post-lectureship reflection

So I've been back from Lectureship for about a week now, and a post about the experience is probably long overdue. So here's a brief one... I hope.

First, I have to say that my expectations going into the whole Lectureship thing were relatively low. This isn't because I have some low level of respect for it or anything, it's more because I attended a couple out of requirement while in college so I knew the basics of what went on and I didn't expect anything to be different. So with that as a primer, my expectations were blown out of the water - in multiple ways.

I heard most of the evening keynote speakers, and they were awesome. There was a huge narrative aspect to the speeches they gave, which rather than making the experience feel like a lecture or a political speech gave the presentations a more personalized and involved feel. Plus, it didn't hurt that most of what I heard was a cage-rattling, table overturning rhetoric that was calling for people to wake up and smell the change in the air before it's too late. It really made me feel like what I was there to present fit into the subtle yet over-arching theme I discerned.

Speaking of why I was there; Paul and I both agreed, our sessions were a smashing success if we do say so ourselves. Our student panelists (Jordan Swim and Jordan Wesley) added so much valuable insight from their unique experiences, and most of the topics we brought up were met with what I can only describe as a warm and welcoming attitude. Each day was success in my mind, because each day we touched someone in the audience on an emotional level with the stories and ideas that we shared. However, the first day we might have struck a few tender nerves by touching on the inter-generational communication gap and Catholicism; neither of which was part of the original plan, but it seemed the Spirit moved us that direction. This turned out to be a good thing in the end though, as it levelset a few things and provided a model of how we intended the sessions to be considered a safe environment for discussion and sharing.

I am a firm believer in God sending people places, in a seemingly innocuous manner, so they might touch certain people's lives. I experienced it in college, I've experienced it in travels, and I've experienced it at Lectureship. While some might think that I would say I was sent to Lectureship to share my story and help others, I would say I was brought to Lectureship to share my story so that others could help me. Sharing some of myself and my aspirations for ReGroup was a liberating experience because of the outpouring of positive comments that I received, which makes me even more excited and driven to make sure it gets off the ground successfully. I am still planning and working out the many ideas that are swirling around in my mind, but things are firming up little by little and I hope to have the group up and in full swing before Christmas.

For any new visitors from Lectureship, welcome and thank you for stopping by. If you attended our sessions, Paul and I thank you for your time, attention and valuable discussions. And for those that offered your blessings and comments on ReGroup - especially Kathy, Allen, and Ray - I thank you.

more on groups

So I know that I've been tagged to whip up a list of influential books in my life, but I've got to get this out of my head and into print before I forget it. So bear with me, the books will come next week sometime.

So my last post fleshed out this concept of a spiritual support and healing group, sort of like a Casa Blanca of the church world. However, I got to thinking that the scope could be even broader than my initial thoughts on the subject, primarily because the entire concept is very flexible. I was referred to a series of multimedia articles that follows recent college graduates trying to find their way in the world, and shortly after that I read a blog post about how 75% of teenagers active in church will abandon church in their 20's. The combination of the two got me thinking about how spiritual formation in teenagers tends to lack a reality check about what life is like after high school and college as a Christian. It's a wonder the rate of disillusionment isn't higher... We give them what to believe, but the why is a pointer to scripture with no current day contextual equivalent. Most likely those who make their way back after abandoning church, do so because they grappled with the questions they couldn't answer at first and found a peace. It may sound dangerous, but I think teens need to wrestle with the hard questions... even if they do trip up along the way, at least this way they have a support structure around them to help them back on their feet when they are ready.

For those who are already beyond their teen years and leaving college, ReGroup would serve them as well. It could serve as a landing place for graduates, a place to take a breather and get oriented. Hitting the real world after college can feel a bit like having been shot from a cannon, dusting yourself off and figuring out where you are without a map or a sign.

Just another in a litany of possibilities...

Cheers!

On a different note -- anyone planning on attending the ACU Lectureship next week, I would encourage you to come hear Paul Clark and myself in our 3:00pm session as we lead "Emerging Conversations with the Next Generation of Christians"... or so that's what the brochure describes it as. Come check it out, it's going to be a great discussion!

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>