The Power of God: From Extractive Theology to Transformative Faith

We are preparing for the launch of our 2025 annual resource and we are incredibly excited to get it out into the world. Before I tell you the theme, I want to give you a little behind the scenes look at some of what goes on as we start to pull this resource together. 

First off, you may have noticed that I said our “annual resource” and not our “Earth Day” resource. While we certainly hope that you’ll use what we develop for worship during Earth Day (the Sunday after Easter), we’re also aware that these resources have a shelf life that extends beyond that day and oftentimes we’re still promoting and teaching from the resource late into the year. So please, use the resource on Earth Day, but maybe hang out with it for a while after that. There’s a lot in it! 

The theme for the resource is narrowed down during our May board meeting. This year was my second time going through the process. In 2023, it felt like “Plastic Jesus” (the theme for 2024’s resource) came to us so easily. There was some discussion, maybe even a little debate, but consensus was reached pretty quickly. 

The process felt much harder this year. Our board is made up of passionate people, unified by their love for Creation, but in that unity is a myriad of perspectives of how we use our energy best. Some wanted to focus on conservation. Others wanted to focus on revisiting issues we hadn’t touched on as an organization in a while. There were ideas on trees and soil health. Some wanted a proper sequel to “Plastic Jesus” (I believe “Solar Jesus” and “Dirty Jesus” were mentioned at some point). We were also, of course, feeling the anxiety of the upcoming election. We knew that the bulk of the writing for the resource would be done before we knew who won in November and that the resource needed to speak to either eventuality. While we didn’t have the theme completely nailed down at the end of that meeting, one thing was clear; we needed to address both an issue and the theologies that have supported them. We needed to say something about extraction both as a practice and an idea. 

At the May meeting a few brave souls signed on to join the resource committee that would help the staff bring the resource to life. There was a phrase that came up at the board meeting that we revisited during the first resource committee meeting: The Power of God. I tried (and likely failed) to stay neutral in this conversation, but I can admit that I was not thrilled with the idea of using that phrase in our resource. It’s a phrase I’ve heard misused many times in my life. It evoked something that made me feel uncomfortable. I wasn’t alone.

Other members of the committee shared that discomfort, but ultimately, we decided to lean into it. 

As we dove into creating the resource we found ourselves using “power” in several different contexts. There is the power we use to run our devices and warm our homes. There is the power that is used to decide whether or not to drill for oil and where. There is to seek alternatives ways of doing things that more align with what Creation itself is doing. What really changed things for me was looking into the ways that power is used in Scripture. We often see the misuses of power in scripture from humans like Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, or Pontius Pilate. But God’s power, more often than not, is shown through acts of creation, healing, and restoration. God’s power is relational and self sacrificial. God’s power transforms. 

It was after we had begun our research, consulted with an expert panel of theologians and scientists (a new thing we tried this year), and got deep into writing that we settled on the title: “The Power of God: From Extractive Theology to Renewable Faith”...

… then a member of our expert review panel warned us that “renewable faith” might be getting “too cute”....

 …so we landed on… 

The Power of God: From Extractive Theology to Transformative Faith

We are so excited for you to have this resource in your hands! We are so excited for you to hear the seven original pieces of music created for this resource at our second annual songwriters’ retreat! We’re excited to hear how you use worship resources and how you are inspired by the stories! 

In the last couple of weeks, as environmental protections have been rolled back, diversity initiatives have been undermined, and the very biblical notion of mercy has been mocked, we can see that we need a redefinition of what power is and how it should be used. We think power protects the vulnerable including God’s vulnerable Creation. We think power should renew hope and empower us to do just actions. We think power is best when it is harnessed by a community to serve needs and show love. We hope and pray that you will join us on this journey of redefining power and re-energizing our faith.