This is a diagram that arose out of considerations of how we are called to be “light” in the world and what that looks like for one whose ministry is on the periphery…at the point where the culture and the Kingdom meet…connecting the church with the world and the world with the church, which is the calling of a deacon in the United Methodist Church. So, as I was thinking about how to draw people into the life of faith community, I realized that people operate out of greater or lesser degrees of closeness to the heart of Christ, depending on how much of God we want and how much of ourselves we’re willing to give. And I realized that my “orbit” around that heart of Christ varies and can be greatly affected by devotional practices, circumstances in my life, distractions that I allow, time spent in fellowship with others, and more. How aware are we of our own or others’ movement near or distant from the heart of Christ? Are we “stuck” somewhere out in the outer limits, wholly caught up in the things of the world or complacent, unchallenged, and reluctant, for whatever reason, to move closer to Christ?
