I have had the privilege of helping Church and other youth-focused ministries develop long-term visions and plans. I always ask for the involvement of a cross-section of people connected to the ministry – staff, volunteer leaders, advisory board, key stakeholders, etc. To get the ball rolling, I lead the gathered group through a typical S.W.O.T. analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). Something else I do that might not be as typical: I ask the group, “What distinguishes your ministry from other youth-serving organizations in the community?”
It’s not a question of what they do better, but what their ministry does differently. What are those distinguishing factors that differentiate their ministry from other organizations? That causes others to check them out/send kids their way, etc.? In other words, what is their unique place in the community? It has turned out to be one of the better questions that we address in the process.
Several years ago, when I was still in full-time Youth Ministry work, I, as the oldest among us, facilitated a monthly gathering of the Youth Ministers in our community. Each month I would ask a couple of questions to create some camaraderie and community – questions like, “What book are you presently reading? What’s your favorite TV series, etc?”
One month, keying off “distinguishers” thinking, I asked, “What do you think distinguishes Christians from others in our culture?” The answers mostly related to external, moralistic, and behavioral distinctions. I had been spending time in the Exodus story, so it was a bit of a loaded question, as you will see…
After God revealed sets of commands as to how the rescued Israelites were to relate to their King and to each other, we find an interesting account, probably unbeknownst to many of us. Moses would set up a tent outside the camp, some distance from the crowd. He called it the “tent of meeting,” where he would go and meet with God. It’s where “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” (See Exodus 33:7-11)
One of the times Moses met with God in the tent, he inquired of the Lord…
“12 You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
Yahweh replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here [to Canaan]. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:12-16)
What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?
We must remember that the people rescued from a polytheistic culture were unfamiliar with the concept of a single, ever-present deity. Their cultural concept of a god was a deity tied to time and space, often represented by an idol in a temple. Worshipping these deities required the people to be in their presence. The people were not used to a deity who was present with them. (Could their cultural understanding of deities have been a reason why the people defaulted by making a golden calf?)
The people were discovering that Yahweh, the one true God and King of the universe, was very present. They witnessed his presence in the pillars of fire and cloud during the exodus from Egypt. And again during the 40-day theophany, while Moses communed with the Lord on Mount Sinai. They even experienced his presence as Moses talked with Him in the “tent of meeting.” 1
What a distinguisher!
Here’s another distinguisher – the Egyptian deities of the ~13th Century BC no longer exist. They are extinct. When was the last time you recall anyone referring to the sun god, Ra? Or the god of the Nile, Hapi? Or of Isis? Or any of the other ~10 Egyptian gods? 2
Yahweh, the one true God and King, remains.
Yahweh, who is enthroned in the heavens, was ever-present with His people, watching over and caring for them! The concept of God’s presence with His people is a key theme seen throughout the scriptures. This is a deity worthy of worship. In contrast with contemporary deities, this is a God worth following.
The concept of God’s presence was not lost to the psalmists. They reference a God who was present, watching over them, protecting them. Consider Psalm 121…
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
In Psalm 121, the psalmist casts the ever-present God as a keeper or guardian. It is in the context of a journey. Yahweh guards his people, who face uncertain times while on the journey. Fifteen centuries later, I find great comfort in a God who continues to say…
My Presence will go with you.
1 From Exodus 33, we read, “Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent.”
2 As I was researching the gods of ancient Egypt, I was reminded that scholars have correlated the ten plagues listed in Exodus to the various deities. For those among us who are interested in such detail, I have prepared a table in a separate blog post, The Ten Plagues.
Practical Theology Today 