the time of regrouping

Retreat, recover, reevaluate, relearn, refresh, renew, recharge, rebuild, repair, rebound...
ReGroup!

No, I don't have a sudden fetish with words starting with re, but I have had a recent epiphany. I've mentioned in the recent past that I've had this overwhelming feeling that there is something I need to be doing, or something that was coming I needed to be prepared for; I think I found it. It seems that over the past year I've been meeting a slowly increasing number of people who are caught in a state of limbo with regards to church. They've become completely disillusioned, disenfranchised, disgruntled, or just plain dissatisfied with the faith they find themselves with and the church they were raised in. At the moment the demographic is mainly people around my own age, and they are all coming from the same doctrinal church heritage; however, the whole situation got me thinking.

I've come to realize that there seems to be a need, in my area at least, for a group where people can fall back when they feel their faith losing step with the local church they belong to. Or in another situation, a place to run to when their faith is fine, but they have been hurt by their local church and need a place to figure out what to do now. A meta-church so to speak; a group of people committed to each other for the purpose of spiritual formation, growth, learning, encouragement, conversation, fun, and healing outside the walls of the available church communities. Your denominational affiliation wouldn't matter, it would be a spiritual melting pot where ideas are shared, good news rejoiced, and pains comforted. There wouldn't be a building, because people would be free to remain or become active members of other communities of faith, but for those uncomfortable in traditional churches we would be their spiritual family (like a house church). Money wouldn't be a focus, since as each is able to contribute, they can do so; whether that contribution is providing a meal, opening their home, paying for an outing, helping out a friend in a financial bind, or organizing a charity fundraiser. Also, leadership isn't really an issue since all it takes are a few people with the strength to start it, the courage to share their stories, and the patience and understanding to listen to others; after that, the group kind of runs itself so long as someone is willing to schedule a time and start the conversation for the evening, where it goes from there is determined by group dynamics of that evening.

The more I think about it, the less nervous and more excited about it I get. In my mind, the possibilities are endless; what could begin as a Bible study, could change to a movie night, group excursion, coffee conversation, weekly meal, or anything you can think of. It's not church, but at the same time, it is church - a different kind of church. It provides a safety net for people falling out of today's churches, where previously no net existed. And it is your choice whether to stay in the net and help others who fall, to climb back up to your local church, climb over to a different local church, or jump out of the net and find a different path altogether (of course there is the possibility you could miss/avoid the net in the first place, too). I've got some work to do, some ideas to polish, and some time to wait on, but I plan on going forward with this... it just feels right.

Quick book update - as you can see to the right, I have been reading 3 books at once! Shocking! It appears that you are rubbing off on me, Paul. I finished up Dear Church - Letters from a Disillusioned Generation by Sarah Cunningham rather quickly, and I must say there were many parts that felt like a mirror to my own thoughts at times. It's an excellent book for those who don't prescribe to the status quo, and leaders who want to understand them. When it comes to Emerging Churches, sometimes its hard to find time to sit down with it, because the book has so many good things in it I don't want to miss it because I was distracted while reading. As I've said, I have to keep my pen handy with that one. Those two books probably have been fueling my alternative approach to church ideas, and have also given me the confidence that I could start formulating a plan of action to meet this need I see. Lastly, on a less academic level I suppose, I have been reading Joshua and The City. So far, I would say that it's not as good as the original Joshua, but it is still entertaining to read - with a little bit of insight thrown in from time to time.

You keep reading... I'll keep writing... perhaps more so now that I have this idea I need to flesh out somewhere.

Cheers!

working and testing

It has been nice to finally have made it through the longest part of my summer of work, and now I get a reprieve from travel and special assignments for a little while. Next year is a whole other animal that has not been let out of the cage yet. In the meantime, I've been catching up on some normal everyday work, preparing for some up and coming new work, and trying to get myself back into a more spiritually focused frame of mind. The latter bit of that is the difficult part, since I've been so focused in other areas of life; mainly work and family.

Spiritually, I have a lot to accomplish in a fairly short amount of time. It is just a few short weeks until I throw myself before a vast gathering of Christians for a few days of classes, discussions, and probably networking. This will be the first time I've been speaking in front of any kind of audience in quite some time, and it will be the first time ever that I've spoken publicly in front of spiritual peers. I'll most likely handle myself well (with help from my co-presenter), but it seems a bit daunting at the moment. There are some other non-speaking spiritual goals I also have on my plate, those ones of a personal nature; God and me stuff. Those might take longer, He just doesn't seem to feel the need to explain this deep-seated and completely unrecognizable desire that is within me lately. If I could put words to it, I might be able to figure out what it is I need to do. So far, all I know is that I think I am heading the right direction, but as I've said before, I have no idea what direction that is or where it leads. It feels a bit like paddling a canoe at night, when the moon is not out, clouds block the stars from view, there are no lights along the shore that you can see, and you have no light of your own. You have nothing but your hearing and intuition to guide you...

Also, I kind of coerced this post out of myself. I did this partially just to write something and keep the blog alive, but I also did it because I am testing out Writely. I had heard about it before Google bought them up and closed down the registration while they migrated/upgraded things, and now that registration is open again I wanted to check out how it all worked. It is a great online, collaborative document creation tool, plus it also handles publishing documents to a few different formats - one of which is to a blog. So far, I like it, but the integration with my blog isn't optimal. The fonts are different sizes and the titling doesn't seem to take. I might use it for drafts or something.

Cheers!

impending change

I weep for the inevitable restrictions in personal liberties and increase in travel hindrances around the world as a result of terrorist actions... despite world leaders stating that: changing our way of life, means the terrorists have succeeded.

I really wish that some intelligent people would step forward and find the real solution for making travel safer, without making travel more and more difficult and inconvenient. Or maybe I just want the world on a plate because I believe that safety and security should not automatically mean I have to give up convenience and comfort.

</rant>

be still for patience prevails

Sometimes I struggle with it, sometimes I wrestle with, and sometimes I give in to it...

The pleas of Job... (Job 6:11-13)

What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
What prospects, that I should be patient?

Do I have the strength of stone?
Is my flesh bronze?

Do I have any power to help myself,
now that success has been driven from me?

The laments of David... (Psalm 40:1,11-13)

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

[...]

Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;
may your love and your truth always protect me.

For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.

Be pleased, O LORD, to save me;
O LORD, come quickly to help me.

The words of Jesus... (Matthew 6:25-34)

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

My take...
Have patience; be still, and do not let your worries keep you down. You are not alone in your struggles, there is always One who is by your side. You only need to slow down and take stock of where you are and where you need to be...

Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:30-31

preaching reviewed

Found an interesting article at the ooze this morning. It's a review of Doug Pagitt's Preaching Re-Imagined. Granted, the book was published last September, so the review could seem a bit late in coming. However, since I've not read the book, have not heard a lot about it, but have been attempting to rethink various aspects of church community life, the review was very interesting to read. I might have to pick up the book one of these days. That or recommend it to a few friends of mine...

Preaching Re-Imagined: A Review - Mark Shivers

Enjoy!

on a grail quest

In an attempt to toss something out here that I have been thinking about, please accept this rather rough and poetically formed spiritual thought of the day. It is something that correlates a bit with the whole Da Vinci Code hoopla, primarily because the book/movie brought the whole mystery of the grail back into the limelight.

Enjoy!

Grail Quest.
I'm on a grail quest; to places unknown I go, in search of the mystery that awaits me.
To find the cup that Christ used, in which he gave his blood, my salvation will be found.

San Greal, Holy Grail.
O sacred chalice, O revered vessel, in ages past you were lost.
Many have tried, many have failed, but one day my struggles will bear fruit.

Sang Real, Royal Blood.
The cup, it was an idol; your blood was the real treasure.
You came to establish your kingdom; not one built on power, but one built on love.

Sacrificial Blood.
Many rejected your kingdom, they refused to hear the truth.
You placed yourself on the altar, you walked right into their grasp, and you did it for love.

Saving Blood.
Your sacrifice was the plan, it was the way to save us all.
We can't seem to fix our problems, but with you everything seems to work out in the end.

Saving Grace.
We try to earn your love, and we attempt to work our way into your good graces.
Try as we might, we will always fall short, but your love comes with no price.

Grace Quest.
Your grace is free to all, your teachings and actions model a better way of life.
I've given up on the grail, it's a fruitless search. I'm on a grace quest.
Everyone who seeks, will find.