Culture's Newest Catchphrase

For a long time, I felt like I was the only person with the word ‘unity’ in their common vocabulary - the only person even thinking about it; however, now, on February 9, 2021, the word has become one that I see every day on the news and on my Twitter feed and hear dropped as casually as the weather. And as someone who is passionate about unity, i’m not totally sure how I feel about it.

What do i do now that the word unity is top of mind? That the nation’s leaders and thinkers are using it to market their campaigns and move their image forward? These should be good things. I want people to hear the word unity and find the hope and reconciliation that it contains.

But right now, it doesn’t seem like the word unity contains much of anything - because right now, it’s being used as just a word.

Unity isn’t meant to be a marketing buzzword to grow your product or your persona. It’s not meant to be used in such a way that it isn’t backed up by any action. It’s not meant to be a drop in an empty bucket.

Unity is mean to be strong, to be a foundation - A foundation for community and opportunity.

And right now, as someone hell bent on learning about unity, writing about it and trying to live it out, it’s hard to watch a passion became a product to use and wield without regard to the deconstructing its doing to such a powerful word. As David Dark puts it, “Unity without reckoning is marketing.”

May unity grow, thrive and increase in our world, not only in its vocabulary, but also in its actions.

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: Don’t just be a marketer.

So You've Found Your 'Calling;' Now What?

On the kitchen wall of the family's home I live in here in Australia reads this verse from Ephesians 4:

"Live a life worthy of the calling you've received."

If only it were that easy (sigh). It's always easier said than done.

If finding and answering my calling in life was as easy as finding and answering the calls on my iPhone, life would be easy. Unfortunately though, we can't pick life up in one hand and swipe it to the right in order to discover what's next. It usually takes lots of prayer, thought, obedience and more prayer. There's just something about finding life's 'calling' that all people strive for. We all want to love our careers and be able to explore our passions and share those passions with others in order to make some sort of a difference in the world. It's something I've thought about and prayed for a lot, especially since I've graduated college and begun to travel more and broaden my world view. Since then, God has been faithful, and I believe He's shown me my calling in life, but now that He has, what's next and what do I from here? That's the question.

I believe a lot of our calling's come from our backgrounds and upbringings. If we have past experiences that have had negative or positive impacts on our lives, we're more likely to develop passions in those areas that develop into callings and desires to help fix those problems or improve those impacts through justice and reconciliation. For example, if a person has experienced a chronic illness, they are probably highly likely to have an interest in helping cure that illness and helping those dealing with that illness. This isn't always the case, but in my case, it held true. 

I have a passion and a calling to build community. I have a burning desire to see communities come together and be transformed through the Church. It's my passion to network not just church leaders, but also community leaders together to bring unity and transformation to towns, cities and states. I want to do this by:

• writing and telling stories in an effort to change culture and
• casting vision as to why and how congregations can serve those in need
• creating conversations on key issues with key leaders
• developing relationships with leaders with the goal of serving them in their call to love their cities

As of now, I have no idea how the Lord is going to work this calling out that He's laid on my heart, but I'm confident that if He's behind, He's going to provide the answers and the resources. I come from a background of communities with many churches, and I truly believe God brought me up in those environments to help establish this calling in my life. As the saying goes:

"Our past doesn't define us, but it shapes us into who we are."

God is doing a work in His people right now to stir a sense of togetherness, and I feel led to serve in that work in whatever way He calls me to. I believe in the power of unity and in the prayer Jesus prayed hours before He was crucified when He prayed that we, His followers, would be one, as He and the Father are One, so that the world may know Him (John 17). 

I write this not to boast in a calling, but to ask for help and guidance with this calling. I write this as an encouragement to anyone else who is exploring their calling and at a loss for what's next. Pray, seek counsel and seek vision from others. We must keep pursuing our passions, stewarding the gift's He's given us well and believing that the Lord is indeed with us and has gone before us. A 'calling' isn't always a job or a career; sometimes it's just doing the thing that you love to do and sharing that thing with others. If you want to be a writer, blog. If you want to be an athlete, go play pick-up games with friends. If you want to be a musician, play with your church worship band. Pursue passion.  

As I said earlier, I'm still praying and seeking what these next steps are with the calling I've received. I would love anyone's help, support or vision if you have any insight, thoughts or ideas (or if you share the same passion that would be amazing too), so please comment or get in touch with me if you have anything you'd like to share. We can grab a cup of coffee or have a FaceTime session. As for now, I'll continue to fill auto part orders in a warehouse in Adelaide, Australia knowing that I am where I am now for a reason and that it is only preparing me for something more in the future. 

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Don't try to change the world, but instead find something you love to do and do it every day. Through that and the passion that comes from that, the world will change.