Eric shares this great question:

…on one level, I’ve known that this idea of the “emerging church” is more than worship, but now I’m thinking more about “what do these other pieces look like, and how do we get people involved in them?”

At Corum Dei, we are pursuing a way of following Jesus in communal life without building in intentional worship…

We aren’t including any kind of intentional worship in the life of our community.

- We ARE being intentional about loving God.
- We ARE being intentional about loving others.
- We ARE being intentional about trying to follow Jesus.
- We ARE being intentional about prayer.
- We ARE being intentional about breaking bread together.
- We ARE being intentional about sharing resources with one another and the poor.

[Via Visit to Vintage Faith causes me to think... - Emerging Leaders Network]

It is hard for us to imagine how, in the midst of this pursuit, there won’t be numerous moments of divine comedy and incarnational Godsmacks that leave us with no other human response than to pile up rocks, build an altar, say “this is a holy moment in a thin place”, and stand in awe at our lover and creator.

The Dalai Lama is a guest blogger in the new Ode Roundtable. He had this to share:

There’s too much emotion, too much negative emotion: frustration, hatred, anger. I think that’s the greatest obstacle. So I think as a first step this should be cooled down. Reduced. Forget these things. And I think for the time being, we need more festivals, more picinics. Let us forget these difficult things, these emotions, and make personal friends. Then we can start to talk about these serious matters.

(Original Article)

Though I doubt he will ever read it, I shared this response:

It does seem like many people are more interested in arguing issues and getting upset about the failures of others. I wonder how much of that negative energy is the result of small homogeneous groups of people spending too much time together upset over similar issues. Do we create emotional hurricanes by spinning around the same ideas in a welcoming climate?

I am trying to observe the Broken Heart Manifesto because it breaks me out of my own world, and encourages me to find my way into others hopes and pain. I have found that bringing life to others hopes is more fulfilling than realizing my own dreams. And my own pain has been diminished by attempting to bring healing to others pain.

When my emotions are invested in people rather than issues, emotions such as frustration, hatred, and anger seem to have less ability to cultivate. They still spring up now and then. But they haven’t taken root, and are easier to displace.

(Original Post)

I headed out into the city tonight to pray and write and think. I’m not sure how much it helped. That’s the funny thing about prayer, you just kindof say stuff and wonder if anyone is listening. You hope the things you are asking for will come true, but it’s not like you’ll ever find out. I realized that we only live a few blocks from tons of houses full of U of M students. Both St. Paul and Minneapolis.

I walked toward Minneapolis, and was immediately diminished by the amount of life swarming around me. I hoped that the families in those houses would experience joy and love. I asked for them to have enough food and money to focus on growing healthy kids instead of needing to fight over every last bill. I asked for protection for the girls and boys jogging past me into the night. I asked for some kind of clue as to what I could possibly have to do with any of these countless people. I asked for the ability to buy a couple of the houses along the way. I just asked.

It does seem strange to ask for things you’ll probably never see the answer to. But another funny thing happens when you pray. The longer you ask for these whimsical hopeful intangibles, the more you realize you could be an answer to a few of them.

How to meet these people….. hmmm……

The only thing that can save the world from complete moral collapse is a spiritual revolution. Christianity by its very nature demands such a revolution. If Christians would all live up to what they profess to believe, the revolution would happen.
[via (looking for source)]

I’m still working this one out in my head/heart. I haven’t settled on an opinion yet. What do you think?

Cabin

Originally uploaded by kimmersck

It is fall. The temperature has not fallen, in fact this is one of the most beautiful days we have had all summer. But the air smells different. When I woke up this morning, I just could feel a new season in my chest.

It is also a new season spiritually. We have come through a dark night. Our loneliness has been replaced by a great hope and we can clearly see longer days ahead. So spiritually we are into spring and beginning to realize there will be hot days ahead. Wildfires and dry crops are a possible side affect, and we realize this. But winter has at least receded for now.

As we move into this time of seeking to live out love in real and tangible ways, I will need to learn what to do with the weekends at the cabin. In some ways I feed guilty about laying around up here when people are suffering elsewhere. I suppose I need to reconsider my time here as a sabbath, as retreat, as a time set aside for contemplative prayer. Jesus withdrew to pray, and I am learning to be more like him.

I am asking him to teach me to pray. Again. I am learning how to allow my life to become a prayer, and I strive for colloquy.

I was interviewed today by Karl Biermann, for an article in the Mission Partners Focus newsletter on ministry with emerging, postmodern generations. We had a great conversation which reminded me that I want/need to make a little more rain.

I have to take the intiative if I want to help the church regain its vision. I need to realize that they just simply are not going to ask me to come back. So, I need to make the moves. First step is to finish up a few posts, to articulate a few things that currently just float around in my head. Step two is to get back in touch with Richard Mork, and see if we can collaborate again. My job has pulled me away from that world, and I need to make a point to step back in.

The earth, like the sun, like the air, belongs to everyone — and to no one.
– Edward Abbey

Who does the church belong to?
Who does Jesus belong to?
Who does God belong to?

As I’m fond of saying, I believe the future of advertising is internal. It’s hard to get the customer to love the company, if the company doesn’t love the company.

(Via lovemarks, part deux)

Why would anyone want to ‘join’ your church?

• Is your life as messed up a Jesus’?
• Is the community in your church any different from the world?
• Is your church even a community?

redundant disclaimer: I love the church, even if she does make a bad wife