A Creative Minority

Creative Minority is a Christian community in a web of stubbornly loyal relationships, knotted together in a living network of persons who are committed to practicing the way of Jesus together for the renewal of the world.

His heart was that we would influence culture through redemptive participation in the context of communities in relationship.

“The church exists to set up in the world a new sign which is radically dissimilar to the world’s own manner and which contradicts it in a way that is full of promise.”

We speak primarily of a “personal relationship with God” as the fundamental goal of faith. There is nothing wrong with personal faith, but the love that Jesus speaks of is fundamentally other-oriented and generally communal.

If there is no interpersonal conflict in your life, no elements of your character that you are being confronted about, you are networking, you are not in close community. Yet

“Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” -- Margaret Mead

I was amazed at a recent business leaders conference I attended to hear participants say they grew up feeling like missionaries were the peak of Christian calling, followed by pastors. If they felt they could not attain either of those vocations, entering the business world was a last resort so they could at least fund pastors and missionaries. That is not a compelling paradigm – a two tiered system where there are people who serve God, and everyone else serves God’s servants.

What a subversive narrative the people of God had knowing that not only are we God’s beloved creation, but we are also called as His heirs into the work of redeeming His good creation.  It is only when you embrace that theological framework that you are empowered to seek the peace and prosperity of the city in which you are in exile because what you are doing is creating good culture regardless of the society in which you are located.

Sometimes we can be so obsessed with our national story that we forget to shape our local ones – our families, communities and workplaces.  We are called to live out of a compelling counter narrative in small yet powerful ways.

“An essential part of our theological and missional task today is to tell this story as clearly as possible, and to allow it to subvert other ways of telling the story of the world.” -- N. T. Wright

The early church was strikingly different from the culture around it in this way - the pagan society was stingy with its money and promiscuous with its body. A pagan gave nobody their money and practically gave everybody their body. And the Christians came along and gave practically nobody their body and they gave practically everybody their money.

In recent years we have begun to appreciate the emptiness of a fast food cuisine and have witnessed a renaissance of slow foods. It is my hope that people will recognize in love, even more than food, how and why it is made determines its satisfaction in our lives.

“We must live in the kingdom of God in such a way that it provokes questions for which the Gospel is the answer.” -- Lesslie Newbegin