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  • Mark 2:57 pm on June 22, 2007 Permalink | Reply
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    Knowing When to Surf 

    not-a-good-day-for-surfing.jpg

    One of the great takeaways from our Wikicclesia gathering last Saturday was hearing people from different walks of the Christ-life sharing what they see God doing on their journey. It was great to see lots of people I knew and some I had never met before describing a similar story to my own. It means that God’s is working sovereignly, above and beyond what us humans can coordinate, to pull his Church together.

    We got to hear the story of Agent B, something I always love hearing. One of the ways he described what it is like following Jesus in his life was the image of “surfing”. I’ll loosely paraphrase:

    “Listening to Jesus and living this life is a lot like surfing the waves. You don’t always know when the conditions are going to be just right for that perfect day of surf, so you always have to be ready and waiting. Keeping your eye on the horizon, watching weather patterns and hoping that the planets throughout the whole universe will perfectly align just so you can have a day out in the water. If you wait too long to respond, even 10 minutes, you could miss the opportunity.”

    This was a watershed moment for me. Over the last 2 years, my own prayer life has been honed to a basic assumption that Jesus does care about me and actually reveals things to me when I listen to him. And what B described was the need not only to be intentional about listening, but also be just as intentional on diligently following through with action.

    “Those who hear my words and put them into practice is like a man who builds his house on solid rock.” ( or in this case…’is like a bodacious surfer-dude’)

    Sometimes I feel like I hear from Him, but I just add it to my to-do list and never get around to it. I see the waves are perfect, but I keep my surfboard polished and dry.

    I’m ready to play in the waters.

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  • Mark 9:50 am on June 19, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

    Agenda Giving Way to Life 

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    There has been a new shift in many of the conversations I’ve been having with leaders in the “simple church” circles. And the latest podcast from The God Journey focuses keenly on this topic as well. Its the notion of bringing “agendas” to Christian gatherings – most of those I’ve talked with and listened to are pretty against doing something like this, calling instead for a simple “family life” orientation.

    What does that look like? Instead of someone coming prepared with a lesson, another person ready to lead a prayer and some songs, or what have you, meetings are simply a hang out time for Christ-followers. Basically a place to share a meal and engage in conversation.

    Many of those who are of this persuasion find it maddening to show up at a gathering expecting it just to be an agenda-less, family-style gathering, only to become frustrated when they find someone else taking the reins and steering the meeting into a Bible Study or a personal rant they feel God has called them to share.

    I personally find the “agenda-less” philosophy of living as a church hard to swallow. In many ways I think there have been several in the family of faith I’m a part of who have left because we have leaned toward an “agenda-less” gathering. We used to volunteer to facilitate the prayer, praise, and Word times the week before, and come prepared with something to share. As we moved on we stopped doing that, and some thought that we just weren’t doing anything when we came together.  In some ways I agree with them.  It seems that (at least in my experience) when you go too long without an agenda, your group devolves into a social club, or just a time to gossip and watch movies.

    Last Sunday our network had a Father’s Day Celebration at one of our elders’ homes. It was a 2 hour pool party with a cookout, followed by a time of worship and sharing. It was absolutely touching to see the elderly sitting on the floor with the children playing with blocks and praising the Lord in common song. It was also great to share in communion that someone passed around and prayed for, and others shared how Christ was working in their lives. Simple, profound.

    It didn’t feel like anyone had an agenda – although there were people who had things they felt they needed to share.

    Maybe there is a third way.

    There are certain times when a certain “agenda” needs to be addressed in a community. We certainly see Paul with agendas – routing out sin, establishing leaders, focusing on Christ’s death and resurrection as the centrality of the Gospel and the Church. But there are times when gatherings should just be a party; a relaxed, informal gathering of believers who come to hang out. Maybe the key to it all is like riding the waves (a great image from my buddy B).

    We’ve got to take the pressure off the “meeting time”. When we focus more on life in the Body than on seeing “God show up” in a 2 hour time slot, we’ll see him appear all week long. We’ll have the chance (like we did last Sunday) to bring the words and songs and “agendas” GOD has given us, and everyone will feel his presence when we gather in Jesus’ name.

    This means meeting more than once a week at the same time, and it also means not meeting every single week. It is the ebb and flow of relationship, and it is also learning that our “church” does not have a membership list – we ARE the Church with each other and the whole world. It means leaning not on our own understanding, but on God’s wisdom for what we need to be doing next.

    Listening to Jesus, doing what he says, and finding LIFE together as God’s family. A great tag line for the Church, don’t you think?

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    • Chadd 10:28 am on June 22, 2007 Permalink

      Mark – I like what you wrote. I agree with your observations regarding and agenda free approach to our times together. I think many of us are clearer about what we don’t want than what we are really for. Our experience with groups that are so focused on the “agenda” of one or two people that they become pastor centered…our experience with groups that are so focused on a set order of events or a set study book.

      I think the result of this is that we sometimes swing too far the other way that we don’t use the giftedness and experiences that God has given us to build up and encourage the group. We’re too afraid that we might have an agenda…or that someone else has an agenda.

      I agree with you that there is a third way…a way that recognizes that anyone or perhaps several people may bring the “agenda” today…a way that always is ready to yield to God’s change of direction…a way that believes that if each person brings something to the table…

      We use the metaphor of a “potluck” meal where each person is encouraged (even expected) to bring something to the table. Then, as the different “ingredients” are tasted and combined, often a great meal comes together. The key is that everyone brings something…and that the group grows in its ability to discern together and build on what has been brought…to allow God’s Spirit to make connections.

      Thanks again for your observations my brother.

    • Mark 3:01 pm on June 22, 2007 Permalink

      Chadd, great to hear from you! And I totally love the metaphor.

      There are lots of pendulums we fight against all throughout life. Either we swing too far one way, or too far the other way. Thank you for helping us flesh out the “third way” which is always so elusive to discover but so essential to moving on in our life with Jesus.

      You the man Chadd! Miss you!

  • Mark 9:16 am on June 14, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

    Current Goings On 

    So much is happening.  It looks like today’s post might be one of those eclectic, A.D.D. posts.

    ———

    Last weekend Katrina and I drove all the way up to middle Tennessee for a family reunion retreat in the middle of Natchez Trace State Park.  It was an amazing journey up (including submitting a paper for a class by email while sitting in a Super 8 Motel parking lot!), and Katrina and I had a lot of time to talk a bunch of big things through.  The weekend itself was very nostalgic/avant-garde.  My family is a mixture of ultra-conservative non-institutional Church of Christ folks, and a branch of extreme-prophetic non-denominational neo-charismatics.  And then there’s Katrina and I who “don’t go to church anywhere”.  So its always interesting when we bust out the song books and break out in worship.  Good ole’ unity in Christ.  I guess Paul said we were “one” in Christ, not one in church.  Surprisingly, we had a lot of people get really excited about our mission work, and committed to praying for us.  Awesome!

    ———

    This Saturday is Wikicclesia, a chance for people who are living on the edges of God’s Kingdom and/or leading communities of God to come together and share what they’ve learned so far.  That’s why we’re calling it “Wikicclesia” – “cclesia” since that is the Greek word for gathering or church, and “wiki” because its set up not as a lecture-conference, but with lots of round tables, markers, and huge sheets of paper for brainstorming.  Everyone is encouraged to share what they’ve learned, which informs how the day goes – think of the day as an article on Wikipedia – the whole thing takes shape under the leadership of many, and truthfully, under the leadership of the Spirit.  Cool!  If you’re in the area and would like to attend, follow the link above and contact those at that email address.  Or just leave me a comment.

    ———

    We’re reading some great books, thanks to a little book on speed reading.  Here’s a few on our list right now:  Deep Economy: the wealth of economies and the durable future,  Global Chicago, Wikinomics: how mass collaboration changes everything, and The Jesus Way: a conversation on the ways that Jesus is the Way.   Speed reading has been such a “freeing” tool for me and her lately; we have so much we want to learn (and remember) and speed reading helps us through the stack of library books before they’re all due.  And the TV can just stay off for all I’m concerned.

    ———

    Yesterday I went out with Kent and Miller to the 411 Project.  Miller and others have been working hard!  Much of the land has been cleared, simple shelters and structures have been erected, goats have a real pen, chickens have their roost…and the well is being dug.  Miller plans to use the dirt dug out for the well to make compressed earth blocks for his family’s house.  It was great fun learning and working with him on the making a few of these powerful bricks.  I’ve not written on this before, but Katrina and I are keenly interested in this type of building as a sustainable and durable alternative (not to mention affordable!) to traditional stick-and-insulation homes for our own living situation.  While the project is just getting started, I can say already that the 411 project has brought beauty out of a forgotten land, and is restoring it to a state that brings glory to God.

    ———

    I suppose that’s what I’ve got time to toss up here for now.  I keep waiting for the summer to slow down so I can get in a more blogarific mood, but I’m still waiting I guess.  Time to catch up on reading your blog!

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