'The Go-between God': Divine presence that bridges gaps
IT'S JUST KEVIN
By Very Rev. Kevin George
I'VE BEEN READING Cathy Ross and Jonny Baker’s book Imagining Mission with John V. Taylor. The book is an exercise in “riffing on John Taylor” because, as they put it, “there is so much wisdom to draw on.” But who was John V. Taylor?
John V. Taylor (1914–2001) was an Anglican bishop, missionary, and theologian whose work helped shape modern Christian thinking about mission and the Holy Spirit. Drawing on his experience in East Africa, he emphasized that God’s Spirit is already at work in the world and that the Church’s task is to discern and join in that work. He is best known for his influential book The Go-Between God.
Ross and Baker are missiologists. Their work in church mission and contextual theology is impressive, and they bring a refreshing approach to what Christian formation might look like.
All that to say that they reference the book The Creative Stance, which summarizes seven behaviours that might help an artist flourish. They then apply those behaviours to formation in a Christian context. Those seven behaviours are imagination, provocation, risk, rigour, ambiguity, agency, and resilience.
This is decidedly different from the kinds of qualities often expected in church formation, which tend to be much more concerned with conformity, orthodoxy, churchmanship, and proper liturgy. Ross and Baker, by contrast, see the Church as a rich ecosystem full of possibilities.
While curiosity and exploration are not words often associated with church communities, Baker and Ross make a compelling case for fostering communities where uncertainty, inquisitiveness, dialogue, and imagination are in the air we breathe. They ask: “Do [church] members breathe air that encourages creativity, imaginative practice, hope and possibility, that connects with who they are and what they are called to? Or is the air concerned with right theology and right ways of doing church? Conformity and status quo?”
I wonder what our communities might look like if we were not so inhibited.
To be truthful, I don’t have to think very hard.
In nearly thirty years of ordained ministry, I have witnessed the greatest growth when the communities I have been privileged to serve risked ambiguity and vulnerability. I use the word growth here not simply in a numerical sense, but in the same way yeast causes flour and water to rise.
Each parish context I have served has been unique. What has been common in all of them, however, is what happens when a community becomes attuned to what John V. Taylor calls the “Go-Between God.” The Go-Between God is the Holy Spirit who connects God and humanity, people with one another, and the Church with the wider world. Taylor’s vision encourages Christians to approach others with humility, vulnerability, and attentiveness, looking first for where God is already at work rather than assuming that they bring God with them.
Labrador City, Windsor, London West, and Downtown London are very different contexts. What works well in one place will not necessarily work in another. That said, when the air in each of those places was cleared of certainty, status, and conformity, and when seekers, sinners, and saints alike were breathing in vulnerability, humility, curiosity, and questions, each community became better able to discern how the Go-Between God was already at work in the neighbourhood. In turn, they became eager to discern how they might join the divine in that work.
I am fortunate now to be walking alongside followers of Jesus from the heart of the city.
I pray in thanksgiving for the ways in which we have become less certain of ourselves at St. Paul’s Cathedral. I pray that we risk more as we seek to live faithfully in a deeply challenged downtown core. I encourage us to engage in Scripture, tradition, worship, and our role in the public square with greater rigour. I pray that we not be frightened by ambiguity or difficult questions; that we be suspicious of easy answers and shortcuts.
In baptism, we promise to respect the dignity of every human being. It is my prayer that we recognize that every person who crosses our threshold possesses agency and gifts to offer. And I pray that we be resilient. The forces of division, and those who profit from them, are doing their level best to keep us apart.
But we do not make this journey alone.
The Go-Between God is the divine presence that bridges gaps, fosters understanding, and creates encounters where God’s grace can be recognized. How far we might go in joining that presence is limited only by our imagination.
So let your imagination run wild.
Very Rev. Dr. Kevin George is Rector of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, and Dean of Huron.