If you come to our “Green Valley Abbey” (what we’ve deemed our home; a Christian communal living/ neo-monastery), you’ll find a group of us just starting to live into becoming a spiritual family for each other. We don’t have it all figured out yet - not even close! - but our goal is simply to begin implementing intentional rhythms of life together. Here are some things we’re trying so far:

Morning Vigils have been a way for all of us to gather together and center on the Lord and minister to each others hearts in the morning before we head off to our various activities. Since our goal is not to spend all of our social life together (thus cutting us off from others we could reach out to and draw into Christ and his community), we see this time as our way of daily fighting for one another’s hearts. Our morning vigil is focused specifically on who is present, and inviting Christ to lead us through our day in his presence.

Evening meals around the table have naturally become a centerpiece to our community. Almost every night of the week we gather around the dinner table and share a meal together, discussing the day’s events. Some nights the conversation is light and playful, other nights we engage in theological dialogue, other nights we may not say anything at all…

Each Sunday, the ladies divvy up who will cook on which nights, and write out grocery lists for the upcoming week. Living together allows there to be nights off from certain tasks, and gives opportunity to bless others by cooking or cleaning up after them. (Guys need to take over cooking sometime!!!)
Most Abbeys have a garden that all the members tend to for food and beautification of the grounds. While the ladies may have the food part down, the men are working on the outdoor gardens. Tilling, planting, mulching…the closer you are to the Earth, the better you are able to get to know your brother. This has been especially fun for me, and slowly and surely, we are working into a rhythm for mowing, watering, etc.

Finally, and most importantly, we don’t want this to be “all about us”. We are constantly inviting others over to experience this communal life. It’s a lot of fun! So far we’ve had a Fourth of July cookout, and there are plans for future days of celebration (that may correlate to the Christian calendar). In addition to these, once a month the Abbey grounds open up for visitors interested in hearing from God. Early Saturday morning, people arrive in quiet and simply find a place, indoor or outdoor, to sit and listen. Some lay out in the grass, others keep their nose in a book. After an hour and a half or so, we ring a bell, and invite everyone to breakfast, where we can share what we heard from the Lord that morning. So far, it has been some of the most encouraging conversations we’ve had in our Abbey.

We are calling this a “holy experiment” because we really don’t know how all of this will turn out. Truly, we just want to be transformed by Jesus, and our conviction is that we find great opportunity in the midst of a community fully centered on Him. Whatever we do - we want it to be life-giving, rather than rote or just busy-ness. I’d love feedback, and of course, suggestions on other things we could try implementing into our life rhythms together.

One major memory from my childhood was Mom and Dad reading to me. An especially intriguing tale entitled Mickey Mouse and His Boat has been on my mind lately (stupid neurons, firing without cause or want..let’s see how well I remember the details).

Its the story of Mickey and his lovable puppy Pluto, enjoying a nice day of fishing in his sturdy, red, (and modest) boat. Before long, his best buddy Goofy putters up in a nice looking blue motor boat, and before long Mickey and Goofy are engaged in a conversation about what men like talking about best: comparisons. Mickey feels the urge to upgrade, and he asks Goofy if he’d like to trade vessels. Goofy seems hesitant at first, but when Mickey throws in his fish net as collateral, Goofy obliges.

So Mickey and Pluto are off in their nice motor boat, enjoying a day of fishing in their nicely sized motor boat. Suddenly, a monstrously sized wave crashes into the side of their new boat, almost flipping it over. Mickey, scared out of his mind, peers over the side of the boat to see Horace Horsecollar sitting pretty in a brand new Zoom2000, a high powered speed boat, white with gold trim, and a lower deck for convenient dining. Mickey’s eyes sparkled with envy, and after some coaxing, Horace is traded Mickey’s boat, along with his tackle box.

Mickey’s speedy new boat has Pluto sea sick, and Mickey has all but forgotten about fishing as he races around the edges of the lake. Later that afternoon however, Mickey, who had dozed off, is awakened by Scrooge McDuck’s yacht, which had inadvertently bumped into his Zoom2000. Once again, Mickey’s eyes widened, and after a long, heated banter with Scrooge, Mickey sells his Zoom2000, his fishing pole, Pluto, and probably all his Disney stocks and bonds too.

So, the last page of the story is a nice picture of Mickey, staring out across the lake, watching everyone else enjoying some great fishing and time together. He could see Pluto barking excitedly as Goofy, Horace, and Scrooge reeled in another fish. Looks like Mickey was trapped, hook, line, and sinker into America’s cardinal virtue: GREED.

How might Disney perceive this book today? What about Microsoft? Mastercard? Wal-Mart? What about the United States? What about me? Why do I nab at every opportunity for financial gain? Why do my eyes glisten when a new toy comes out, why do I burn every time a “Jones” buys a new car or erradicates all their school debt? Where have I put my fishing pole? Have I lost friends, dear friends for the sake of GREED?

“When the time for silence comes, I ask you to take up your position for prayer (and sitting is usually best for most of us) and then, having asked the help of the Holy Spirit, to be content to wait patiently, expectantly, lovingly, longingly.  Try to realize that this is all you can do for yourself.  God must do the rest.  See yourself as the parched ground looking upwards waiting patiently for the rain to fall.  You can only wait.”

– Fr Roger Schultz of Taize

Vacare Deum    - “Be free for God.”

A great news report on porches today got me thinking: just how “holed up” is our culture anyway? What about the modern conveniences of air conditioning, washing machines, indoor plumbing (okay, that ones kinda modern), and even backyards can drastically isolate people from one another. What a different world I find as I make my way through some of the poorer neighborhoods in Abilene, noticing how many people are available for conversation and the foundations of community from their front porch!

Are we really doing ourselves such a service by keeping ourselves cool, inconvenienced, and plenty of elbow room? What have I missed out on as a member of the human race by remaining hunkered down under a little roof all by myself, knowing that there are souls sent by God living right next door??? Kinda makes me wanna go tribal or something.

Porches are the place of “refuge and prospect”. Even in the caveman days, families stand at the entrance to their caves, spanning the horizons of the fields and forests below them, while still keeping their back close to a place they can always seek solace and safety. With home just behind, and the world before us, we too participate in this human propensity with the invention of the porch.

Of course, this is just the beginning - you know that before long, once people start meeting each other with friendly glances or hand waves, there will be conversation, dialogue, and neighbors that trust each other. Cross cultural divides will be broken down, isolated marriages will be strengthened, and before long, sidewalks will be built - to help transport people from porch to porch! This slippery slope is not hard to follow…soon there will be porch barbeques, block parties, and - with a little help of God’s Spirit - life transforming experiences.

America is on the upswing from almost half a century of being dominated by backyard, screened-in porches and decks. 14 years ago, 42% of new single-family homes were built with front porches, whereas today it is up to 53%.

I believe strongly that the Good News of Jesus Christ is centered around the story of his life, death, and resurrection. I also believe that the message of that story is constantly changing to speak to the people of the culture. The isolated American culture will hear the Good News when they see communities that are not afraid of each other. They will hear the Gospel when they are invited into a family that transforms. They will hear the Gospel on a porch.

Today Katrina and I sat down and took a good hard look at how much longer we will be in Abilene.  A pretty daunting task, but all the same a quite encouraging one.  Our plans since we can remember praying about it have been to leave Abilene once I complete my MDiv and move up to the great Windy City (Chicago) and settle in there as domestic missionaries.  As things look from today’s peering into the future (no crystal balls needed, just degree plans), we’ll be tying our bed mattress to the roof of our car and heading North December 2007.  The weight of having a deadline like that makes me all the more interested in thinking through the big questions:

- Where will we live?  Does it make a difference?  What kinds of people do we want to interact with?  What sorts of markets, entertainment, and hang-out joints do we want near our place?

- How will I provide for my family?  Should I begin raising support right now?  Should I raise support at all?  How will I engage the community with my work?
- What should we be praying for?  How does God redeem a whole city for his Kingdom?  Where do we fit into his plan of worldwide reconcilliation?

and truly, the most definitive question of the day:

- Cubs, or White Sox?