So our lives have been ex-TV for the last two weeks. I’m proud to say I’m not desperately foaming at the mouth, and Katrina and I aren’t about to claw our eyes out from the boredom. In fact, we’ve had more silence and peace around here than we’ve had in awhile. We’ve had a chance to read more, to talk over meals, and to pray together. The best part about us getting rid of our TV is the story - so if you don’t mind, let me indulge:

We’d been trying to pawn off our TV for several months, each time chickening out - coming up with some excuse why we still needed it. It wasn’t until our good friends were putting on a garage sale that we finally worked up enough courage to pull the plug on our TV habit.

Let me tell you, hauling a 27 inch TV down a flight of stairs and shoving it into a two door car is not an easy job - but we did it. Then we hauled it out into the middle of a field (the “best” place for a garage sale…where’s the garage!?!) and set it up next to all the other stuff we could bear to part with.

Browsers and perusers kept eying the TV, but there were no takers. One lady “bought” it, but when she illegedly tried to “plug it into her car” it wouldn’t turn on. DUH. I’m not sure what that was all about, but we were happy to give her her money back when she started yelling profusely.

Then came this great Hispanic couple. They wanted to buy our TV, but didn’t have enough to make the full purchase. It was the end of the day, and I wasn’t looking forward to carting that thing back to our upstairs apartment, not to mention have to deal with the ball and chain of a TV now that we finally felt free enough to sell it. So we sold it for less than it was worth, and even drove it up to their house for them. Their words were full of joy and excitement. They pointed to their family’s names in the concrete. I noticed a few Scripture verses scrawled into their front porch.

As I was installing the TV, the wife asked if I liked tamales. When I responded in the affirmative, she left the room and brought back a big stack of homemade tamales! She confessed she was embarrassed they couldn’t afford to pay what I was asking for the TV, but would like to pay for the rest in tamales. I loved it! Believe me, those tamales were a gift of hospitality, not just a payment for the TV. I feel like I could’ve hung out there all day. It was a real place of peace.  That’s how the world ought to work in my opinion.  A world where capitalism looses ground and communism is unnecessary.  A sharing and redistributing of personal resources, rather than living off cash.  It’s old school, but I like it.

So, much like giving away a puppy, I was glad to know that our TV was in the hands of a good family. I suppose that only reveals my covert TV idolizing, and reveals how happy I am that its out of our house.

Now its on to bigger and better things. God is too big for prime time.

 I met Greg Scott online through his blog.  He is a teaching pastor for a network of a simple churches in Joliet, IL (southwest suburbs of Chicago).  Our conversations are always edifying - thought I’d share just one:

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me: for me, i love a good parable - i’ve got friends who make youtube video parables

4:02 PM not sure (about the hc layers) - i know that in life, we sociologically have “crowds” the “72″ the “12 disciples” the “peter, james and john” as well as a “beloved”.

4:03 PM my fear is that in church entertainment, we have lost the beauty of a “band of brothers” (or sisters) that fight for our heart and encourage us on the journey

4:04 PM my friend wrote a great piece on how the church is like a fractal community. check it out here: http://towardsimplicity.net/?page_id=925

i think this has profound implications for being a fluid, organic church

4:06 PM Greg: hmmm. I’ll check it out becasue I basically disagree with the socialogical statement you made. I don’t think that happens naturally at all and so, most people don’t have that at all

4:07 PM me: tell me more

4:10 PM Greg: Well, in our society expecially, there is a natural tendency toward selfishness and self-centeredness. combined with our “conecting” via technology (any I am not against using it as a tool) almost exclusively is creating a society that is more and more shallow, selfabsorbed, unconnected and detached -

  and we like it taht way.

  Most Christinas don’t have two or three other families that they conect with except on a sunday or a formatted small group

4:11 PM who are there 72?

  Who is intimate enough to speak to as Jesus spoke to the 12?

  RARELY do we find someone iwth a 3 or 4 that can be intimately discipled through life circumstances

  It is all too time consuming and requires more than most are willing to give

4:12 PM Okay, I’m ranting a bit, but it is going to be on e of the most difficult things that the SC’s will face

 me: yeah…maybe i should say its not a “sociological” reality, but a divine desire

4:13 PM people DESIRE community - those 2 or 3 bro or sis’ - but few are ready to see it become a reality

  sort of like Cole’s LTG’s, but more like life, less like a program

4:14 PM Greg: Well, again - are you sure?

 me: they desire community, but they don’t know how to FEED that desire.

4:15 PM not sure if that makes sense…i’m interested in your feedback

4:17 PM Greg: what I mean is that most of the 20 somethings that I run into and get a chance to talk with - are AFRAID of relational intimacy. they are avoiding it unless it comes with a built in buffer like alcohol, internet, limited time involvement such as work, etc. Several of them are now Christians and NOW they see that the life they were choosing was keeping them alone and lonely, but at the time - it was their security

  BTW - same is true with many older people as well

4:18 PM me: that sounds like a bunch of people i know

  myself included. tacit intimacy (blogs, txts) are good for keeping in touch, but few seem to know what to do with more than “keeping in touch”

4:19 PM so the big q for me is: do we even proclaim another reality? one that speaks of God’s innate intimacy he shares with himself and his creation? and if so, how?

4:20 PM Greg: It sems to me that we are entering a phase of spiritual living that will require us to encroach into peoples “space” and security - but as a culture and as a church we are running the opposite direction trying to meet the felt neds of people who are feeling things in a decidedly unhealthy way

  sorry was typing istead of finishing reading

  I think yo have to more thna ever

  and lovign enough to risk losing relationships is going to be hard and vital

4:21 PM me: good point

4:22 PM Greg: I may also just be involved in what Gpod is saying to me about this church I’m speaking at that I’m overanalyzing the whole thing too…

4:23 PM me: ya know, i think if anyone can teach us community, it is Christ…him and maybe the the most elderly in our nation.

4:24 PM they lived a life of community - neighbors in each other’s kitchen cabinets, children playing together in the street…and NO internet!

  while community would’ve been limited, it would’ve meant something

4:25 PM anytime intimacy in community is pursued by my wife and i, others consider us joining a cult or something

4:27 PM Greg: makes me wonder if there is a connection between Daniels “Many will go here and there to increase knowledge” and Jesus’ “the love of many will grow cold”

  If they called Jesus andhis follwers a cult

  we should expect the same

  maybe we should be most concerned when we are accepted as “normal”

4:29 PM me: ha, good point

  let me ask something of you -

4:30 PM trina and i are moving to chicago in the summer. i know we’ll be in contact in some way, hopefully staying in meaningful friendship and ministry together…

4:31 PM …trina and i want to pursue community hard - communion with God, and with his people. But I think friendships that help guide HOW we do that is of utmost importance.

4:32 PM through discernment, wisdom, etc, i’m hoping you’ll help us find healthy, deep community that helps us get over our self-centeredness

 Greg: Now, while I agree with you - God thinks you are completely funny…

4:33 PM Sam and I have been struggling through how worldly we have become with our possessions, home, - all the nice things we’ve accumulated over a few years

  and I should be asking you to help me consider how to give up these “hard earned” things

4:34 PM His calling is a constant reminder that we are to be a people wo “mourn”

  nothte dead around us…

  but the things we are constantly dying to to follow Jesus adequately

  If I can help you, yo have whatever I can give, but I will not claim it to be much…

4:37 PM me: great. this is encouraging. at times i get overwhelmed with the task of “casting vision of the good news” to people who have no concept of it and seem not to want it at all. it seems you’re equally as frustrated with people who just want to remain isolated and selfish.

4:38 PM Greg: I think I am past being frutrated, but that leaves me -

4:39 PM me: its great to discover that i’m running beside others like yourself- those who are truly desiring another way of life - another economy of God’s shalom

 Greg: angry is the word that comes to mind - but it is an angry at myself that asks “What are you goign to do about it?”

4:40 PM Yes, It is good form my perspective to not feel alone as well

  It helps me to be bolder

  and less fearful

4:41 PM me: that to me is good news! that to me is part of what the “church” is - learning to get over ourself and learn from others/love others.

4:42 PM Greg: yep

  a thought about your friends blog…

4:43 PM It seems like pretty much what you read from SC/HC advocates until he says, “and nobody needs to have more than two of these centered groups..”

4:44 PM At that point my interest is piqued as I have been wondering how to get the tow house churches I am working with out of thier “church in a box in a home” mentality of being happy with their circumstances and loving each other - but not reaching out to anyone else

4:45 PM And is it as simple as implementing a “2 group” expectation?

4:46 PM Your “safe” group where you are built up and encouraged - and your “dangerous” group where everything you are is on the line with Jesus?

 me: i like the language there

4:47 PM Greg: I’m wondering if I shouldn’t modify his thought to everyone NEEDS be involved in two groups to be trulyhealthy

4:48 PM I have been at the point of simply wanting to disband the whole thing just to try and split them up - but the truth is they do a LOT of ministry together. But it seldom involves more than them packing boxes or writing checks

4:50 PM Itis weird, but if churches were suddenly the targets of terrorists and people began meeting in homes

  each one of them could and would lead a SC

  But to reach out to the world around them in this way is beyond their willingness to do

4:51 PM I do have to smile, though, at the thought of Jesus drawing out the fractal diagrams in the dirt for his disciples…

4:52 PM me: ha, yeah

It started out as just another gathering. The little family of faith that Katrina and I meet with had plans to meet at our new apartment to share what Jesus had been up to in our lives. Little did we know that he would wait until we had all gathered to show us!

A few weeks earlier we had all prayed about becoming less of a “church” (regular worship time, devotional/Bible study, closing prayer, etc) and more of Christ’s body (eyes open to the needs of the world, sharing abundant life, etc). This meant big changes in how we operated, and even how we identified our “congregation” (I don’t think we’ve used the word “church” since). We began plotting and prayerfully planning how we might be Jesus by caring about what he cared about. It only took one or two weeks for our first assignment to fall into our laps!

Our friend Mary came to us last night with something weighing on her heart. Earlier that day she had met three travelers whose radiator had busted and were now broken down in the Wal-Mart parking lot. We prayed about it and several of us decided to head out to do what we could to help them.

At first I was a little nervous; one guy was really big and wore a dirty hooded sweatshirt, and had two dogs (one was a pit bull!). But as I began hearing their story, the walls began to come down. These people were kind, thoughtful and just as interested in us as they were in getting their car running again. They said they were driving to New Mexico to scout out the next gathering for a group that call themselves the “Rainbow Family of the Traveling Light” (take a look at their Glossary, which I found to be quite amusing and informative).

Apparently, Rainbow Family is a diverse group that meets regularly out in the woods to pray for peace (in whatever religious angle they happen to hold, or not hold) and to welcome others “home” who have left their jobs, cars, and civilization behind (”Babylon” as they call it). I had always heard about “hippies” (I’m not sure they would claim the term), but until last night I had never actually met any…so I was very curious.
Secretly, I have always been fascinated with their lifestyle, and their ability to rely on the earth and each other for all that they need. Their focus was on peace and healing from destructive forces. They took a huge group down to New Orleans to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina, they continually feed the poor and homeless, even as they are homeless themselves, and make sure no one is left without.
After strumming together on their mandolins (I need to pull mine out again SOON!), we went for coffee. For being so resistant against “mainline lifestyles”, they seemed pretty comfortable in a yuppie coffee shop. I asked them pretty frank questions, and assured them that I meant no offense. We talked about their past, their families, and why they would choose such a radical lifestyle. It was so strange because it all sounded so much like the words of Jesus critiquing the kingdoms of earth and the Prince of the Air.

They asked what I wanted to do with my life, and I told them that I wanted to share the lifestyle of Christ - one that was radically prophetic against the prevailing cultures of comfort and injustice that they found so oppressive. I told them that it might mean living simply, in a home that didn’t hurt the earth, and in a job that didn’t hurt my family. It might mean helping someone out of addiction, or rescuing someone from abuse. They Good News was a lifestyle to be lived, not a track to be passed out.
I told them that Jesus Christ had been castrated and domesticated to fit our lifestyles, rather than the other way around. They seemed pretty pumped up about that, and they realized in our conversation that in many ways they followed Jesus already. I told them that the Kingdom of God was closer than they thought. The whole dialog was pretty surreal, but I give thanks to Father for speaking through me.

If Christians want to learn a thing or two from others, its not going to be from the business world (as so many best-selling church growth books would have you believe) - it might just come from a wooded lot in New Mexico. Here’s a few things I learned from my new hippie friend:

When asked about staying motivated to practice my mandolin, he responded: “If it doesn’t sound good the first time you play it, don’t play it again. And, if you don’t catch yourself smiling every now and again as you play, you’re probably doing something wrong. In fact, that goes for life too.”

“Humans have three lower functions and three higher functions. The three lower functions are to eat, sleep and poop. Anyone can do these. The three higher functions are listening, learning and creating. You MUST be able to share and work with others peacefully to get to the higher functions.”

“Our culture doesn’t love because we don’t trust each other.  That’s why its so hard to find help when we’re stranded on the highway.  Whatever happened to hospitality that Christians showed thousands of years ago?  I guess we can all blame Hitcher for our problems…”

I pray fervently for more opportunities to BE CHRIST together as a spiritual community; nothing nourishes me more - no worship song, no sermon topic, nothing.  This for me is the Good News, that the Kingdom of God came near last night, and we’ll never be the same.

From the Irresistible Revolution:

“Too often we do what makes sense to us and ask God to bless it.  In the Beatitudes, God tells us what God blesses - the poor, the peacemakers, the hungry, those who mourn, those who show mercy - so we should not ask God’s blessing on a declaration that we will have no mercy on evildoers.  We know all to well that we have a God who shows mercy on evildoers, for if he didn’t we’d all be in big trouble, and for that this evildoer is very glad.  Rather than do what makes sense to us and ask God’s blessing, we’d do better to surround ourselves with those whom God promises to bless, and then we need not ask God’s blessing.  It’s just what God does.”

He’s talking to America when he says, “we should not ask God’s blessing on a declaration that we will show no mercy to evildoers.”  How many times have you seen God’s name associated with the political agendas of this nation?  Or of this world?  “God bless America!”  “God bless this nation!”  Did you know that people in Iraq look at what those in our government leading the war in Iraq and call them “Christian extremists”?  I’m thankful thaht so far they haven’t written all of the Christian faith off over such insanity! Whatever happened to Christians following a Prince of Peace?

Maybe the answer to this nationalistic religion which breeds violence of the foreigner (whether Muslim or Christian) is learning to begin following the Way of Christ.  His teachings on God’s propensity to blessing the poor, the peacemakers, the hungry, etc. is closer than we think to a simple yet profound strategy for world peace.  When we stop following our own “God-blessed” propositions and begin getting to know those whom God has already blessed (see the above list), we begin to discover the mighty ways of God’s Kingdom.

See, American Christians can be so turned around that they read books like the Prayer of Jabez and conclude that God wants to bless them with tons of money and success.  I don’t think Wilknson (the author) necessarily saw how people were going to take his book.  It just tells me that we think that we know better than Jesus does what God should bless.  “It shoure ain’t the poor, cuz that’s what I am now, and I don’t feel blessed!”

Feeling poor?  Down and out?  You are not far from the Kingdom of God.  Feeling distant from God?  Head downtown, look down the alleys; you might find him there.  Head to Iraq as a peacemaker (not a peacekeeper, Clint Eastwood!).  Give away your lunch to someone who hasn’t seen one in days, comfort someone grieving…you’ll find that God and his blessing is not far from any one of us.
Next to the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

Does she sound American anymore?

Reading from Acts 20 this morning. I was struck by Paul’s farewell speech in Ephesus. He had just spent the last 3 years there, and is now saying goodbye. This is one of the churches he would later write the great letter Ephesians to; his treatise on Christ and his Bride, the Church.

In Acts 20:34, Paul mentions that by his own hands he worked among them to meet his needs, (thus keeping people from being burdened down by having to support him financially). He wasn’t a mooch or a slacker, but he also wasn’t stingy – he also saw his job as a tentmaker as an opportunity to help the weak. This urge to give away his earnings came from Paul’s christocentric orientation; thinking about “What Jesus Would Do”. He quotes his Lord, “It is better to give than to receive.”

This is the very end of Paul’s farewell address to a church that he dearly loves?…A side note about his pay earnings and his tax-deductible donations? How strange. One might think he would be busting at the seams, calling out names of beloved friends and hugging people around the neck. But maybe there is something more – something more profound.

Could it be that Paul is on a last ditch effort to help the Ephesians catch a vision of God’s economics? Might Paul be passing out a fresh, new currency in the Kingdom of God? Paul worked hard, and then gave hard. He never saw his money and things as his own, but was consistently sharing and giving. I recently discovered a collective of thousands of Christians who pool their money each month in order to cover each other’s medical bills. A sort of “spiritual family health insurance”.

Much could be said for the repercussions of the Western Church who has exported most of her distinctive, benevolent qualities to the government (welfare) or to para-church organizations (evangelism, anyone?). Suffice it to say that we are now coming to a crossroads in our part of the world where the sluggish, obese, and hibernating Bride is rousing from her winter slumber, and will have the choice to hit the snooze button, or to get up and start working off the excess that’s been weighing her down for so long. It will be her chance to reclaim the joy of interdependent living, where she is once again circulating the blood of Christ throughout the entire Body, sharing and sharing alike.

From the heart to the gut to the ends of the fingers and toes, it is essential that Christ’s body learn that they rely on each other, and that their jobs on this earth exist not just for themselves, but for their faith community as well. This interdependence is not only theologically sound, but also missiologically. If Paul expected this to be a sustainable movement, he would have to expect that followers of Christ would continue to keep their jobs, yet begin to think about how to view those jobs as a subset of their true vocation – disciples. “How does my Lord want me to use this money he has given me? How can he further the Kingdom through this insignificant offering?”

A church planting movement happens, like many chemical reactions, through catalysts. A catalyst is something that is used to cause a chain reaction that spreads throughout, but the catalyst is not used up in the process. In fact it is the chemical created through the catalyst that actually regenerates the catalyst. Sharing and sharing alike. We need catalysts in the Body of Christ today. People who are giving to the emerging church planting movement, but are not being depleted or burnt-out in the process. I am so blessed to have people like that in my life right now, and I am seeing the Kingdom expand through those efforts.

Can anyone be a full-time missionary who is supported by churches far and away? Sure, for a time Paul was! But he tried to keep away from that as much as possible, knowing that it would only lead to tainting his Gospel message. My prayer is that when I finish school, to enter the work force, but to leave some sanity in my schedule to devote to engaging people with the Kingdom of God. Not for my sake, but because

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”