a Missional Theology: part 3

I recently posted a podcast at our new site - www.MissionalMonks.com - titled "a missional theology," which addresses my understanding of who we are called to be as God's people. I decided to post the transcript of that podcast here. Its a little long, so it'll show up as a series of three posts (this is the final of the three).

Note that its entitled "a" missional theology...not "the" missional theology. What I attempted to describe are some basic understandings of functioning as God's community of ambassadors to all creation. There is plenty of room here for the different denominational distinctions and doctrines - I didn't even try to get in to all the finer points of systematic theology here. So, if you think that something I added is wrong, please feel free to open dialog. If you think I left something out...I did. Add it and serve faithfully.

If you aren't interested in reading 3500 words over three posts, you can listen to nearly the identical thing at missionalmonks.com - the "music" player is in the left hand column - its just under 30 mins including the intro (shorter than most of my sermons...). Whether you read or listen, I'd love your feedback.

Towards a Missional Theology

part 3

Broken or not, we are created in the image of God and I think one of the great examples of human pride is the false belief that there is anything we could have done (like the concept of original sin and total depravity) that could ever completely destroy what God placed in our very essence.

We are not God. We are broken and fall very much short of our ideal, but we still carry within us the image of the Divine Creator. Because of this, our identity is formed not only by our difference from God but also by what we’ve seen God at work doing, who we’ve seen God revealed to be.

Before the beginning God existed as a complete Community of Love. Unlike the claims of some religions that hold the beliefs that the gods need human worshippers to maintain their power, we worship the God who needed nothing. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit share in a fully contained and unified community of Love. The full understanding the Trinity is certainly beyond us. But this much is clear, one cannot love without an object to receive love. Unlike us, God needs no external object because the Father loves the Son and Spirit, The Son loves the Father and Spirit and the Spirit loves the Father and Son. And yet, the nature of love is to make room for others to experience loving community and so God created. And when God created, God made room at the table for creation. However, this is not a story of a wealthy landowner simply throwing occasional parties at his mansion. Time and time again we see that God is not only willing, but apparently anxious to be out in the midst of those God loves.

Communitas

I am grateful to Alan Hirsch for introducing me to the word communitas. It is a latin word that refers to community which develops and is cultivated among people who have a shared struggle, ordeal or mission. Like sports teams that endure long difficult seasons, or soldiers who share a foxhole, communitas refers to that bond that comes from being in a place where you have no choice but to depend on those around you. We see this in the very nature of the Triune God. Be it the act of creation or the redemption of creation through the cross, we find Father, Son and Spirit with a shared mission and apparently even a shared struggle. It doesn’t take away from God’s greatness to acknowledge struggle - because the struggle doesn’t come from God’s inability to overcome, but rather from God’s willingness to neither overwhelm creation nor abandon it.

If we are the people of God, created in God’s image, then communitas is going to be a vital component of our lives. When it isn’t, we know something is missing. This is part of why both gangs and fraternities are so popular - whether they are healthy or not, they are an experience of communitas. I also think this is why buddy movies, war movies, sports movies are so captivating - they tap into our desire to go through something significant with others.

Hospitality

Because God, the Community of Love, not only created us but made space for us within the Community, we see the importance and even centrality of hospitality. When we trace the story of Scripture we see over and again that God welcomes us into his presence. We see God clothing the naked and even the poorly clothed like Adam and Eve. We see God feeding the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. We see Jesus feeding the multitudes, washing the disciples’ feet and going to prepare a place for us in his father’s home. (Which by the way, is a reference to ancient marriage customs...where a betrothed male would actually build a room for he and his future wife onto his father’s house. He would continue working on the room until the father decided it was ready to be inhabited and then the father would send the son to get his bride). Throughout the old testament we find God instructing the Israelites that they were to be people of hospitality - welcoming the stranger into their homes, making sure that foreigners and the poor were taken care of, even ensuring that they’d have a place at the annual feasts. Hospitality is a central component to the revealed nature of God and is a vital piece of identity for the people of God.

Hospitality means so much more than just inviting our friends to our house for dinner. It literally means to welcome the stranger...and if we take Jesus seriously, it will also include loving and welcoming even our enemies. It means caring for the poor. It means remembering those who are overlooked and forgotten by society. It means that we are a community that practices the customs of the new Kingdom, the Kingdom of God that is here but still coming. It means that we should live in a way that seems radical and even foolish in our get ahead at all costs society.

Missional Living

But again, God doesn’t merely welcome us in, God comes to us and brings his peace with him. In addition to hospitality we see that God is the preeminent missionary. In other words, from the very beginning to the very end and everywhere in between, God is not content to sit in heaven and watch our lives from a distance. God draws near. God sets up his tent among us. In Exodus we read about the Tabernacle. It was basically a large tent that the Israelites carried around with them. The Tabernacle represented God’s presence with the Israelites.

Several years ago I realized that in the Gospel of John when it is says that Jesus made his dwelling among us, the Greek word used is the word for tabernacle. In other words, like God with the Israelites, Jesus set up his tent in our midst...as Eugene Peterson says it in the Message, Jesus moved into the neighborhood. The cool thing is that when you read Revelation 21 - the end our Scriptures. It says that when everything is finally brought to its culmination, the new Jerusalem will come DOWN out of heaven and God will dwell with his people. Again the word is tabernacle. The dwelling of God will be with his people. From the beginning, to Jesus’ life to the culmination of all things, God chooses to come down and tabernacle with us.

How can we choose anything different? If we are God’s people, formed in the image of God we must seek to cultivate communitas - which means that our life in God will not be carried out alone but in community. We must be a people of hospitality, welcoming the stranger. But we must also be a missional people - a community sent out by God to dwell among the people, among creation, in the dark places where the light needs to break in.

These six things: discipleship, spiritual formation and worship because we are not God and communitas, hospitality and missional living because we are created in the image of God, are not meant to be the final formula to fix the churches problems. However, I contend that if we, as a church, can live into these principles we will find that we are in a place where we are more likely to witness God at work, praise God for what we see and answer the call to go and do likewise.

The Banquet

There was once a group of friends who lived an exciting life. Everyday was filled with adventure and risk. Each morning as they awoke the possibilities of the new day would flood their minds and they could hardly get through their morning routines fast enough before heading off to see what they would see.

This group of friends had been brought together by the most extraordinary leader. A principled yet compassionate visionary, he never seemed to need sleep and yet always found time to rest and relax with the friends. He never grew hungry, and shared all he had, yet seemed to enjoy meals more than anyone.

He was confident and competent and yet quick to empower others. No one ever had any doubt that this leader would be fine without them but neither did they fear he would ever choose to leave them.

Each day, their adventures revolved around the magnificent tasks that the leader was busy completing. It seemed that no matter how early they got started, they always found him there - wherever “there” happened to be - before they arrived.

Sometimes the tasks seemed menial, mundane and extremely normal. Sometimes the friends found themselves in the midst of monumental revolutions. Always, no matter how small or grand the task, they walked away knowing that the world was now a little better place.

Most agreed however, that the most amazing thing was the food. People everywhere were hungry. Food was scarce and often only obtained through incredible effort.

You would think that all this time spent working on the leader's tasks would leave the friends little time to grow, buy or scavenge for sustenance. But no, somehow this leader threw extravagant feasts and provided the friends with more food than they could eat. The food was not only delicious, but it nourished their bodies better than any other food they had access to. They were strong and healthy, full of energy and passion.

Over time they began to realize that something should be done with all this food, it wasn’t right to keep it to themselves. And so they decided to host a banquet in the leader’s honor each week...seriously, there was a lot of food.

They would come together and share a meal from what they’d gathered during the previous week. They would invite other friends, neighbors, the poor people they passed on the street, anyone they happened to encounter - why should anyone go hungry when so much was available?

And they would raise their glasses in a toast to their benefactor and would share their stories of adventure. They began to realize that the more they gave away - both food and stories - the more they seemed to possess. Others began to inquire if they too could join this group of friends in their journey.

This pleased the leader tremendously. In fact, it had been the plan all along. He had seen the way other leaders, kings, presidents and dictators had used power and coercion to establish nations. He had noticed that a philosophy of scarcity seemed to keep people in their place. But this baffled him and so he set about quietly transforming the lives of a few people...knowing full well that when others heard about a life of plenty; an abundant life rich with meaning, a new society would be inevitable.

Over time this small group of friends did in fact grow to become a large society, but a sad thing began to happen.

Some people began to realize that they could stay in their beds, remain in their houses and skip the adventures entirely. When the end of week came around they could just listen to stories of other people’s adventures and share in the abundance of food that was provided. In fact, if they were careful and rationed wisely, they could gather enough food during the banquet to last them all week!

And so they would raise their glasses and toast the wise leader. Their eyes would tear up as they heard stories that warmed their hearts. They would shake their heads in bewilderment that there were still those who had not cast their lot with this group of friends. And then they would go home with pockets full of food.

Years went by and the number of people who found this loophole not only grew, but it came to be expected that only a chosen few would join in the leader's adventures. A few more were selected to run the banquets. Afterall, the number of people participating had grown so much that it was only right to bring some order to the relational chaos that had developed. Elaborate banquet halls were constructed. Rules were established for proper dispersal and handling of food, with fewer and fewer people having access to the store rooms.

Most people found themselves quite content with just attending the banquets anyway. They didn’t have the same adventures as others, but then again, perhaps not everyone was cut out for such a life of risk. Besides, they rationalized, this way they could spend their time doing other worthwhile tasks around their house.

For the most part, the lives of the friends once again became dull and mundane. Mornings grew to be dreaded because they knew that today would be just like yesterday - boring and filled with a growing hunger.

Eventually, there were enclaves all over that were filled with friends whose bodies were no longer strong and healthy. In fact, without the sustenance they gathered at the weekly banquet, they could barely survive. They no longer understood the banquet's primary purpose to be sharing an abundance of food, but rather the place where they procured enough for their continued existence. It was actually rare to find a banquet where the participants had even seen the leader during the previous week, let alone joined him in any adventures.

To make matters worse, as the number of people working with the leader decreased, so did the amount of food that was available. It wasn’t that the visionary leader had less to distribute, it was just that no one had gone to collect it. Most of the friends seemed completely unaware that everyday the leader was still out working on his amazing tasks...

And so, many people began to stop attending the feasts all together. They were angry with the leader for his apparent unfulfilled promises. Some began moving from banquet hall to banquet hall in search of one that would feed them sufficiently. Some gave up completely and went out in search of other food. It may not be as wonderful as the meals they’d heard about in the stories...but they hadn’t experienced those very often anyway.

Where the banquets were lacking in food, they were rich in ritual. Food became a metaphor today with the promise of real food in the future, once the leader finally and completely replaced the old societies with his new society; the toasts became perfunctory requirements; stories were memorized, analyzed, stylized, digitized and programitized... A competition began to arise between different groups of friends as to who could host the most beautiful banquet with or without food.

Other friends rejected the value of a "beautiful" banquet and focused instead on putting together properly orchestrated banquets. Without anything of immediate value to share with others, it became rare for anyone to invite a neighbor to the feast...afterall, there wasn’t much feasting taking place anyway. While a few people saw it as their calling to proclaim a feast in the future for those who would have the faith to wait for it today, most people didn’t feel they had the persuasive ability to convince friends to come and sit in anticipation of something they couldn’t prove.

And everyone sent fervent messages to the leader to send more food.

And a question began to form in the minds of people everywhere: Is there still any adventure or abundance in the world?

They say that if you listen carefully you can hear the leader whisper in response, “Come and see.”

Some say its just a story, as if any truly great story could ever be “just” a story...

Yep, I got a tattoo...

I’ve been wanting a tattoo for a long time, but refused to permanently engrave something that didn’t have deep significance to me. Unfortunately the two most obvious choices, a cross and the Celtic Tree of Life have been extremely overplayed recently...

A while back I decided that a prayer labyrinth would be an appropriate tattoo. For those who aren’t aware, labyrinths have been used by Christians throughout the centuries as a tool for prayer and reflection. The center of the labyrinth represents the presence of God.

They are not mazes, there are no dead-ends or false trails. There are however many switchbacks in the path. Early on (in this particular labyrinth) the person walking is very close to the center and then later finds themselves moving further away. However, if we are moving forward we are drawing nearer to God, even when it may at first glance appear otherwise. The long paths around the outside of the circle can seem never-ending, but they are a necessary part of our journey...and after pressing through, the center is that much more appreciated.

The significance of prayer in my own life has increased greatly over the past five years. We have found ourselves on a journey through the wilderness that has at times seemed to contain a inescapable darkness and struggle. We have learned that prayer - both personal and communal - is more than just a requirement or chance to apologize for the ways we’ve “blown it” with God. Sometimes prayer is the only tangible reminder of brighter days. Honestly, sometimes prayer is a desperate cry when we aren’t sure the light even exists.

I’ve had the opportunity to walk prayer labyrinths on several occasions...and this simple act has had tremendous impact in my life. Whether it was a path of tiles in a small enclave at SMU, a bunch of rocks piled on the shores of Lake Texoma, a well worn path at a small monastery in south Dallas, or even a temporary set-up at a youth minister’s convention - this journey of prayer has tapped into moments of deep reflection in my life of faith.

This tattoo is placed on my forearm (which was actually my brother’s idea) so that I will see it regularly and be called to pray continually. When needed I can actually “walk” this labyrinth by tracing it with my finger (once my skin stops hurting!)

However there is another significance in carrying this labyrinth with me everywhere I go...

A LIVING LABYRINTH

As a disciple of Jesus, I am called and equipped to be, in a sense, a living labyrinth. Wherever I go, I carry with me the story of The Journey. This story, which began before creation and has a culmination that transcends time itself, also includes the small and seemingly insignificant story of me. People who spend time walking with me SHOULD have the opportunity to encounter moments of reflection and prayer. If I am committed to the calling I’ve received, then I will serve as a living labyrinth to those around me.

I’d be lying if I tried to pretend this is an accurate description of me...but I want it to be.

My life is meant to be more than a proclamation of morality. I am a disciple of the true Revolutionary; the One who is in the process of remaking and restoring all creation. My life is a participation in that reconciliation...The labyrinth will be a useful tool until God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. When that day arrives fully I will finally reside fully in the center of the labyrinth...which will then serve as a reminder of the path that I never walked alone.

Do We Have Time for This?

My friend Chris left the following comment on my previous post. My response got long enough I decided it needed to be its own post!

What say you to folks out there who would respond with: "I'm too busy to share deep relationships with other people" and/or "Too many people have let me down throughout my life, and I'm not going to put myself on the line like that anymore"? 

Also, we talk a lot about how life in the suburbs seems to discourage (or at least make it really difficult) to share in communitas with others. How does life in the suburbs encourage such relationships?

First of all I'd say, I totally understand.

I've lost count of how many jobs I have and can't remember the last time I woke up without a list of things I had to get done yesterday. There's never a day that I think to myself, "I really have too much free time, I should develop some deeper relationships."

I also know all too well what it is like to be let down by people. We've put ourselves out there only to be burned on more occasions than I like to remember. We've totally thrown ourselves into the work of a church only to be put on the street without warning because a committee decided that paying off building debt was more important than my family.

So I get it. But as citizens of the new kingdom we have no choice in this matter. We can sit around feeling sorry for ourselves or worse yet, we can sit around feeling justified in our seclusion. But in the end the reality is simple. The Creator of the Universe has reached out and redeemed us and in turn has called us to serve as ambassadors for the renewed world.

The old-timers - like my mom ;) - used to tell me, "can't never could do nothin."

We are the people of hope. We must live that hope if it is going to mean anything at all. There is room for struggle and doubt, but there is no room for resigning ourselves to mediocrity and complacency with a status quo that is far from God's will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

To be clear, I'm not saying that everyone needs to dedicate 30 hours a week to an evangelism campaign or begin every conversation with, "Do you know Jesus as your personal savior?" Certainly the relationships we cultivate grow directly from our connection to Christ and our agenda is driven by our conviction that the kingdom of God is at hand.

That is why surface relationships can no longer suffice. Friendships may begin at a surface level and may even stay there for a while, but when we choose to leave them that way, the relationship (and we) fail to bear the mark of kingdom. I realize that it is scary and intimidating to put ourselves out there, risking rejection and frustration. But it is well worth the risk. Rejection is frightening, but isolation is flat out terrifying...and some of our friends and neighbors are silently gripped with terror.

I think that the suburbs are a very hard place to cast this vision. However, one reason that many people choose to live in the 'burbs is a desire to raise their kids in a more family focused community. We have dreams of the white picket fence and waving at our neighbors while we mow the lawn. That turns out, for the most part, to be a myth and culture quickly sells us on a more consumer friendly version of community. Instead of the picket fence and hand waving, we settle for facebook and drive-thru lattes. Instead of glasses of iced tea on the front porch everyone drives their car into a garage and watch TV inside until time to rush off to work or soccer practice.

However, perhaps with time we can reignite people's imagination for "a better life," one that is filled with meaning and substance rather than just filled with activity. However, this won't happen unless we are, at some level, embracing and experiencing such a life ourselves.

The Traveling Companion: episode 7

I just started my next to last class for my D.Min at Perkins - Spiritual Leadership in Missional Churches. One of our assignments is to keep a journal during the 2 weeks of class. I decided to blog mine...

I knew exactly what he was going to ask me. It was bedtime and I was home, so the question was inevitable. The boy with the huge blue eyes and big gap where his two front teeth should be reached up and grabbed my face with both hands. "Daddy...magic TV?"

For the past year or so Conner, Micah and I have been on a journey with two young boys named Steve and Crazy. Steve is very tall and Crazy is very, well...crazy. They live in a special house. In this house there are lots of rooms and in each room there are lots of tv's. There are big tv's and small tv's. Black-and-white tv's, color tv's and rainbow tv's. There are rectangle tv's and round tv's. There are flat tv's and fat tv's. There are tv's that hang on the wall and tv's that sit on a table. But there is one tv more special than all the others. In fact, you could say that its a magic tv. You can't find this tv if you're looking for it...and actually, you can only find this tv if you aren't looking for anything at all. But, whenever you watch this tv you find yourself inside the story. (Micah named this unchanging part of the story, "the commercial." Conner loves it and Micah always wants to skip it and get to the good part.)

Each night Steve and Crazy watch a show - sometimes its a cartoon that Conner and Micah enjoy, like Phineas and Ferb, the Backyardigans or even the Smurfs (yep, our boys know about the Smurfs). Sometimes its a show about dinosaurs, ninja's, jungles, outer space or a combination of several. And each time Steve and Crazy must help the characters in the show finish the episode. Sometimes things go wrong, sometimes things are just plain silly. We never know what's going to happen (seriously, I make it up as I go).

Crazy never says anything that makes sense - he is crazy after all. Micah usually has some random statement that he wants Crazy to say...and since it doesn't make any sense its usually pretty easy to fit it in!

These stories can be exhausting...how many different plot lines can a guy come up with after all? But I keep telling them because Conner and Micah truly love Steve and Crazy. Sometimes I get Conner to tell the story and I'm always amazed at how he already understands that a story has a beginning followed by some sort of crisis with twists that don't get resolved until the end. Micah hasn't been willing to tell any stories yet, but he has completely outlined several plots for me...

It had been a while since I read it last, so last night I looked back over Roxburgh's book The Missional Leader in preparation for our class discussions today. I'd forgotten just how good of a book it is - if you are a church leader considering ways to encourage your church to take seriously the call to actively live as the missionary people of God in your community, I highly recommend this book.

One of the passages I'd previously highlighted grabbed my attention. In it the author is describing the value and purpose of narrative in forming community.

A narrative has several characteristics. It comprises a story that is moving somewhere; it gives a social group a story that tells where it is going and what the group will look like when it arrives. There is purpose and quest within the narrative calling a group in a specific direction and toward a particular goal...Because narrative creates and sustains social community, it's the glue, the atmosphere of all social life. The key to innovating missional community is formation of a people within a specific memory and narrative. - The Missional Leader, 70-71.

I love that first bit - it comprises a story that is moving somewhere. I remember as a grad student at ACU and while preaching in New Orleans I was a part of several discussions about "narrative preaching." There are a number of folks who have a low view of the idea because they see it as "watered down." I was convinced then and remain so that this is primarily due to 1) bad examples of the narrative style and 2) misperceptions of the purpose and function.

For those that don't know distinctions between preaching styles, the traditional approach that many of us grew up hearing was expository preaching - the preacher takes a text of Scripture and "expounds" or teaches through it. Intro, 3 points, a poem and an invitation was typically the week-in-week-out format, at least in our Church of Christ circles.

Changing anything, even the format for your sermon delivery, usually results in a spike in the corporate blood pressure of a congregation. So when some preachers began telling stories with no acronyms or "that leads me to my next point" many people began to fear that the Bible was no longer being preached. And sometimes they were right.

Narrative preaching or proper use of narrative in general, is not meant to be merely the telling of entertaining or warm fuzzy stories. That isn't to say narratives aren't entertaining - in fact good storytelling is at the heart of most things that are truly entertaining.

However, a good narrative sermon tells a story that is moving (and moving us) somewhere. It connects with something lodged deep within us and by drawing it out, draws us into the story in such a way that we suddenly look around and realize we are no longer in the same place we began. Many of the great truths in scripture are revealed through powerful narrative and we, as the people of the Story are invited to find our place in that Story with each fresh retelling or rereading.

And this Story we find ourselves in is a grand epic that is greater than any of the stories that our culture attempts to lure us into.

Stories, even silly stories like the Magic TV, shape us and teach us about reality. They help us form our identity and make sense of things which at first glance seem like chaos.

When it comes to inspiring a community to begin moving together toward some goal beyond passive consumerism, story isn't the whole answer, but it plays an important role. If we want to call people to something bigger than themselves, we will do well to become better storytellers.

Often Steve and Crazy do things in a way that would seem strange to many people. They model for Conner and Micah a radical new way of living. This weekend I witnessed something in my boys and I wonder if it is directly attributable to the stories of a guy that is tall and a guy that is, well...crazy.

The boys and I went and played putt-putt for the first time. When we were finished we went into the nickel arcade (50 cents for half an hour of fun? I can do that!) Several of the games gave tickets - the kind you can trade in for cheap junk when you're done. We didn't really have enough to get anything so I suggested that maybe there were other boys and girls there who could use them more than us. I didn't really expect the response. Micah, my 4 year old, immediately began tearing off groups of 6 or 7 tickets and asking other kids if they would like them. "I want to make sure everyone gets some, Dad." Conner gave some to a couple guys and took the time to explain that yes, he wanted the tickets, but we didn't have that many and this way they could get an even cooler prize.

My kids are awesome. I think this story makes Jesus smile...and its a story that is definitely moving me somewhere.

Helping the Church Be the Church: Part VII - Inhabiting the Church

If you are new to this series, you can read the intro here. This is an excerpt from my essay which takes a look at what Inhabiting the Church has to offer Christian communities of different kinds. I've included a passage from the intro and church planting sections.

Inhabiting the Church: Biblical Wisdom for a New Monasticism

by Stock, Otto and Wilson-Hartgrove

I haven’t been asked to take many vows in my life as a (non Roman Catholic) Christian in the US. I exchanged vows with a beautiful young lady in 2000. A decade before that I heard a call to enter into a most incredible covenant through baptism. I understood that certain things were expected of me...but mostly I was just asked if I believed. I have signed conduct agreements with universities and accountability contracts with small groups, but outside of my baptism and marriage I can’t recall any relationships that have adequately carried the weight of the word “vow.”

Inhabiting the Church addresses this somewhat common (lack of) experience by examining the value and implications of the Benedictine vows, particularly as they have been implemented within new monastic communities comprised primarily of free church Protestants.

Even setting aside momentarily our issues with the taking of vows, the three Benedictine promises of conversion, obedience and stability are perhaps themselves somewhat foreign among many Christian groups. The values of individualism and autonomy which cause us to cringe at the thought of being held down by vows also react to any claims of authority which expect obedience or the subjection of our personal freedoms. Yet, the authors claim, this is precisely what Jesus and indeed the whole corpus of Scripture demand.

At first glance conversion doesn’t appear too radical...until we consider that both internal AND external changes are expected. Many Protestants, especially those from more biblicist traditions, are used to the idea of obedience...until it is revealed that for the Benedictines this includes declaring our intent to be obedient to a community and even a human leader. Stability is fine as long as we’re referring to financial stability and our friends accepting the tough decisions we’ll have to make to do what’s best for our family...we’re not? Oh, then we all agree that’s ridiculous.

For Church Planting: One aspect of the Benedictine vows that struck me while reading this book was their positive and constructive nature. Those who feel called to a life that is dissimilar to the prevalent culture are often tempted to understand their identity in negative terms; they’re tempted to define themselves by what they are rejecting. It is easy for those setting out to cultivate community and plant new faith communities to think in terms of what they’ve left behind and how they are different from traditional churches.

While there is certainly a place for thinking through and critiquing the status quo, this is not a sufficient expression of identity, nor does it provide a compelling vision for the community. The vows of obedience, conversion and stability provide positive landmarks for the path forward. These vows cultivate an expectation that to be the people of God in a certain place is not merely about abstaining, it is about embracing; embracing community, rhythm, a new economy, the presence of Christ. It is about embodying hope and announcing the new kingdom.

The authors state that, “Conversion is a way of life that must be practiced.” This vision for our community is one that inspires excitement. We are learning to expect God to break into our lives and transform each of us regularly. We expect to see miracles in the lives of our friends and we anticipate ways in which God will allow us to witness glimpses of the kingdom even in the lives of our non-Christian neighbors.

Within my own community, we are becoming increasingly convinced that long periods without such experiences should be considered aberrations that can often occur when, 1) we’re not regularly seeking the kingdom and the presence of the King for our own continued transformation and 2) we aren’t praying specifically for the Lord of the harvest to send out workers.

We are not creating a counter-culture merely for the sake of being counter-cultural, we are inviting people to join us on a journey into new life. Yet the reality is that the essence of this journey does run counter to the systems of this world. Those who would invite others to follow the Way of Christ are wise to consider the role of vows taken in community. The life of church planting is incredibly hectic and unpredictable. Our network is convinced that no one should plant alone, but this conviction alone is insufficient. The Benedictine vows represent some very specific areas of struggle and temptation for church planters and provide equally specific tools for combatting these trials.

The book opens with an essay on the legitimacy of vows in general and confesses that, “if vows are applicable for new monasticism, they can only be such in a setting where face-to-face encounter is a daily reality. I suspect that vows, ultimately, are only as true as the life together that they represent.” Upholding a commitment to whole life discipleship in community is imbedded in the very nature of these vows.

Helping The Church Be The Church: Reflections on New Monasticism Part II

School(s) For Conversion: 12 Marks of a New Monasticism edited by The Rutba House

This book is a compilation of essays on the “12 marks” which serve as guiding principles for many new monastic communities. The introduction, written by Jonathan R. Wilson addresses issues which I believe are essential for each of our three groups to consider.

Wilson claims that, in light of the failure of the enlightenment project to fulfill its lofty promises to bring about greater peace and prosperity through scientific, technological and logical development, New Monasticism is faced with the great temptation to focus on self-preservation. This temptation must be faced head on by NM communities, missional monastic church plantings and the established church. We must balance the temptation to be driven by the bottom line and the other extreme of understanding our existence merely for the sake of the world. But how?

Wilson urges the church to remember its eschatological identity; we live in anticipation of the reign of God, practicing the Kingdom ethos now and praying for its arrival in fullness. Regardless of the expression or form the church takes, if it forgets its mission to join with God in the ministry of reconciliation; if it functions and makes decisions solely out of internal self-interest or external activism; if it is driven by the bottom line, perhaps it has forgotten what it means to be church in the first place. This is not condemnation, it is exhortation. Church, remember your first love!

For New Monastic Communities: I spoke recently to students in a graduate church planting class. At one point someone asked me what difficult and painful lessons we’ve learned. I replied, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a Christian to reimagine the life of faith as something beyond attendance.” This realization has been costly, saddening and thoroughly exhausting. And yet, a wise friend encouraged me to remember how Jesus concluded his similar statement: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

For disciples forming a new monastic community, it is vital to pray for just such a transformation. Like Peter’s conversion when he visited the household of Cornelius in Acts 10, we must recognize that it is not only the uninitiated who need to be evangelized. We are all in need of the good news breaking in more fully.

Mark #6 discusses the value of being intentionally formed in the way of Christ and the Rule of the community along the lines of the old novitiate. Author David Janzen notes that we often read Jesus telling people that in order to follow him they will have to leave some things behind. He points out that this “renunciation itself is not holiness, but it creates a necessary space where the holiness of God can dwell and can reorder the disciples’ lives.” We’re like the wealthy city dweller preparing to hike up a mountain with 6 suitcases, 2 backpacks and a computer bag. We just can’t carry it all where we’re going. Even if we could, we soon we realize that most of it doesn’t make sense in the new landscape anyway.

Like the rich young ruler, we will be called to give up things which seem precious to us so that we can take hold of that which has value beyond our ability to imagine. There is absolutely no substitute for considering this cost. Having a mature guide(s) capable of listening with novices is extremely valuable.

Let new monastic communities be warned, skipping or cheapening the process of discernment will result in pain and frustration for novice and community alike. More than a mere conversation, there needs to be a season where an individual is dedicated to prayer and service alongside the community; a chance to practice the community’s Rule as a context for discerning call and commitment.

Janzen is clear to point out that this call to a novitiate process with the assistance of a spiritual director must not become a cultic community isolated from the larger church - to do so is idolatrous and will lead to disaster. A proper connection to the historic church, the present church and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the local community can lead to a vibrant life of discipleship.

For Missional Monastic Church Planting: Leah (not her real name) is a single mom raising her 4 year-old daughter and 10 year old nephew. She is attempting to do so on the meager earnings available in food service and it is increasingly difficult. Leah is distrustful of the church, but as she spends time with our family, extending and receiving hospitality has begun to reveal the goodness of the gospel in her life.

Showing hospitality to our friends is not good enough. When it comes to the cultivation of missional monastic churches among non-Christians, we are finding great wisdom in this mark of showing hospitality to the stranger. It is inconvenient and sometimes a bit terrifying to invite people we hardly know into our homes and our lives and to also enter willingly into theirs, but this is essential.

Maria Russell Kenney is right, this hospitality is not a gifting, it is a discipline “in which we are called - and invited - to grow.” It is more than an occasional gifting because it is rooted in the very nature of God and the experience of our own lives. God is the one who has come near, the one who has chosen to tabernacle with creation. God is the one who calls strangers out of obscurity into a life of being known and then sends us out to see and know others.

The call to show hospitality to the stranger is one that we can immediately invite our new friends to live into also. Michelle (not her real name) lives across the street from our co-laborers, the Chappotins. Recently several close Christian friends essentially abandoned the Chappotins after they confessed that they were struggling financially. However, when Michelle, their very skeptical-of-Christianity neighbor, heard about their situation she barged into their living room and began making plans for their two families to share meals and other expenses. The stranger offering hospitality in return is indescribably beautiful.

For the Established Church: Several years ago I was a part of a conversation about small groups. Pastors from multiple congregations were attempting to help their congregations connect more deeply with one another through the venue of small group ministry. One of our primary questions was whether to organize small groups using the homogeneous unit principle or by geographical proximity. The conversation was incredibly frustrating because it seemed to be driven by a defeatist “just the way it is” attitude which was resigned to people ignoring their neighbors.

I was a little surprised to find this issue once again being discussed in the context of planting house churches. It seemed that our commitment to our neighborhoods would settle the dispute before it began. Yet for the Christian families who joined our movement, experience told them that they would enjoy house church best if they carefully selected those with whom they’d be sharing life.

School(s) for Conversion is most helpful in that it locates the significance of geographical proximity in a more healthy place than did our dialog several years ago. We were unable to come to any consensus in that conversation and I believe it was because we weren’t asking the right questions first.

It would have been incredibly beneficial if members of new monastic communities could have spoken to us about the need for proximity emerging as a result of commitments to communal disciplines; serving this higher more important goal. If we were first committed to “common prayer, common meals, mutual confession of sins, spiritual guidance, and celebration, then geographical proximity [could have been] a great catalyst.” Instead, we attempted to pursue proximity in hopes that common practices would result.

The author highlights that we, including the members of established churches, have already chosen to organize by proximity. Yet it is primarily our closeness to school, work and favorable living conditions that has driven us, more so than proximity to members of our community. It is difficult to imagine how we can live out the call of the “one-another” passages in scripture when we see each other once a week.

It is the people in proximity sharing a common rule that really makes this principle so powerful. Most of us live near other people. Many times we are even friendly to those people, but sharing neighborhood space and sharing life are not inherently synonymous. When we do choose to engage one another more intentionally, we hold each other up through shared meals, shared celebrations and struggles...shared life. This may happen spontaneously. Probably not.

Established churches that have chosen to commit more intentionally to spiritual formation in a small group ministry may well find that geographical proximity is incredibly helpful. It will be important for these churches to remember to maintain the proper focus. Being close to others enhances our opportunities to live out the “one another” passages of scripture, it is not itself the fulfillment of those things.

Missional and Incarnational Life part 5

Issues of Sustainability

This post is part 5 of 5 in a series on missional and incarnation life. You can refer back to the Series Overview to see the posting schedule. I know there are plenty of important aspects of this conversation that have not been addressed. The reality is that this is meant to be a starting point for the conversation - feel free to bring other important concepts to my attention, and don’t assume because they weren’t mentioned that I’m against them or don't consider them valid. Thanks for reading and engaging in this conversation with me! - Bret

There are many obviously “spiritual” and “theological” reasons why an intentional shift toward a more missional and incarnational life of faith (and church planting) is important. I’ve written about some of these and will likely do so again in the future. However, there are also some very practical reasons why this shift must take place. 

I don’t really like these terms - practical and theological - as a distinction for this type of conversation; the theology has practical implications and the practical has theological foundations. Yet, with that said, there are things we do because they arise from our theological reflection - whether they seem to “make sense” practically or not. They may seem incredibly counter-cultural, inefficient or impractical (like loving enemies). 

But just because something seems difficult or contrary to the status quo, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have practical benefits.

Conventional wisdom in church planting says that you raise support for 3 years on a declining scale. Several mission agencies and training networks have stated that it takes on average around $250K over 3 years to plant a church. After that a “successful” church will be self-supporting, or at least very close to it.

Implicit in this understanding are some assumptions we should consider more carefully.

Some of the primary church planting models which have been used include the mother/daughter, satellite/multi-site and high-impact “attractional” approaches. 

With a mother/daughter model a group of people - could be anywhere from 20 to 200 are “sent” from the mother church (MC). Some may literally relocate to an area, many simply begin meeting with their new group in a new location. This usually includes one or more minister(s) who served on staff with the original church and remain supported for a time by the MC. Others in leadership may be in the core group.

Whether this group meets in a cafeteria, store front or build their own church building depends on the church.

The satellite and multi-site plants are even more connected to their parent church - sometimes even using video to allow the senior minister at the main campus to continue “preaching” at the new campus.

The high impact model is more entrepreneurial. Typically a team ranging from a couple to several families will study a particular area, determine demographic and cultural issues at work.

These plants often blanket a community via direct mailings using postal routes and/or zip codes, billboards, door hangers, TV/radio commercials, personal invitations and eye-catching signage. These marketing and advertising strategies tend to communicate those aspects that the new church believe to be most central to their values or most likely to communicate to people in the area. They may focus on a family friendly atmosphere, “relevant” sermons, clearly expressed and expounded Bible teaching, diversity, acceptance or even short worship services (there’s the church in central Texas that advertises an “express worship service” - in and out in 30 minutes).

Sometimes the goal is to draw as large a crowd as possible in hopes that the “seed scattering” will lead to several seeds taking root. These new church plants will often hold preview Sundays - worship gatherings where people (both the core team and folks in the community) can get a feel for how the worship gathering will operate and hopefully generate a buzz about the new church. 

Then comes Launch Sunday; the public unveiling where the red carpet is rolled out and everyone is invited. Often friends, local Christians from other churches and even community leaders will be present. The following Sunday’s attendance is typically much lower.

These church plants are typically aware that at any given time 35% of the evangelical church is looking for a new home. Perhaps they haven’t felt plugged in their current church, they’re looking for something with a better children’s ministry, more convenient start times, they just don’t like the preacher...or any number of other reasons.

The new churches are also counting on the presence of a large crowd of people who are openly searching for meaning and purpose and who are willing give God and the church a shot, if they are invited in properly.

I point out these different approaches because they all use some similar methods for judging success in the new church. Attendance, Buildings and Cash to be blunt. This is a blog post, not an exhaustive study of each and every church. I am more than willing to concede that there are more than a few notable exceptions. And really I’m not commenting on these to disparage any particular ministry. However, I do believe that in our attempt to address our own shortcomings we (the Church) we must be willing to examine assumptions. In this case I think there are some assumptions regarding success that need to be considered.

The two primary areas of concern for the remainder of this post are 1) who are we “attracting” in these models? And 2) is financial self-sufficiency a valid mark of success?

The high impact and highly advertised approaches seem to assume a certain level of knowledge in the surrounding culture of Jesus and “the” Christian worldview. There is a belief that if things are done with excellence and invitations are offered compellingly then people will come.

In many areas of the country the church is realizing that this simply isn’t the case any longer. There just aren’t as many disenfranchised Christians looking for the perfect church. Here in the southwest there may still be a number of somewhat “churched” folks to attract.

Yet the reality is that as postmodern culture continues to develop, fewer people are going to be aware of Christianity’s message beyond unflattering stereotypes perpetuated in the media.

Yes, there will continue to be people searching for meaning and purpose; I’m counting on it! Increasingly however, these folks are NOT looking to the Church to help them sort through such issues. In effect, churches that continue to focus on inviting people to come to a program, even church plants, are not functioning as missionaries sent out so much as embassies inviting like minded people to find sanctuary. Some will come, drawn by the hope of refuge and many more will warily keep their distance.

Many of these churches will proclaim how welcoming and receptive a congregation they are. I recently read a comment to the effect of, “Of course you’re welcoming of those who choose to show up to your turf on your terms.” A little harsh, but...

Even in a new church plant it is possible to quickly find that the “new converts” were recently converts at another church and you haven’t had a conversation with a real live non-Christian in months. The question that must be answered honestly is, Are we okay with that? 

Also implicit here is an assumption that to be faithful and successful, rapid conversion of people who will tithe will take place.

The missional and incarnational mindset is different. Admittedly, the lack of marketing and advertising means that the crowd of Christians seeking a new church will remain largely “untapped.” Also there is the possibility of simply not connecting with anyone at all. We’ve been used to waiting for people to come to us. And when they aren’t simply wandering in the door we may wonder what we’re supposed to do!

But a personal, out-in-the-community approach gives us opportunity to engage the vast number of people who aren’t looking for a church and wouldn’t show up no matter how awesome the advertising.

Some of these people are never going to be interested in following Jesus, but many others have simply never been introduced by a person actively following Jesus themselves. Many people have heard a gospel presentation and been treated as a project or potential conquest, but never listened to or valued as an actual person.

This takes longer. There is no substitute for time when it comes to developing relationships. But even this is merely a matter of perspective.

For instance, I can’t roll out impressive numbers of conversions that have occurred in our community over the past twelve months. But, I can introduce you to no fewer than 20 non-Christians with whom I’ve developed an initial friendship. I can tell you stories of a half a dozen folks who a year ago were either antagonistic or ambivalent towards God, church or Christians and who today are engaging in overt spiritual conversations, sharing meals with our families and participating in community life. I can tell you great stories of community life developing in Shenandoah specifically because of members of that house church.

An incarnational approach also requires considerably less money to sustain. With the primary emphasis on communal life and influencing our neighborhoods through presence rather than marketing, many of the expenses normally incurred are avoided. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any expenses; young churches that choose to have a gathering beyond living rooms and Starbucks will probably need financial assistance, especially early on.

However, putting together a business proposal for a 3 year path to self sufficiency may be tough. On the one hand, many of these folks will strongly resist because the professionalization and business model are on the whole being critiqued heavily both by those outside the church and by missionally minded disciples.

 

Often these churches are going to be connecting with the poor and oppressed in our society - you know, the sinners Jesus spent so much time with. Taking up a collection here is a whole different situation than in a traditional church where that same offering plate may serve as the primary connection to the poor for most people. That doesn't mean we shouldn't still do it, but these people are less likely to give money just because someone in leadership tells them they have to. I've found that these people are often quite generous, but they are skeptical about giving to prop up an institution or to cover administrative costs. They are however, very quick to give up what they have to serve the poor (even if they fit that description themselves) or to address a tangible need in their community.

Most local church planters will find it necessary to be bi-vocational or even fully supported by “secular” employment. This means that traditional expectations on the minister’s time must be amended.

In this setting it makes sense for a church planter to obtain employment near his and/or her home and invest their time and energy in connecting with their community.

Those who serve in a more Pauline way (moving around working with people in different locations, prayerfully engaging “people of peace” and releasing them to serve as church planters in their neighborhood) may have a harder time supporting themselves...finding a "2nd job" that is flexible enough takes a lot of creativity. Even so, few of us are likely to find that the church plants and communities we are investing in are going to be in a position to support us financially any time soon...if ever. 

Personally, I have been supported as a missionary by a group of individuals and one congregation. I am trying to get myself to the point where I'm mostly self-supporting, but its going to take a couple more years. We are dependent on God and His people to support us as we continue to pour ourselves out for others.

In the long run I believe that the church in the U.S. is going to need to be more mobile, less top-heavy and able to operate with fewer financial obligations. The missional and incarnational mindset allows for this and is, I believe, therefore a more sustainable model financially.

This model is very counter-cultural. There is constant pressure - primarily from Christians - to conform to a more status-quo, highly programmed and polished approach.

Those who are able to resist that temptation will be in place to experience amazing development of authentic community with people whom are typically never encountered in a Christian church.

Missional and Incarnational Life part 4

What Does Missional Life Look Like?

This post is part 4 of 5 in a series on missional and incarnation life. You can refer back to the Series Overview to see the posting schedule. Comments which are going to be addressed in a future post may not be responded to at length until after that post is up. Thanks for reading and engaging in this conversation with me! - Bret

Living missionally is counter-cultural even though the word “missional” has become quite popular. 

I used to joke around that if I ever wrote a book I wasn’t going to give it a catchy title because if people liked it and used it in conversation, then they’d eventually hate it and would write and say horrible things about me simply because they were tired of hearing my catchy title. 

(I’ve since realized that people are going to (and sometimes already do) say hateful things about me whether I made money selling a bunch of books or not, so I might as well get paid...if I can ever actually write something people want to read, that is.)

So, these days, as this word has been thrown around in conversations defending everything that used to be called “emerging” or before that “progressive,” I’ve had people say to me, “No one even knows what that word ‘missional’ means. Its just a buzzword and will go away.”

Probably. 

That’s the way of language and I’m not here to defend or deconstruct the term missional. However, I do find it helpful as a descriptor of a way of “doing” and “being” church in this world. The missional mindset recognizes that the Call of God is one that leads to Sending - because God is a missionary God. Missional means a turn towards the Other and towards others, because God is the Community that creates space for others to share in that community. Missional means that we do not exist for ourselves and we are not blessed for personal gain. We who would attach ourselves to this Jesus must acknowledge that it is a following, not a sitting. Our concern is participation in the fullness of life in God’s Kingdom; proclaiming to our neighbors and co-workers that there is much cause for hope, because the empires of injustice will not have the final word! 

Missional means an orientation toward the life of faith that understands the church as the people whom God has both called and sent. We have been called to join God in God’s ministry of reconciliation, not to sit on the sidelines and simply cheer for our team.

That sounds not too far off from what lots of folks have called for, so why would I call it counter-cultural? The reality is that we give plenty of lip-service to such concepts and yet the realities of our existence tell a different story. 

Brian McLaren was one of the first to really challenge me in this regard with several of his books including, More Ready Than You Realize. In that book he called us (Christians) out for being bad neighbors. Just because we mow our lawns and keep the noise down doesn’t make us good neighbors. When we go weeks, months or even years without interacting with those who live across the street, are we a good neighbor? When we miss opportunities like a block party or neighborhood picnic because we’re rushing off to Bible Study, are we good neighbors?

If we aren’t good neighbors can we really be good Christians? Its one thing to not have yet lived up to that which you are striving, but what about when being a neighbor isn’t even on our radar? 

Being a “missional church” isn’t about a new worship style or even structure. I am all about contemplative spirituality - ask anyone who knows me. I enjoy spiritual disciplines such as silence and solitude, Lectio Divina and even liturgical prayers - in fact I even lead retreats based on these practices. None of that has anything to do with being missional though.

I enjoy a more subdued worship gathering - candles and simplicity in the worship flow rather than the highly polished theatrical production - but that has nothing to do with missional.

Those who equate missional church with the recent turn toward contemplative atmosphere and a reclaiming of ancient practices are mistaken. 

Those who equate missional with Emergent have made a similar mistake, even though many who consider themselves participants in the “emerging church conversation” are deeply concerned with issues of missional and incarnation living (sadly, the ‘emerging church conversation’ has in many places devolved into nothing more than candles and lectio alongside the same old thinking it initially sought to critique. My cynical side says that the Evangelical money machine was too powerful and tempting to hold off forever.) 

Though I find a lot positive to say about a house church approach, it is not itself to be equated with missional church either. Things like contemplative worship and house church refer to forms - not to substance. Certain forms in certain settings may in fact be more conducive to missional life, but this isn't something that can be stated universally as though the form carried the meaning itself.

One of the roadblocks that we’ve encountered in fundraising has been the very different approach to church life that we are advocating. Decentralizing leadership, de-emphasizing programs and attendance numbers, choosing not to advertise or seek out Christians looking for a new church home, developing relationships and starting house churches among the suburban poor, engaging in the slow process of befriending skeptical folks who are antagonistic towards Christianity...all of these things can be hard for traditional churches and church folks to swallow. I understand that. 

Not having a 3 year plan to self-sufficiency makes business-minded folks nervous. I understand that too. (I have another post coming that actually addresses why this simple, missional model - though not doing much to generate financial support for the church planter - is actually a more sustainable model than even the high-impact, large Sunday morning attendance approach.) 

I do understand that this stuff is hard for some to wrap their minds around. I’ve written about the theological and Biblical foundations for the missional/incarnational approach and in the next post I’ll address some of the practical benefits as well. 

With the remainder of this post I’d like to highlight VERY briefly a few folks who are leading the way in cultivating new communities with just this type of commitment. If you would like to see examples of the missional focus being lived out in real communities, (beyond our stories of life among folks at Shenandoah, Denny’s, front yard cookouts, etc) you can take a look at these communities and ministries.

Tom Sine, on his website states about their group, The Mustard Seed Associates, “We work to inspire (plant), connect (cross-pollinate) and create (harvest). Believing God is changing the world through mustard seeds – the seemingly insignificant – MSA seeks to unleash the creative potential of ordinary people to make a difference in their communities and a world of urgent need.” In his book, The New Conspirators, he talks about the “mustard seed conspiracies” where people are transforming communities (and perhaps the world) through the small and simple rather than the large and impressive. But its the small and simple life lived rather than propositions believed, programs attended or organizations joined.

David Fitch, church planter and professor, is focusing on the launching of “missional orders” where groups of around 10 people agree to move into a neighborhood together. They share life together, worship together, show concern for the poor together. It is very hard to be an anonymous pew sitter when there are no pews! 

Elaine Heath at SMU has been starting New Day Communities (new monasticism) which are similar to these missional orders. They practice a shared Rule of Life, work for justice in their neighborhood, and engage in a way of living which is shaped by following Christ together, in full view of their “secular” neighbors everyday. 

Hugh Halter and Matt Smay in Denver are not only living this kind of life in their church communities called Adullam (Hebrew word meaning "Refuge"), they are training and equipping others to do so all over the country through the missional church apprenticeship program (MCAP). Their book The Tangible Kingdom and its companion Tangible Kingdom Primer give some very concrete glimpses into a missional and incarnational lifestyle. One of the things I really like about these guys is their stance that the “Tangible Kingdom” is not about a particular model of church. We can be for or against an incarnational living out of our faith in whatever situation we find ourselves.

Others are also dedicated to this shared vision of living missionally and equipping others to do so. Alan Hirsch’s work with Shapevine and FORGE in Australia and Cam Roxburgh’s work with FORGE Canada (formerly The Missional Training Network) have been able to bring together networks of missionally minded communities for mutual encouragement and support.

I've just recently, at Cam's recommendation, learned of the work that Martin Robinson and Together in Mission are doing in the UK. These folks are working with denominations, networks and local churches to plant missional churches.

Mission Alive, the church planting network we’re associated with has a similar commitment to community. The emphasis on moving from theology to practice can and should stand in opposition (in part) to decision making based on “what works” or through market analysis.

I give you these examples not as an indicator of those who’ve gotten it right or to say that these churches, communities and ministries are more holy than something else. I'm certainly not suggesting that this is an exhaustive list of the all things "missional" - that isn't even possible because the whole idea of missional life means that most of the occasions where it is being lived are never seen by the larger world. My goal here is simply to provide those who are wondering, “What does this look like?” and “Is it even possible for this to exist beyond idealistic dreaming?” with some tangible examples of folks who are living similarly to what we’re attempting. 

While there is a growing community of churches seeking to operate with these principles, we are still in many ways blazing new trails in our American context (its new to us, even though it would seem quite familiar to the many of the very ancient followers of Christ). We’re trying to sort through logistics and things like funding, but make no mistake we are already seeing the transformative impact this way of life can have - on us and on our new “sojourner” friends (as they are referred to in The Tangible Kingdom).  

That is why I don’t have any problem asking people to come together and help us with the financial resources to continue this missional living experiment. It is hard right now and we must continue to evaluate where we stand and how things are progressing. However, in my next post I want to address practical issues like the financial sustainability of this model.