Katrina here. Today is the dawning of a new day! I’m going to start writing my *great* posts here on this blog. All of the posts on katrinawillis.wordpress.com will be art-specific, so be sure to check those out (or sign up for an RSS feed) if you’re interested in the art posts (I post those quasi-monthly).

In North America, we have a hard time sitting still, being quiet, or being with others in silence. Noise = comfort. In high school, I used to study with the TV running and the computer and a side conversation going at the same time. And I would venture to say that high schoolers today are doing the same thing still. I’m actually listening to music as I write this now. Try this exercise: take five minutes, and if you have one near, set an alarm to let you know when the 5 minute mark hits. Turn your computer screen off. Sit upright in the quiet and focus on one thing in the room. Breathe deeply. Try to let you mind STOP. Do not go to sleep.

….. how was it?

If you’re anything like me, you probably have experienced days where you’re thinking deeply on something… and there is constant brain chatter (leading to anxiousness). I wake up thinking about “things” and I spend the entire day thinking about “things” as if my thinking will result in some sort of change. “If I just think deeply or hard enough, I’ll live wisely.” If I meet someone who doesn’t “think” as much as I “think” then they’re obviously more hollow headed than me. End of story. Until recently…

I have been seeking peace of mind. Jesus told us that those who listen to him and do what he says will be like the man who built his house on the rock. When the rains come and the winds blow, the house will sit firm. But those who only listen to his words build their house on the sand. The writer of Proverbs says that as a dog returns to its vomit so a fool returns to his folly (26:11). In English, we call this rumination. We’re so comfy with our own vomit that we won’t seek out new food.

I’ve just recently read Armchair Mystic by Mark Thibodeaux and Getting Things Done by David Allen. In the mix, I’ve also been meditating on the Matthew 6:33 mantra (Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all of these things shall be added to you…)

The result has been the freeing art of the brain dump. What? How do you do that? Stay tuned.

We had a breakthrough today…literally.

I spent the morning with Miller today digging the biggest hole I’ve ever seen made by human hands.  I mean, its huge.  It’s the kind of hole my elementary school self would have been proud of.

Apparently he’s been working on it with some other friends for quite some time.  When I arrived on the scene it was already down to about 10 feet.  We had a pulley system with a bucket to bail to dirt out…the whole schebang.  A hand dug well…that’s a first for a city-boy like me.

We both took turns picking and shoveling ourselves further and further into God’s good earth.  The only air moving around down thereis the kind you make…and believe me, you’d rather the still air to that.  :)  While Miller and I shoveled, hauled, and conversed, I allowed myself to feel God’s presence in the absolutely mundane.  There is nothing glorious about what was happening there this morning, and yet, stilling my heart was probably the best thing that could have happened to me today.

Every time I work with Miller out on his land, I get a whiff of God’s dream for humankind.  Humans are to work with their hands; to labor and sweat to produce something beautiful.  We’ve moved away from the ways in which God intended.  I mean, most of my profession as a student is just sitting in a chair facing forward, poking away at plastic bits and watching lights flash on a screen.  I never feel more satisfied than when I look back on a day I’ve poured work and sweat into, and seen the results.

As our time out on his land was nearing an end (it was STANKIN’ HOT!), we hit water!  It was no powerful geyser, but it was a definite trickle.  Praise God!  He works in the small, and unimpressive to demonstrate his incredible, everlasting love.  The deep satisfaction on Miller’s face was priceless.  It was all worth it now.

I was reading Psalm 23 in the Hebrew, and as I began to dig into some of the words, I was amazed at what I found. I’m still not sure on some of the phrases (”my owl is full?”). But I am convinced that this Psalm has a lot more to say to my life right now than most of its English counterparts. Be blessed:

Psalm 23 - A Psalm for David.

The LORD is my shepherd; I am never lacking anything.

He causes me to lie down in green spaces; he brings me upon a place of quiet waters.

He brings back my soul. He guides me in tracks of justice, for the sake of his name.

Even as I walk into the valley of the death-shadow, I will not fear evil, because you are with me.

Your family and your (holistic) support they comfort me.

You arrange in the presence of my enemies a Table; you have anointed my head in oil, my cup is saturated. (or…my owl is full?)

Only a good and loving loyalty will pursue me all the days of my life.

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever and ever.

Yesterday we met with a man who has been on a journey to find Christ’s abundant life and has been desperate about getting this life to the poor, and socially oppressed. For decades Gary has been searching for a means of not only bringing someone to a decision to follow Christ, but to a healthy, sane lifestyle that radiates God’s shalom all the while still seeking after that life himself. He knows that’s what the Gospel looks like with skin on. He also knows how hard it is to try to introduce someone to that lifestyle by a simple weekly sermon or 6-week Bible Study.

Our conversations yesterday had nothing to do with where to go to church, or what we should do when we meet together. It focused on a dream that had been lost back in ancient Ireland, where Celtic Christianity found its wings. For the Celts in that area, life was consumed by fear, starvation, barbarian conquest, competition, and early death. People lived lives that didn’t expect rescue because that concept was simply never introduced to them. In was among these crazed people that 8-10 Christ-followers would settle, set up a shelter, community garden, simple farm life, and a general sense of peace. People in a town would soon be given the choice: live this life of madness and trepidation, or be welcomed with warmth, share veggies, and work together as a team for something that matters. The choice was simple: share in life together.

That is what it meant to become a Christian in those days. Not moral truths to be shelved next to contradicting values - it was sharing a life that didn’t happen just one hour on Sundays and Wednesdays.

Yesterday’s conversation came down to two reflections: To bring someone to not only a decision to follow Christ, but to a mature journey in the Lord, it takes at least these two things: (1) A belief in the comprehensive power of the workings of the Holy Spirit to transform lives [this is something those of us from Churches of Christ have a lot to learn] and (2) the kinds of vibrant communities that display a complete lifestyle of love before a disbelieving world.

This isn’t a complete list, but it got us thinking.

As we have been living into this missional, simple Christ-lifestyle, interesting questions have begun to pop up…questions that one normally wouldn’t ask if “going to church” and being a decent member of society was all it took.

In Abilene, I am deeply connected with MRNA, a graduate program functions as a mission-sending agency. It trains students to think missionally, and prepares them for the post-Christian culture of North America. It helps them to ease into a new life with Christ, where he is the head to an organic body, a body that spreads right across the globe - spiritual families meeting in homes and in pubs, others functioning as new monastic communities, and others celebrating God through massive weekend festivals, and more.

So as this year progresses, the MRNA students have been encouraged to begin visiting some of the existing house churches in our city, to get a sense of what is going on citywide. This is where the question comes in:

Does “house church-hopping” make any sense whatsoever in this new paradigm?

ACU students are famous for sampling any number of congregations without ever really placing membership somewhere. And even if they cast their lot with one group, that’s not to say that they don’t have at least two or three other churches where they regularly attend services. In a paradigm that puts the individual first, where spiritual consumerism is top priority, church hopping as a reality makes perfect sense. But when “church” means “family of natural relationships” is there any way someone should even consider sampling from the buffet of choices?

One lady in an organic church here in town told her group that she didn’t feel like her needs were getting met and decided to move to another fellowship. As if severing ties with her family were as simple as showing up for dinner at someone else’s house. In reality this broke the hearts of those in her faith family, and through that conversation they discovered that if her needs weren’t being met, it wasn’t because the church had a problem, but because for one reason or another, this lady couldn’t find the “well spring” inside herself that Jesus promises all those who accept his invitation to abundant life. Through that conversation, life erupted.
First thoughts: Church hopping in organic churches is an echo from a past life. We are still feeling the ripple effects of the “me first” mentality that comes from many traditional churches. In High School, it was impossible for me to skip around between lunch tables looking for who could give me the best lunch and conversation.  I would have been seen as shallow and greedy.  When we begin to see our spiritual families as the organic relationships of our lives, bouncing from one table to the next for spiritual goods and services doesn’t make much sense.

Thoughts?