Mark 2:22

No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.” 

Lessons from the Field 

While watching my childhood game played by such good international teams, I reminisced about the days I played back in my hometown.   Watching the back and forth of the match on televised, I eagerly observe the technical ability and the setting of set pieces, as they are called.  Watching team rhythms and individual brilliance, whether it’s the strength or speed.  However, undoubtedly, what will win matches are the push and thrust of individuals and teams that can be spontaneous, responding to the moment and keeping fluid and flexible.  

Fluidity and Flexibility are key to being able to respond with initiative and rugby sense.  So what’s that got to do with me, you may say, even if I like rugby or perhaps you dont like the game.   Let me outline the necessary characteristics that individuals and the cooperative church need is to be flexible and fluid.

I find that many live in the church with informed laws and regulations. Even the world knows what the so-called church cannot do, and the laws and regulations are rather about what the church can do: blessing, empowerment, enlarging creation, and people bring maturity, and filling of Christ. All in all,  

Religious prescription has taken away creativity; God desires that we become this heart and the expression of God in our inner being, showing what God is like.  Being the demonstration of God in whatever world we enter.   Faith, having the faith of Christ more accurately, is not about keeping prescriptions, but about being the image and likeness of God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have made us.     

That we are called to stand as demonstrations of God’s view and thought, not being law keepers but being demonstrators of life, the life of God.

Let not leaders be so caught up in prescriptive laws, but foster maturity and cultivate the life of God in individuals and the corporate church, so that the world around us is awakened to a life beyond. A quality of life that is attractive and filled with Christ.

As life surrounds us with events and circumstances, as situations hijack us, and as plans become distorted and must change, we are those who become flexible.    Ready to adjust, take a side step, slow down, speed up as our environment changes or experience changes before us.  As events come from straight ahead but enter from the side, they invade our world seemingly illegitimately, which is beyond our control.  We learn to be fluid, knowing the word of God is there to become our common sense, which enables our fluidity.   

Beyond Prescriptions: Embracing Spirt life

The word of God is so ingrained in us that it is the base from which our thinking comes from, not that it’s a law outside of us, but as the scripture says, ‘written on our hearts’ (2 Cor. 3:3), it’s our way of living, our common sense.   That is what flows from us, enabling our fluidity as our world sometimes throws all at us.

Keeping the Word of God at the forefront and centre, which if we live this way will enable our fluidity in progress. As Jesus encountered the religious leaders of His day, he would say “you say, but I say,” changing the prescriptions that govern their world, introducing us to fluidity. The woman caught in adultery—the law’s prescription says ‘stone her’, yet Jesus said ‘neither do I condemn you’.

Fluidity: The way of love

I could say that the law of love we are meant to embody, demonstrate, and express indeed requires us to be fluid; it truly does. There are no fixed laws, three instructions, two confessions, or four steps to get you out of every situation; otherwise, we will end up like on Jesus’ day when ten laws, the Ten Commandments, were not enough and resulted in over 700 laws, as faith was replaced by prescriptions. Rather than the liberty of fluidity, each new circumstance needed a sub-law to be made to help people live. Jesus and I both agree—there is only one way, the way of love: “love the Lord your God, love your neighbour as yourself.’ As the old Beatles song said, ‘All we need is love, love, love.’

If we are to be a Christ-centred ekklesia, we will be a love-centred church. Fluidity enables demonstration. Consider Jesus’ display of authority; power was not through domination but through a towel and a bowl. Bring self-emptying in washing feet, taking on the servanthood of humanity, he even said, as often as you gather, do this. Is not the breaking of bread, the communion, really yet another self-emoting, downhearted display of towel and bowl? Which is, alas, rooted in our ability to be fluid or demonstrate to every person and environment we find ourselves in, with our sleeves rolled up.

I often say that the church is not defined by its structure or offices to uphold, but by the life poured into people — the resurrection life — filling every shape it is poured into. Let me try to express it this way. Holding a wine glass of water as a picture of the church, we describe the glass in terms of its shape and size, its colour and smooth edges, the contours, and call it the church. Then we attempt to fit a mug into the wine glass, but it fails, declaring that it is not the right shape, as it is not the same. Proceeding to pour the water into a saucer, as the saucer cannot go into the wine glass.  We forget the water, the fluidity, is the church, not the shape that holds it, the fluid life.  The church fills all that it is poured into, not the shape, but homes, streets, offices, and buildings.  Being the expression of Christ filling all in all, the church by nature is to fill, not prescribe a shape.  The FLUID church is necessary.

Flexibility: Adapting for maturity

The other ‘F’ is Flexibility, being able to deal with every person and every situation that arises.  Being supple and able to stretch for flexibility.   What does it look like?

That is flexibility in the sense that it is adaptable to every culture and generation, adapting to a world without internet or word dominance due to all the technical advances.   Considering new ideas which show a willingness to consider change rather than being stuck.   I think the church and its leaders often show they are stuck rather than adaptable.   Flexibility for some is so difficult to entertain, especially for leadership, as it can involve adjusting your priorities and experiencing and bringing about new methods.

Flexibility is having an open mind rather than preconceived positions, in the same way as being able to have the flexibility to discover solutions when there are challenges to consider.  Which actually brings a people and individuals to the place of ability ot learn anew, adapting and realising there is not one way only.

Living Fluid and Flexible Lives 

A church that is mature, its maturity being fluid and flexible, which is an extension of individuals, functions that are maturing, and they too are flexible and fluid.

Consider

Where and with whom is God inviting you to be more flexible and fluid so you can first demonstrate the life of Christ, followed by being more creative this week?