Whenever we wander from God’s prototype, we need an act of redemption to return to His original intent. It happened in the Garden of Eden with the original model of our humanity and it has happened within the Church during each revival and reformation that took place in the last 2,000 years. We need reoccurring reminders of God’s original prototype because we are prone to stray. A great deal of our spiritual life is a returning to what was abandoned out of ignorance, fear, or a lack of teaching.

A prototype is defined as the first model of something. Where we fail is when we think our current understanding of any subject is the seminal definition. We build protective mental and emotional structures around our concept of reality and become suspect of any invitation to investigate an earlier possibility. This becomes a hindrance to the transformational process of our spiritual growth.

We are in a moment of Church history that historians will mark as a pivot point. The pivot point will be an opportunity to return to our spiritual prototype to rediscover our origins. With the knowledge of that discovery, we will be able to return to the present to conduct an evaluation to make sure the original prototype is motivating our efforts, not some morphed and anchorless model of the Church that has no prototypical moorings, only personal preference.

The rediscovery of the original prototype is both exciting and dangerous. It is exciting because it frees us up to no longer carry unnecessary religious baggage that we are prone to accumulate over time. It is dangerous because those in control of the status quo will view our journey of discovery as a threat. Every tactic of shaming, mockery, or dismissal will be used to deter the pursuit of the original prototype because it conflicts with the current controlling narrative. When this happens, don’t lose heart or become embittered. Rediscover what the Lord wants you to discover and continue moving forward past each obstacle placed in your way. Those who can do this will write a new chapter in Church history, a prototypical history.