Brennan Manning in sharp focus...

This week I got a call from a spiritual son, a young man whom I love, admire, respect and love as a son. He's sharp, real sharp. I had the privilege to be one who walked with him towards the Kingdom, and helped him get to know Christ personally. I've also had the privilege of speaking into his life, encouraging him, keeping my proverbial hand between his shoulder blades and speaking into his ear whispering the truth ...that I am proud of him, and he is doing great.

I share this because he called and wanted me to know he and his bride (and their young son) are leaving their church, one with long roots, family ties and many reasons to stay. To leave will cause ripples, hurts, misunderstandings and yet, he has to go and it will be hard, and he knows that and is doing what must be done.

One of many complex reasons involves the ethos of the leadership. I often speak, teach and write regarding my concerns for the church, and its corporate DNA, something that crept into the church over the past 60+ years and has ruined her. We operate on business sense, not the radical upside down realities of the Kingdom. Business models more resemble the church than the revolutionary, counter-American culture ethos of Biblical community, a people on the journey together, bringing the Kingdom. We've supplanted the glorious community of God's people with marketing and consumer centered approaches to being the church, and relegated ourselves to attracting and holding market share.

I have admired Brennan Manning for a long time. He speaks with the cutting truth we need to hear. He's not perfect, but his words are good counsel. During lent, a couple of guys in our community are reading his work, A Glimpse of Jesus. He writes a couple of poignant thoughts that I simply must share with you.
"Christian freedom is the joyful acceptance of this unprecedented and scandalous reversal of the world’s values. In sovereign liberty to prefer to be the servant rather than the lord of the household, to merrily taunt the gods of power, prestige, honor and recognition, to refuse to take oneself seriously (or to take seriously anyone who takes himself seriously!), to live without gloom by a lackey’s agenda, to dance to the tune of a different drummer and be captivated with joy and wonder at the vision and lifestyle of the Ebed Yahweh (Servant God) – these are the revolutionary attitudes that bear the stamp of genuine and unmistakable discipleship. So central is Jesus’ teaching on humble apprenticeship and serving love as the royal road to the Kingdom that at the final judgment, God Himself disappears and is visible only in our brothers and sisters. “What you did for those around you, you did for me.” (Matthew 25.40) I would rather be numbered among the little band who have at least learned this from Jesus and the Bible than among the legalizers, the moralizers, the hair splitters who are so busy straining the gnat that they swallow the camel. Would not this radical, revolutionary, and thoroughly orthodox mindset plunge us into a new Pentecost that would renew the face of the earth? There is simply no sense in trumpeting the lordship of Jesus if his attitudes, values , and behavior are not recognizable in our lives."

A Glimpse of Jesus, p. 27-28

"Having the humility and courage to serve is the way to true greatness. When a young Baptist minister finished his doctorate, he told me that he wanted to have an international ministry like mine. At that very moment, unknowingly, he disqualified himself from any role in leadership. Ambition to be a star in the Body of Christ is alluring and seductive, it is also demonic, the glamorous enemy of Servanthood and love. The steady erosion of servant leadership in the North American church, the deference shown to charismatic superstars, and the bowing and scraping to TV evangelists deface the image of the servant Jesus and make the credibility of Christian leadership literally incredible."

Ibid, p. 28-29

"The stark realism of the Gospel allows for no romanticized idealism or slopping sentimentality here. Servanthood is not an emotion or mood or feeling; it’s a decision to live the life of Jesus. It has nothing to do with what we feel, it has everything to do with what we do – humble service."

Ibid, p. 29

Somehow, somehow, might we actually live, sustained, as a normative life to not live normative to our culture, but in it, with the people, as lovers of the people, but so different, such a peculiar people that resonate a humility (selfless and others focused), sacrificially (love enough to be inconvenienced without expectation), and caring (care enough to commit) that people who are in such a post-Christian culture tha the charicature of Christ they have might be shattered and that they might actually, possibly taste and see, smell and savor the true Jesus?

KUDDO'S to Mark Sayers for conceptualizing some of this shift!

Take a look at his blog post on this topic of the shifting movements within "emerging/missional church". His comments are worthy to note.

For those wondering, we (Communitas) are a cross between the neo-Ana Baptists (a.k.a. the neo-monastics) and the neo-missiologists.

TOO FUNNY AND TOO TRUE!

Props to Mike Zook for finding this one!

It is tooo hilarious to not put up and too true to not repeat!

And sorry I'm not posting a lot - just loaded down and it's lacrosse season! :-)

Live from the scene, exclusive coverage

I just watched the news... the reporter with headset and interview microphone in place, he assaults different people with his interview... It doesn't matter if it is a fire in Victoria Australia, or a Mardi Gras parade here in New Orleans, a crime scene with distraught family members, or a soccer match. The reporter is making his money, exuding false excitement and intensit,y on people minding their business. He uses them, gives them a moment's notariety, and then moves to the next interview or is it victim. He makes up senseless value to what they are doing.

Why do we respond? We know "blood sells" and we consume disaster: tsunami, fire, hurricane, war. Do we need to know of these things and act when appropriate - sure. Does the media need to tell us about these things, sure. But why do we give them such power to invade our lives, why do we reduce news to something consumable?

Are our lives so humdrum that we need this? Does the less community and relational construct of modern cities, be it urban or suburban, mean we live life virtually alone and need this injection of nonsense?

I watch our local news - too much happening that we should be aware of. Yet, I get more and more frustrated with the local interest spot, the local soccer-mom story that is not news at all, and the report from the wealthy suburbs to over inflate their importance though they represent such a minority of the population of the metro.

Suck. How I wish the news could do its thing, give us the important news, and not overwhelm us with consumable crap, or sell us sensationalism like a drug habit.

How I even more wish we would embrace being a people of purpose, significance, direction to build better society. Alas, without Christ as the central organizing and motivating factor in our lives, a concept foriegn to most adherants, much less the general population, we need something to entertain us and make getting up our of bed worth it. It's just too pointless without some a-muse-ment.

How I wish we had the ability to muse.

Athiest's Confession

Steve (right) and me in Auckland now years ago...seems like yesterday!




I just checked into my Google Reader and saw Steve Addison's (CRM Australia) blog today... you need to read this. It is encouraging!

READ HERE: Good News Out of Africa

I remember

I remember...

• "White water fountain only"
• "Colored restroom"
• Leon, the only African American kid in my primary school
• Mrs. Hines, my first African American teacher
• Separate schools for "them"
• Arguments for "separate but equal...some more equal...from my own family
• I remember segregated lunch counters
• African Americans not allowed to try on clothes at school
• the suspicion of a person of color in my neighborhood
• I remember...
• my first African American friend
• Prescilla, now a heart surgeon, and African American, who had so much class
• SFC Diggs, the African American platoon sergeant who made his white platoon commander look good

I know now...

• If a white friend loses his job due to the down turn, the mere weight of referrals from friends will ease the burden for most, while few AA's enjoy such
• A white son gets opportunity because of the privilege of affluence
• We ignore the sin and pain of the past
• Most AA's look to tomorrow with hope, peace and good will - not the equal turn they've been given.
• My sons hate injustice, don't even recognize or judge by color, and have a deep ethos different from my experience - and we gave it to them intentionally, and one of their heroes is MLK.
  

I hope today...

• For change, not just in, but definitely including racial reconciliation
• Change in how we approach the world, deal with poverty, and opportunity
• Change in politics
• Change in economics
• Change in dealing with people different from us, even here...we've become a divisive, confrontational people who are agro to anyone not like us...

Mr. President, you represent so much more than ideology, race, or politics. You carry the burden of planting, nurturing and birthing hope, change, peace. You carry the chance, the one chance in my lifetime, to bring real change, to bring hope, and restore decency, virtues and character as part of the American fabric. It has been lacking for so long, eroding one bite at a time for so long.

May the Lord Himself turn His eyes to you, bend down His ear to listen to you, and speak directly to you. May He give you favor, grace, blessing, empowerment, influence, stalwart resolve, unshakable character, wisdom far beyond your years, intelligence rarely experienced, protection above human ability, and success to bring about healing to not just this one nation, but to nations globally, rich, poor, western and peoples of color in poor lands.

May your mistakes be few, and caught early. May your ego remain humble. May He choose you as today's guide out of such deep sins, for which we now pay penance.

Mr. President, God bless you...not out of sentimental desire, but fervent intercession for all people. This idea, this empire, this people called America can be like all fading empires in history, or with one chance, it can be a people who bless others. May God bless others through and because He blessed us and continues to bless us here.

Amen.

As I pass by the closed school, pictured in the Norman Rockwell painting above, I often think of Ruby Bridges, the little girl, now 55 years old, and her role to work and bring that Katrina shuttered building to life once again as a charter school in the St. Claude neighborhood. Ruby lives a mere 5 miles away from us. Her dignity and honor and life time commitment to empower those with out the seed or germination of seeds of possibility are an example to us all. Mrs. Obama said this week in an interview, "The veil of impossibility is being ripped off of millions of children" ...who never before dreamed of new heights and possibilities. Mayor Nagin of New Orleans said the USA has reached a "new level of maturity".

We bear witness of change and prayerfully of healing, deep healing in the poverty, social decay, spiritual malaise and emotional depravity of our past. Could we actually become a healthy people? Do we, can we, might we, actually dream such lofty things?

A parable of what we're about

We are constantly working to understand ourselves, who we are, why we do what we do. We're wrestling to bring this, to communicate our culture, our passion, our intent, our focus. We're not trying to diss anyone, but looking for some ideas of how to effectively do this.... So here goes:

Take the parable as far as applicable of the main point. Don’t waste time trashing the corners, that’s not the point of any parable.

⊕ Subjects: • Subject theology: wants it settled, organized, safe.
• Subject churches are in the town square, the courthouse framing and mandating life in the town. It hosts the trials, taxes collected, symbol of stability.
• God in Subject theology, he is the royal, the aristocrat, the magistrate, the aristocrat…dictating. He is ordered and not seen, predictable. He is dressed like coronation day. In some denominational towns. Scotch is replaced by soda, cigars by gum. Peace and quiet are his concerns.
• His sheriff is sent to check up on pioneers riding in. Jesus is the sheriff. He is sent by the aristocrat with a white suit of armor, drinks milk, out draws the baddies. He determines the jailed.
• The Holy Spirit is a pub girl. Her job is comfort. Her job is helping when they are lonely, tickles them under the chin. She squeals to the sheriff when things go bad. Whisky is non-alcoholic.
• The Christian is the subject, fears the unknown and open. Wants to stay in good stead with the lord mayor and avoids the Sheriff. He wants peace, order. Keeps his money in the bank. He stays in the shade and never misses the ice cream social.
• Faith is the safety of the town, obeying the laws. Sin is breaking one of the towns laws.
• The clergy is the banker. He is respected and hides his gun. He has a lot in common with the sheriff.


⊕ Pioneers/colonists:

• Pioneer theology: live the strange gift of life, a wild adventure to uncharted land. In Pioneer theology is not the church in the town square, but a covered wagon, but scarred, bandaged, where the action is, ready to move, doesn’t glorify it’s past. It is about exploring.
• God in pioneer theology he is the captain on the explorer ship, the rough and hard one who gets in the water and in the mud, keeps it going, slugs the soft. His fist is an expression of His concern.
• Jesus is the scout or the wild one who climbs the rigging to the crow’s nest – dangerous, solo, there in the storm and the dark. He is out ahead showing the dangers, suffers the hardships, feared by the subjects. He shows concern and sees the future. He is willing to go ahead alone, and calls others to risk the same. He carries a cutlass and a gun, loaded all the time.
• The Spirit is the hunter, unpredictable. He scares the subjects. He rides into town just to shake up the subjects, can’t wait to get back out to sea, to the new lands.
• The Christian is the pioneer, ready for the new. He is tough. He knows how to use a gun. He tries to tell the subjects back home about life on the trail.
• Faith is the spirit of adventure – to risk. It is obedience to the restless voice of the captain explorer.
• Sin is wanting to turn back.
• The clergy is the one who serves what the hunter provides, ready when the trail boss calls, just a pioneer who learned to cook. He serves the wagon train.

*Adapted


⊕ This is who we’re called to be. We’re the pioneers who help others pioneer. We are here for pioneers. They are more confident than the subjects in the past. They are reckless and willing to go out and make it happen. This is our call – to be the scouts, the trail bosses, the buffalo hunters.
⊕ Where do they go if we don’t do what we do.

Alan Roxburgh:
⊕ The end of the 40-40 world. The career of forty hours a week for forty years is over. In this era, the other parent was present to manage the household and freed people up to do the many church demands: VBS, etc, etc, etc. That world is over.
⊕ We now live in a “whatever-it-takes world”. We are all consultants, doing whatever it takes with no job security. Anxiety with no guarantees… It now takes two people to live this way.
⊕ The church is framed to operate in the 40-40 world. This model was past, and yet has not changed. This frames mission, evangelism, ministry, being a good committed Christian.

⊕ So in an era where there is not this time, how do we be the committed saints, the church, on mission, moving forward, reaching a lost world? What we know is that we’ll not do it in program, not organized institution. We’re not in the business of status quo, or polishing what has been. We’re in the business (under assignment from God) to develop leaders for the world becoming.

• Join us and you’ll be shot at and misunderstood – and almost every bullet will come from behind.
• You can’t be angry, can’t hold a grudge. It’ll eat you. You still have to love the Kingdom subjects, for we long to bring the hope of our King to the unknown world. We go because they made it possible and actually were the nourishing soil from which we were planted and uprooted. We cannot stay and have to go, but we love home.
• You have to be a person at home, not drained and taxed by being in the wilderness, with no maps, with no towns, with few friends who live in towns.
• You have to be willing to figure out how to befriend the natives, to carve a future in the unknown.
• You must be a man or woman who is called to lead, not just be, one of the pioneers, the colonists, those willing to get on a ship and go to the unknown. We exist to influence others.
• You must be the person who tells the church that it is normative as Christians to live lives as missionaries – witnesses, sent ones, committed, ordered, daring to call the world to hope.

⊕ If you are more comfortable, refreshed, called to love and lead the town’s people, we’re the wrong mob for you. We sail to unknown lands and burn our ships.
⊕ Our assignment (mandate, calling, mission) from The Living God is to:

• Engage the natives & show them life with the Living God
• Engage the towns people & call them to reckless life as Kingdom sent ones, not restful safe harbors of church
• Empower the those, leaders, who are restless, longing for more, dissatisfied in the safe harbors, knowing and hoping there is more.
• Help other colonists, pioneers, to set out, survive and actually thrive
• Replicate ourselves and claim more new lands for the King.

⊕ What of the people of the native lands to which we go, the colonists invade lands with aboriginal people?

• Do we come to settle them like the old country? Are they civilized when they take on our culture and our concept of the realm?
• How do we invite them out of the cannibalism and savagery of their broken culture, into a Kingdom of life, without taking the culture and mores of a culture that are healthy, that doesn’t force them into our idea of culture…. How do we invite them to participate in the realm, without squashing them, but we empower them?

⊕ As God’s people, where is the subject within me that seeks safety? Where is the pioneering colonist that is suppressed and thwarted from risking?
⊕ Missionaries ask and seek different things, different refreshment. Which are you?