Liberating Grace for Order, Freedom, and Life.

There’s grace for liberation: A Conversation About Order, Freedom, and Life

About fifteen or twenty years ago, I had a vivid dream. In it, I saw a rising force—a juggernaut “spirit” advancing across the world. I sensed its power and inevitability if left unchecked. In the dream, I knew that we would need wisdom and alertness to avoid coming under its influence.

In recent weeks, that dream has come back to me with fresh clarity. Alongside it, I’ve sensed something else: God’s loving invitation and abundant grace to open our eyes, to see where this spirit may have influenced us, and to make the shifts needed to overrule its pull.

This isn’t about fear or condemnation. It’s an invitation into freedom. And the good news? We already hold the keys. The biblical vision—the pattern of life in the Kingdom—shows us a radically different way. The Spirit of Christ offers not just an alternative but a whole new reality where love, humility, and shared life displace the oppressive dynamics that creep in so easily. The question is: how do we flesh this out in our spaces today?

Over the past few months, I’ve been noticing a troubling trend. Maybe you’ve seen it too. Organizations, movements, and even churches that began with hope and life start to feel heavy and controlling. What started as a way to serve people begins to rule over them. What began as a tool for good becomes a machine—a juggernaut—demanding loyalty, constant fueling, and relentless motion.

This isn’t limited to one sphere. It’s everywhere: in politics, social causes, corporations, and faith communities. And it’s not usually the result of bad intentions. Most of the time, it begins with passion. People want to do something good, something that matters. They gather around a shared vision, energy builds, momentum grows—and that’s good. But then, slowly, something shifts.

Individuals start to hand over their personal responsibility to think and discern. Instead of wrestling with complexity or waiting on God, they default to the group or the leader: “They know best. I’ll just follow along.” That surrender creates a vacuum that the system rushes to fill. And systems, once given power, tend to take on a life of their own.

What began as a way to serve people begins to demand more from them—more time, more energy, more loyalty. In many cases, the original purpose gets buried under the pressure to keep the machine moving. Leaders feel it most. The weight of expectation grows unbearable. They start to believe the lie that everything rests on them. “If I stop, the whole thing collapses.” It’s crushing. And often, it’s not because they’ve become power-hungry or corrupt—it’s because they care deeply. They want to make a difference. They want to serve God or people well.

And yet, that’s exactly how this juggernaut spirit works. Paul warned us about the “elemental spirits of the world” (Galatians 4:3, Colossians 2:8)—those powerful dynamics that infiltrate human systems and enslave us when we stop living from the Spirit. These forces don’t just tempt leaders; they tempt us all. They appeal to our hunger for certainty, security, identity, and belonging.

So how do we resist this spirit? How do we break free when the juggernaut starts to roll? The path of liberating grace is surprising, counterintuitive, and disarming, but there’s a tantalising invitation to freedom in the spirit today.

I believe the answer begins with remembering that God has already given us a blueprint. The Scriptures lay out a pattern for Kingdom life that stands in sharp contrast to the spirit of the machine.

First, Christ—not a system, a brand, or a personality—is the Head. Everything flows from Him (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18). When that center shifts, even subtly, we’re on dangerous ground.

Second, God calls each of us to personal responsibility before Him (Romans 14:12). We can’t outsource our conscience or our discernment. Healthy communities create space for honest dialogue and shared discernment.

Third, we need to recover the principle of Sabbath. Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Systems were never meant to enslave us. They exist to serve life. Sabbath is more than rest; it’s a radical declaration that we will not bow to the machine. It reminds us that the mission is never bigger than people and that our ultimate allegiance belongs to God alone.

Fourth, we must cultivate humility and listening. Even when others treat us like the source of wisdom, we need to remember: “We know in part” (1 Corinthians 13:9). Create generous space for every voice. Build structures that invite dissent and feedback. The wisdom of the body is safer than the tyranny of a few.

Finally, relate, contribute and build our families, groups, and communities together like Jesus. He said, “Not so with you” (Matthew 20:26). His model is servanthood, vulnerability, and mutual submission—not domination or control.

This isn’t about dismantling all systems. It’s about reordering them under the lordship of Christ. It’s about moving from machine-thinking to organism-thinking; from control to trust; from speed and certainty to humility and listening. When we do this, something beautiful happens: organizations become life-giving again. Leaders breathe. People flourish. And the Spirit of Christ—not the spirit of the age—sets the tone.

So here’s the invitation: Let’s pay attention. Let’s ask the hard questions. Let’s welcome the Spirit’s searching light, not to shame us, but to free us. Where have we—where have I—been drawn into the gravitational pull of the juggernaut? Where have we traded life for motion, depth for speed, or people for the mission?

And then let’s dare to imagine something better: communities marked not by the spirit of the machine but by the Spirit of the living God.