Relationship

We're invited into a transformative exploration of what it means to live as a faith community through the lens of 'holy currencies'—resources that flow with sacred purpose. At the heart of this journey is the Transfiguration story from Matthew 17, where Peter, James, and John witness Jesus revealed in radiant glory alongside Moses and Elijah. This wasn't just a spectacular moment frozen in time; it was a thin place where the disciples experienced profound relationship with the divine and with each other. The teaching challenges our Western individualism by reminding us that we exist within God, that everything flows in mutuality and partnership. We're called to circulate rather than hoard—whether that's money, time, wellness, truth, place, or gracious leadership. The currency of relationship, our focus here, gains value only when it flows. Like those disciples on the mountain, we're invited to experience God not from a distance but from within, breathing the sacred breath itself. This shifts everything: we move from task-driven to relationship-driven living, from endless to-do lists to 'to-be' opportunities. The African proverb captures it perfectly—if we want to go fast, we go alone, but if we want to go far, we go together. Our three degrees of influence ripple outward, touching friends, friends of friends, and beyond, creating networks of transformation that have sustained the Jesus movement for two millennia.

Things to think about…

How does thinking of relationship as a 'currency' that flows and circulates change your understanding of community life and spiritual connection?

In what ways do you tend to be more 'task-driven' like Martha rather than 'relationship-driven' like Mary, and what would it look like to shift toward being rather than doing?

The sermon suggests that Peter tried to freeze a sacred moment by building memorials rather than letting it transform him forward—when have you tried to preserve or control a spiritual experience instead of letting it call you into growth?

How does the concept of 'three degrees of influence' challenge you to consider the ripple effects of your relationships and the networks you're part of?

What does it mean for you personally to 'wade into the water' of God's spirit as both an individual and as part of a collective community?

The transfiguration story reveals Jesus more fully to his disciples—who in your life has helped you see God or yourself more clearly through authentic relationship?

How might Western individualistic culture limit our ability to experience the kind of collective, communal spirituality that characterized biblical cultures and many indigenous traditions?

What would change in your daily life if you created space to 'just be' for an hour rather than constantly doing, and how might that open you to deeper relationships?

In what ways does Crosswalk need to ensure all six currencies—relationship, truth, wellness, money, time, and place—are flowing in order to be both missional and sustainable?

How can we follow Jesus' example of being in mutual, life-giving relationships with people on the margins rather than only with socially acceptable people?