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November Blogs
You Are My Wholeness
You, You are my wholeness,
In You I find completeness
In You I find true friendship
You, You are my wholeness,
Salmond and Mulder, 1980
Download Strength to be Weak.
A couple of friends took me aside and confronted me on a personal issue. It wasn't easy for them.. they showed true friendship and real leadership. It wasn't easy for me either. I don't like to look too closely at my own brokenness.
Our brokenness shows up most when we are anxious or under stress. We reach for control or we blame others rather than looking at our own stuff.
On the other hand, anytime someone evaluates us they have limited data. It's wise to check in with friends for perspective, and to carefully sift the wheat from the chaff. I want to be a learner with an open mind.. and I want to evaluate everything that comes my way. None of us sees with perfect clarity. We see through the lenses of our own history, hopes and fears and dreams, and our own brokenness.
One friend openly admitted that he sometimes feared winding up on my "black-list." That was a shock. I didn't know I had a black list. I wonder what those of you who have visited here often have perceived? I still consider many people whom I have disagreed with to be friends. I love and value them, in spite of our differences in theology or practice. I wouldn't invite some of them to teach eschatology in a small group.. but I respect them all the same.
This morning a song came back to me, titled "Strength to be Weak," a Salmond and Mulder tune written around 1980. Here are the words..
"I can tell all the world I'm a good man,
Give me the strength, give me the strength,
Sometimes I hide from my weakness
Smith, Funk & Strauss are playing in Kelowna again. This time it is a Christmas party at Costello's on Sunday, December 14th at 7:30. Be there at $15 a ticket (in advance.. tickets available at Costello's and Wentworth Music).
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At the Harvard commencement exercises in 1978, Alexander Solzhenitsyn roundly criticized the West for its lack of courage and moral fiber. The root of the problem, he said, was to found in the West's uncritical acceptance of Enlightenment individualism, the autonomy of the person from cultural and moral constraints. The inevitable result, he said, is the decline of spirituality. The material success of the West has precluded the suffering prerequisite for moral and cultural development.
And that, dear reader, is why the poor may be the only hope of the church.
New resource: Leadership in the Postmodern Era
New link: Richard Foster and Dallas Willard's Renovare
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I've been hired on by Office Depot in Kelowna. It will be interesting to be working outside the home after six years of working from a home office. I'm looking forward to the change, and I've been impressed by the staff and their attitude. This is the only company whose application form included both an inward commitment and an outward commitment.
Like the church itself, good companies have to be both communities and missional. They have to reach inward, and reach outward. They have to be committed to the care and nurture of their employees even while they look at the "bottom line." Home Depot appears to be built like that.
Naturally, my main effort will be in the computers and electronics department :)
"Although burnout can occur in any individual, it's most often seen in the top performers of an organization. Individuals who are the first to explore a new area, solve a nagging problem, or chart uncharted territories are most susceptible.
"Here are some telltale signs that you or your staff may be experiencing burnout:
Tips for identifying burn-out
John Wimber: the world knows what the church should look like; it's Christians who dropped the ball..
"Folks, the world knows what this is supposed to look like. Years ago in New York City, I got into a taxi cab with an Iranian taxi driver, who could hardly speak English. I tried to explain to him where I wanted to go, and as he was pulling his car out of the parking place, he almost got hit by a van that on its side had a sign reading The Pentecostal Church. He got real upset and said, "That guy’s drunk." I said, "No, he’s a Pentecostal. Drunk in the spirit, maybe, but not with wine." He asked, "Do you know about church?" I said, "Well, I know a little bit about it; what do you know?" It was a long trip from one end of Manhattan to the other, and all the way down he told me one horror story after another that he’d heard about the church. He knew about the pastor that ran off with the choir master's wife, the couple that had burned the church down and collected the insurance—every horrible thing you could imagine. We finally get to where we were going, I paid him, and as we’re standing there on the landing I gave him an extra-large tip. He got a suspicious look in his eyes—he’d been around, you know. I said, "Answer me this one question." Now keep in mind, I’m planning on witnessing to him. "If there was a God and he had a church, what would it be like?" He sat there for awhile making up his mind to play or not. Finally he sighed and said, "Well, if there was a God and he had a church—they would care for the poor, heal the sick, and they wouldn’t charge you money to teach you the Book." I turned around and it was like an explosion in my chest. "Oh, God." I just cried, I couldn’t help it. I thought, "Oh Lord, they know. The world knows what it’s supposed to be like. The only ones that don’t know are the Church."
"When you joined the kingdom, you expected to be used of God. I’ve talked to thousands of people, and almost everybody has said, "When I signed up, I knew that caring for the poor was part of it—I just kind of got weaned off of it, because no one else was doing it." Folks, I’m not saying, "Do something heroic." I’m not saying, "Take on some high standard, sell everything you have and go." Now, if Jesus tells you that, that’s different. But I’m not saying that. I’m just saying, participate. Give some portion of what you have—time, energy, money, on a regular basis—to this purpose, to redeeming people, to caring for people. Share your heart and life with somebody that’s not easy to sit in the same car with. Are you hearing me? That’s where you’ll really see the kingdom of God."
Wimber in Cutting Edge Magazine
"In most traditional churches, the pastor's role is to teach. As the fount of all knowledge, the pastor's job is to overflow with spiritual truth each week while the congregation sits and absorbs this wisdom. Sure, there are other elements in a service--like music and prayer but for the most part, the sermon is the focal point.
"With so much riding on the weekly message, churches are susceptible to "charismatic" leaders--for better or for worse. Each Sunday, the pastor must deliver something new and inspirational to the congregation, lest he or she become the topic of conversation at lunch. As the name on the marquee outside, the pastor is inextricably linked to the success and failure of the church.
"In many ways, the modern worship service is a thinly disguised university lecture. Congregants file in, face the front and frantically take notes while an established scholar--a spiritual giant in their midst--passes on the formula for a more fulfilling life.
"Somehow, over the centuries, knowledge has become king. We've effectively said that knowing about God will utimately help us know God. As a result, we often focused more on the Word, than on the Word become flesh. And yet as A.W. Tozer pointed out, God cannot be contained in any object or that object will become our god. Could it be that we've created an idol and have actually begun to worship Christian education or the Bible?"
Spencer Burke, "Making Sense of Church"
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
Grant that I may not so much seek
"For many years Dr. Paul Brand had worked with Leprosy patients in India, seeking to at least discover ways of reducing the effects of the disease. What he discovered was as revolutionary as a cure: One of the oldest known and most notorious diseases has been misunderstood for thousands of years.
Until Dr. Brand’s work physicians had thought that the deformed limbs, blindness, gangrene, etc. of lepers were directly caused by the disease. Dr. Brand discovered that the disease attacks the pain receptors in our body. Because victims of leprosy do not feel pain, they damage their tissue without knowing it. Infection takes over, and they waste away by degrees.
We too are lepers... immune to the pain around us, and oppressed by a wealthy and addictive culture.."
"Music for the lepers" by Andrew Smith.
We Celts are nuts..
Some of my favorite people are Celts.. Rob McAlpine, Andrew Smith, Owen Abrey.. and it was only recently
that I discovered the Lochlin line in my own family tree.
Celts seem to be wanderers and pilgrims by nature. The idea of peregrination, a journey for the sake of the journey, but with the intention of making the Lord our trust, originates with them.
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Listening to Steve Bell, Simple Songs, this morning. Really is a great album. All Steve's albums have been a blessing and a gift. I've shared a couple of songs from this one in the past, and the WAV file that you hear playing when this page loads today is the first part of "We Come."
Apostolic Foundations.. what are they?
The volume of discussion lately has increased around the apostolic. Naturally, a fearful church is looking for new moorings, new order. Perhaps if we had greater authority and more control, we could survive and even thrive through these uncertain times? So instead of taking fresh risks we seek security. We need a better investment scheme; we need more locks on the doors.
That's not the path that Jesus took.
Following in the footsteps of Jesus means living on the edge. He didn't seek power or privilege. He doesn't seem to have spent much time in meetings. He hung out with the poor and the marginalized. Instead of seeking status, he intentionally stepped down in the world. Benjamin Roberts wrote,
"Let us come back to the spirit of the Gospel. Let us get down so low at the feet of Jesus as to forget all our pride and dignity, and be willing to worship with the lowest of our kind, remembering that we are the followers of Him "who had not where to lay His head."
The answer the world needs is not believers seeking places of power; the answer is in surrender to the King and in hearing His voice afresh. If there is a renewal of the apostolic it will not mean greater predictability and new authority structures, it will mean the empowerment of all God's people for kingdom ministry. We will be empowered to do the works that He did. He was filled with the Spirit for the sake of the world.
Howard Snyder in Decoding the Church argues that, "Apostolicity is rather abstract and easily loses its tie to the actual life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Serving the poor is concrete action, not abstract concept. It is done or not done. Claims of apostolicity ring hollow if the church is not in fact good news for the poor." Snyder quotes from an old Methodist author:
"Two fundamental claims about the nature of the true church are made here: First, that preaching the gospel to the poor is an identifying mark of the church -- part of its essential DNA. Second, that this mark is a test of whether the church is genuinely apostolic -- is the church walking in the steps of Jesus? Whoever ministers the good news among the poor "is in the true succession. He walks as Christ walked," Benjamin Roberts observed (1823-1893).
"But for whose benefit are special efforts to be put forth? Jesus settles this question.. When John sent to know who he was, Christ charged the messengers to return and show John the things which they had seen and heard. "The blind received their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up," and as if all this would be insufficient to satisfy John of the validity of his claims, he adds, "and the poor have the gospel preached to them." This was the crowning proof that He was the One that should come."
These are dangerous departures from the evangelical norm. Following Jesus means being willing to embrace the marginalized as a marginal community. It means being willing to be weak, willing to go unnoticed, willing to be unpopular. Too many leaders have compromised these essential characteristics of the Gospel call (see also Mark Strom, "Reframing Paul").
The challenge is to break our addiction to the culture, even our addiction to church and temple. The recovery movement has taught us how to break free from addiction. We need supportive communities, friends who will hold our feet to the fire, love and encourage us as we seek to live out the disciplines of a committed life. Gordon Cosby of the Church of the Savior, remarks:
"Most of us are living, to some degree, as addicted persons, striving anxiously after power and money and prestige and relevance, trapped in the turbulence of wanting more. These addictions are so subtle for most of us that we have the illusion of being free people when in actuality we are immersed in society's expectations…. We forget that Jesus, 'though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself.'"
Imagine the change that Jesus knew in emptying Himself of power, position and privilege. Imagine His real descent from glory and light into the world of darkness and dust. Talk about culture shock!
For more see Lovers in a Dangerous Time
Many responses to the post below.. thanks for your contributions.
A long day Thursday.. I made an error when updating a device driver in the morning, and then spent eight hours rebuilding my system. In the end I did lose some data, but thankfully not very much.
As a result I migrated to WIN XP.. hopefully that will simplify some things in the future. In the afternoon I had a job interview at Office Depot down the road. It went well and I go back for a second interview at 2 PM Friday. $10 an hour.. how do these guys make a living?
On the positive side, I like the atmosphere and the non-commission sales. And their application is the best I have seen yet in this kind of business. The front page talks about both customer service and employee care.. a healthy balance. Will be interesting to be selling computer products after six years of heavily working with the equipment and software as a user.
I bit the bullet and ordered the extended DVD of The Two Towers and it shipped Tuesday. Here's hoping it arrives for the weekend. We're planning to host a movie party when The Return of the King is released. Looking forward to it.
"But hey.. I thought you had to worship in church to be a good Christian?"
"No Ma'am. I know that's a popular religious position.. but honestly, here's the truth. In these days it's not important where you worship, or even if you have an order of service.
"In fact a time is coming.. [chuckle] it's already here.. when everyone will worship, whether punks, retros, goths, skaters, baptists, charismatics .. the label won't matter... but who you are and the way you live are what count. Worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth and justice. That's the kind of people the Father is looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship. God is sheer being itself.. Spirit. Those who worship Him must have that same integrity in their spirits and bring all that they are to worship Him."
John 4
Authority in the Emerging Church (From open source theology
"Considering the millenial (read:postmodern) aversion to hierarchy, authority, etc., how do we consider and shape a Biblical practice of authority in the emerging context?
"Do we throw out the concept all together?
"Having planted an emerging faith community before, I found that regardless of the aversion to authority, people still asked for and wanted to know the answer to the question:
"WHO'S IN CHARGE HERE?"
"I ask...because many of my colleagues seem to ignore this issue or mishandle it...becoming cultish or chaotic depending on their personality...
"Should personality drive this issue? "
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"Out of the turbulence of post-modernity, new church clusters will form. They will be built around natural networks of relationship, and will be in a state of continual change. These clusters will be the "Emerging Church". The "local" or "community" church will still exist and grow, but when non-believers are introduced to the redemptive values of Christ they won't be tuning into the "brick and mortar"church for answers. They will be tuning into their own natural network of relationships, or clusters, to find God's presence. These clusters, and countless others, will define the Church at large, and the Church will grow like never before. However, the prominence of the Church itself will diminish: the organization of the Church will begin to look more like the nature of biblical leadership, which is "servanthood"-- a behind the scenes entity, familiar to the church community, but not a mainstream corporate brand. New-believers will associate themselves with the Church at large, but will belong to their cluster. And they'll be right to feel that way, because they will have played an important role in making it a reality."
"To our surprise, they are solidly on the path of pilgrimage and we, too, are inspired and taught by their interaction with us. All this with no preaching, no worship music, no Sunday attendance - just hanging out with friends and each other and allowing the HS to teach and guide according to the pace that they were willing to learn. They are disciples of Jesus Christ - though in talking with them, many church goers would challenge that notion. However, they are seeking first the Kingdom, as the Kingdom is revealed to them, under grace, in practical everyday living. They are loving and worshiping God by discovering how to look after themselves and have respect for themselves under grace.
"I mention this so that to God be all the glory. It has been their journey. We can take no credit for their change - we have been just fellow pilgrims on the road - no more than we could take credit for making a seed into flower. Maybe we could take a look at the lilies of the field again and understand that God can so clothe us in the same way - that mostly - all we really have to do is "watch" God do His work in others while we simply "be" with each other as friends. We don't have to take on so much responsibility. We don't have to build programs. Our Lord carries the greater burden of the yoke." David R
Ever since reading an article on the separation of sacred and secular as viewed through the lens of the modern "worship service," I've been awake to related issues. Now I'm reading about the Celts, whose view of the world was so much more holistic than our division of sacred and secular.. this is sacred space (gathering) this is secular (home); this is sacred space (prayer) this is secular (reading a book to a child); this is sacred (listening to a teaching tape) this is secular (listening to a non-christian singer talk about his relationship with his father).
I find that kind of division increasingly incoherent..
In our changing world we are all aware of the dangers of such false distinctions. And you'll hear people talking about these divisions from every pulpit, and every blog. But I am beginning to wonder if we really know what we are talking about. I am beginning to wonder if it is POSSIBLE to know some things from a stance within the thing itself. It's like a fish trying to describe water..
"The religious man goes to church and thinks about fishing; the holy man goes fishing and thinks about God."
Do we maintain religious systems because we are concerned that people may not be able to figure out what is holy and what is not? In doing so, are we only reinforcing the false separation itself? I wonder...
We create a separate space and call people together to worship. We listen to a lecture.. information about God, about life, about transformation. We reflect carefully on our lives and try to organize for balance.. this much time for rest, this much for work, this much for church... (notice the neat compartments)...
Then we gather.. We sing while a professional leads us in song. The medium tells us that only a few specially trained people are really priests. And this sacred space is created to remind us of what.. that all life is sacred? But could it be that that all our activities only reinforce the old paradigms.. only specially set apart people can mediate the holy.. only when we gather in these buildings and do these rituals or liturgies are we in God's transforming Presence. Only as we carefully plan and organize our lives will all things fall into place. Hmm... there is a lot of distortion here. And honestly.. I wonder if there is any escape for one raised in the west. Certainly, our just thinking about it isn't going to get us there.
The bank has allowed us to place our car payment on hold until January. That takes some of the pressure off. We'll be very tight until I find some work or sell some articles.
The problem with building software or working as a writer is that none of the money arrives when the work is complete.. it's always months later. Maybe this isn't so different than many trades. A friend of ours is a meticulous carpenter and cabinet builder. He recently had two jobs refuse to pay.. for no good reason other than overspending in other areas. Like most of us.. he can't afford to not be paid. Like most of us.. he hates to even consider legal action.
Reading about the Celts in a book written from the British context. Interesting. The organic side of their life appeals to me greatly, and is placed in contrast to the Roman way, which was heavy on structure and authority and formality. Sounds familiar. We tend to blame the legacy of Constantine for the mess of the modern church, and that's largely accurate, but Constantine himself was Roman and only carried and built on that legacy. Then of course there is Augustine and later Thomas Aquinas, both of whom carried the Greek legacy into theology.
I had a conversation with a friend about leadership this past week, and then stopped by Chapters to kill an hour before meeting with another friend for coffee. I picked up WIRED magazine and read about Linus Torvalds. His life is almost a living parable of changing leadership models. Naturally, and inevitably, LINUX and Linus were contrasted to MICROSOFT and Bill Gates.
Left me thinking again about "open source church" and " open source theology," as well as trying to define (LOL.. the Greek in me) what I would say in four or five easy points about leadership. I think it would be this:
Influence
But all this in reference to both context and purpose. If one is leading in a business, with a commercial goal, one will lead in a different way than if one is leading in a family, with the goals of maturity and community building and eventually becoming redundant. Well.. almost.
Smith, Funk and Strauss of Say No More are playing a Christmas Party/Concert on Sun Dec.14 at Costello's on Abbot Street in Kelowna. Doors open 7pm, tickets $15 in advance available at Wentworth, Costellos' and Guitarworks.
More thoughts on the "Third Day Church"
"There are two ways to picture how God interacts with history. The traditional model shows a God up in heaven who periodically flashes a lightning bolt of intervention: the calling of Moses from a burning bush, the Ten Plagues, the prophets, the birth of Jesus. The Bible indeed portrays such divine interventions, though they usually follow years of waiting and doubt.
"Another model shows God beneath history, continuously sustaining it and occasionally breaking the surface with a visible act that emerges into plain sight, like the tip of an iceberg. Anyone can notice the dramatic acts --Egypt's Pharaoh had no trouble noticing the plagues--but the life of faith involves a search below the surface as well, an ear fine-tuned to rumors of transcendence." Philip Yancey, Soul Survivor, page 252
It's amazing what some people publish these days.. A Response to James Beverley.
Here is a good introduction to N T Wright.
Vernard Eller on Christi-Anarchy.
Over the years my wife has talked many times about a dream to work as a nurse-chaplain. Not sure where it is all going, but lately this has come up again. A friend of ours is pursuing the possibility of a new type of Employee Assistance Program, working as an on-call chaplain for local businesses. Interesting idea, and another possible way to bring the gospel to the workplace.
Speaking of poverty .. I have always thought that it is all but impossible to understand the gospel from a position of wealth and comfort. So the idea of poverty has some appeal.. the reality, however, is something else. We don't know how we are going to pay the bills this month. The royalty payment I expected is not going to happen. I dislike being in this place again, but it's a common problem out there, and maybe the only way to understand the poor is to live in their shoes. I've dropped off a half dozen resumes this past week, and will have to do the same again next week. If someone hires me tomorrow it will still be a strain in the coming months.
"When we speak of 'following Christ,' it is the crucified Messiah we are talking about. His death was not simply the messy bit that enables our sins to be forgiven but that can then be forgotten. The cross is the surest, truest and deepest window on the very heart and character of the living and loving God; the more we learn about the cross in all its historical and theological dimensions, the more we discover about the One in whose image we are made and hence our own vocation to be the cross-bearing people, the people in whose lives and service the living God is made known. And when therefore we speak of shaping our world, we do not -- we dare not -- simply treat the cross as the thing that saves us 'personally,' but which can be left behind when we get on with the job. The task of shaping our world is best understood as the redemptive task of bringing the achievement of the cross to bear on the world, and in that task the methods, as well as the message, must be cross-shaped through and through."
The Challenge of Jesus by N.T. Wright.
Steps to Effective Leadership (from MSOC)
A few nights ago I overheard part of an interview on IDEAS on CBC Radio. The show title was "RENEGADE ARCHITECT" and the interview was with Christopher Alexander.
Alexander advocates building in process and not from a plan. He stated that this is the ancient way of architecture, and that the modern and mechanistic approach demonstrated our lack of spirituality. Here is the summary of the program from the CBC website.
"Christopher Alexander is one of the most innovative architects alive. He’s also a severe critic of contemporary architecture. He tries to express fundamental truths in books with such titles as A Timeless Way of Building and The Nature of Order. Jill Eisen explores his ideas about what gives life beauty, and how it can be expressed in our buildings and our towns."
Near the end of the program, which is close to where I started listening, he expressed that one of the fundamental problems in architecture arises when the building is going up and the designer must make simple choices. For example, should this column be 5" or 6" in diameter? He talked about how the designer's own ego could get in the way of constructing the right building. The question he would finally ask is: "which choice is a greater gift to God?"
"You can build a building that everyone says is wonderful.. a success.. but does that make it wonderful or a success? No... You can build a building that no one says is wonderful or a success.. but can it be wonderful and a success...? Yes.."
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There are only a handful of teachings on worship in the New Testament: John 4 (the woman at the well), Ro.12:1,2, and 1 Cor.14 (and the parallel passage in Colossians). That in itself is rather striking given the amount of energy, books and seminars we have devoted to worship in western christian culture.
What is present to me is what has a hold on my becoming. From Sacred Space Nov.9
Last night my wife and I dropped in on a native friend who has had a huge evangelistic calling on his life. For the last three years he has lived on the street and at the Gospel Mission as a way to reach out to his wounded culture.
He invited us to join him at his sister's place for cake and fellowship since it was his birthday. He turned 57 yesterday.
We had never met Arnold's sister before. She was delightful as she told us stories of how the Lord had guarded her and provided for her over the years. Some of the stories were simply astonishing.. and her faith was huge.. much larger than mine.
I always find myself confronted and humbled by the childlike faith of God's people. At such times I look upon my education as an albatross around my neck. In the spiritual life, I am more often hindered by my analytical ability and my knowledge than I am furthered by it. At such times I wonder if I can ever reach such simplicity and beauty in my faith. I wonder if I can ever escape the limits of my Greek and western mindset, the "advantages" of status, education and middle class life.
"Lord, again I repent of my pride and arrogance. I need You and You alone, I hunger for You and Your kingdom."
More on Worship in the Gathering
This topic (see Monday below.. although I don't think I like the label "contemporary
charismatic worship") is one our community has been discussing as well.
I think the article was articulate and thoughtful. Overall, I agree
with the general critique about the distortion that has occurred in
contemporary worship. However, I want to be careful in my own critique
or deconstruction of something that I believe God has done in our
recent history and that still retains much value to his people.
I believe the author is correct, contemporary worship is a cultural
expression and not necessarily a theological truth. However,
theological truth must be embedded in culture and find specific
cultural expression. This is tricky because it is easy for people in a
culture to confuse a specific cultural expression as a "universal"
theological reality.
I think what has occurred with contemporary worship, as well as with
other aspects of western Evangelicalism, is what I would call "bronze
snake syndrome." This is in reference to the episode in Numbers 21:6-9
where God instructs Moses to make a bronze snake as a provision from a
plague of venomous snakes. However, in 2 Kings 18:4, we discover that
God's wonderful and necessary provision in one point of Israel's
history becomes distorted and must be removed by a future generation.
The primary issue is with the inner life and heart of the people. They
turned something good into an idol.
The Charismatic renewal that swept through western Christianity in the
'60s and 70's brought a new vibrancy to God's people. With this
vibrancy and life came a desire for forms of worship that would express
the individual and corporate heart of God's people. As part of the
Vineyard, I remember hearing stories of the "good old days" when groups
of Christians would sit in each others' homes, worshipping together
with "simple," yet heartfelt choruses. It was relevant, passionate and
intimate. It captured the ethos of a generation as they attempted to
lift their hearts and lives to God. It was a wonderful and necessary
gift from God to his people.
Yet, like pretty much everything, the problem isn't with the form, but
with the people. Modern Evangelical Christianity as a whole has failed
in its vocation to be God's people -- to be God's new humanity on
earth, completely transformed by the love, character and power of God
from the inside-out so that we truly incarnate God's life on earth.
Because we are failing to BE God's people, we are failing to become a
Christ-centered counter-cultural revolution of the heart like Jesus
envisioned. As such, our surrounding western consumerist culture has
defined our "Christian culture." This consumerist culture has distorted
contemporary worship in three ways.
First, we have placed the individual's personal preferences as the
highest priority in the local church's life. People choose to attend a
church based on personal needs, likes and dislikes -- the pastor's
personality, the building, the parking, the programs, the youth
ministry, the "dress-code," etc. Specifically in worship, the
competition between churches is fierce. Back in the 80's and even the
early 90's, the Vineyard was known for its worship. But now almost
everyone is playing the latest Vineyard, Matt Redmann, Hillsongs,
Integrity songs as well as rewritten hymns. Now it's presentation that
counts. That's because, both in the eyes of those outside and inside
the Church, the local church has become the vendor of religious goods
and services. As such, contemporary worship has become more than a
cultural expression. It has become a commodity. And as a commodity, it
has to be packaged and marketed. But please understand me, the problem
isn't with contemporary worship, it's with God's people.
A second influence of our culture is our obsessiveness with
entertainment. Western culture places a high price on being
entertained. This has turned contemporary worship into a "cash-cow." It
seemed like for awhile everyone was producing a worship album. Soon one
artist's rendition of a familiar worship song was being compared to
another artist's rendition. In fact, I'm sure many of us who are close
to the contemporary worship scene could quickly name five of the
"hottest" worship leaders with little difficulty.
A third influence of our culture is the high value on one's feelings.
We are a thoroughly feeling-dominated culture. And this value has been
almost uncritically embraced within the Church, placing feeling as the
driving force behind our Christian lives. For many people, worship
equals being moved or inspired. It was in the language at the church I
left. On a Sunday morning, worship was "good" or "anointed" if the
people were emotionally moved.
I remember hanging around some well-known worship leaders at a worship
conference. The running joke among them was if a worship leader wanted
to really have a great worship set, he or she should always end the set
with Hillsongs' moving "Shout To The Lord." They said it would always
"work." But as I have already stated, the issue isn't with contemporary
worship. The problem is with God's people.
I agree with the article's author in that life is holistic. As such,
worship should be holistic. I know too well the problematic separation
of secular and sacred that occurs when worship is defined primarily as
an ecstatic event with God. Honestly, how can changing my kid's diaper
or driving on a crowded freeway be worship when worship at my local
church on Sunday was a moving and inspiring experience? It creates a
false dichotomy in my life.
But a holistic vision and practice of worship cannot actually occur
until God's people seriously embrace their vocation as the incarnation
of God's fullness and life on earth. When they view all of life as
opportunity to engage with Christ, then all of life can become worship.
This is where I find Dallas Willard's works so helpful. The reformation
must take place primarily within the human heart. In this context,
structures and forms then become peripheral issues.
The unfortunate "worship wars" that took place in the 80's over hymns
versus contemporary choruses were the result of putting forms on center
stage. We stand at the brink of another phase of this war if we place
contemporary worship on the center stage again. We must be careful to
focus on what is truly the main issue, the heart and character of God's
people.
In our community, we have attempted to address the issue of distorted
contemporary worship in a couple of ways. First, we have defined our
community's values in a way that bypasses personal preferences. Our
three values are spiritual formation, authentic Christ-centered
community and incarnational mission. Worship is part of our overarching
goal to be Jesus' apprentices and ambassadors in and to the world.
Second, we have tried to expand the concept of worship into a
whole-life faith, rather than an experience with a worship band. We did
this in a couple of ways. For the first few months of our community, we
did very little contemporary worship. The worship leader from our last
church, a very accomplished musician and worship leader, is part of our
community. He has led the charge in changing everyone's perspective of
worship from a musical experience to whole-life apprenticeship to
Jesus. We also delegate the leadership of community worship to our
community members. Since most of them are not musicians, we encourage
them to lead the community in worship through creative ways -- movie
clips, devotional readings, Lectio Divina, prayers, poetry, silence,
art, etc. Now that we are six months old as a community, we are slowly
bringing contemporary worship back, but it's no longer central to our
community's worship. Instead, it is becoming a vital component of a
larger vision and practice of worship. Jason Z
* * *
Jason has given us some helpful thoughts, and even more helpful suggestions. This kind of creativity is only likely to happen when we are moving beyond leader-centered models.
One response I had offline was that "corporate worship is intended to help us encounter God as a community. The singing community is expressing a mystical and sacramental unity that can't be experienced any other way."
I like that, and I agree there can be a sacramental dimension to worship. But I think if we restrict mystical or sacramental experience to music and song we miss out again.. we relegate worship to a single color when it should be a rainbow (pointed out by Grant in notes below). I doubt the Lord ever intended our focus on worship to be so narrow. And the professionalization of worship has had other nasty side effects.
Two responses to the previous post..
"Yes, the dominant model is the Sunday gathering, but for some, that's all they get so it's better that we have the Sunday gathering in it's imperfect form than to not have it at all. Better still, of course, would be a more participatory model regardless of when it meets.
"I was at a worship gathering last night at an Evangelical Free church (one of the worship leaders invited me to come so I could give them some positive input), and when they tried to end the "meeting", no-one wanted to leave. They ended up doing another half hour of worship, and even after that, people wanted to stay. Not to dance, not to raise their hands, not to even sing -- they just wanted to stay and allow the music to minister to them. They were participating in their spirits, not with their actions or even their mouths.
"It also strikes me that it might be a bit of a stretch to say that the "contemporary charismatic" worship is setting up the sacred/secular dichotomy. When people are encouraged to "enter in", etc. it's not because they need to change mental gears from "profane" to "spirit", it's because a lot of people come to a gathering really distracted (jobs, schools, marriages, children) and need to make a choice of the will to focus more exclusively on worshipping God for that time frame.
"Yes, in a perfect world, this would be their normative posture before God all the time (as Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection taught in "Practicing the Presence of God"), but since we're all at different points in the journey, for a lot of people, a gathered worship time is where they are reminded to focus on God more specifically, and to take that remembrance and try to keep the same awareness of being perpetually in God's presence in their non-worship-gathering context as well.
"It's all part of growing up spiritually: "dependence" on the gathering might be the entry point, and as such is fine, but the goal is for the individual worshippers to mature, where they no longer view it as sacred/secular, and when they gather for corporate worship, it comes out of the richness of a week full of personal worship.
"My two cents worth, anyway... Robbymac
* * *
"I have been really taken by the Lord's prayer lately, and think I am just beginning to figure out why. For a "worship leader", I have had a pretty extreme aversion to calling the singing we do on a Sunday morning "worship". Somehow to me it compartmentalizes worship far too much. When I see it's usage in scripture, worship is so broad. It is about an entire life given over to living a different way, a life changed completely by Love and acting upon it. So then a song is worship, a prayer is worship, taking a homeless guy out for a hamburger is worship, being kind to your kids is worship, being crazy generous with your money is worship. But we tend to use the word interchangeably with 35 minutes of singing on a Sunday morning. Think about it. Someone says, "she loves to worship". In my culture, most people take that to mean, "she loves to sing songs to God." It should probably mean, "she really is diligent about being like Jesus."
"Yeah, yeah, so what does this have to do with the Lord's prayer?
"Well, it is changing my thinking about what my "worship leading" really is. It is prayer. I realize that my definition of prayer is poor. I tend to think of prayer as asking God for stuff. It is that, but that too is narrow. Christ starts off with "worship". "Father in heaven, holy is your name". Then asking (macro), "Let your kingdom come!" Then more asking (micro), "Give us enough to eat today..." Repentance, "forgive us as we forgive.." Asking for deliverance, and then finishes off with more praise and worship, "The kingdom, the power and the glory is all yours, forever!!!"
"So when we sing together, I am approaching it as prayer, as a part of worship. Because through prayer, the spirit leads us into action (I hope), and into the fullness of what it means to worship God. For some people, I know this seems a little irrelevant, but it sure helps me. I guess it is something to do with a passion for "true worship", which can't be centered on only music..." John Janzen
Contemporary Charismatic Worship
"In and of itself, 'contemporary charismatic worship' does not pose any theological problems. The difficulty arises when in an effort to support a distinctly 'cultural issue' improper exegesis takes place in order to rationalise such a cultural expression as a theological truth.
One of the most significant theological issues presented by an attempt to suggest that 'contemporary charismatic worship' is a theological truth rather than a cultural expression is the concept that "we come into God's presence to worship". There are often exhortations to "come into God's presence", "enter in" and so forth based upon the Old Testament model. The inference that is made is that we are somehow unable to access God's 'Presence' unless we are in a corporate 'worship' setting with a band and other believers. In addition, the assumption is that worship should continue until a climactic ecstatic experience occurs. Such suggestions and subsequent teaching create a wedge between a person's 'secular' life and 'spiritual' activities that only occur in a church based activity or setting. Life becomes a balancing act between the 'secular or profane' and the 'sacred.'
"As a result, we might catalogue such tasks as parenting, work, education and leisure as 'secular or profane' tasks whilst bible study, church attendance and any other church based activity where a worship session occurs is considered a 'sacred' task. We thus maintain that only in the ecstatic experience of the Presence are we really worshipping. This is a far cry from the minds and hearts of such spiritual figures as Paul, St Patrick and even Jesus himself.
"Paul would have made no such distinction, with such incredible statements as:
"I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (some vs translate "reasonable service"). Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Ro. 12:1,2
"Jesus and Paul came from a culture that viewed life in holistic terms. St Patrick was heavily influenced by the Eastern Orthodox Church and consequently viewed his mission to the Irish to include all aspects of life, work and education as worthy of redemption. Such a Gnostic separation like that above would have seemed absurd to men such as these. Christianity is about a life offered in worship to God in the every day as opposed to the pursuit of ecstatic experiences.
"The second and probably the most disturbing aspect of 'contemporary charismatic worship' is the recreation of a priestly caste. Protestants claim that the Reformation restored the priesthood of every believer. The reality in 'contemporary charismatic worship' is that only the most beautiful or the most talented will appear on stage. As churches grow in size, the emphasis upon 'excellence of presentation' grows also, and the musicians and singers are whittled down until only a handful, which in effect will be the most talented, are the ones that can participate. Paul's exhortation for individuals to bring a psalm, hymn and spiritual song can only be carried out by one of the 'creative ministry team' or one sanctioned by such a team.
"Some in newer communities may respond that, "Our real focus is on groups that meet in homes during the week. Sundays aren't the center of our community life." I respond that the context of our [christian] culture teaches otherwise; in most faith communities Sunday is the most important of the gatherings. As a result, the model that dominates in the Sunday meetings is taken as paradigmatic, even in settings where an attempt is made to live in a new way.
Even in many new communities our corporate gatherings continue to be dominated by "worship" and the sermon. And these activities, as noted above, are restricted to certain leaders and highly gifted individuals. In other words, in practice we continue a restricted priesthood. Until we can find a way to legitimate by practice and example in our corporate meetings a larger priesthood, we will continue to cut ourselves off at the knees in the smaller and more intimate settings. Believers who do not discover a visible equality with leaders and "ministers" in the large setting are unlikely to understand themselves to be on an equal footing with those leaders in other settings. As a Canadian prophet once wrote, "The medium is the message." The dominant medium of our church culture is the Sunday gathering, where a special few dominate.
But doesn't this have implications for our leadership models? Of course it does. We have to disentangle leadership from authority, and get beyond the corporate church culture of leadership. For more see Leadership as Meaning Making.
Original writing by Stephen Said of "Dreamland," edited and expanded by myself. I have sent this text to three thoughtful friends for their comments, and I'll include them all here in the next few days.
Visit Herbansprawl to read John Janzen's blog and hear his music.
My company has not been producing what I hoped it would. Part of this is circumstantial.. timing and the gaming market. The Publisher who will produce my next two add-ons won't release either of them until January... with the first royalties arriving in mid April, 2004.
Unfortunately.. I can't support my family on royalties that come in 2004.
This means I hit the streets this afternoon looking for a decent part time job. I'm not sure where to start.. but I do have a sense that the Lord has a plan. That we are a family with only a single car, and that my wife is all over town doing home nursing visits, could be another challenge if I work outside the home. But the Lord knows.
I was looking over my daughter's shoulder last night as she downloaded a very cool screensaver: "The One Ring" screensaver .
The Death of McChurch
"Here's a strong statement: most evangelicals, including Vineyard people, are addicted to church culture. Take away their Sunday service, their bible studies, prayer meetings, and five-song worship teams and they start having withdrawals quickly. I think that it is a necessary part of this process to have a detox time... I would suggest a time of at least a year of not doing the 'normal' church stuff. For us, during that time of detachment we only did a few things together – ask hard questions and eat. Those were our corporate disciplines."
In another email he reinforced the point:
"Let me reiterate from my last email that one of the most beneficial things you might do is take a break from all things church for a while. This may seem really counterproductive, especially when you start having people wanting to be a part of your community immediately. But if your aim is to get people to begin thinking outside the bounds of cultural Christianity, some significantly radical action is required."
When I first read these comments, I knew he was stating something profound. What I didn't anticipate was the extent of my own addiction to the contemporary church and the painful detox process I would experience. What I'm coming face to face with through the process is the non-authenticity and impotence of my own faith. Let me explain."
Detoxing from Church at The Off Ramp.
If you haven't yet checked out The Off Ramp a new missional community in So Cal., this might be a good time to do it.
As morning breaks I look to you, O god,
My soul, wait silently for God alone.
Trust in Him at all times, you people.
Yesterday we had our second gathering of local guys interested in change and the emergent church. Maybe what we really share in common is a passion for God, a passion for excellence, and a passion to be relevant. With those passions at the fore, most other things are up for grabs.
Other things include the traditional order of our gatherings.
Why do we gather? What do we hope to accomplish in those times? What is realistic?
Is our primary goal transformation? Will we be transformed by authentically encountering God and one another?
If so, how do we facilitate that encounter? How do we get the new life into one another? What will make it stick?
How do we assess our current methods for effectiveness? How will we know when people are "getting it?"
For some, transformation means getting the word out there and letting it do its work. To me, that approach seems too mystical and magical. I've become a bit of a pragmatist in my old age. I doubt the power of a 25 minute lecture to effect change, no matter how good the preacher.
Our last meeting here locally as a Vineyard may be a case in point. The sermon was on encountering God in worship. I remember a few of the illustrations because they were very personal in nature. But I don't remember much else. I remember most of a conversation I had with a friend prior to the service...and I remember praying for some people afterward. Those encounters were different in nature.. personal, dialogical, heart to heart stuff and God was very present.
I consider myself a good listener. I am familiar and comfortable with the lecture format, after six years of graduate studies. Though come to think of it, the best classes and the most memorable were not lecture format, they were seminar style around a large table, and half the class at least was dialogue.
Learning seems to take place best when we use a variety of approaches... drama, music, dialogue, images.. Learning rarely seems to happen when we are simply offering information, often answering questions that no one is asking. Learning seems more effective when we are asking questions rather than offering answers. And at the risk of banging an old drum ad infinitum, the theorists tell us we only remember about 6% of what we hear.
Oh... back to our meeting Friday morning. We had about eight men, ranging in age from late twenties to sixty. Some guys in formal ministry settings, some not.. at least five different denominations. It struck me as we talked that we were genuinely able to hear and respect one another. I felt privileged to be part of an honest and informal discussion there at the Bean Scene. We talked about tension, passion, sexuality, and transformation. Damn.. that was a good time.
Now a quote from chapter 3 of Spencer's recent book "Making Sense of Church."
"We often say that Jesus is the greatest teacher of all time, but in fact we only see Jesus formally teaching a few times. The rest of the accounts show describe him helping people learn in the context of their lives-- coming alongside them, asking thought provoking questions, and giving them an opportunity to fit the pieces together for themselves."
As I read those words, I was struck by the parallel to the work of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps we evolved the lecture format during the Enlightenment because we were too confident in the power of reason. Perhaps we really didn't trust the Holy Spirit to do what Jesus had promised.. to be our teacher and our guide. The beauty of His ministry as teacher is that He is alongside us at every point of tension, every opportunity for joy, helping us learn and see what He is doing. Wow.. what a beautiful reality.
The Challenge
I have a challenge for those of you wrestling with this issue and wanting to make a test. Warning: not for the feint of heart, and possibly not a good idea in every context. Use wisdom. Let the Spirit be your guide.
On a Sunday morning teach for fifteen minutes in a typical manner. Then switch gears. Announce that you are running a test, perhaps appealing to a different set of folks with a different learning style. Or talk about Greek versus Hebrew styles of learning. (Write to me if that statement is a mystery to you and you need more info or click HERE.)
Now teach dialogically. Ask questions. Illustrate the teaching with a three minute live drama or film clip. Interact with people in other ways.. challenge them to follow you on an imaginative journey to meet Jesus... have an artist come up and draw his/her response to the dialogue.. use a slide show with images of Jesus and Gregorian chant.. get creative!... create a silent space and invite people to encounter Jesus, then open the floor for individuals to share what they heard.
After the second 15 minute segment, create a learning experience by asking people which part they preferred. In which segment did they learn more? In which part were they most comfortable? Which part had them on the edge of their seats? You may find that most felt more comfortable with the traditional segment, but most learning more in the latter part. Learning rarely takes place when we are bored. Ack.. and here I have preached at you for five minutes.. the irony is not lost on me.
The Third Day Church
The Future War of the Church by Chuck Pierce and Rebecca Wagner Systema.
This recent book is another that follows the Restorationist agenda. I know that some of you who read this are following this movement closely.
I wrote an article addressing the salient features of the movement titled Restorationism: Hype or Hope? But things change and evolve, and the movement goes by "The Third Day Church" these days, at least in some parts of North America.
We are in the unique position of being able to observe one large church locally (New Life) that is in the mainstream of the movement, particularly since connecting with Lance Walnau of the CNET team a few years ago. At least one other local church appears to be coming on board with the movement in connection with the Transformation crowd, and other local church groups seem either sympathetic or intrigued.
Pierce and Systema write, "…the Lord has been restoring to his Church the office of prophet…." "…it is the prophets who have heralded the next move of God in restoring the full government of the Church back to an apostolic structure." (p.94). From a prophetic vision, Pierce claims, "[God] began by saying that within 12 years from that time (1985), the government of the Church would change to reflect the pattern given to us when Jesus ascended into heaven…. He would release revelation and gifting for the new administrative methods that would cause his people to become influential and victorious in the next season of history." (p.28)
The government that Pierce has in mind is ruled by apostles and prophets. And it is a canopy over a region that would embrace all the churches in that region. Yes, we are talking about hierarchy, though I'm sure they would argue it is primarily relational.. at first.
All this is based on revelation.. personal revelation, not biblical revelation. Pierce saw a building called "My Future Kingdom Authority," with the five-fold gifts of Ephesians 4 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher) being brought into order and placed in the foundation of the new church. This releases an exodus from existing denominations, fellowships and movements: "Once the proper order has been established, He [God] would rapidly transfer this people to the new structure." (p.31) God then spoke, "This is the government of the church of the future that will arise…. This government will overcome all other governments [including other church governments]. When this government is in order, you can then command governments of the earth to come into order." (p.31)
A big part of this agenda is a new flow of wealth into the church. Well.. ya gotta like that! Part of the attraction of this movement is the old health and wealth agenda.
But any attempt to link such an agenda to Scripture contradicts what we already know about the apostles. Oddly... they didn't seem to be wealthy. In fact, they didn't appear outwardly popular or successful. Not one had a thriving book or tape ministry.
Instead, what we read in I Cor. 4 and II Cor. 4. In I Cor. 4 Paul warns against the super apostles by pointing to his own example: "a spectacle to the world.. both hungry and thirsty.. poorly clothed and homeless." Beware of those building great ministries on the backs of the tithing doctrine! If God gives you great wealth, find a way to care for the poor. That is true religion.
Central to the Third Day Church is a cosmology of the three heavens. Christ now reigns in the third heaven. He has defeated Satan through his death and resurrection in the first heaven (our atmosphere). But Satan still has authority in the second heaven. These powers are the real threat, and they keep the gospel from advancing. Prophets and intercessors have received revelation concerning these powers and have had some success in breaking their authority, leading to mass conversions. But God is not allowing for a full victory over these powers until the Church is ready. They continue, "God is establishing a new authority in His Church to break through to the third heaven, gain the heart of God and carry the revelation back to the earth where we can accomplish his will" (pp.82-83) Moreover, "The church government we have known during the past several decades - will not be able to overthrow the antichrist kingdom we have described. Therefore, the government of the Church must now make a transition and increase in authority, strength and wisdom." (p.85)
This leads to the prophetic revelation that God is restoring the true Church through the 5-fold ministry of Ephesians 4. Central to this restoration is the gift of apostle. While the church through its history has had apostles, it has not had the proper government in place. This government is a network of apostles who are in communion with each other, directed by prophets who function with them, and together break through the second heaven powers and bring evangelism to the territories assigned to them. This government, when coordinated with prophetic revelation and intercession (showing which powers rule an area) can overcome the second heaven powers and release anointed evangelism in the assigned area, bringing in the harvest. This in turn will restore a representative reign of Jesus, and then we will see the final spiritual battle which will then usher in the physical return of Christ.
In his introduction to Pierce's and Systema's book, Dutch Sheets writes, "This is a clear scholarly teaching, filled with and substantiated by an abundance of Scripture, brought to a prophetic point of application for a people born for such a time as this." (p.12) But is this really so?
There is no evidence in this book of any knowledge of current biblical scholarship or standard commentaries. As a result, Pierce and Systema quote Scriptures often with little interest in the immediate or larger context. Their interpretations continually follow their presupposed "prophetic" insights, and they knit verses together simply because they share the same word, rather than the same meaning. For example, they try to build a case for the importance of the "Third Day," by gathering verses where the noun and adjective are used throughout Scripture. There is, however, no relationship between Jesus' resurrection on the third day, Pierce's and Systema's typological application of these three days to the three millenniums of church history and the use of the third day in various, scattered texts.
Pierce and Systema promise us that there will be a great transfer of material wealth to the Third Day Church so that it can pursue its mission (pp.165ff). They base this on Jesus parable about binding the strong man and plundering his goods (Mark 3:23-30). Pierce and Systema write, "Jesus' illustration is tied with prosperity and wealth. First, He tells us that there is a strong man who rules Satan's kingdom in any territory [Jesus does no such thing - he speaks of a single strong man (The Prince of demons) and denotes no territory whatsoever]. Pierce and Systema continue, "He also tells us that if we bind the strong man, we can plunder his house and take his spoils [He doesn't tell us to bind him, he has already bound him]." Now the application, "As apostolic authority arises throughout the earth and aligns with strategic prophetic intercession through spiritual warfare, I believe we will plunder the enemy's kingdom and unlock the wealth necessary to reap the harvest for the kingdom in the days ahead." (p.165)
Whaaaaa ? This isn't scholarship but rather prophetic imagination running roughshod over the Word of God.
Finally, we need to heed the warnings of John Paul Jackson. Jackson warns us of the danger which Pierce and Systema fall into again and again. In Needless Casualties of War, Jackson holds that the church is allowed warfare only in the terrestrial arena, not the second Heaven arena. If this is violated, great personal and physical harm may come to well-meaning spiritual warriors. He writes, "To attack principalities and powers over a geographic area can be as useless as throwing hatchets at the moon. And it can leave you open to unforeseen and unperceived attacks." (p.33) We are not to address principalities and powers (i.e., Pierce's "Prayer of confrontation"), but only address our prayers to God against them (p.42) Jackson rightly warns, "When we pay too much attention to evil spirits, we end up paying homage to the strength of the demonic powers rather than to the power of Jesus." (p.44)
Please note that none of this is to imply evil intentions on any believers who teach these things. Many of the leaders within this movement are sincere, committed followers of Jesus with pure hearts.
What is God really doing? Are there apostles today? Sure there are.. you may know one or two yourself.. and they may be electricians, truck drivers, or janitors. Remember that the first apostles were fishermen, tax collectors, doctors.. and that has never changed. I have a feeling that the apostles of today are less interested in building large ministries than in helping their neighbor find work, or speaking out against prophetic distortions like that above. As for relational connections between local ministries, I prefer a vision of the new tent.
To hear a recording of Lance Wallnau speaking on the importance of The Third Day (recorded at New Life in Kelowna in April, 2002) click HERE (13 MB).
Passionate People
"For much of this year my associates and I worked with an organization on a strategic planning process that was more about discernment than planning. Rather than attempting to fix their problems, we encouraged the group to focus on what¹s working in the organization, to look at where the energy is present, to notice what excites them; in other words, to follow their passions. At one point in the process a wise soul in the group asked, What if we need to go to places that make us uncomfortable, places we don¹t want to go?
"His question highlighted for me the shallowness of some vocational talk, the sometimes saccharine quality of "Following your bliss," "dancing your inner dance," or "living your dreams."
"In J.R.R. Tolkien¹s The Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins¹ calling is to dispose of a ring, thwart the plans of the evil lord Sauron, and so bring peace to Middle Earth. Where will his quest take him? Frodo asks his friend, the wise Gandalf, who replies that neither he nor Frodo can see that far. "But in the meantime," Frodo pleads, "what course am I to take?"
"Towards danger," Gandalf answers.
"Towards danger? That doesn¹t sound like bliss or passion especially if we define these as happiness.
"The Greek word for passion, pathos, suggests a wideness of feeling, encompassing ecstasy and agony. Passion is playing, relishing, rejoicing; and it is longing, yearning, suffering.
"We are passionate people because we are created in the image of a passionate God not an Unmoved Mover but a God who is concerned: a God who creates, loves, is frustrated, thunders, rails, repents, searches for us, and calls us.
"Whom shall I send?" is the question of a passionate God to a passionate people. God is in need of humanity, says the theologian Abraham Heschel. "Over and above the din of desires there is a calling," Heschel says, "a demanding, a waiting, an expectation. There is a question that follows me wherever I turn. What is expected of me? What is demanded of me?"
"That ultimate reality, that the Creator requires something of the created, is bewildering, troubling, problematic -- and glorious. That God needs us is the greatest affirmation of life. That all of our passionate selves are required is the greatest challenge.
"The individuals and organizations I know who are pursuing their passions are not free of worry or fear. They walk through spiritual deserts. Oftentimes they are financially insecure. Far from being blissfully happy, they are traveling at the edge of survival.
"To be individuals or organizations following our passions is to go to unknown and unexpected places. The way of passion challenges us to be authentic, to be filled with "the fullness of God," as the Apostle Paul says (Eph. 3:19). That means dealing with each other as passionate people, not job descriptions, not numbers, not boxes in an organizational chart -- not predictable but as messy, blessed people.
"To be passionate is to venture both toward what excites us and what may ultimately break our hearts. It is to journey towards danger. "
Daniel Pryfogle
"A few years ago, I was introduced to a group of uncouth Christians who call themselves "the Notorious Sinners." These are men from all walks of life who meet once a year to openly share their messy spirituality with each other. The title Notorious Sinners refers to the scandalous category of forgiven sinners whose reputations and ongoing flaws didn't keep Jesus away. In fact, Jesus had a habit of collecting disreputables; he called them disciples. He still does. I like people who openly admit their notoriousness -- people who unabashedly confess they are hopelessly flawed and hopelessly forgiven. Graciously, these men invited me to be a part of their group.
"The Notorious Sinners meet yearly at spiritual-retreat centers, where from the moment we arrive, we find ourselves in trouble with the centers' leadership. We don't act like most contemplatives who come to spiritual-retreat centers-reserved, quiet, silently seeking the voice of God. We're a different kind of contemplative -- earthy, boisterous, noisy, and rowdy, tromping around our souls seeking God, hanging out with a rambunctious Jesus who is looking for a good time in our hearts. A number of us smoke cigars, about half are recovering alcoholics, and a couple of the men could embarrass a sailor with their language. Two of the Notorious Sinners show up on their Harleys, complete with leather pants and leather jackets.
"I admit I run with a rough crowd -- Christians whose discipleship is blatantly real and carelessly passionate, characterized by a brazen godliness. Unafraid to admit their flaws, unintimidated by Christians who deny their own messiness, these guys sometimes look like pagans and other times look like Jesus. They are spiritual troublemakers, really, which is why they look like Jesus (who was always causing trouble himself). They are full of mischief, laughter, and boisterous behavior, which is why they look like pagans. Truly messy disciples. The Notorious Sinners are definitely a bizarre mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly, living a spirituality which defies simple definitions. Oh, and they are some of the most spiritual men I know. (p. 16)
"Messy Spirituality is the scandalous assertion that following Christ is anything but tidy and neat, balanced and orderly. Far from it. Spirituality is complex, complicated, and perplexing-the disorderly, sloppy, chaotic look of authentic faith in the real world.
"Spirituality is anything but a straight line; it is a mixed-up, topsy-turvy, helter-skelter godliness that turns our lives into an upside-down toboggan ride full of unexpected turns, surprise bumps, and bone-shattering crashes. In other words, messy spirituality is the delirious consequence of a life ruined by a Jesus who will love us right into his arms. From Messy Spirituality , p. 17
A couple months back Spencer Burke from THE OOZE was kind enough to send me a PDF file of his new book, "Making Sense of Church." One thing followed another, and our move to a new home happened in mid August. Then the renos started..
I finally spent a couple of hours last night having a read. And it happened.. joy. Spencer's book is going to be an important contribution to the dialogue in and around the emerging church. It is thoughtful, provocative, positive and it includes many voices. I'm looking forward to finishing it, and as I read I'll share quotes here.
Here is a quote to get us started..
"Many new insights fail to get put into practice in business -- or in the church -- because they conflict with these deeply held internal images of how the world works, images that limit us to familiar ways of thinking and acting."
And that, my friends, is why a journey outside the walls will be important to many who want significant change. It is also why we say, "Its easy to get out of the church. Its difficult to get the church out of us."
You can read the intro on the website, listen to it from Spencer Burke himself, or download chapter 3: "A Conversation about Learning."
This will be a quick update.. the longer I spend typing the colder I get :)
Friday: pyrex pan explodes on leaving oven. Cooked fish hits the floor. We spend an hour cleaning then another hour putting together a different meal.
Saturday: almost normal day
Sunday: the furnace breathes its last at 7 AM. I attempt lighting it several times but the pilot light will not stay on. We return after the Vineyard gathering to a cool home. We're having company, so I pile wood in both the fireplace and the airtight and the temperate gradually climbs to 70 degrees.
At least the books I have had lying around drying are almost dry. A small flood in the garage ten days ago took its toll on twelve ruined volumes (including some priceless early leather editions of Alice in Wonderland) and another dozen ruined coffee-table size research volumes of military history.
Spent many hours opening books to different pages, and even desperately inserting some on a slow bake cycle in our stove. But water damage is tough to undo... Hmm.. maybe I've been keeping too many books anyway, I do value these things a bit too much.
Ok, enough for now.. abandoning ship. Don't want to waste house heat on the office today...
Virtual Morpheus welcomes you here.. you who have been jarred awake, and those of you who are only beginning to wake up.
On an impulse I added the voice clip on Saturday. I remain jarred by the Matrix and its prophetic power. Part 3 is out in a few days, I believe. I can't say that I have great anticipation after feeling disappointed in Part 2.
But as for ROTK, you probably know that from December 12-16th there will be a screening of the extended edition of "The Two Towers" in major theatres. This will be followed by the release of "The Return of the King" to theatres on December 16th. For more information visit Lord of the Rings. I'm planning to attend the screening of the extended Two Towers, and hoping to gather a half dozen friends along. Ideally I'd like to do a matinee for ROTK and then head for a pub afterwards. This is worth a bit of planning.
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It is in the souls who love God that peace is established in the world. They are the strength of the world, because they are the tabernacle of God in the world. They are the ones who keep the Universe from being destroeyd. They are the little ones. They do not know themselves. The whole earth depends on them...
They are the only ones who will ever be able to enjoy life altogether. They have renounced the whole world and it has been given into their possession... They are the only ones capable of understanding joy. Everybody else is too weak for joy. Joy would kill anybody but these meek. They are the pure in heart. They see God...
Their freedom is without limit. They reach out for us to comprehend our own misery and drown it in the tremendous expansion of their own innocence, that washes the world with its light...
For the world and time are the dance of the Lord in emptiness. We are invited to forget ourselves on purpose, cast our awful solemnity to the winds, and join in the general dance.
From Thomas Merton, "New Seeds of Contemplation"
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"Back in February, as Mark Feliciano and I were praying and talking about beginning a missional community, I emailed a guy on the other side of the US who had already begun one of these communities. Here are a couple of things he said in our correspondences.
