Been thinking again about the ministry of true identity this week:

“Can we be so much ourselves, so fully in our real story, that our presence alters the atmosphere and gives permission to others to be. The problem is rarely, do we have the right information, it is usually that we are not being ourselves fully enough, to convince others to live more fully!” Art Monticus.

I would add, can our testimony be so electrically our true selves, so true to what actually is, that we ignite true identity around us! To be living portents or signs, as King David put it. Can we attest that Reality is so. So that God can argue from what actually is, using us as a point, and pointer to what is True!

Can our identities themselves, and our standing and living from our new selves in freedom become the message, teaching the gospel also in silence. Jesus used words and being, His Presence often was the message, and transformative container.

Authentic spirituality is a word and way on earth, as someone must’ve said by now. Can we become ministers of being in this way?! Can we authenticate the planet by having our presence in Presence, would be another way of heading at it!

Jeremiah, Paul, David (some of my heroes; some of the Johnny Cash’s of scriptures! Living parables!) all had ministries of identity. There lives symbolized and participated in their message! Like Paul Tillich pointed out: “True symbols participate the Reality to which they point!”. Who they were, was part of their message in a unique way.

I’ve always aspired to that way. To be living words. We are more than carriers of information, we are part of the information. His living collection of poetry!

We hear King David singing the song of himself from the perspective of God in Psalm 139! This is James Brown without the ego. This is Walt Whitman singing the song of himself from the right angle or angel! Wonderful poems we are! To be pronounced freely out loud!

More soon as I’m warming up for a talk on identity and art, and authentic spirituality. All my favorite topics!