Across Church Street
Practicing Our Scales
Imagine if our walk with Christ, representing his kingdom in the world, were as practiced and pure as Hania Rani’s fingers on the piano keys.
INNtöne Jazzfestival 2021 | Wikimedia Creative Commons
My wife and I used to lead a small group for young adults ⏤ the Friends and Followers group. I often talked about the need to ‘practice our scales.’ That meant returning to a short list of essential statements that would (hopefully) guide our formation. The idea was that if we really worked at practicing these ‘scales,’ they would become embodied. Lately, I have been studying Hania Rani’s piano genius. I share an example below. Imagine if our walk with Christ, representing his kingdom in the world, were as practiced and pure as Hania Rani’s fingers on the piano keys.
The generalist-specialist
There's a saying:
A specialist is someone who knows more and more about less and less until he knows everything about nothing. A generalist is someone who knows less and less about more and more until he knows nothing about everything.
But God knows everything about everything. Nothing is hidden from him. Nothing in the universe. Nothing in the atom. Every detail of every detail, he knows its composition, its function, and its relationship to every other thing. In fact he actively sustains and interacts with all things all the time.
I hear you
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.”
Normally I would tell you a beautiful chicken is the one sizzling on my plate. But recently I saw a Blue-laced Red Wyandotte. A stunningly beautiful bird.
Why is there so much variety and beauty? Is it not God speaking to us of Himself?
- love
- friendship
- beauty
- thankful
- attunement
- communion
- discipline
- video
- hope
- hania rani
- holiness
- serving
- seth godin
- dean sherman
- across
- covenant
- music
- eternal life
- justice
- embodiment
- wonder
- gracious
- hesed
- welcome
- poetry
- rest
- image
- brokenness
- disruption
- invitation
- companion mode
- resonance
- steadfast
- observer mode
- framework
- pastoral
- oneness
- caritas
- difference
- shalom
- john stott
- worship
- status
- care
I practice the spiritual discipline of rescuing earthworms on paved surfaces. It's a reminder to me that I can pause what I'm doing, get a little dirty, and help. Also, that I've been given the responsibility to care.