Pastor Brandon: Do you have something that comes to mind about what a bold church looks like?

Pastor Mary: I had a couple of things that when I was thinking about this earlier that I wrote down. And I wrote down that a bold church is constantly listening for the call of the spirit. So they have an active spiritual practice where they’re listening for the Holy Spirit calling them, and at work in the church and in the community. And so, when you’re listening for the work and word of the Holy Spirit, you’re able to continue what things are working and what things are impactful. And you’re able to release the things that are no longer meaningful, or that are not furthering the kingdom, or serving the community or working for the church. So that was one thing, the ability to recognize what’s working and what’s not, and where God is calling you and where God is calling you to release.

Pastor Brandon: That’s really interesting to think about. Because in my head, when I think of boldness or daring, I think of an action that you’re doing or some action that you’ve committed yourself to doing. To say that a bold church is known by its listening, which can be interpreted as inaction.

Pastor David: Unless it’s active listening.

Pastor Brandon: Haha! Right repeating back to God, “So God what I hear you saying is…”
But that’s interesting to think of a bold church as one that’s in a listening posture. Do you have any thoughts about it?

Pastor David: I just think right now what would it mean for us to be a bold church today? And what would that mean? In a climate that’s so polarized. You’re either on this side or this side of every issue.

And is that what the call the church is about to be on one of those sides. Or is the call of the body of Christ today to create a sacred space for both sides to actually converse with each other, to learn from each other, to does agree with each other, but to do it in a way that we would walk away bonded together with something deeper than our politics. And knowing that election cycle is coming upon us and that we have lots of people telling us that we should be on their side or the other side, to me, in some ways, to be bold in this time is to keep pointing to the way of Christ above partisan politics. Because both sides believe they are pointing to God.

But in many ways, I think, neither hit it exactly.