The Ecclesia Network

Date: February 20, 2011 | 17 Comments | Share

Categories: Ecclesia People, Equipper Blog

Lindsey Sullivan.

Junior at Lynchburg College. [lcf] leader.

Though the attractive colors may lure you to this visual metaphor of Excavation, I thought it best to further explain why I am digging deeper.  Reading the picture left to right, our eye rests on the giant volcano first.  We see lava spewing from the top and cascading downward.  We must experience a lava-spewing moment before we are able to get to the X, the Excavation.  So, “What is a lava-spewing moment?”

Symbolically the lava is the Holy Spirit.  As Christ-followers we often have moments in our walk where something happens and we are doused in the Holy Spirit.  Moments such as conferences, one’s day of salvation, or the end of a persevering trial are great examples of spewing lava.  Hopefully, each of you have had a moment where you are standing beside a volcano of God and the eruption of the Holy Spirit in your life is melting everything else away.

These lava-spewing moments at a point in time are called kairos.  As Mike Breen and Steve Cockram of 3DM put it: “a kairos moment is when the eternal God breaks into your circumstances with an event that gathers some loose ends of your life and knots them together in his hands.”

What next? As we don’t remain in kairos time, we then enter into the new part of our walk.  Referring to the picture, this section of our walk looks like the middle dip.  This is where we are presented with the choice to continue in the ways of the Lord post kairos-moment. When we reach the dips in our walk, we have to press into God. Discipline is strengthened, knowledge is acquired, and lessons are learned all in the name of Christ.  Periodically we may have other kairos moments, and then the cycle of eruption to reclaiming the day-to-day begins.

Excavation occurs when a Christ-follower wants more than the kairos moments and yearns for a challenge greater than the day-to-day disciplines.  The letter X conveniently marks the position of the symbolic map of a Christian walk where one asks more of God. The goal of this great shift into God is to reach new heights in one’s relationship with God; a point in which the union between man and Maker is closer than ever before.

Though I am only at the beginning of this journey, I am taking steps toward the Holy Spirit.  And with each forward moving foot, I lean, press, and shove myself into the hands of the Holy Spirit, begging for more of God.  I have learned that even in the moments when God is spewing lava around me, He is alluring me into the woods of my heart (Hosea 2:14).  I have taken it as my mission to find out what God can show me through his Word.  I would love to say that in three months I will have tapped into the endless supply of God’s wisdom and knowledge, but the process of Excavation is not timed.  Yet, it is a journey measured in perseverance and pursuit.

[lcf] or Lynchburg Christian Fellowship is a college church based on the campus of Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Virginia. Choosing to express church in multiple ways like missional communities, small groups, and a Sunday Gathering is what allows our community to create a discipleship culture as well as reach people with the love of Jesus. Engage the culture. Embrace everyone. Endure the cross. www.lcfva.com