation, perception, acceptance, emotions and trust.  

Human Psychology assumes the soul is trusting its physical senses for its nourishment, such as satisfaction and acceptance. The physical senses interact with the world's system informing the soul of what is and isn't real about them. A soul can be supernatural when it becomes really successful receiving and using its physical senses. Really successful flesh does have a 'wow" appeal. But, humans don't need the church for supernatural "wow," and the people know it.

Biblical psychology assumes the soul is trusting the Holy Spirit for its nourishment, which is providing the soul eternal (real) manna from Heaven for needs, such as satisfaction and acceptance. The soul transforms from a human psychology to a Biblical psychology when it trusts the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross for its identity. This makes the soul supranatural. The church stands alone in this aspect of providing "wow." When the world sees the Kingdom of heaven and its King Jesus, it finds a "wow" unlike any other.

For the church to really be the church, it must make every narrative in society have a Kingdom orientation. Every topic from economics to racism to government to sex to marriage to abortion to justice can be viewed from a Kingdom perspective. Glorifying the King is what makes a person supranatural and solicits "wows" from others who desperately need a "wow." Making the mundane majestic is not being supernatural in the moralistic and virtuous ways of the world, but transcending an identity in the flesh to an identity that trusts the spirit. 

Paul tells the church in Rome (and I am paraphrasing), "ALL headwinds are really tailwinds (and vice versa) when the soul’s identity has been formed and influenced by the goodness of God (His intrinsic

nature) through the work of His Holy Spirit."

 
Then and only then will Christians move past being ONLY human to being human with a supranatural "wow" factor.

Then and only then will the dark world see the light of the King and say, "WOW." This is how God is glorified.