Nearly a century ago, a theologian and great statesman, Abraham Kuyper, wrote at length about the idea that all of life is broken up into spheres. Some of these spheres overlap. This is actually pretty easy to explain. Imagine your own life. You have a home life, a work life, a social life and a civic life. All of those are quite different. You operate differently on a night out with a group of old college friends than you do at a community meeting about a building project. The second setting is no place for whoops or Jello shots. At work, you have professional boundaries and a work-style that is suitable to your industry. At home, you unmask and are much more the ‘essential you’. Why? Are you a fractured, schizo soul? Not at all. The fact is, you know that each of these spheres is different from the other and demands different skills and behaviors and values from you, based on where you are.
Take this to a higher level. Government should not tell the church from its sphere what to do. The church should not rule over Academia. Academia doesn’t rule over what is taught morally at home by parents. The arts do not rule over the world of finance, nor do the ethics of advertising (within business) determine the standards and ethics of public accounting (thanks be to God). You get it, don’t you. Each of these spheres is uniquely demanding and must operate somewhat independently from the authority of the other spheres, yet is challenged to forge an interdependency for a good and healthy society. What a challenge!
Abraham Kuyper called this necessary and Gospel phenomenon, Sphere Sovereignty. Each sphere of life, in varying sizes and overlapping modalities, must be “sovereign” from the others in order to function at its very best and also to make its best contribution to the other spheres. This takes a lot of reflection and intentionality in each sphere in which we find ourselves. It makes it difficult and demanding to critique the various spheres.
We are trying to bring this idea of sphere sovereignty home this fall with our FULL LIFE series, wherein we are examining just how challenging it is to be a fully alive and engaged follower of Jesus in all of the spheres of life in which we participate. I look at my life nearly 61 years complete — and a see my sphere of a husband heading into the empty nest age, a father of two awesome adult kids that are big part of my life, a pastor of an urban church, a leader in a local church planting movement, a denominational executive forwarding church planting movements, a friend to a good number of people, a son-in-law of a geriatric woman whom I love, a housemate to two young adults, an announcer for the Seahawks and a friend and confidant to some public officials…. and, a seminary professor….and, well — that’s enough for now! All of those roles are different in their demands of me……I have a full hat rack. SO DO YOU!
So, this fall let’s dig in hard together in looking at Full Life in all of the spheres in which we operate. Let’s pray to our Lord and Maker that he strengthen us and give us wisdom. And, to our faithful good shepherd, Jesus, that he would guide us every step of our journey from now until we embark upon heaven’s shore.
You are loved,
Randy Rowland
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