There are a group of churches in Phoenix (and other cities) that use these symbols to help visualize the cohesive narrative of the Bible; starting with God "coming down"to create the cosmos, we are able to see how one scene leads to the next until Jesus Christ ushers in our "Happily Ever After" through the new heaven and new earth. And it's in this story where we can clearly see the role God has given us.

 

Though, the idea of the Bible telling the story, not just about believers, but of the entire universe isn't a brand new concept, it was for me. I had a divorced view of heaven and earth, work and calling, church and kingdom, and as a Christian I was constantly stuck trying to understand my identity as an everyday disciple in the "secular" world. However, as I was taught and shown how the church and individual believers fit into God's redemptive plan I began to see the beauty of the supernatural work of Christ and of the mundane rhythms of life that we tend to roll our eyes at.

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It's within the context of these arrows that I write in; everything has to be read through these lens. Church Socialist is rooted in the fact that we are co-laboring with God, the churches that came before us, and the churches that will be planted once we're gone. God has been doing a work in our individual neighborhoods and cities well before any of us and he'll continue that work until "The End."