Theology of Spiritual Transformation
August 18, 2006
Application Paper
Zoa: Practical Ministry Based Upon a Theology of the Border
Introduction
This paper is a joint work between three authors. In our attempt to create an interactive and rich proposal that incorporates all of our ideas we have adopted a midrash approach and divided the paper into sections. In section one, Stephen Dancause lays out the paradigmatic scriptures for Zoa, and explains the basic theology and missionality around those scriptures. In section two, Meredith Dancause explores the envisioned ministry context of Zoa. Finally in section three, Mark Closson expounds upon Zoa’s communal practices. In all sections the authors have Henri Nouwen’s three movements of the spiritual life in mind from Reaching Out.[1]
After each section, the other authors will briefly respond with their reactions as well as anything they wish to add. Additionally, each author has composed or offered a prayer at the end of their section. Prayer is foundational for Zoa in that it embodies our beliefs and provides a means for individual and communal practice to remember, contemplate, long for, and live out those beliefs. This paper is prayerfully offered and our prayers express our hopes and ideas in unique ways. Also, since words often fail to adequately express ideas, several photos have been included that express to the authors what words cannot.
Border Theology: Scriptural and Theological Foundations for Zoa
Stephen Dancause
The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. (John 1:14 The Message)
That God took on the flesh and blood of humanity and lived among us in order to reconcile us is of central importance for Zoa. Zoa is an anticipated ministry in El Cajon, California, a community along the Mexico – U.S. border. It is an attempt to incarnationally live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ among the least of these. Just as Christ’s coming embodies the ultimate justice and reconciliation that will one day be, Zoa is our attempt to embody Christ amidst an area in our country in particular need of justice and reconciliation.
In Matthew 25, Christ teaches that he is found in ‘the least of these’, a reference to the sick, the poor, and the oppressed of the earth. He illustrates a picture of eternal and cosmic judgment upon those who neglect to care and advocate for the least of these, and he says that to abandon the least of these is to abandon Christ as well. We at Zoa take very seriously Christ’s call to pursue the healing, liberation, and dignity of humankind. Since it is central to Christ’s person and ministry, we strive to make it central to our lives and common ministry in Christ. Justice and reconciliation are not just attributes of Christ’s ministry, they are central to his mission and to the heart of God as found throughout the Bible. In Isaiah 58:6-7 God says; “Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen, to lose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter, when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
Since Zoa will be on a border, we find it helpful to develop a border theology. While borders serve useful and often necessary functions, they are also a poignant reminder of the fall’s effects of fragmentation and injustice that permeates the individual, the human race, and all of creation. We see the mission of Jesus Christ as one of working against the effects of the fall. The Mexico – U.S. border embodies particular socio-political-economic issues that manifest in acute suffering and injustice. At Zoa we will work in whatever ways we can to care for those who are suffering and to advocate for the often powerless victims of injustice. Also, in the spirit of the Gospel, we will work toward and long for the reconciliation of the fractious and diverse communities along the border as we seek ways to enliven the church and live out the ministry of Christ.
In thinking of a border theology we find Christ’s powerful example in John 4 with the woman at the well. That Jesus even enters Samaria is remarkable and that he speaks to a Samaritan woman is astounding. Jesus crosses over the border and spends considerable time with a people despised by his own culture. The Samaritan woman is among the lowest and most oppressed of her own people, made clear by both the time of day she is drawing water and by the fact that five husbands have probably abandoned her. For Jesus, to speak to the least of these, embodied in his conversation with the Samaritan woman, is a disgrace. Yet Jesus not only speaks to her, he humbles himself by requesting a drink from her and even goes so far as to discuss spirituality with her as an equal. In their encounter, Jesus brings healing and liberation to the woman, fosters reconciliation between them and works towards the reconciliation of their communities.
While the story of the woman at the well is important to us, it is but one of many in which we see God pursuing humanity by seeking justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly. While borders, both seen and unseen, physical and spiritual exist everywhere, the Mexico – U.S. border is where we pursue the calling of God in our lives and work out our salvation, even as we work toward the reconciliation of all things. Christ is our example, the one who embodies the ultimate border reconciliation; the divide between God and humanity. As we pursue relationality with the other and work for justice, we too are transformed as the Gospel is made known in our lives through the redemption of borders both seen and unseen.
As we engage the other and strive for justice and redemption, we do not wish to eliminate otherness, but to reconcile it. Christ does not seek to eliminate what it means to be human, rather he works to reconcile humanity to the divine. In this way, Zoa does not seek to eliminate distinctions of culture that exist on the border, rather Zoa works to reconcile the fragmented cultures and communities to each other. The Trinity offers us a divine example of what it means to exist among otherness and be fully reconciled at the same time. We believe that as individuals and communities care for and are curious about each other, God is made known among and between them. Therefore Zoa will facilitate ways for people to be amongst others and encounter otherness in whatever ways it can.
We at Zoa also realize that while we are part of the solution, we are also part of the problem. We are fragmented and fallen individuals in need of wholeness who operate within communities and a world in need of redemption. We therefore believe it to be crucial that even as we seek justice, that we love mercy and walk humbly, recognizing that we too have many things to learn from the other and that we are in desperate need of salvation. Our individual redemption, however, is not something separate from our calling and mission on the border, but is integral to it. Our spiritual practices are therefore closely tied to our mission at Zoa, and to the community we are served by and wish to serve.
A Prayer for the Reconciliation of All Things
Father, Son, Holy Spirit - creation cries out for you and longs to be reconciled
be in our minds as we pray for the restoration of creation
be in our hearts as we long for the salvation of creation
be in our hands as we work for the reconciliation of creation
Father, Son, Holy Spirit - the day is coming and is now come when all things will be reconciled through the Lord Jesus Christ
Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer - humanity cries out for you and longs to be reconciled
be in our minds as we pray for the restoration of all humanity
be in our hearts as we long for the salvation of all humanity
be in our hands as we work for the reconciliation of all humanity
Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer - the day is coming and is now come when all things will be reconciled through the Lord Jesus Christ
Mother, Daughter, Counselor - you cry out with us as we long for all things to be reconciled
be in our minds as we pray for the restoration of all things
be in our hearts as we long for the salvation of all things
be in our hands as we work for the reconciliation of things
Mother, Daughter, Counselor - the day is coming and is now come when all things will be reconciled through the Lord Jesus Christ
Theology of the Border
A Response by Meredith Dancause
The Incarnation declares humanity good, despite the presence of sin. If humanity was inherently evil, God could not have taken on flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. Therefore, the incarnation exposes humanity not as something to be overcome, but something that we should desire. The paradox of the incarnation is that in Jesus Christ we see all of humanity and all of God, together yet separate. Jesus engages, exposes and embodies the ultimate border we experience, the border between God and us. While we are separate, God does not hide God-self nor does God require us to “fix” ourselves, but rather God meets us in our brokenness and exposes our glory.
As we seek to engage the borders we find around us, we too hope to bring our full selves and in doing so expose the glory of our shared humanity. We do not seek to lose sight of the diversity in both cultures and individuals, but rather to facilitate the means for all of us to be formed spiritually. Nouwen says “The real spiritual guide is the one who, instead of advising us what to do or to whom to go, offers us a chance to stay alone and take the risk of entering into our own experience.”[2] Just as Christ does not remove us from our humanity, but rather invites us to step deeper into what it means to be human, we too hope to not remove people from their experience, but allow them to engage it at a deeper level.
Lastly, we hope to cross borders that seem too dangerous, off limits, or simply “natural” with a spirit of appreciative inquiry. We hope not to assume that we have answers, but rather invite all of us to be more curious about one another. Just as the paradox of the incarnation leads us into deeper mystery and leaves us with more questions than answers, we believe that as individuals uniquely created and redeemed by God we will all learn from each other.
Border Theology
A Response Mark Closson
Zoa was birthed out of a deep frustration with the Christian Church and a passionate love for God’s kingdom. Zoa was formed out of a realization that in many instances the Christian Church is not living up to its potential, yet still believing that it could. The name “Zoa” is derived from the Greek word for life. We adopted this word for our name from Jesus’ declaration in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”
We believe that the Christian way of living is the best possible life. Christianity demands that we hold the polarity that whoever wants to find their life must lose it. The Christian life has been saturated with American culture; at times it can be hard to tell the difference. The life of Jesus, God taking on flesh and blood and moving into the neighborhood, is the lens through which we see the way to real life.
The Incarnation introduces us to a God who leaves His place of privilege and enters human history not as a political leader or powerful ruler, but as a servant, living in an intimate community with his disciples, bringing justice and healing to those around him. The life of Jesus compels us, as rich, white Americans, to leave our place of privilege and enter an abandoned border city in Southern California, and through intentional living, purposeful hospitality and social engagement we hope to encounter God in the faces of those around us. Jesus calls us to live a radically different life, which to some may sound strange or silly, but for us it is life, the best possible way to life.
Border Ministry: Living on the Border of the Now and the Not Yet by Seeking to Do God’s Will on Earth as it is in Heaven
Meredith Dancause
We recognize full reconciliation is not possible before the Eschaton, never the less we believe it is still the responsibility of Christians to begin to live into the power of the Kingdom available to us through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we seek to live on the border of the now and not yet, working towards redemption, restoration and reconciliation as we stand in the gap between those who have and those who do not, allowing us all to meet in the center and recognize our communal need for each other. Our response to this is to relocate to El Cajon, an abandoned border city in Southern California, in order to begin an urban monastery. Through communal living, intentional hospitality and social engagement we hope to change the face of the inner city from a place that is desolate to one that is thriving.
One of the major components of an Urban Monastery is the space in which we choose to reside. First, in the vein of restoration, we will not build a new space but find one that already exists within the community that can be restored for new use. This could range from an abandoned warehouse, an old church, or an apartment building. We are committed to living in proximity to one another, therefore we will need a space which allows us to live in the same building while each having individual space. Since we plan to submit to a communal rule as well as support ourselves through a common trade, sharing a space that provides both proximity and solitude is necessary.
Additionally, this space will need to be located in the area that we plan to work in. Not only are we committed to living in proximity to each other, but also the community at large. Ultimately, we choose to live amongst the poor in areas that have been abandoned or deemed unsafe, and in this hope to bring restoration and renewal to the community therein. Therefore, this space will also need large common areas that can be used in a variety of ways to bless the community, as well as more secluded areas where people can be in silence and contemplation.
We are committed to intentional hospitality within our space, creating a place where transformation both in the individual as well as the community can be fostered. While anything we do will be as a result of listening to the needs of the community and discerning together what the means are to meet these needs, in thinking of the context of El Cajon we propose the following. We hope to create a safe place where people from all walks of life can meet one another in the hopes that they might find redemption in one another.[3] Therefore, we will establish a common trade, be it a café, pizza shop, bookstore or a bar, that will provide a common space for the community to gather and be humanized to one another. Through feasting together as a community, celebrating our communal existence, we will see and know one another in more intimate and genuine ways.
We believe that it is only through knowing one another that we will be able to authentically address the powers and principalities that rob people of their dignity. As we move from enemies to friends, we will recognize our interconnectedness and therefore our responsibility to one another. In response to the pervasive materialism of the American culture, we are a community who is committed to taking only what we need and in this sense providing for those who cannot provide for themselves. We hope to provide contexts where those who “have” in terms of power, resources and wealth will be able to provide for those who “have not.” In this, we believe that we will also provide the context where one can lose their life in order to find it in Christ. Through loving our neighbors as ourselves we will find that each one of us has something for the other.
In El Cajon there are major issues regarding immigration, as we will be located on the Mexican border. Therefore, we will familiarize ourselves with the immigration process, seeking the help of those who have the power and ability to facilitate the process of becoming a citizen. While we strive to follow the law, we seek to care for those who find themselves oppressed by it.
We will also offer classes for those whom English is a second language, affording them the opportunity to thrive in an American context.
Additionally, in terms of social engagement, we hope to address the needs of the community as they are communicated to us. This can range from the offering parenting classes, affordable grief, addiction, and pastoral counseling to the community, as well as practical living assistance. We also hope to be able to offer affordable healthy meals to families as an alternative to fast food chains that contaminate the health of the poor by offering cheap unhealthy food. Affordable child care, a safe after-school environment, and a creative learning center would also be offered to families in the community. In terms of serving those without a home we would hope to offer a safe place to shower, sleep and get a hot cup of coffee. In all, we hope to create a context where we can listen communally to each other, and discern the communal cry of our hearts, and then act together out of this.