Tag Archives: emergent

Off the Map – I will now do nothing spectacular

Posted on November 3, 2007 | 7 Comments

Probably the most wonderful workshop that I have been at during this whole conference was the one hosted by the folks from The Bridge community in Portland. There were other groups there that were encouraging as well… everything was regarding planting churches with people who have no money. Good stuff… it sounds like me. The Bridge is dedicated to being very relational with those on the streets of Portland who do not live in houses.

One person threw out a comment regarding getting people outside of the church walls to be relational. He said, “Churches need to release people from the normal church stuff. The Bible studies, the groups, etc. We are all so busy within the church to be incarnational outside the church.” I totally agree with this… but realize that it is soooo difficult to get people to participate less in the life of their own church community. We want to feel good about being in church. We want to build a really cool place to hang out with the hope that those who visit will think so too. I suppose that we are getting to a place where people don’t find life inside the church the cool place to be. There are plenty of cool things already going on.

After the Bridge workshop, I went up to talk to Ken Loyd, one of the pastors at the Bridge. He has built some wonderful relationships with those in Portland who “don’t live in houses.” I wanted to talk to him about the beginning processes of starting a vibrant community. I usually end up expressing to folks that the thing that gets me most is the “slowness.” “Slowness! That’s the point!!” Ken said. “You will be an instant success in maybe four or five years… You have to do things that are completely un-extraordinary. Don’t do anything special or spectacular. This is how you will be legendary.” He went on to say that so many churches out there are trying to do extraordinary things. It is getting tiring for people. We just have to be normal and engage people where they are at with the absolutely normal things of life.

Relationships. Nothing extraordinary. Nothing spectacular. I love this!

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Posted in Community, Friends, Ministry

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Off the Map Live – Seattle

Posted on November 2, 2007 | 3 Comments

So I guess since so many folks here at Off the Map will be blogging on their comments and feedback, I might as well go for it and join the norm. After all this blogging I have done, I finally get to join the Emergent crowd and blog through a conference. NICE!! You can see other folks’ comments on their own site blog here.

So far, there’s been some good times. Great opportunities to meet folks. I have met some from Nevada, Portland, California…. saw Karen Sloan again, got a big hug from Bill Dahl, met Spencer Burke, Brian McLaren, found out Todd Hunter (who I’ve actually talked to on the phone before) is here, as well. My hope is to continue these conversations at a much more informal level. I suppose I don’t have to worry about Bill as Mr. Porpoise-diving is like a second dad for me.

The thing that I am most impressed with so far is the wide variety of voices present. Not that they are wide by any broad sense of the term, but there is a good variety of people here representing different view points. I prefer to do much listening these next few days, as no doubt it will be more challenging to come in with an open mind… ready to learn. I do always find it interesting when we spend a lot of time hypothesizing about strategy and theory with a lot of folks who are pretty similar to us. Our ministry then is often with people who are very different then us… so perhaps, let’s talk about who we are and what we bring to the table. I hope for these opportunities.

But then again, after our conversation over a few beers last night, I should supposedly affirm that “I don’t have anything to do with it… and then again neither do you…. and neither does the conversation…” I know that doesn’t make sense….

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Posted in Community, Friends

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Shout out to Tony Jones: New book coming soon

Posted on October 31, 2007 | Leave a comment

Steve posted at Emergent Village this update on Tony’s new book:

Tony Jones’ new book The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier doesn’t come out until March 2, 2008, but Sam Andress already has an early review: “This is the one book I would hand anyone who has a caricatured understanding of all things emergent. It is a journalistic sort of narrative with deep humility along side a bubbling passion to clearly articulate the theological shifts which are shaping and transforming the church into something beautifully ancient and future, something on the frontier where the explorers are roaming! Tony lucidly paints the frameworks of understanding out of which this emergent church and its corresponding theology arise. It is also written in an emergentesque style. It is not a ‘how-to-start-an-emergent-church guide.’”

Tony has posted official endorsements over on his new TonyJ.net website, and of course there’s a Facebook group you can join to keep in the loop on the new book as well.

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Spirituality of “Hanging out”

Posted on October 31, 2007 | 5 Comments

As a leader of a community following God in the way of Jesus, this concept of “hanging out” comes with so many mixed feelings. For me personally, it is a wonderfully exciting thing and filled with meaning, but I better explain the other side first. Perhaps it just my own insecurities of what people think I am doing, but I wonder why a church would ever support someone who just hangs out with people. Perhaps it seems to some that I am just making friends and calling that ministry. Perhaps it seems that we are just sitting around drinking coffee, a beer, playing games, or watching a movie. Where is the worth in this? Isn’t leadership supposed to be focused on saving souls (evangelical cynicism… sorry), getting people into the church, helping people feel good about life or maybe give money, helping them grow spiritually, or maybe just letting them know that the church really is there for them. These things don’t come to mind when I tell people that for the most part, I am simply committed to “hanging out” with people. It doesn’t seem purposeful enough.

My own excitement with hanging out stems from the idea that yes, all of those things that I mentioned above are wonderful, but things of real meaning, all those things above, don’t happen without a grounding in a  trusting relationship. At the core of hanging out is a desire to build trust and develop relationships. This, I think, should be at the core of how we do what we are called to do… that is, BE Jesus to the world. We do this through relationships. God has created us in his image, has he not? And isn’t his image, at the core, a relationship (the Trinity)? Love, sacrifice, peace, forgiveness, serving… all connected to relationship.

So as I continue on with my already fuzzy defined ministry of my life, I am beginning to really feel as though the classical sense of what a “pastor” is does not have to be the case. Do I want to be forced into busyness and stretched-thin-ness so that I cannot just hang out with people? What does it mean for me to be a leader… a spiritual leader, a leader that looks like Jesus…? How do I really make a difference with people in their lives? I would have to say I would rather show up at their house and sit on their couch than get them to show up and sit in a pew. I would probably rather spend 5 bucks and two hours over a good cup of coffee than to “donate” 25 bucks to a random nonprofit. I would rather have someone come over and watch a movie or play a game than hope that they “discover God” in “Sunday school.” Church is not in a building. Community, and relationship, and coffee, and beers… these are all church. God’s Spirit is here.

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Posted in Community, Ministry, Out and About in Bend, Questions

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“Insider” language… or something else

Posted on October 26, 2007 | 4 Comments

I am learning the importance of being very conscious of the language I use these days. Growing up in the church and listening to Christians talk (myself included) I so often find us using words, phrases, and concepts that really only church people would understand. I was listening to some radio programming yesterday from some folks who would probably disagree with almost everything I am doing… simply because of what it is associated with. One of my favorite things they said was that the gospel is supposed to “offend” and the world is supposed to hate us.

I think of all this as “insider” talk. Reason being, who are we talking to? Who are we trying to influence and make a difference with? If we only seek to talk to other Christians, we can simply continue to use the same language without thinking about it… we can continue to teach the same things without thinking. It seems so often that the “gospel” that so many people talk about, and the “Word” that people “need to hear,” and the “good new” that is preached is only for those who already agree. Now, before I sound like I am pointing fingers, I must say that this is something that I stray into all too easily. My reason for the consideration of another way is because I am working on it myself.

For the first time in my life, I am actually spending time with people who are not blatant Christians. Is it fair for me to say that I love it? Is this okay… probably not for some. As these relationships develop I realize that this good news that I want to live out and embody is not necessarily for people who already have it and already agree with me. This drastically changes the way I talk and the things I say. “Insider” ways of speaking are absolutely useless. I need to think and ask what I mean by what I am saying… what other people mean by what they are saying. Perhaps there can be a greater accountability with the way we speak. I am finding much more intentionality in this area within the emerging church. Who ever said that we are ALL watering things down for people. Maybe we are doing just the opposite?

** It is interesting that the “insider” / “outsider” distinction really only happens on a negative level. I don’t know if there is an actual positive way of thinking about it. Subconsciously, we stray into thinking this way and it gives us reason to abuse the other. It really gets me when our theology specifically and unapologetically affirms this thinking. Those who would not consider themselves “insiders” see this all too easily and perhaps it is one of the biggest turnoffs to the church. our country, our cultural cliques, our media, our gender role distinctions, or our racial / national concepts of superiority.

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Posted in Ministry, Out and About in Bend

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