The Triune God of the Bible is the first mover—the impetus for everything in creation. Everything that is not God is in a constant state of response to God. God speaks and fills the void (Genesis 1:3ff). He creates lions and they roar to him for their food (Psalm 104:21). He causes a baby to be born and ordains praise from the infant’s lips (Psalm 8:2). He creates worshipers and they begin to call on him (Genesis 4:26). Barlow, Jonathan. “Worship as Response: Liturgial Logic (Part 1)” (theopolisinstitute.com/worship-as-response-liturgical-logic-1/)
All of creation is a response to the action of God. We live, move, and have our being because God created us and the world around us. To think that we can make decisions independent of God is to turn from God. To forget that we are only part of His creation and only part of the community of people He created is to think too highly of ourselves. To be fully whole, we need to encompass the entirety of who we are in body and soul and who we are in community with our fellow image-bearers and who we are in as part of God’s creation.
Intentional faith development is like call and response. The Word calls out to us in worship through the singing, preaching, scripture reading, and prayer. … Upon hearing the word we respond with either action or inaction. As we grow in faith, our response may be but a whisper at first, however it becomes louder as shouts and proclamations that are translated into the daily practices of our lives. Goodwin-Rosario, Charity. “Call & Response: A Strategy to Intentionally Develop Faith”(www.moumethodist.org/newsdetail/call-response-a-strategy-to-intentionally-develop-faith-12081467)
When we practice the Call and Response, whether preacher with a congregation or prayer leader with prayer followers, or teacher with students, or musician with fellow musicians, we re-enact the first Call and Response of God with Creation and God with His image-bearers. If we continually and intentionally practice these re-enactments of the first Call and Response, we can strengthen our relationships with God and the Creation and Community he placed us in. And the stronger those relationships, the stronger our faith can become.
Transcendent Touched 