bald man blogging

karl interviewed paul, and paul interviewed me. here are my responses, as well as the rules if you, too, would like to be interviewed. it seems i’ve got a thing with threes going.

1. I see that you’ve ordered a Labyrinth kit. What motivated you to buy it, and more generally what kinds of routines, practices, and ritual nourish & fund your spiritual formation?

1. the desire to explore new rituals in my own Christ-following, or perhaps better said Christ-abiding;
2. and the desire to introduce new rituals of Christ-abiding to my faith-community.
3. other personal rituals include:
• community, both FTF and “virtual.” conversation & blogging (both writing and reading) are means to introduce myself to ideas, language, expression beyond my own context. also, the acts of speaking/writing help me to clarify thoughts and solidify decisions. once spoken or written they become more real, more concrete than when the exist only in my head.
• driving the speed limit. this small act of slowing down is a symbolic reminder that i must slow down in life. i cannot maintain the breakneck pace of the world around me if i am to hear His whisper and connect in real ways with people. as cars rush by i am reminded that i must live in the world, though i live by a different set of standards. at times i will be pushed by someone riding my tail. at these moments i have a decision to make: will i be a thermometer, reflecting the values, the pace, the life of the world around me? or will i be a thermostat, setting the temperature, the standard?
• contemplative prayer. for example sacred.space. this is new to me, though i am finding it quite liberating and powerful.

2. What kinds of lifestyle changes (for Joe and Janey Average) and practices do you think might be necessary in order for us to live more intentionally and deeply in relationships/friendships with others?

1. buying out of the “american dream.” it is a myth that you can have it all. everything has a price, and we don’t have the money, time, resources to acquire all that we want. once a person accepts that, he or she can get on with making the difficult decisions of priority.
2. financial stewardship. rather than managing payments, people must learn to manage costs. so many (in the united states) are slaves to the bank, the mortgage company, the landlord, the credit card lender, their job. their inability to make wise financial choices has forced their hand in a number of other areas, such as what job to take, how much to work, etc.
3. housing and working locations. being able to live in the nice suburbs and commute into the city for work comes at a huge price of time for many. people need to consolidate their lives, find ways of working and living in closer proximity to each other.

3. Name three challenges that you see facing churches in your state of Ohio.

speaking from my experience: mainstream, conservative, evangelical…

1. they must learn to accept ambiguity regarding who is “in” and who is “out.” this is quite possibly the biggest hurdle preventing churches from becoming more active and missional. everyone is too busy trying to make sure they (and others) are saying the right things, learning/teaching the right things. they miss out on doing the right things.
2. they must get out of the mega-church shadow. ginghamsburg, willowcreek, cincinnati vineyard are all close by. they are the established model of success for many. this results in either a crippling inferiority complex or a emasculating “lemming” syndrome that stifles creativity and ingenuity. sidebar - don’t take this as a knock on the above churches. they are all doing some great things. my point is that other churches need to realize they are not those churches, and they don’t need to be.
3. finally, they must be willing to examine and if need be change the ways the do ministry so that they facilitate genuine communion with God and community with people. this goes hand-in-hand with my previous point. churches must be willing to discover what works for them, their flocks, their communities, instead of blindly imitating what other “successful” churches do.

4. Who have been the three most influential shapers of your Jesus-following life over the last twelve months or so, and why?

• brian.mclaren - his work, The Story We Find Ourselves In, has been particularly instrumental. it has opened new avenues on which i can traverse scripture. i’ve moved from a very conservative, evangelical position to something new, something i’m still in the process of sorting out. foundationally, this has given me a much larger, broader view of God, and his story. he is big enough to meet people at a variety of points, many of which may be mutually incompatible with each other.
• steve.collins - stumbling across his small ritual site introduced me to the alt.worship movement in particular, and the freedom to explore new rituals for Christ-abiding in general. these discoveries have helped put expression to ideas and dreams that God has been planting inside me for the last couple years, things i could not previously identify or describe.
• rob.pence, my father-in-law - walking with him and his/my family in these last days (his last days) has been profound in ways i am just learning to express.

5. Why do you blog?

1. to collect reminders, to store thoughts, ideas, and snipits that i find on the web.
2. to organize, clarify, and solidify thoughts and decisions. the act of expressing something, either in writing or speech helps things become concrete for me. i’ve kept a journal off and on for a number of years, and this is simply the next evolution of that, one that fits in well with my season of life.
3. finally, for the community aspects of blogging. the ideas expressed are public, open for conversation, comment, criticism. this is an act of intentionality on my part; i am intentionally making more of my life open to others, to community.

and now the rules for you…

Official Rules

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying, “interview me.”
2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person’s will be different.
3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
6. I will answer reasonable follow up questions if you leave a comment.

from jordon.cooper comes a link to this article by brian.mclaren. a few tidbits and commentary on each of the three streams. first, regarding spiritual formation:

i find this sentiment resonating strongly within me. some in our church tell me they want more in depth preaching, but this request comes from a position of ignorance - not of God, for they know enough of Him to get by for quite some time; but rather of what they truly need to live abundently. we who are churched do not fail to live lives of transformation for lack of knowledge. we fail for lack of experience. we lack an awareness of God’s abiding presence. the rituals that will inspire transformation, then, will not center on communication of the word, but on communion with the Word.

on the stream of authentic community:

echos of an earlier conversation with karl, paul, and LT. the creation of a small group ministry program is not the solution. (though, i might be inclined to agree with mclaren that it is probably better than nothing.) what is needed is a series of commitments - one individual after another - commitments to live in community; to live with intentionality; to live transparently; to live in love; to go against the flow, the societal trends that divide.

and finally, the stream of mission:

i think this is the most difficult transition for those in my faith community. rather than focusing on the alter call, the response card, the raised hand at the end of the service - which is wonderfully easy to measure, remember, report, celebrate - the focus shifts to a lifestyle of love and service. church life becomes messy b/c you can’t tell who is in and who is out… not that it matters. (but, oh how it matters to the modern evangelical!) echos of “open-set” theology here.

it’ll probably show that i’ve put this post together while doing other things at work. hopefully it’ll make some sense tomorrow and provide oppotunity for conversation.

steve offered up this reflection on the Spirit. very sensual. i think it offers a lot of possibilities for a pathmaker journey.

two intersecting thoughts on community from leighton @ the heresy & paul @ prodigal (his 9/5 post & answer to karl’s first question). i thought i’d tie the two together.

paul is speaking about the need for intentionality in community: the participants in a relationship must be deliberate if there is to be any significance. community doesn’t just happen. it must be sought out, worked out.

but how, in this world of suburban sprawl and over-stuffed schedules, do we make time for significance? how do we develop and maintain the basic rapport that permits significance? i see my brother for 2 hours on a sunday (60-90 minutes of which i am pre-occupied with programming, but that’s another topic). i must connect with him - and everyone else! - in that time only, b/c we are too busy to meet more often, thru the week. how do i maximize this time? how do i get more quickly to the point of significance?

enter leighton’s blog… well, not just his blog; everyone’s blog. and instant messaging. and message boards. and e-mail. etc. these virtual tools do not replace face-to-fact interaction (FTF), rather they allow FTF to take on significance more quickly, more often. i’ll keep the moniker “virtual,” because these tools vitrually multiply time. it takes time to build up rapport and trust, and time is a precious commodity. it is rare that my brother & i have the same hour free for conversation, and when we do much of the time is spent (re-)establishing report. thru the use of virtual tools, we may share a conversation using different, non-coexistent blocks of time. i post at lunch-time, he reads and comments at dinner-time. i e-mail on friday; he responds on monday. rapport is maintained - even strengthened - despite the lack of FTF. significance will also occurs, b/c as leighton notes it is easier for some to be open thru written media. in this way, when FTF does occur, we may jump straight into significance.

time must still be made for FTF. personally, we re-arrange our budget so that we can afford for me to meet people during weekday breakfasts and lunches. still it can be hard: we are in the third week trying to set up a dinner-date with another couple.

furthermore, we must still be intentional with our time. participate as much as you want virtually and FTF, but you will never reach the point of significance without intentionality.

and this from Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down by Marva Dawn (via steve.mcmillan):

in the evangelical church’s pursuit of excellence have we lost authenticity? does it matter that there is a typo in the overheads/PPT slides? (for four years our intervarsity group sang, “oh heavenly father, oh light of the would” just like it was on the overhead.) does it matter when the sound system offers an unexpected wail of feedback or when i fumble through my notes because i’ve mis-placed a page? i guess the answers depend on what you are introducing outsiders to, on what you are calling your community to: perfection, professionalism, “excellence,” and program; or faithfulness, perserverance, forgiveness, and relationship? not to make an excuse for sloppy preparation or laziness, but perhaps we’re missing the point when we spend so much time on these details. at too many gathering i’ve busied myself running around fixing these sorts of details. might my time have been better - and more eternally - spent in conversation?

maybe that’s part of what appeals to be about some of the alt.worship examples i’ve seen. the work is done ahead of time; at the gathering the installations are in large part self-propelled. some people i see but once a week (if that). rather than investing in programming during this time, i can invest in relationships.

from How To Reach Secular People by George G. Hunter, III (via stewie):

setting the ghastliness of the term “churchbroke” aside (it gets straight to hunter’s point, but ugh!), i think we’re better off “unbroken.” the social norms, the unwritten rules that define behaviour in church settings are extremely limiting, not just to creativity, but to genuine communion with God and community with the saints. the “churchbroken” do not need to think; they may simply follow the order by rote… so long as the ministers allow them. “being “churchbroken” is great for maintaining control and order; not so much for transformation. following the rules becomes a substitute for wrestling with God and engaging in fellowship.

i realize there are those whose communion with God is enhanced by the repetition from one day to the next, one service to the next. i know i value and need routine (though not in the rutuals we currently use at harvest.) we all do to one degree or another. the problem is that each of us needs/desires a different routine. furthermore, it takes great vigilance to prevent the routine from superceding communion.

quick plug for my wife and the MOPS ministry she leads at the harvest. MOPS = mothers of pre-schoolers. they are an international organization dedicated to meeting the needs of moms. every mom. stay-at-home or working. single or married. teen with her first or older mom with her tenth. they do a great job resourcing and equipping. definately worth a look for anyone interested in meeting this need in their community.

GO MOPS!!!

via jordoncooper

not much to post lately, though i did make time to change the templete. css is fun!

i’ve had two fantastic conversations in the last two days regarding the harvest: one with a guy who, by his own admission, isn’t doing much but isn’t exactly sure how to change it; the other with a member of our lead team. (think elder board, only we’re all pretty young.) i’m excited to get moving with what God has been showing me.

i ordered a labryinth kit on tuesday. can’t wait to start playing with it! after getting familiar with it, i’d like to run it first for the lead team - so they can experience what i’m going to talk about at our gathering end of this month - and for my fellow pathmakers - so they can experience a sample of what i want to create. this is a pretty big shift, and i’m not sure all fo them are going to be on board. i guess that’s between them and God.

plans for the weekend: tonight and saturday night at my in-law’s. golf tomorrow morning. outdoor soccer starts sunday. teaching alpha - week nine that evening. should keep me busy.

enjoy and be God’s, everyone.

enjoyed this post from barky, particularily the last part in this bit: