Knowtown...

the ramblings of an ecclesial dreamer

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"We must not be afraid to dream the seemingly impossible if we want the seemingly impossible to become a reality."
Vaclav Havel

Ecclesial Dreamer

My name is James Mills.

I am married to Janell and
we have three kids--Jarod, Matthew and Teryn. We live in Parker, Colorado.
In addition to this blog you can find out more about my ecclesial dream at Knowtown or Missio Dei.

If you would like to add your thoughts to a rambling,
click the "Talk Back" link at the end of each post.
If you would like to talk IM (MSN) me or send me an email at: jmills@knowtown.com

..::Favorite BLOGS::..
Andrew Hamilton
Andrew Jones
Doug Pagitt
Dry Bones Dance
Emergent Group Blog *NEW*
Dwight Scull
Fluid Faith
Jason Clark
Jason Smith
Karen Ward
Katy Raymond
Maggi Dawn
Michelle Bainbridge
Rudy Carrasco
Scott Holden
Scott Raymond
Tony Rodasta

..::LINKS::..
My Personal World Clock
Ekklesia Project
Emergent
The Holy Observer
The New Pantagruel
The Vine
Reconstruction
Observing Differently
Open Source Theology

..::Previous Ramblings::..

Power Puff (Catholic) Girls... You have to love this. Makes me want to send my daughter to a Catholic school. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/31/2003 03:50:00 PM	Friday, October 31, 2003
A tragic loss... I just heard the news of Mike Yaconelli's death this morning. I had the joy of meeting Mike briefly San Diego at the Emergent Convention. I have followed him from a distance by reading his "back door" articles and his two recent books, Dangerous Wonder and Messy Spirituality were great. He was a great author and one that encouraged me as an ecclesial dreamer. I can't wait to see him again. He will be missed by many. Please pray for his surviving family. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/30/2003 08:35:00 PM	Thursday, October 30, 2003
From 1517 to 2003... tomorrow is All Hallow's Eve, also known as Halloween. It has a tradition of being a time of celebration for the following day, All Saint's Day. In the early days of Christianity, the faithful would celebrate the anniversary dates of martyrs that were remembered. Soon there were too many to celebrate them all so they would combine several into one date. Eventually, the church decided to simply celebrate all martyrs, both known and unknown and appointed a common day for all. Depending on what tradition you follow the date is either the first Sunday after Pentecost or November 1. According to this article ". During the Reformation the Protestant churches understood 'saints' in its New Testament usage as including all believers and reinterpreted the feast of All Saints as a celebration of the unity of the entire Church." Interestingly enough, it was All Hallow's Eve, 1517, that Martin Luther published his 99 Thesis. Is it possible that this event we see as causing a substantial division in the Church was actually intended as part of a celebration of the unity of the entire church? Obviously we will never know. While thinking about that, I have been re-reading JOnathan R. Wilson's book, Living Faithfully In A Fragmented World: Lessons For The Church From MacIntyre's After Virtue. All of this has me dreaming big dreams for the emerging church. Perhaps this All Hallow's Eve we can find a way to celebrate the unity of the entire church(ancient, premodern, modern and postmodern). Perhaps we can learn to come to grips with our history and really celebrate the "One Holy Church". I am finding that our attempts to be faithful to our history are seen in much the same light as Luther's 99 Thesis--De(con)structive, Divisive, Angry... To be honest with our history requires us to acknowledge our deep, spiritual and profound connection to the good, the bad and the ugly. We cannot control the outcomes of living faithfully with our history, but we still have an obligation to honestly celebrate--rather than continue attacking--the unity of the entire church. Here is a quote from Wilson's book that has me wondering what lasting impact the church will leave behind from Halloween, 2003: "If we do not attend to our history, others also become victims of our past. The church has continually mistaken its judgement for God's will. History is replete with peoples who have been victimized by the church's mistaken judgements. As we continually deny these mistakes or suppress our memory of them, the church is bound to move on to other oppresive mistakes. We need continually to tell our story as a confession of our unfaithfulness, so that the world may see beyond the church to the gospel and so that we may all maintain a healthy suspicion of the church's confident pronouncements of God's will." -pg. 13 posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/30/2003 02:58:00 PM
Narrow is the way... “anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27) WHAT??? “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:16) Run that by me one more time! Ok, so I know I am a little slow sometimes but I think I'm slowly starting to understand this. Being an ecclesial dreamer is hard. Trying to follow God to a place that is not yet seen goes against my grain at times. But as one of the Backyard Missionary crew, Andrew Herden, reminded me tonight we have this great promise that He will never leave us or forsake us. (Thanks, Herds, I needed that!). To me that's the Good News--first that God is "With us" to begin with and then that he will not leave us. So I am feeling this tension between things seen and things unseen. Between the geography of ecclesial dreams and the geography of reality. This tension is good, but it's hard. It pulls me in so many directions and is relentless. It makes me forget the Good News if I lose focus. Tonight I met with a lady from my old church. She was going through some rough stuff that she can't shake on her own and it is starting to get to her spiritually and physically. She called because she remembered something I had said in one of the Ten Commandment classes. I doubt I did much good tonight but I tried to listen and recommended she contact another woman from the church that I think will really be good for her to interact with. Then we prayed together and I told her I would follow up in a few days to see how things are going and if she was able to connect with the other lady. In the back of my mind this experience made me want to rush the Missio Dei. I felt this need to control. To try to fix things that I have no ability to fix. I became anxious for Missio Dei to be farther down the road than it is at the moment. Being involved in starting a new community is hard. In my rush to get things "tangible" I sometimes get in the way of the natural development of things. I sense that God is putting together a really good DNA structure to our emerging community of faith and in the end something wonderful will be born. But I get ahead of myself and want to take over the process. "Can't we do some kind of spiritual C-section delivery of this thing?" If not what will happen to people like the lady I talked with tonight? I have never heard the audible voice of God but if I could I think tonight he would have said something like, "James, I have just a little bit more experience at this than you do. I'll take care of it." I am constantly amazed (don't know why it surprises me) at my desire for control. When that desire goes unchecked it gets out of control and makes me want to rush. But tonight God gently reminded me that we are right where we need to be in the process. He is opening and closing doors that we are not even aware of. He is preparing our hearts to embody the Good News that he is with us and will not leave us. There are times when I am genuinely afraid to take the next step if I don't know the ultimate destination. But I must confess that there is a great Corps of Discovery being assembled here in the front range of Colorado. I doubt it will get any easier from here, but with this group I am ready to charge the gates of Hell with a squirt gun. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/28/2003 10:12:00 PM	Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Closing the door on Open Theism... Open theist or not, I am sure this does not come as a surprise to anyone. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has put out their condemnation on Open Theism as a "departure from orthodoxy" and "a serious threat to evangelical integrity". an excerpt from the article: "If you take this position of open theism seriously and begin to look at it, the entire plan of salvation comes down to God's good intentions rather than His saving act." The resolution reads as follows: "Open theism's denial of God's exhaustive definite foreknowledge constitutes an egregious biblical and theological departure from orthodoxy and poses a serious threat to evangelical integrity. In accordance with our confessional documents -- the Abstract of Principles and the Baptist Faith and Message -- the Board of Trustees of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary affirms God's exhaustive definite foreknowledge including the knowledge of all future free choices and actions of his creatures, and thereby denies that open theism is a viable evangelical view." I doubt this is the end of the discussion. In my own misguided opinion there is too much deep theological discussion taking place on this issue to have these few paragraphs settle it difinitively. I guess the only thing that is really settled is that if you want to participate in the ongoing theological discussion of things of this nature you might want to look someplace other than the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/27/2003 10:42:00 AM	Monday, October 27, 2003
The detox has begun... If you have not already read this great article about detoxing from church it is a pretty good one. Although I began my detox process about 6 months ago, this past weekend was the first weekend in a very long time that I did not have to "go to church". Add to that the extra hour we gained from turning the clocks back and you get a great weekend for catching up on some much needed rest. This weekend also was the first time in a very long time I can remember going out 3 nights in a row. Friday was a movie (Mystic River) with a neighbor. Saturday was spending the day with the kids at an early Halloween event, dinner with friends and then back to their place for a great evening talking, playing pool and shooting darts while the kids all played. Then last night another neighbor invited me to tag along with two of his friends to the Colorado Avalanche hockey game(reminded me of the whole "Church Fan" idea). All in all it was a good weekend. I did not do too much creative thinking but I caught up on three of my favorite blogs. I have linked to these three before but they each have great insights and write very well. Their gifts of writing have been very refreshing to me. Check tham out here: Fallible (Katy is a great writer) Dry Bones Dancing (my new favorite) Serenity Dawn (a new and welcome addition to the world of blogging) posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/27/2003 09:21:00 AM
Hymns in my house... Just spent about 2 hours playing worship songs with fellow ecclesial dreamer (not to mention scholar, sailor and worship leader) Jason Smith. We played some songs in the front room of my house while my kids and dog chased his son Jack around the house. It has been a while since I played with someone and I loved it. If we keep doing this we are in grave danger of becoming good at it. Thanks, Jason! I had a blast. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/23/2003 08:04:00 PM	Thursday, October 23, 2003
Hymns in the whorehouse... With a tagline like that who wouldn't want to check out The New Pantragruel? Thanks to the ecclesial dreamer who posted this link on the Emergent buletin boards. a brief excerptfrom the introductory letter: "...the overweening temptation to be immediately relevant, to participate in Western “mass” culture, and to get a seat at the table has inexorably dragged the church forward towards its mass death. The Western church has become, in large part, a walking identity-crisis. Thus, we experience the frustrations of a schizophrenic who desires simultaneously to be the life of the party and to be left completely alone; we are continually demoralized by our failure to find a place where we can experience equally the pride of being different and the happiness of blending in. In essence, this crisis embodies the whole ailing left-right split of our modern era. The recognition must soon dawn on the church that no matter what one’s political persuasion, there is no modern basis for achieving the true wealth that is life; no modern basis for the humane traditions of the Church; no modern basis for a real counterweight to the forces of the age. There is, then, both a historic need and moment for prophetic voices that treat the modernity-induced crisis of church and culture effectively." Check it out. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/23/2003 01:31:00 PM
Is plurality possible? Can a community of faith have plurality of leadership? Can there be different ideas between members of the community and there still be unity? Can direction, vision, values and practice be defined by a pluralistic consensus? I have some acquaintances who tell me this is impossible. I like the sound of that because it reminds me of camels going through the eye of a needle. Impossible? Sounds like that is right in line with the missio Dei. It also resonates with my mantra ("We must not be afraid to dream the seemingly impossible if we want the seemingly impossible to become a reality.") I am a firm believer in the Artist of the impossible. However, I must admit that I am a little discouraged this morning. I am discovering that a community that I hope will have “divine fusion” as part of its DNA is not an easy sell. For it to work correctly you have to give up the individualism that plagues us and become something new in the context of a community. But this goes against the “wait and see” approach to things. It is so much easier to sit on the edge and hope that things turn out the way you want them to. This is like trying to steer the course of a canoe in a river from the bank. It doesn’t work very well. You have to get in the canoe and paddle. But how do you move from the bank to the canoe? How do you know if you will like the canoe once you get there? How do you know if you are even in the canoe? I have blogged before about this idea of fusion—the concept of various individual elements fusing together and creating something new. To me, this is a great picture of what church could be. Unfortunately, just like in the world of chemistry, some elements fuse really well together and some do not. It would be nice to think that everyone could fuse into your community of faith and find a “home”. In reality, some will and some will not. Some may actually come in and create fission and break things apart. I used to think that fusion could take place with no downside. Now I see that it will require hard work, commitment, discipline, honesty, fierce conversations, integrity and love. Some may look at that list and think it is impossible. I look at that list and see Missio Dei. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/23/2003 10:44:00 AM
Where do you go to church? Is it just me or is this just a really bad question? The fact that some of us have reduced "church" down to a place you go is the first indication that there is a lot of work to be done. The wording itself leads to a passive answer implying all that is required is that you show up and your "in". Intuitively, I know there is more to it than that but at the same time this "where" question is one that is keeping me up at night. I have a million and one reasons why we need to have a "space" to assemble together. Some of them are really good reasons because I pinched them from other people. But I am starting to see something about myself that is making me very uncomfortable. My desire for a space, defined structures and roles is really a subtle form of control. If we have a space we can control who gets to come in at some level. If we have a planned event we can control who gets to talk and who doesn't. We can create a safe place to create the illusion that we are accomplishing great things for God. If we do it right we can have it all over and done with in under two hours a week. Then we can get to more important things... On the other hand, how do I participate in a community of faith thats more relational and intuitive without a space? How do we share as members of the body of Christ when we don't share any common space? how do we create community when we all live, work and play in different places? Maybe I could just start by "being Christ" to my neighbors. But since we all work in various places and various work schedules we hardly ever see each other. Living close to each other does not create community. I spend more time with my workmates than my neighbors. So maybe I start with by "being Christ" to my workmates. Of course, at the end of the day we will all go our seperate directions and end up 25 miles or more apart. Maybe we find enough people who think alike and agree to meet at a convenient place and time each week. (Something sounds strangely familiar about that plan.) Back to the drawing board... My friends and I are thinking through many issues like this that will help us determine what kind of church we will become. Some of us like the idea of having a space that creates a "court of the Gentiles" but how do we do that in our fragmented culture? Do we need a space to pull that off? One thing I am starting to see very clearly: Our participation in the body of Christ is formative in a different sense than we usually think of it. We should not form church, the church should form us. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/22/2003 02:25:00 PM	Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Rumbling, bumbling, stumbling, fumbling...We could go all the way! I have heard it said that there is nothing as difficult as a clear mental picture of a vague idea. I am so there. In that state of mind it is sometimes easier to find someone who says things in a way that cause all the tumblers in your head to come together in a way that you could not do on your own. Take this for example: "The Church’s life develops as we slowly and clumsily start working on the ways we recognise each other as called by the same God and Saviour; let me repeat that: start working on the ways we recognise each other as called by the same God and Saviour. Our language, our doctrine, our worship all seek to be effective assurances that we are stepping to the same dance. At the centre of everything, the Scriptures provide the first test of that unity and coherence, to which all else is brought to be judged; then there are the basic identifying acts of the community which tell us that the life of the Risen Jesus is promised if we once let go of the self-protection we cling to (baptism) and that it is to be celebrated and deepened as we literally respond to the invitation of the Risen Jesus at his table (Holy Communion). That’s the Church. It is what happens when the call of Jesus is definitively heard. Some time ago, in the course of a conversation with the Archbishop of Sydney, we found we agreed wholeheartedly that the life of the church should be a matter of verbs before it’s a matter of nouns - and that those verbs have God as their subject. God calls, God makes a difference of such a kind that a community appears, bound to and in his Son by the Spirit’s power. For the moment, never mind the structures and the precise assurances as to what we agree about. What matters at first is that we are at one in recognising that we are called and who has called us." from a speech given by the Archbishop of Canerbury, Rowan Williams. Read the whole text here. I love it! posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/20/2003 04:57:00 PM	Monday, October 20, 2003
Dry Bones Dance... I love to read. I find there is a subtle power in written words. Some people seem to have a natural gift for putting thoughts into words that capture you. I found this blog recommended by Rudy Carrasco. Christy's writing is wonderful, deep and insightful. I wish I had this gift. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/20/2003 08:34:00 AM
Free at last... free at last. Thank God almighty, I'm free at last... enough said. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/19/2003 05:58:00 PM	Sunday, October 19, 2003
Hello, hello... is this thing on? I am getting more excited everyday about the new work of Missio Dei. Tomorrow will be my last class at Crossroads and then I will be investing fully in the new community. As we are just starting we have a lot of work ahead of us. I have set up a new email list that I am hoping to send out updates, events and things we could use your prayer about. It will be sent out to anyone who wants to be part of Missio Dei's "dream team". Stay up to date with our ecclesial dreams by sending a blank email to missioinfo@knowtown.com and you will automatically be put on the list. I don't know how often we will send out updates but we will try to keep folks up to date. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/18/2003 02:27:00 PM	Saturday, October 18, 2003
Are you an old man or a shark? More good thoughts from the creative ecclesial dreamer from across the pond, Jonny Baker: "everyone says that being evangelical is about beliefs - salvation through jesus, the bible as the word of god etc (which i have no problem with) but it's not about that. it's about a tribe and i don't belong to it and have absolutely no desire to belong to it... i was hunting around for pictures to represent the tribe i saw... and this was the best i could do - the evangelical tribe is conservative old men in suits - no disrespect to old people intended - i love them - but one look at the speakers in the programme given platform told you loads. i'm 38 and i was evidently a youth! i tried unsuccessfully to find the programme from the last conference ten years ago - i bet it is virtually the same line up - everyone has just got older. so it's also about control and an unwillingness to give away power to a younger generation of leaders. even the 'radical' voices are coming from those who must be about 60. so i guess 'evangelical' is a piece of history. i don't reckon there will be another NEAC - it's part of a bygone era - passionless, souless, and old. the future belongs somewhere else. it's sad because there is a side of evangelicalism that was passionate and fought some great injustices - but maybe it's time to give thanks for that and let the whole thing die. close NEAC, close the EA, close lots of the spin offs and let something new be birthed that has passion, soul, and mission at its heart." posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/18/2003 02:13:00 PM
Too good to pass up... The Gentleman Adventurer is on the loose in Asia. His Reflections on Tokyo have me wondering if this is how people who don't normally go to church feel when they finally show up: "And when you throw yourself into that world, you won’t recognize a single word that you hear or symbol that you see. And for a while, your mind won’t stop, can’t stop trying to process and make sense out of everything, looking for patterns—when you’re listening to a crowd of people speaking in Japanese, you’ll swear that you hear words that you recognize, you hear people say your name; your mind is looking for meaning, grasping at straws. But eventually your interpretive muscle is fatigued and your mind gives up and accepts meaninglessness." posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/17/2003 03:39:00 PM	Friday, October 17, 2003
Great stuff... I found this great discussion going on at the Living Room. This is an excellent thread and will certainly get you thinking. If Jesus came to your neighborhood, where would he hang out and why aren't you hanging out there? posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/17/2003 02:49:00 PM
Church Fan… I spent some time with a friend last night who has not gone to church in a while. Its not that he is against church but he has a problem with the way it is structured. He is looking for a sense of community and what he gets is a chance to sit down and listen to other people talk. Although he disagrees with it at many levels, he is ok with the fact that there are “professionals” on the stage but he doesn’t like that there are no “acceptable” ways for him to participate. The regular attendee is forced to be a passive spectator of the show. He would rather be a participant. So he is proposing that he become “church fan” If you have seen the Coke commercial for “football town” where the fans talk about how their participation is important to the game you can begin to understand where Church fan comes from. He wants his voice to be heard and to make a difference. He thinks church fan should become the next reality television show. Here is how he sees it. Get to church early and start tailgating. Share your good food and beer with people who are going in to the “game” and try to get them really excited about being there. Then as you make your way to your seat, let people know how excited you are to be there. When the service begins you are the fan. If something is done or said that you like let it be known. Cheering is acceptable. If there is something that goes on that you don’t like shout it out--BOOOOO!!!! You are a fan. Your church needs you. Hi-fives and belly bumps with your neighbor should be expected. You video the whole event and show it to others. You could have pre-game and post-game interviews to see how well the game plan (vision, values and mission of the church) was accomplished. You could have some color commentators give insights into the music, and message for those who are watching from home. They could highlight the “keys to the game” and evaluate the performance of the professionals to allow church fans to participate even from home. If he had a video man and one fellow fan he would start this Sunday. He would visit a different church each week and celebrate, cheer and boo. He is ready to be a church fan and get in the game. (anyone want to join him just let me know) His guess is that he would get escorted out or treated like the Cubs fan of game 6 who made the “immaculate deflection”. He does not think church is ready for church fans. But imagine how the “game” would change if the spectators became more involved. Imagine if the actions of the people in the pews could actually influence the way the game ends, for better or for worse. Imagine how the people on stage would prepare if they knew they were going to get instant interaction and feedback from those in the audience. Imagine if churches valued the voice and the input of the “twelfth man”. Imagine if “churchtown” needed us as much as “footballtown”. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/16/2003 09:00:00 AM	Thursday, October 16, 2003
Who will be the next Pope? This article has some interesting thoughts on the subject. It will be interesting to see how the change in world religious demographics will influence this decision. I don't think we are in Kansas anymore. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/15/2003 02:56:00 PM	Wednesday, October 15, 2003
lets be scandalous... Here are some really good scandalous thoughts by a fellow ecclesial dreamer, Rudy Carrasco. Rudy is one of the most honest ecclesial dreamers I have met. some of the folks from his community of faith were very helpful to me when my church begain its transition between pastors. He calls things like he sees them and he is ok wrestling with the tension. He understands things at a profound level and articulates them very clearly. You will gain a ton by checking in on his blog often. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/15/2003 10:36:00 AM
GenX Religion... While reading through Karen Wards blog I found this link to Genx Religion, a book that looks pretty interesting. I read the sample pages and found myself wanting more. I can't afford it right now so I added it to our wish list. (anyone out there anxious to buy me a new book?) If anyone has already read this book I would love to hear your take on it. Also, make sure you check out Karen's blog and follow some of the links to her church. She has a lot of great stuff to say. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/14/2003 07:05:00 PM	Tuesday, October 14, 2003
I still haven’t found what I’m looking for… This coming Sunday I will teach my last class on the Ten Commandments at Crossroads Community Church. Already there are questions coming too fast for me to keep up with. Fortunately the backyard missionaries down under have posted a lot about some of these questions recently. (Are you going to be a “real” church? was my favorite) But what I am finding most disturbing are the questions I am asking myself. Maybe it is simply that I have so much going on in my life right now: Leaving a church that I once invested a lot of hopes and dreams in, starting to dream again in a new context, trying to figure out why I keep failing to be a good father to my soon-to-be ten-year-old son, wondering if I will still have my job after the first of the year… God could not pick a better time in my life to spring the tenth commandment on me as the subject of something that I will teach in under a week’s time. How ironic is that? So I have been wondering lately… Can I not find what I am looking for because it does not yet exist, or because I am not really sure what it is I am looking for, or because I am too idealistic, or because I am not obedient? The list could go on. (Perhaps the most perplexing question is what kind of church would let someone who can’t even keep the Tenth Commandment teach on it?) I have this sense that what I am looking for will be embodied in the Missio Dei and I will know it as I become more fully part of it. I’ll keep you posted. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/14/2003 03:30:00 PM
Captain Obvious... According to this article, there is a difference between men and women and how their brains work. So I finally can grab the remote control and be the best me I was created to be. In a related note, I heard that scientist have also deciphered the DNA code of the female brain. Apparently it says the same thing over and over and over... posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/13/2003 10:37:00 AM	Monday, October 13, 2003
People I'ld like to meet... Every so often you hear a story or read something about someone that makes you wonder what they are like in person. I have had a link to Scott Raymond's blog for a long time because he is a great writer and thinker. Now I find out he is a gentleman adventurer, too!! Follow his adventures here and if you are like me, you will find yourself saying, "I would love to meet this guy someday..." Peace be your journey, Scott Raymond, gentleman adventurer! Additionally, I have added two new blogs to my bloglist that I hope you find enjoyable. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/13/2003 09:35:00 AM
The ghosts of Chattanooga... I have been eavesdropping on a great conversation about the difficulties in forming a generative friendship with other ecclesial dreamers. This conversation was prompted by the announcement that Emergent was hoping to become a “ghost organization”. The moment of transition that the evangelical church is going through is creating a lot of potential and not a little conflict. It seems that even those with good intentions are having a hard time figuring out how to make these relationships work. Tricky indeed. And it raises some interesting questions about emerging church leaders and the baggage we bring with us. How do we repel (rather than attract) “angry”, “opinionated” and “critical” people? This is an important question for those of us who hope to be part of a generative friendship. I think there is a tendency to become "friends" with people who share things in common with us. Towards this end, I think Emergent does a good job of helping create genuine and authentic friendships. In my local area this is certainly the case. There is a small, developing cohort here that I am part of and I would not have friendships with any of these people if it were not for Emergent. Additionally, through attending and participating in Emergent events (San Diego and Chattanooga) I have had opportunities to learn from, interact, and eat with some great ecclesial dreamers. I am under no illusion that I am "friends" with some of these people because we do not even know each other. But through these events I became aware that as an ecclesial dreamer, I am not alone. For this I am grateful. Unfortunately, when I leave San Diego or Chattanooga I do not return home to Cedar Ridge, Solomon's Porch or Jacob's Well. I come back to a church that has leadership in place that does not see a need to rethink theology, views post-modernism as border-line heresy, will not allow women to serve in "elder roles", sees evolution as anti-Christian and would not allow me to participate in the church if they knew I did not hold to the inerrancy of Scripture and absolute truth. Don’t even bring up the subjects of homosexuality, economics or politics—we don’t talk about those things in church. Based on my conversations with people in Chattanooga I do not think I am alone. Many people there were worried about thinking these things out loud when they got back to their churches. My guess is that this is very common and that is why people are willing to come from more than 20 different states for a 3 day conversation that they cannot have in their own context. So many go home after the conferences with no context to make the theological, philosophical and practical connections. They begin wondering if they can influence their communities of faith and find only conflict. (Someone on the Emergent bulletin boards compared this to being a small pox carrier). So now they don't "fit" in their own churches and they don't know what to do. Who will help them make the connections to communicate this stuff to their pastors and elder boards? Or maybe they will eventually have to leave their churches and plant a new community of faith. (That seems to be the way the majority of emergent churches get started) But who will help them with these weighty and important decisions? How do you leave a church that sees you as a backsliding heretic and still be reconciled? How do we explain why we feel the need to rethink theology, ecclesiology and practice without sounding "angry", opinionated" and "critical"? And who, if anyone, will do the hard thing of staying in the “modern” church paradigm and having the difficult conversations that need to take place there? I do not expect any organization to design my church’s programs or give me the “ten step method” to planting an "emergent Church". But it would be nice if those who have gone before us could continue to share their experiences to help the rest of us create a context to make the connections. I wonder if Emergent would invite someone like Douglas Groothuis (Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary), who probably opposes every idea they have to be part of their coordinating team. Perhaps then they could model for the rest of us how to have these important meaningful conversations of conflict in a way that does not sound "angry", "opinionated" or "critical". Simply put, they do not invite people like that into their teams because they don't have to. But this would tremendously help the rest of us have these conversations in our individual contexts where we do not have as much choice in who is involved. For me, Chattanooga was a great event. I personally felt that there was a healthy difference from the San Diego event. There was a lot less apology and deconstruction and more positive reconstruction. But there were still some there who had issues with the things being said. It was nice to observe how the presenters from Emergent responded to these things and I learned a lot from watching the interaction. One highlight for me was when the announcement was going out for the upcoming gathering in New Mexico. It was very clearly articulated that this time in New Mexico will be for those who accept the “emerging theology”. Those who do not agree with this or have issues with it were kindly advised to stay away. I respect that. I think that their needs to be a “safe place” to begin forming these important “generative friendships” with out conflict. Perhaps if the Emergent leaders had that kind of presence on the Emergent Village there would be a lot less angry, opinionated and critical people posting there. If it is possible to kindly invite them to not participate New Mexico, how hard could it be to ask them not to post on the Emergent Village bulletin boards? Then, those who are more comfortable with emerging theology could begin to create a context for us to put the pieces together without arguing. All in all, I think Emergent is doing a great job initiating some important conversations for a lot more people than they realize. However, I do not think that the problems generated from that will go away by them becoming less visible (ghosts) but by becoming more visible. I understand that there is not enough time for them to be pastors, husbands/wives, parents, friends, authors, bloggers, conference speakers, etc… But being Ghost is the wrong way to go. If we want the generative friendships to grow we need to be more visible than ever, developing more local conversations with like minded ecclesial dreamers. We need to build infrastructures that allow pastors support in the difficult theological discussions that face emerging church leaders. The average pastor will not have the ability to stand up under the pressure of being faithful if he is all alone. She or he needs a generative friendship that is real, visible and tangible. I don’t really know where I am going with this post. All I know is that I need organizations like Emergent to continue the good work they began. I hope and pray that greater minds than mine will find a way to make this happen. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/10/2003 11:51:00 PM	Friday, October 10, 2003
Orthodoxy as incarnational practice and sacrament... I have this strong belief that the church really is the body of Christ. So to me, the idea of inviting someone into a "personal relationship" with Christ can only happen by being (living) in community with them. Obviously this changes the way I see evangelism. It is not enough to get some one to say the "sinners prayer" or get through all four intersections of the Roman's road. True evangelism has to be deeper than that. In the Christmas story the "good news of great joy for all people" was not that people could get to heaven (though I think that is pretty good news) but that Christ was born and his name was "Immanuel" which means, God with us. So the "good news" as I see it revolves around God "being with us" in the person of Christ. If the Church is the body of Christ than the "good News" requires that the church be in a very real way "God with us", loving, forgiving, redeeming, healing and reconciling. This idea is one that I find difficult to explain on a blog post but I hope we find a way to embody this in Missio Dei. Two things will have to be true for this to happen. First, as Leslie Newbigin said, communities have to believe it. Second, we need to restore some sense of "sacrament" back to the gathering together as the people of God. These are ideas I am still wrestling with but I am convinced are very important. The idea of defining our relationship to God as individuals needs to be corrected to better reflect the nature of the body of Christ--members of a whole. Then this body can itself be "good news" as it practices things like (being ambassadors of) reconciliation. I found some thoughts related to this in the book, Radical Orthodoxy: A New Theology. (This book is a little above me intellectually but I am still finding it very rewarding.) The following paragraphs come from Laurence Paul Hemming's chapter/essay entitled, "Nihilism: Heidegger and the grounds of redemption"-- "...faith becomes the conditioning mode of making something real, of bringing it about. What does my faith make real? Faith in God, specifically in the God of Christianity, makes God real within the horizon of my 'I', which is to say faith in God makes me the horizon where God is made real and so expressed. In this sense my time with God is not just something I spend (in church, in prayer and so on) but time I create, as a way of being in the world. Faithfulness--my 'being appropriated' by the Christian tradition--can inthis way be understood only as what forms me as a faithful person. Orthodoxy is a possible way, a 'how' of my realisation of God, in this case, of God revealed in Christ. It is in this sense that (from the perspective of Christianity) I am as alter Christus, another Christ. Implicit in this view is that orthodoxy is partly disclosed in the 'how', the manner, of its disclosure as much as in the 'what' of its content. This 'how' and 'what' are modes of disclosure of being-human. Thought as faith, they order the orthodox person towards her and his fellow beings and towards God. This ordering can best be understood as piety, for piety is the mode of disclosure of my being together with God. Orthodoxy in this sense ceases to be 'assertion' and is better understood as prayer and, most formally, as sacrament--as relationship to God brought about in the communal speech of the assembly as a mode of being Christ: a mode of revelation of something not-human (divine) within something human (me, the assembly). In outline (and it is here no more than a sketch), this is the way in which many of the patristic authors at least thought the relationship between God, the creation and the human person: pluriformity redeemed as unity." (Radical Orthodoxy, pages 91-92) posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/07/2003 02:54:00 PM	Tuesday, October 07, 2003
Taking your foot off first to get to second... It has been a while since I posted anything about church. It wasn't that I was avoiding the subject but really did not have much to say as everything was unfolding pretty quickly once I stopped contributing to the Pastor Search Team (PST). So, the new pastor has been found, called and hired and Crossroads has its new leader. The whole search process was accomplished in under 12 weeks. I like the new pastor a lot, though I have only had some limited conversations with him. He is a good fit for the direction Crossroads has chosen for the next chapter and should prove to be a succesful leader. But the next chapter will not include our family. This past Sunday the official announcement was made that we will be leaving Crossroads the end of October to invest in Missio Dei. That announcement was the formal end to 4 years of investing in Crossroads, though I still have two more weeks in my Ten Commandments class. I have several great memories and some friendships that will last forever but for the most part I see the last four years as a missed opportunity. I think we had almost everything we needed to be a faithful, emerging community of faith except the plurality of leadership needed to lead it. Ironically, Missio Dei has the plurality of leadership we were looking for but now we need to put all the other peices together. At any rate, at least we will be focusing in one direction now instead of two. posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/07/2003 02:04:00 PM
Close Proximity... proximi*ty n, - the state, quality, sense or fact of being near or next; closeness I want to thank Hamo for jump-starting my day with a nice, short, encouraging IM chat this morning. I also checked out his blog this morning and found he has a new article on The Ooze. It is a great article that got my juices flowing. (I am not going to link to it here because you can link to it from his blog, and you really should read that as well) Hamo's article fell into my thoughts of the meeting our small Denver Cohort had last Sunday and the conversation I had this week with my friend Tre and turned into "idea soup" in my head. all of this sparked a couple of contradictory things eating at me right now and the tension is producing a creative energy. One of the questions I am struggling with right now is "where will our community meet?" If church is not programs (as Hamo correctly points out) then what is it? Or to put it more directly, at what point does someone become part of The Church? For me this is an important question. If my role is to get people I know into a building/location to participate in my programs than it is pretty easy to measure. But if my role is to be a faithful member of the body of Christ, and invite others in to that it is a little more elusive. How do we invite someone into the body? This will not only change the way we look at and practice evangelism but it will alter our views on "location". This takes me back to the question, "where will we meet?" I think we sometimes put too much emphasis on the local congregations at the expense of the Church Universal. This creates a competition between "local" churches over market share. If I am a member of First Baptist than I can't really be a member of First Presbyterian, right? So what do we mean when we say we believe in the "church Universal"? If we think of "church" in terms of location, how can it be "universal"? To escape that oxymoron I am embracing the redundancy of "Close Proximity". Maybe instead of meeting in locations we will join our hearts and lives in close proximity. This way I can tell everyone I know I am a member of Hamo's church in Australia... posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/02/2003 02:30:00 PM	Thursday, October 02, 2003
McMinistry... When you read that--"McMinistry"--what do you think of? If your like me, you think of a ministry produced and packaged for mass consumption, like McDonalds hamburgers. That's what I thought when I read it. But I was wrong. MCministry is actually the shorter name for the Multi-Cultural Ministry, a group of house churches that meet in the southern Denver metro area. I happen to know the women who hosts the TGIF2 (Truly God Is Forever Faithful) house church in Parker every Friday night. She is one of the most gifted, hospitable leaders I know. She invited me to attend a monthly celebration this past Sunday. This is when the several house churches all come together for a time of corporate worship. So Sunday I was in church twice, once at my current community of faith and once with the MCMinistry celebration. Here are my observations: 1. The aim or telos really does make a difference. The gatherings may look the same on the outside (music, teaching, anouncements) but the goal these two different groups were aiming for changed the atmosphere drastically. I need to make sure I am constantly checking my tleos. 2. The people in leadership must be people who will be pastoring from the heart. The pastor teaching for the celebration is not making enough money to do this vocationally, yet he is doing this vocationally. He is not a pastor because it is a good job, he does a good job because he is a pastor. I need to remind myself that God calls us to serve, not be served. God has a way of providing for us that we can not pretend to understand. Meeting our needs is not a problem for the Trinity but findind people who will nurture and pastor from a heart of passion is. I will pastor because that is what I am called to do. If I think I need to be compensated, I should not be doing it. (I am not against paid pastoral leadership but the compensation should not be the determining factor. If you can't pastor for no compensation you should re-examine your own telos.) 3. There is power in organic relationships that continue over a long period of time. The people in MCMInistry's celebration knew each other at a level that made me envious. This was no conspiracy of pretense. It was a group of people who knew each other well enough to have to work at loving each other. People served and shared with one another. It was a pleasure to worship with them and to be able to contribute to their celebration. Telos, proper leadership, and organic relationships over a long period of time. It's not rocket science and it's so crazy it just might work... posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/02/2003 10:02:00 AM
Missio Dei... "We're on a mission from God." -- Jake and Elwood Blues (A.K.A. The Blues Brothers) The story of knowtown and my ecclesial dreaming continues to unfold in various, unpredictable ways. But it all comes back to being on a mission. In the past I have compared this journey to Lewis and Clark and Apollo 13. Recently I have been exposed to other descriptive missions like the story of Ernest Shackleton and his ship Endurance. There are still no road signs or maps but there is a community of faith that is starting to come together. A "Corps of Discovery" is in the works. loose ends are being tied up and preperations are being made. In the midst of my ecclesial dreaming, life is going on. I will soon be leaving a community of faith that has twice blessed me along on the journey. In stepping down from her youth ministry position Janell is letting go of some income. There is a possibility that my employment may end, or at least be drastically changed, in the near future. This is going to make our life interesting. I would not be honest if I said these things don't worry me because at some level they do. But the journey continues and I am intent on following where ever it leads. I am reminded of the lyrics of Billy Falcon's song, Still Got A Prayer: "when he took his last breath on Calvary's hill it didn't look good..." But we all know how that story ends. We are still dreaming and following because We're on a mission from God... posted by Ecclesial Dreamer @ 10/01/2003 03:31:00 PM	Wednesday, October 01, 2003