Last night I was talking to a group of 20+'s. I was trying to get them rethinking life, Christianity and church a little. Last time I spoke to them I talked about Post-modernism a little, this time 'cos there was a lott of different people, I could take it on from where we'd got to last time, so I went for my now well-used "let's not be christians anymore let's be disciples". It was great fun. I really appreciated their openness to think about stuff, especially as I quite deliberately tried to remove truth concepts from the 'evangelisation process' and the 'reading the bible' aspect [i.e. are there any truths in the Old Testament? Surely it is more like an ordinance survey map for the journey showing peaks and valleys and intersecting paths, than a systematic theology? etc]. If I remember rightly I needed to be shocked out of my comfort to see it (?).
I have to be honest though, it did scare me a little. Looking from a few feet further on the journey the stark need to perpetuate our upbringing is a little scary. It has been a big relief to me to allow my upbringing to be a stepping stone to the future and not a tight alley way. Many of the group last night, including myself, have group up with pioneers for parents, people pushing the bounds to Christianity, starting new radical, risky faith ventures; fighting for things that they would now die for. It is always ythe dsanger for the second generation, more than the third, to live in relaxed benefit from the generation before's adventures, not realising that we have our own, different risky adventures to have!!
Just coming to the end of "The Story we find Ourselves In" and really love this conversation Neo and Dan had after going to see "The Lord of the Rings!"
DAN: At 2:15 pm we stopped out of the theater, squinting under a brilliant, cloudless sky. I couldn't talk. The film had completely captured me, and I wasn't sure why. When we got in the car, I started chatting about the film. Neo listened politely for several minutes as we navigated out of the parking lot and then pulled in at the coffee shop. We went in and sat down in some comfortable chairs...
"That's the third time you've asked me why the movie affected you so much, Daniel," Neo said. "The first two times I asked you back your own question. Can I do it again?"
"It's obvious that I can't figure it out" I replied.
"Well my friend, perhaps it was a story that you could find yourself in," he said. I cocked my head, surprised to hear him use that phrase with a subsacred story like this. "Really, Daniel, all the great literature offers entree into the story we find ourselves in -through stories of good and evil, love and hate, pride and repentance, fear and courage. Sometimes, we become so familiar with the primal sacred story of the Bible that we need some fresh takes on it, telling us the same thing in different ways, or giving us some new vantage points to see what was always there, things we'd missed before."
I turned toward Neo. "But why," I asked. "can I get a better feel for the power of that battle of good versus evil from a fictional film than I can in... in the Bible itself?" I felt embarrassed to say it so bluntly, as if I were criticizing the Scriptures.
Neo smiled but didn't say anything. I thought of what he might be thinking: maybe the Bible wasn't intended to be so compelling that it would overwhelm all our creative urges; maybe it was intended to inspire those creative urges, and so had to be somewhat understated; maybe its genius was to inspire a million masterpieces rather than to be the sole, ultimate masterpiece. Neo interrupted what I imagined he might say and said "It seems to be God's way, doesn't it, to show a greater power through weakness than could ever be shown through strength-greater power through frail people, though flawed heroes, through a young girl and nondescript baby, and even through a cross, all conveyed through a book that really is a collection of fragments assembled over several centuries, that is uneven in style and rather appalling in content in places and that leaves a lot of loose ends... a weak book in many ways."
I really love the idea of other forms of literature retelling the story, In our house church we used "About A Boy" as a starting point to talk about community. There's also that film "Chocolat" which has a great theme of grace running through it (Thanks Graham). Has anyone got any other movies that do this kind of thing?
A little quote from a novel I have just read called “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel. Pi has just finished retelling the story of the book: his amazing survival in a life boat with a Bengal Tiger (It’s a cool book!), to a couple of Japanese investigators. Here goes:
Pi Patel: “So you didn’t like my story?”
Mr Okamoto: “No, we liked it very much. Didn’t we, Chiba? We will remember it for a long, long time”
Mr Chiba: “We will.”
Mr Okamoto: “But for the purpose of our investigation, we would like to know what really happened.”
Pi: “What really happened?”
Mr O: “Yes.”
Pi: “So you want another story?”
Mr O: “Uhh … no. We would like to know what really happened.”
Pi: “Doesn’t the telling of something always become a story?”
Mr O: “Uhh … perhaps in English. In Japanese a story would have an element of invention in it. We don’t want invention. We want the ‘straight facts’, as you say in English”
Pi: “Isn’t the telling about something – using words, English or Japanese – already something of an invention? Isn’t just looking upon this world already something of an invention?”
Mr O: “Uhh …”
Pi: “The world isn’t just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no?” And in understanding something, we bring something to it, no? Doesn’t that make life a story?”
Mr O: “Ha! Ha! Ha! You are very intelligent, Mr Patel”
Mr Chiba: Japanese “What is he talking about?”
Mr O: Japanese “I have no idea”
Pi: “ You want words that reflect reality?”
Mr O: “Yes”
Pi: “Words that do not contradict reality?”
Mr O: “Exactly”
Pi: “But tigers don’t contradict reality”
Mr O: “Oh please, no more tigers”
Pi: “I know what you want. You want a story that won’t surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won’t make you see higher or further or differently. You want a flat story. An immobile story. You want dry, yeastless factuality.”
My Lord God
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following
your will does not mean
that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that my desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
Why is holding onto a vision of something new so hard? It seems as I talk about the framework in which I am thinking I get a diverse range of reactions from people outside of a setting. Some say "so what's so new /different about that?", some say "yeh, I remember trying that once...", or "that's an interesting experiment" and some just clear disapproval. It is amazing how disheartening that all is, because you feel in that moment the lack of that wholehearted support. Suddenly you start thinking that maybe in all the thinking and re-evaluating actually you have got nowhere, just gone round in circles. The wind of boldness and faith just kind of leave the sails, and you end up doubting. Don't get me wrong; questionning, clarification, "what do you mean by's", even doubt itself are not unhealthy, but the environment created for that exploring is crucial. I am thinkling here particlularly about a much talked about issue among the family of churches I belong to: raising up the next generation. It is talked about, but the most important aspect of that is the supportive, accepting, atmosphere of allowing questionning and encouraging new ideas; in particular resisting the temptation to realte everything back to the past - instead somehow having the faith and trust that something new [or at the very least a new faith for something old!?!] will emerge.
How do I know all this? 'cos I have also experienced the joy of hearing "You know I think you are along the right lines", "yeh, we really do have to start a rethink", "I think the way you are going is great", even "I don't quite get it, but keep at it, I am looking forward to the results". The faith, the energy, the boldness that is released returns the smile to your face!!
I have found I need a dream in my head that I hold onto when I think that I am loosing it, or the faith is draining away. It is not captured in fancy statements or 3-bullet points, but in a dream, a thought an idea. Sometimes I have to concentrate to see it again, sometimes it gets changed slightly, sometimes it is just there in the back of my head. As I talk to the people in my church it is that dream that I want them to capture - I want to spark their imagination of a different future. Actually I don't want them to get my dream, I want them to begin to get a dream of their own - a dream for their lives a dream for their homes, a dream for their church.
Let's help each other to dream, to let our imaginations go a little. Create the room, atmosphere and environment for people to dream a little more.
This Saturday we're meeting to give out free Creme Eggs - with no strings attached! If any of you can spare a hour (yeh that's really all it will take) let me know! We're meeting at 2.30pm in the Far Cotton area of Northampton, then walking over to the St James Retail Park/ B&Q to get giving away...
Hands off my "Heine, Baby!"
Todd Hunter was asked "Knowing what you know today can you tell me what you would do differently in your "ministry" and your family life" off the top of his head this is what he came up with:
1. Focus on people not effectiveness or numbers
2. By definition this means allowing smallness
3. Keep it personal, i.e. always work on myself; it is the only path to being a good husband, father, friend or pastor, etc.
4. Lose the evangelical reductionisms, recapture the whole biblical Story
5. Create communites of faithful followers of Jesus that embody and act from that Story.
"Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts" - what is that about? I've got a Sunday planned with that title, but I don't know what I want to say!! I mean, in my 'cell church' understanding it has been used as justification for a 'big wing' of the church - the 'whole' church gathered for celebration and worship. This weekend I realised that whether or not the 'big wing' is a good idea, "they met in the temple courts" isn't a good justification. Why? Well wasn't the temple the centre of cultural life - the political centre the religious centre, the market, the place where people discussed ideas and preached, the place where you hang out [if you can really divide those things in the Jewish mindset]? That makes "they met in Temple courts" more like Steve's 'Third Place' than the 'cell church' celebration - they were out there gathering in public, as a newly formed community in the midst of the crowds. That would make more sense of them gathering there everyday, than them gathering for worship, notices and a preach [afterall, who wants to do that everyday?!]. I am sure that I am Westernising the Temple Courts thing slightly, but for me that is hugely different to what I've read.
Still don't know what to cover that Sunday!! Thoughts?
Steve, some really interesting stuff on ‘the third place’. That and Graham’s comments a couple of weeks ago on the influence of consumerism on how we do church (Graham: “what if church was the arena in which people made a choice , like a supermarket”), has given me the boldness to publicise something a friend and I wrote about 8 months ago now. It came out of a discussion that started “What would be required to make a café into ‘church’?” And ended up discussing “we take a meeting and try to make community, what if we took a community and tried to make it ‘church’".
To be honest it feels quite deep and personal to share it so publically, so please be gentle in your comments!!!
“Imagine a place where you can go where everybody knows your name. It's a funky coffee house just round the corner. The coffee is good (and fair trade) and the atmosphere is good, it is an Experience. There are different areas with different atmospheres, Settees, chairs, stools, beanbags etc etc etc.
They have theme nights and discussion nights, including contemporary issues and spiritual discussion sessions occasionally, intro's by a sharp speaker. They have music nights regularly with live bands, especially local ones (encouraging local culture) and art nights with local (cool) artists. They have breakout rooms running courses on stress management, parenting, friendship, surviving the family, Jesus and others depending on the need. They are scheduled around when those people visit the cafe & it fits their lives.
Christian services are held 3 times a week at various times. Each has it's own character: meditative, rock, etc. Each is an intense experience of 'worship' (in its broadest sense) and a challenging message (not necessarily a 'sermon' but if it is it is short). The service lasts 30-45 minutes (leaving you hungry for more).
There is a sports hall attached and a beautician in the corner. Each one linking both your physical, emotional and spiritual needs. The cafe is staffed by relevant Christians looking for opportunities to encourage, challenge and provoke each 'customer' further in their spiritual walk wherever they are at.
Evangelism (read ‘marketing’) is by means of [gorgeous Christian chicks, uh hum... I mean...] young people going round the streets handing out funky leaflets offering buy one get one free drinks etc. But once the name is known all sorts of 'detached' work is possible.
Some would call it church, some would call it community (church in the context of ), some would call it a great lunchtime, afternoon, evening out, some would call it sinful (probably!).
Imagine ...
(and maybe that is its name!!!)”
Mission: Possible
The inward-outward journey of Mary and Gordon Cosby.
An Interview by Jim Wallis
Some more stuff on Finding the "Third Places" in your community....
As we all seek to create positive change in our communities, one of the main goals is to help people in the area come together, make new friends, and get involved in what's going on. One of the best ways to do this is to discover, support, and build on those places in the community where people can get together, talk, share, connect, and make things happen in the community. There are many of these lively gathering places and it is fun where the favourite gathering places are.
In his book, The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg gives an enjoyable description of happy community gathering places he calls "third places." He believes the loss of third places is a statement of the loss of community in North America. A "third place" is not home (the "first place") and it is not work (the "second place"). It is a place where everyone can go to socialize. Some of the most common third places that Mr. Oldenburg lists in his book are cafés, coffee shops, community centers, bars, beauty parlors, general stores, and hangouts. The characteristics that stand out for me that define a third place are not physical but are feelings. The third place feels welcoming and the owner may even greet you and introduce you to others; there is a relaxed feeling and a very open and friendly feeling and it seems anyone is welcome.
The "third place" is where people feel free to "let off steam," where people can drop in anytime and find someone to talk to, where a person can be comfortable, at ease, and always welcome. It is inclusive, has neutral ground, is accessible and has unity yet diversity. A third place has camaraderie and fun, and is where people get to know each other, to like each other, and to care about each other. It nurtures group support, and allows people the freedom "to be." The friendships and relationships that develop and grow within "third places" build strong communities and are forces for good in our society.
Some of the "third places" that we know are in laundromats, locally owned coffee shops, a restaurant in an old local hotel, a Greek restaurant, a hockey rink, a local neighbourhood pub, an Art Supply store, a soccer field, and a Starbucks coffee shop that does not have a Chapters associated with it.
From the "Community Building Resources"
The need for a Third Place...
Been thinking about the the thing Ray Oldenburg calls "the third place"... found this:
"Third places exist on neutral ground and serve to level their guests to a condition of social equality. Within these places, conversation is the primary activity and the major vehicle for the display and appreciation of human personality and individuality. Third places are taken for granted and most have a low profile. Since the formal institutions of society make stronger claims upon the individual, third places are normally open in the off hours, as well as at other times. The character of a third place is determined most of all by its regular clientele and is marked by a playful mood, which contrasts with people's more serious involvement in other spheres. Though a radically different kind of setting for a home, the third place is remarkably similar to a good home in the psychological comfort and support that it extends."
Found this over on the Vineyard Central Website
Kevin Rains' (Slightly More Than) Top 10 Books
13 March 2003
Recently a group of friends I hang with decided to list our "top ten" resources on church life and leadership. I say "top ten" because that is a ridiculously small number and I ignored it completely… with all due respect to my friends.
On the other hand, this is no attempt at an exhaustive list of resources or even of the books I recommend. These are just the particular books that fell into my hands and most significantly shaped my thinking regarding church planting and leadership over the past few years. These are quite simply the ones that came most readily to mind. Essentially, I sat down and made this list as it came to me in no particular order and with little revision to the original.
• In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen. A profound, upside down look at the place and value of leadership and how to lead in the style and spirit of Jesus.
• The Authentic Witness by Krause. A book I'm currently reading that is blending and re-working the edges of my understanding of ecclesiology and mission
• Missional Church edited by Darrell Guder. Deeply inspired by the late Leslie Newbigin several authors each tackling a topic or two joined forces to write a book that seriously addresses mission in a post modern, North American context.
• The Church Comes Home by Robert Banks. Perhaps the best all around book on home churching in print.
• Houses That Change the World by Wolfgang Simson
• Dedication and Leadership by Douglas Hyde. What do you get when a former communist turned Catholic writes a book detailing the communist's strategy to dominate the world one cell at a time and it's written as a both a challenge and strategic "how to" for Christians who want to be a part of a movement and not just an institution? (hint: it's this book) This one would make my very short list!
• 12 Traditions of AA. The guiding philosophy for how the 12 step program became an international movement in a matter of a few years with no visible leaders, no money and no buildings.
• Cultivating a Life for God by Neil Cole. The principles and stories behind LTG's (Life Transformation Groups). A very practical guide for cultivating Christ followers.
• The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours? by Roland Allen. These books written in the late 1920's have a timeless appeal because they are rooted in the understanding that the church began and continues as a movement and not primarily as an institution. There are principles galore from the early church with no expectation that the reader should slavishly copy them but should take them very seriously.
• The Gospel in a Pluralist Society by Leslie Newbigin
• Paul's Idea of Community by Robert Banks
• Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman. Bad title for one of the best books ever.
• Tipping Point by Malocolm Gladwell. This book ranges widely from viruses to graffiti to Blue's Clues with the unifying theme of how social epidemics (like rapid church planting?) come about. An inspiring and hopeful book.
• Making Room by Christine Pohl. The finest work on recovering the ancient art and practice of Christian hospitality I know.
• The First Urban Christians by Wayne Meeks. A scholarly but accessible book on the sociology of the early church.
• Going to the Root by Christian Smith. The word "radical" gets tossed around a lot these days. Christian looks at the core meaning of being radical (ie going to the root) and peels back layer after layer of non-essentials that Christians have added to church life over the past 2 millenia.
• Body Politics by Howard Yoder. Five early Christian practices worth revisiting.
• Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The manifesto of Bonhoeffer's underground, clandestine seminary.
• Church Next by Eddie Gibbs. Good introduction to major shifts currently affecting the church.
• Celtic Way of Evangelism by George Hunter. Makes me wish I were Irish. Missionary monastics. Pass the Guinness and the prayer book.
• Church Planting Movements by David Garrison. A southern Baptist armed with some solid research and an eye for the Spirit is doing around the world through the rapid multiplication of churches. Free booklet from imb.org
• The Emergence of the Church by Arthur Patzia. A solid look at early church practices from a New Testament scholar. Great section on the Lord's Supper and house churches.
• Evangelism Outside the Box by Rick Richardson. Taking into consideration (without bowing down) to the shifts that post modernism is bringing this book explores some ways of reaching out that aren't canned but sensitive to people's needs and longings for community.
• The Mustard Seed Conspiracy by Tom Sine. Check out msa.org
• Everything by Eugene Petersen but especially Contemplative Pastor, and Answering God
