Resilience, according to Merriam-Webster, is (a) the ability to withstand shock without permanent damage and (b) the ability to recover easily from misfortune or change.
Resilient communities, therefore, would be communities of individuals that have within themselves the wherewithal to withstand shock and to recover easily.
Such communities would:
- Be aware of and strong against vulnerabilities
- Be defended against attack
- Be immune (or at least have a healthy resistance) to illnesses (whether real-world diseases, or fast-propagating “mind-viruses”: bad ideas)
- Be self-sustaining–not dependent on someone else whose hostility might result in a loss of needed resources
- Be able to help others
- Be unentangled by structures of sin.
I theorize that God’s original intent in the “Dominion Mandate” of Genesis was for men and women to go into all the world and “tame the wild” (Hebrew male’), building communities of people which were each resilient. God obviously didn’t plan for mankind to stick together in one place.
Today we have lots of communities all over the world. I’m not talking about nations, but rather about individual communities, villages, tribes, etc. I think ultimately, God wants to see each of these communities brought into an intimate relationship with Him, obedience to His Kingdom, and of course made resilient.
Leaders who operate swarmishly and build micromissions will probably be about the task of making communities of people more resilient, don’t you think?
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Yes, resilience is key. Discipling others to withstand the shocks of life without breaking is the goal of our parenting and ministry. Not avoiding the shocks, not minimizing or discounting the shocks, but the spiritual, mental, and physical strength to withstand the shock and continue serving without damage–change yes, but damage no.
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