Introduction

How do we in­car­nate the body of Christ in this new fron­tier, this in­creas­ing wilder­ness? What do the roots of Chris­tian­ity, of the apos­tles first for­ays into the world have to say for the church today? These are the ques­tions that drive me. How are we to be the church in a cul­ture that has for­got­ten the ways of Christ?

The call of the church today is to aban­don its fortresses and to be­come no­mads, fol­low­ing the breath of God as he fills the world with life; to pur­sue the shadow of an un­re­lent­ing and un­ceas­ing God that is pas­sion­ately re­claim­ing what is his. I want to un­der­stand how he spoke through his first apos­tles as he called to­gether and formed the body of be­liev­ers in the upper room with his holy fire. I want to in­habit the words and minds of the an­cient the­olo­gians and mys­tics that sought God above all else. Through all of this though I want to gain an un­der­stand­ing on how to in­spire, lead, and bring oth­ers along on the nar­row path, to one day see the new heav­ens and the new earth in all their glory, and to see the face of my sav­ior and em­brace his feet in awe.

This jour­ney is both in­ti­mately per­sonal, and at the same time im­pos­si­ble with­out being in com­mu­nity with other be­liev­ers and un­be­liev­ers alike. For truly as the gospel states we all have sinned, and fallen short of God’s glory, but praise be the cross is suf­fi­cient for all who em­brace it’s story.