I was reading this morning from a book by Brennan Manning. He was distinguishing between what he called Settlers and Pioneers. He used an Old West framework for his discussion. According to Manning, Settlers were those who saw the church as a courthouse, in the center of town, with God as the mayor, maintaining order but stuck away in His office, unseen. Jesus was depicted as the sheriff, the enforcer of the town rules; the Holy Spirit as a saloon girl, there to comfort all the settlers. Christians were settlers who made the town and the structure their home. They feared the open spaces and unknown frontier. All the elements were in place to bring safety and security to their lives.
Juxtaposed to the Settler was the Pioneer who saw the church as a covered wagon, always on the move; God as the trail boss, in the trenches with the travelers; Jesus as the scout, riding out ahead, living the dangers of the trail in front of the pioneers; the Holy Spirit as a buffalo hunter, furnishing fresh food for the travelers. The Christian was portrayed as a person hungry for life, even if that brought perils. He felt sorry for the Settlers and tried to tell them of the joy and fulfillment of life on the trail.
In Settler theology, the clergyman is the banker, a highly respected man who locks the values of the town away in a safe place. In Pioneer theology, the clergyman is a cook, dishing up what the Holy Spirit provides each day. For the Settler, faith is trusting in the safety of the town. For the Pioneer, faith is the spirit of adventure; it is living out obedience to the restless voice of the trail boss.
I outline all of this to give a framework to ask the simple question “which do we want to be in the future?” Because the paradigm we work within dictates that future.