The Peace that Brings Conflict

With all the warring going on in the world -- Iraq, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, in our neighborhoods, I cannot help but wonder when enough is enough - when will we stop killing and hurting each other.

Jesus in John's Gospel says, "Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives." But what kind of peace is this? This is what we talked about last night when we met at Panera Bread in Round Lake Beach at sacred space.

As our conversation unfolded we quickly realized that Jesus' peace is contrary to the world's concept of peace -- in fact many war against Jesus concept of peace. Much of what we think about politically as peace has more to do with truce keeping or truce making. But Jesus did not call us to be truce makers but peacemakers. We concluded that there is a difference.

The peace of Christ often stands in opposition to the "ways of peace" in our world today. We seek peace or truce in the context of power - truce usually involves one power submitting to another in order for "peace" to exist. The UN peacekeeping forces are meant to keep the balance of power in a region so that war does not erupt out of the fragile peace.

However, Jesus' peace stands in such contrast with the ways of the world, that often we war against the peace of Christ when it comes into our midst, rather than embracing it - because embracing Christ's peace most often requires of us "to turn the other cheek," "to go a second mile with one who exerts power over us," "to love our enemies." We are called to embrace this way of peace, and usually such embracing seems to result in suffering rather than victory. It seemed that Christ was defeated when he embraced peace by being crucified on the cross for the sake of humanity, but it was only through his death and in our identifying with his death, that we share in the victory of life that is whole, life that is peace.

When the peace of Christ confronts us and asks the impossible of us in our relationships with those who war against us, too often we war against the way of Christ and so contribute to the never-ending struggle of our warring against another. But if we surrender to Christ and the way of Christ, not reluctantly, but embracing such a surrender, we become peacemakers of a new way of being in the world that unmasks the powers, triumphs over the oppressors not necessarily by bringing them into submission, but by giving witness to what it means to be a people of peace in the world. We may die in living this peace, but it is a peace that will overcome the warring of the world.

In this way Christ's peace is in conflict with the ways of the world -- and the longer we refuse to embrace it, the more we will war against it. Yet God is calling together a community of people in the world who will witness to by living out the way of Christ's peace in the world. What of ourselves are we willing to sacrifice, to surrender to be bringers of such a peace - reputation, our esteem, our positions, what others think of us?

As we enter the New Year, may we embrace the peace of Christ in the way of Christ Jesus.

Roland

Re-imagining Becoming Like a Child

Wednesday mornings I hang out at Panera Bread on Rollins in Round Lake Beach. Usually there are two or more of us and we engage in some kind of dialogue engaging God's Story. Sometimes though I have time to read and reflect. Today was one of those days - the day after Christmas.

One of the books I am reading is Jesus in the Margins and I read through the chapter on "Becoming the Child."

The author reminded me that "Jesus invites us to re-imagine life as a child" - particularly as "a child of God" (p. 120). He sets this in the context of Jesus asking his disciples the question in Matthew's Gospel, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" As adults too often we respond to such a question by focusing on power, prestige, position, reputation, etc. -- seeking somehow to attain our greatness.

Jesus, however, presented a different perspective -- "Unless you become like a child, you will never be great in the kingdom of God."

I think I am learning this lesson in my life, over the past couple of years, though I still have a way to go. We have taken on so many of the trappings of "being adult," "being mature," which perhaps is another way to say "we've got life under control, our control, my control" that we have forgotten how to really see what life is about.

To become like a child, is not to become less mature, but it means to take on certain characteristics which are lost when we make life about ourselves. Being like a child, which enables us to live life in the way of Jesus is (1) to have eyes to see the wonder in life, to take the time to be open to the amazing things in life -- as adults we too often move so fast that we miss the wonder. (2) to have the freedom to play -- too often in trying to control our lives, life becomes about toil and making the grade. When we learn to trust God to lead us in life, resting in the Spirit of God to unfold life before me, we can develop a spirit that is free to engage more in play. (3) to be free to create -- this connects with wonder and play. Too often as an adult I make things to fit in with the goals and needs of others. However, if I can catch a glimpse of what God is about in the world and be a part of that, I am free to be creative in ways that shares in God's continuing activity of creation -- be it in people's lives, in work, etc. (4) discover what it is to live life unashamed. We learn shame early, we learn early what is not quite right about us, how we don't fit in, we learn early to be embarrassed by ourselves. But to learn to trust in God, to share in the life of God is to rediscover what it is to be spiritually unashamed -- which carries over into bringing healing into our lives regarding how we see ourselves as being free to live, as we are, in ways which God leads us. We do not need to live by the expectations of others. (5) Children walk in innocence and trust. To be adult is to be aware. It is not naive to live life that does not cater to "playing the game," being political astute so that you can get ahead, "doing the necessary thing, rather than the right thing." Instead, living a life that fosters the ethic of Jesus, trusts the Spirit of God to guide us through life -- enables us to be people, adults, who live by a different rhythm in this world - we present an alternative reality that builds others up, rather than uses people for our own gain.

I guess, as I reflect on Christ becoming a human being through birth as a child, it is a reminder that Jesus began life in this way so that we might not become calloused and closed-hearted, but open to the wonder of God in the world. Do you have eyes to see and ears to hear where God is in the world?

Roland

Where Is Sacred Space to Be Found?

I have been reading through both of these books which present stories about finding God in the most unlikeliest places. Jesus in the Margins expresses that the place where God hangs out the clearest is in the margins of life, and Theirs is the Kingdom reveals how Christ is evident in the most unassuming places in urban America.

This leads me to ask the question: Where can we find sacred space? If by sacred space, we mean where God is present, then it is become more clear to me everyday that God is in places where we least expect God to be. When Jesus lived in Palestine almost 2000 years ago, he hung out with tax collectors, sick people, prostitutes -- people who did not make the "most likely to do anything" list. The religious leaders of the day saw God only in the special places, the most "holy" places, but Jesus reveals that sacred space is wherever God is, wherever God shows up. If we get any idea where God does show up from Jesus' ministry, we begin to see that sacred space is among the marginalized, the disenfranchised, the destitute, the alienated.

Therefore, in reflecting on how we are to be church in Lake County, perhaps we need to reflect on where God is making space sacred here in Lake County -- because that is where God connects with us.

sacred space, the gathering that meets at Panera Bread on Rollins in Round Lake Beach, beginning again on Sunday December 2nd from 6pm - 8pm, seeks to explore how we can be church in Lake County by helping one another have eyes to see where God is hanging out -- and hopefully also to have ears to hear what God is saying.

August Rush, Hearing Music - Hearing Life

My family and I caught a movie on Thanksgiving Day. August Rush is a great metaphor for hearing the music, hearing the life that is all around us and our lives being the instruments through which that music, through which life, is played.

When I think about the way we approach God and life, the way we try to do good for others through ministry, I think we miss a lot -- we don't have the ears to hear the music and rhythms of life that are all around us.

Instead, what we too often do in life and in ministry is that we respond to the discord, the disharmony, rather than the rhythms of the music of life, the rhythms of the music of the Spirit of God. In Matthew's gospel, Jesus teaches his followers to "seek first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness." What does this mean? I believe it means to seek first the rhythms of God's Story, God's Vision, the music of life that God is playing everyday as God is active in the world through God's Spirit.

Do we hear it? Do we hear the music the Spirit is playing?

In ministry, in trying to be there to help other people, too often we listen to the discord, the pain in their lives and try to help them by trying to do something with that dissonance. But what is this dissonance? If it is an incapability of hearing and responding to the music of life, then do we help them by "making songs" out of these discordant notes. Or is ministry helping others hear the music, catch the rhythms that bring life? Is ministry not trying to do something with the pain in our lives, but helping others hear the music that can heal the pain?

Are we not called to hear the music of the Spirit in the world? Do we help others, by hearing the rhythm, the music of life, the rhythm of what God is doing in the world -- and begin to play this music, the music of life? This music -- which we ourselves begin to hear with our ears, our souls, our lives -- which we then begin to play (do ministry), does it help people hear, notice the rhythm of life, of God's presence all around them. As those we seek to help begin to hear the rhythm of life that God is "playing" they are given the opportunity to begin to re-tune their lives in harmony with a different rhythm -- a rhythm that is filled with the Spirit of life, the Spirit of God.

So ministry is not listening to "needs" and responding to those needs, but listening to the rhythm of God in life, learning to play that music. As a result by focusing on this music, we and others are reshaped, re-tuned in ways that enable our lives to play the music of life in new, fresh ways. If you take a look at Jesus' ministry on earth, this is what he did. He did not play his own music, nor try to respond to the disharmony of the pain around him. No, and he states this on numerous occasions -- "I do what I see my Father doing and I say what I hear my Father saying." Jesus' ministry brought life to others as he helped them hear and respond to the music of life that comes out of heart and rhythm of God's love for humanity and what God is doing in the world to draw humanity into a living relationship with himself.

Repentance, then, is an action where we yield ourselves to the music of God, the rhythm of God, the Story and Vision of God in our lives. It is an embracing of life. It is opening up our ears, our souls, our lives to hear the music that God is playing to bring joy and wholeness to us and to those with whom we share our lives.

Missional Discipleship

I am an educator and so I have an affinity for the process of discipleship in helping followers of Christ grow in the way of Christ in their lives.

Bosch in Transforming Mission has an excellent chapter on "Matthew: Mission as Disciple-Making." In his Gospel, Matthew expresses an understanding of discipleship that is deeply missional. Bosch relates that the command to "make disciples" in Matthew 28:19 is a call for Jesus' followers "to make others into what they themselves are: disciples" (p. 74). He further adds that for Matthew "the first disciples are prototypes for the church" (p. 74).

This kind of discipleship is not one that solely focuses on one's own life, but our lives as followers of Christ are lived for the other. Too often the practices of discipleship in the life of the church focus on inward growth and development. Though such development is important, the inner growth is for the sake of outward witness, outward action, orthopraxis if you will, in order to represent a different way of being human in the world.

Therefore, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is "to practice God's call of justice for the poor" (p. 81), to not only seek God's righteousness, but to seek God's justice for all humanity. We experience God's justice in our own lives and God justifies us and brings us into a relationship with him. In response we act in justice towards others by carrying out the will of God -- here on earth, just as it is in heaven (p. 72).

Indeed discipleship in inherently missional because "to become a disciple means a decisive and irrevocable turning to both God and neighbor. What follows from there is a journey which, in fact, never ends in this life, a journey of continually discovering new dimensions of loving God and neighbor, as 'the reign of God and his justice' (Mt 6:33) are increasingly revealed in the life of the disciple" (p. 82).

If discipleship focuses merely on the inward, or on something else, then it is not a following after Jesus, it is not living a life in the way of Jesus, and it is not a participating with God in God's redemptive mission.

Re-reading Bosch's Transforming Mission

Over the past six years or so I have been immersing myself in the literature related to God's mission in the world - missio Dei. I have realized that what I read early on in my learning about what it means to be missional might reveal fresh insights as I began rereading these books, articles, etc..

So I am beginning to re-read David J. Bosch's magnum opus Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in the Theology of Mission in order to gain some fresh insights as I bring years of reflection to insights that began my reflections.

One such insight is expressed through the Foreword. Bosch states, "at its most profound level, its [i.e., mission] purpose is to transform reality around it" (xv).

This idea of mission that transforms reality is deeply rooted in God's mission. God is not just about doing good in the world -- some may question where God is in the face of all that is not good in the world -- but rather, God is about recreation, of making all things new, of reconciling humanity to one another and to God. Mission is not about coercion and enculturalization into a Western perspective, but it is about recreating humanity and recreating the world. As we develop eyes to see what God is doing in the world and give ourselves to participate with God's action in the world, we are in mission -- mission that transforms reality around it.

This is a calling not to try to adjust the way things are, it is a calling to radically represent what it means to be human when we are caught up in the Story and Action of God in making all things new.

This mission is not just a task. This mission is living into a whole other reality that gives birth to life in the midst of all the warring ways of humanity.

Church: Being a Servant Community

When you ask people what church is you hear different responses. Depending upon one's experience, church might be seen as something good or something that has created pain. In attempting for church to have influence in society too often we have opted for images that control, regulate, or focus on privilege.

I have been wondering what it would look like for church to be seen as "servant community" in the world. As we emulate Christ in washing his disciples' feet, how might we live out our lives as community in the world, so that we are a servant community in the world -- perhaps first of all a servant community to Christ, and through our serving him, we follow his lead in serving the world.

A servant community does not exist for itself, but exists for serving God -- the one who has called the community into being. It seeks to serve, whether there is recognition or not, it seeks to serve, whether there is success or not, it seeks to serve, whether there is recognition that we excel at being servants. A servant community seeks to be incarnational, missional, being present to people in ways that enables the Spirit of God to connect with the hearts and lives of people whom God is seeking. As a servant community, we are the "hands of Christ" washing other's feet, discovering what it is God wants us to do. It is not about what we want to do!

As a servant community then, we need to spend more time not in figuring out how we are to be in the world, but to hear what God is saying to us and seeing what God is showing us so that we can be about what God is about in the world. It is a matter of discerning God's purposes and desires, rather than figuring out how we can attract more people, or how we can develop the right program that will have the most relevance. A servant community exists so that God can have his way in the world -- we are to be salt and light, not to bring focus upon us, but upon the purposes of God. We are called to be servant community to reveal the one whom we serve.

Someone once stated, that a church that seeks its own ministry or its own agenda ceases being the church in the world. We can only be church as we yield ourselves to the redemptive purposes of God in the world -- being used of God in fulfilling God's mission. The only way the church can fulfill this calling is for it to be a servant community.

What If Its Not About Making Space for the Gospel, But Planting the Gospel

This past week I was facilitating a seminar out in Vancouver dealing with Christian spirituality. Our discussions on the last day focused on the influences of postmodern influences on Christian spirituality, especially postmodern's resistance to grand narratives.

Previously, I had thought about our incarnational witness in culture means making space for the Gospel in culture, but that still presents an image of "elbowing" the Gospel in amongst other metanarratives.

In taking our cue from the Parable of the Soils in Matthew Gospel, what if culture or different narratives within culture are soil in which Gospel is to be planted. So, rather than Gospel trying to squeeze in amongst other metanarratives within a postmodern culture that resists the imposing of narratives upon other narratives, what if the people of God are to live out their lives in witness to the Gospel so that the Gospel is planted as a seed (by God's Spirit) in the soil of culture or the soil of a narrative.

What this looks like is that the "seed" of the Gospel does not compete with other narratives, but is rooted within a narrative and begins to grow - as a mustard seed - and begins to create life within this soil so that the culture or narrative is recreated/transformed in light of God's ongoing redemptive mission.

Though there is much more reflecting that is required to think through this idea, what I like about it is that the Gospel does not become another competing metanarrative within culture, but enters into culture in a way that something new is created within the culture -- it seems that focusing on this act of creation is something that is more in line with God's character than approaches which try to "push out" other narratives -- which has been the modus operandi of Christendom.

Could it be in this way, as the Gospel is planted within the soil of metanarratives that these metanarratives grow to come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Looking forward to your thoughts to help flesh this out some more.

Roland

Making Space for the Gospel in the World

Recently I came across an article by Todd Hiestand entitled, The Gospel and the God-Forsaken, which gives focus to the challenge of being missional in the suburbs. He raises a unique distinction for understanding what differentiates missional churches from churches operating within the Christendom paradigm.

It is a distinction between being sent and those that go. Basically, churches that have a mindset of “going” see themselves as separate from the world and in order to share the Gospel they make forays into the world to “do mission” and then retreat “back to the safety of separation” (Hiestand, http://www.allelon.org/articles/article.cfm?id=385). Many of us live out our Christian faith in this way. We interpret Jesus’ command in Matthew 28: 18) of go into the world as making disciples as a command to set everything aside and go, with the result that we charge into the world, only to retreat once again to be refreshed. This cycle of going and retreating keeps us from being not only “of the world,” but it also keeps us from “being in the world” as well.

In many ways this represents a monastic paradigm in which we separate ourselves from the world; even in our reaching out we exude a separateness. And so we wonder why we struggle with making space for the Gospel in the world.

In taking note of how Jesus became one of us and engaged the culture, we see that an incarnational approach calls for us to be in the world. Just as Jesus was sent by the Father to be in the world carrying out God’s redemptive mission, so too we as Christ’s community in the world, called to continue in the ministry of Christ, we are a community that is sent into the world, rather than a community that goes into the world. The difference is staggering.

The realization that we are sent is the realization that we have been placed in the world in order to make space for the Gospel. By the way we live, relate to one another, carry out our business, we are sign, foretaste, and demonstration of the presence of God’s rule in the world. As a sent community in the world, we live out an alternate reality to the way the world is used to living.

What might this look like? I propose that we are called to walk among our neighbors – those God has placed us beside in our contexts – to walk with them, alongside of them, supporting and encouraging them in their growth and development as human beings by engaging them in the way Jesus would. We engage our neighbors with the realization that it is not our efforts that make space for the Gospel, but as we are open to discern the leading of the Holy Spirit, it is the Spirit who sends us as persons and communities to engage our world. We are sent to love the people who we are with in the world as Christ loves them, to seek their well-being, to offer ourselves, as imperfect as we are, to be of use to God so that they might be made whole.

In an attitude of sentness, we make space for the Gospel in the lives of our neighbors, as we make space for them in our lives. As we make room for others in our lives, we do not come to them with our agendas, but we are open to the agenda that God has for us in coming alongside of them in our encounter. As we make room for others in our lives – our lives in being open and yielded to the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit has opportunity to touch the lives of our neighbors and draw them to himself. In an attitude of sentness we remain in the world and the Spirit is present in our relationships making space for the Gospel. It is when we go and retreat that we are more apt to grieve the Spirit and create barriers for our neighbors to experience the reality of the Gospel in Jesus Christ.

The Uncomfortableness of Being Led by the Spirit

There are too many times that I would rather do what is comfortable. "Comfortable" is under my control. "Comfortable" allows me to know what is coming, allows me to do things in a manner that are not strange to me. "Comfortable" also gives me the power to shape my experience. The problem with "comfortable" is that I think it also keeps me from being open to the Spirit of God.

Being led by the Spirit of God into situations, different contexts, different experiences seems to take me into places where I am not very comfortable at all. I guess what makes me comfortable is that I can rely on myself, my abilities, my limitations. What makes me uncomfortable is to be asked to live outside of those bounds.

As I read Scripture -- I am in the midst of re-reading the birth narratives of Jesus -- I see there is very little of "being comfortable" in heeding the Spirit of God. Was Mary comfortable when she was visited by an angel telling her that she would give birth to a son who would be known as the Son of God? Was Joseph comfortable, finding Mary to be with child and wanting to break his engagement with her, to discover that what was conceived in her was by the Spirit? I think they were comforted by God, but there were far from being comfortable. They were filled with joy once they began comprehending this new reality - but it was way beyond their comfort zones.

I am finding that being led by the Spirit usually takes me out of my comfort zones -- and into zones that I am unable "to control," to rely wholly on my abilities. Rather, I have to rely on the Spirit; I have to rely on God to be able to go ahead in what the Spirit is leading me into. I find myself walking carefully, ensuring one foot is placed well before I take another, as if I were rock climbing, or walking a narrow mountain path. I am not comfortable with this at all -- but as I allow myself to be open to what the Spirit is doing in my life, I am comforted, strengthened, hopeful, that this pathway I am walking on I am not walking alone -- the Spirit of God is with me, because the Spirit is leading me.

It makes for an adventuresome journey - outside of my comfort zone - however, it is the only way I am able to develop clarity of vision, acuity of hearing, and courage to participate in what the Spirit of God is doing in the world as I trust the Spirit of God to guide me and lead me into what God is inviting me into.

Do We Stand in the Way of Whom God Accepts?

This is a question I have been asking myself ever since I was engaged in a Scripture dialogue on Acts 10. Here we find a story about a Roman centurion (soldier) who received a call from God to go send for the apostle Peter. Before Peter received the centurion's servants he himself received a vision from God about a number of animals that were unclean for any Jewish person to eat, with the command from God to, "Kill and eat." Though Peter protested, this vision appeared three times with God responding in the same way.

When Peter made it to the centurion's house and learned why he had been sent, he began by stating, "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean." When the centurion shared with Peter what had precipitated his invitation, Peter began preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ to them. But before he could finish, we read in Acts 10 that the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. Peter and those who had come with him were astonished that the Holy Spirit had been poured out on these non-Jews, these Gentiles.

But Peter's response reveals that we should not stand in the way of whom God accepts. Upon seeing that God poured out his Spirit on the centurion and his household, Peter declares, "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have."

Too often it is difficult to accept people who are different than us. I am not merely talking about people from different cultures or ethnicities or races, but people who even "sin" differently than we do. Without getting into pitting one sin against another, whether one is worse than the other, or whether one can be a follower of Christ and still struggle with a particular sin -- especially if it is a sin involving sexual matters (these seem to be the ones that bother us the most), I would like to suggest a different approach.

It seems that the beginning point for receiving others as brothers and sisters in Christ has more to do with God's acceptance than what we are comfortable with. If we see, witness, or discern (as Peter did) that God accepts a person, who are we to stand in the way of whom God accepts?
Now I do not dare speak for God as to whom God accepts, but I have a hunch that God accepts far more than I am capable of. I may disagree with a person's perspective, a person's choices, even a person's behavior, but if I witness that God has poured out his Spirit upon them, then, no matter how uncomfortable I am with them, I need to be open to accept them as God has.

This creates a different standard for judgment. It is not my place or right to pass judgment on others. Rather, as I take note of the actions of God in relation to others, God's actions alone become the basis for my response to others. What I am discovering is that God accepts many more people than I am able to. In fact, God loves even those who reject an overture of relationship with him -- so there is no one outside the bounds of whom God loves.

Therefore, whomever God loves, whomever God accepts -- are persons I am called to love, I am called to accept.

A Diffferent Way of Living

I was reminded this week of how walking with Jesus does not fit well into the many ways that people choose to live, especially if we choose to live in light of polarities -- you know taking one side over another, such as being conservative or liberal, being pro-choice or pro-life, being capitalistic or socialistic. On the continuum of polarities I find that people tend to gravitate to one end or the other -- somehow that provides a place of comfort.

What I encountered this past week that caused me to notice this once again was visiting a college with my daughter who is entering her senior year in high school. The college was a Christian college, which had numerous rules regarding behavior, socializing, and dress codes. We have visited other colleges which were on the other end of the spectrum which had far fewer rules, or at least different kinds of rules -- dealing more with discrimination and tolerance, than personal lifestyle choices.

Where my thinking is going on this is that people either prefer to have a set of external parameters (rules) to guide their living and thinking, or do not want to be constrained by externals so that they can choose whatever they wish -- to be guided by their own desires and wants. I have found my self in both contexts over the years, and I have been uncomfortable in both. Perhaps the problem has been trying to be a moderate, one who is in the middle. What I am coming to realize is that such polarities and such continuums are contrary to walking in the way of Jesus.

Often times in Scripture, Jesus was confronted with two choices -- one on each end of a continuum, "should we pay tribute to Caesar or not?" Jesus response was one that was not to be found on that continuum between obedience to the State or not, but he created a whole new paradigm for engaging life. His response whether to pay tribute was, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." This is no "whatever" response, or one that skirts the issue, but presents a very different way of living.

It is a way of living that is not guided by a set of external rules, nor guided by our own often selfish whims -- but it is a calling to live in step with the Spirit of God -- to discern a way of being in life that exemplifies a way that brings wholeness and peace.

In such an approach I find, if we still need to use polarity labels, that I am at times conservative, and at other times liberal. For example, I am pro-life, but I find that following Jesus calls for me to be pro-life in all of life -- not just at birth. There are many pro-lifers who demonstrate against abortion, but are pro-capital punishment. To be consistently pro-life, in my mind, is to seek life in all the contexts of our engagement with society -- not only to protect the fetus, but also to protect children in poverty, spouses and families in abusive relationships. It means we seek to wage peace, rather than waging war against our enemies, it means we do not take an eye for an eye, but seek justice in such a way that life is honored.

Such a way of being does not easily fit on a continuum, but presents an alternate way of being in the world. It is a way of being not hemmed in by rules that alleviate any discerning on our part, or even a way of being that is libertine in which we are only constrained by our desires with no concern for the other. Rather, it is a way of being that requires an ongoing connection with the God who created us, so that our living, our choices, demonstrate a way of being in this world that fosters life, that fosters peace, that fosters hope, that lives out love.

This is not an easy way to live, because not many will understand your not siding with them -- you will be an alien, a stranger to people -- but in this way of living, as we rely on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, we will live in such a way that enables people to see what life and peace really look like.

Living in the Spirit calls us to find comfort, strength and direction in yielding to the Spirit, rather than in external rules or in our own estimations of what we think is right. We focus too much on establishing rules, or demanding our rights and freedoms, rather than cultivating a sensitivity to the things of the Spirit, and the courage to heed the Spirit -- a really different way of being in this world.

"Playing the Game"

It has been over a year since I left my previous position at Northern Seminary to explore new directions in my life, seeking out the doors God is inviting me through. It has been quite an adventure and as I reflect back -- through this journey is still scary at times -- it is one of the best decisions I have made -- No regrets!

I recently heard of a comment a former colleague made concerning my supposed "inability" to make it at Northern. He made it to another colleague of mine when they met at a conference this summer. He mentioned that he had become aware of some of the issues I had voiced regarding my time at Northern, to which he stated, "Roland did not know how to play the game."

My friend passed on my former colleague's greeting, as well as this comment he made. I remember my immediate retort -- "Well who wants to play the game?"

I have come to realize that life is too short to playing games when there is life to be lived. Game playing is okay when you are sitting around a table with friends playing cards, Monopoly, or whatever other game provides an excuse for friends to get together just to be with one another.

But when "game playing" becomes a technique we engage in to make sense out of our contexts, be they relationships, family, work, church, etc., then we miss the point of living in ways that not only sets us free, but enables others to be free around us as well. Now I know freedom involves responsibility, but responsibility need not require ways of being, ways of acting -- "game playing" if you will -- that necessitate the enslavement of ourselves in order to have an existence within a context.

Also "game playing" is often associated with "playing politics." As a mentor of mine once expressed, "Politics is all around us. The point is to know how to respond with integrity." Politics is not always a four-letter word, because what "being political" means is "being intentional." In that sense of the word, political action is intentional action -- and I believe all our actions ought to be filled with intentionality and with purpose. However, "game-playing" is also a form of intentional action or politics, yet it thrives on maneuvering and manipulation so that one finds their way through the maze. And if one person is "game-playing," others have to as well.

Game-playing also needs to be distinguished from being discerning and tactful. Game-playing requires persons to put on different personas, to hide behind masks, to create facades, which protect us from the game overwhelming us -- by hiding who we are, we learn to play the game. However, we can refuse to play the game, and yet still be discerning. We can read situations, the powers that seek to direct situations in certain directions, and we can navigate such "waters" by speaking truth and naming life. Now one does not need to be boorish in doing so, but the truth-speaker is one who refuses to play the game and yet seeks to reveal a different way of being grounded in a different reality.

"Game-playing" also is a distrustful activity -- one relies only upon themselves. Game-playing does not lend itself well to trusting others. To get ahead in game-playing one has to know how to manipulate the situation so as to gain the advantage over others.

Contexts which require "game-playing" hinder us from being persons of integrity. When contexts require us to play games to survive, we create facades -- to be persons who we really do not want to be. Such contexts stifle our humanity, diminish a sensitivity to the Spirit of God, and force us to be people who fear to be open, to be transparent.

Life is too short not to be playing the kind of games that enable us to enjoy one another's company.

For me I am discovering that seeking to live out the Gospel as I follow after Jesus Christ -- is a life that is contrary to "game-playing." Following Jesus and living in the way of Jesus calls for an integrity, a transparency, a trusting in God, rather than ourselves, an attitude of servantship, rather than one of gaining an upper hand. Now it may not seem to be the way to win in this life, but it reveals a different reality to live in this way -- which in the long run enables persons to be more humane with one another, and enables us to be in community with one another, rather than in competition.

Yes, by refusing to not play the game, I may never win, in fact I am sure never to win, BUT that is okay with me. I am discovering its not about my winning, its not about me, watching out for myself, gaining an advantage over another, etc. Such an attitude is the root of broken relationships and mistrust.

I am coming to discover that its about what I can contribute to what God is doing in this world as I love the Lord my God with my whole being and love my neighbor as myself. In taking the focus off of how I need to play the game, I am set free to live this life, to have a sensitivity to life all around me -- and by demonstrating a different way to be with others -- indeed the way Jesus was with others (and by identifying with him I am enabled to live in this same way), others can begin to see, to discover that there indeed is another way to live and be in this world.

Dancing in the Spirit

Many of us use the metaphor of "walking in the Spirit" to describe the kind of life we are to live as human beings -- of walking not according to our selfish ambitions, but to be led by the Spirit of God in all our encounters. Now I say "human" rather than "Christian" because I believe that to experience the fullness of what it means to be human we need to be connected to God -- we just cannot be human in the best sense without being in an engaging relationship with God -- because we have been created in God's image.

But I would like to offer another metaphor for our daily living -- the metaphor of "dancing in the Spirit." Dancing for me is more representative of life and the fullness we can experience in it. As human beings who identify and follow after Jesus Christ, we are more than metaphorically the Body of Christ -- rather we are the Body of Christ in that we are called to continue the ministry of Jesus in the world. The dance metaphor is one that I find more appropriate because walking can be done alone, dancing often requires an engagement with others. As the Body of Christ we are called to dance in the Spirit -- to the rhythm of the Spirit -- in all our encounters.

Often when we loose our focus as a community of Christ in the world, when we go about our own agendas, rather than God's purposes for the world, then our dancing becomes clumsy and we step on each others' feet, bumping into one another. But when we sense the rhythm of the Spirit, when we have ears to hear and eyes to see what God is doing in the world and where God is doing it and we find the "groove" to get in step with God's actions, God's mission we begin to dance very differently as a witnessing, worshiping community.

So then as human beings we are called to not merely walk, but we are called to dance in step with God and with our neighbors -- whomever they are. Conversion, repentance -- ideas that seem to turn more people off than on, are indeed invitations not to stumble around but to become a partner with the Spirit of God through whom we learn how to dance to God's rhythm. Conversion, repentance -- or whatever terms we use to describe a change of attitude, direction, perspective in our lives -- is to have well up inside of us the passion to dance in the Spirit in step with the rhythm of God.

Shall we dance?

What is God Up To? a letter to a friend

I thought I'd post some thoughts I sent to a friend of mine who expressed some wonderings about what God is doing as he waits to see what doors will open up for his future. It helped me express some of my own musings about discerning what God is up to.

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It is a time of trying to read not only the times, but how God is moving in these times, particularly how he is readying a group of people to be ready to move when God is set to do what he's planning to do. If that sounds circular or somewhat complicated, I guess what I am trying to say is that I get a sense that all this ambiguity is something I sense the Spirit doing to raise up a people who will live missionally in the contexts we are in.

That does not make things clearer, but it gives me a sense that all we have left is to trust the Spirit believing that the Spirit knows what he's doing. So whether we should press on "closed" doors, or step through ones that seem to be open ("least resistance") -- I am not sure - except that we are living in times when our eyes and ears are being cultivated/atuned to the things of God in the world.

I am still involved with sacred space and that is developing slowly, but it is developing. My part-time consulting is developing slowly also. So what I am seeing is that things are developing slowly -- so maybe this is a time for something to be developed in me as I trust God to lead me forward (I do know I want to move forward, rather than backward -- one of the reasons I said no to Vancouver).

There are plenty of open doors which I am exploring, but do not get a sense it is time to go through any of them.

Actually last week my wife asked me if there is any "gypsy" blood in me, since I am in this state of "wandering." I do have some East European blood in me, so maybe . . . . In all this I am sensing that rather life being something that we take control of, take charge of, there is a growing group of people (some of us were together in last semester's class at Elmbrook) that God is preparing for something really wild. So somehow we need to stay in touch and support one another -- perhaps to move ahead together.

So how does that put bread on the table? I have no idea -- It seems I am nickel and diming my way forward, but each day I realize each nickel and dime is a gift from the Lord who is supplying not only my needs, but my family's needs, according to his riches in glory. So yes I'd rather have a steady place of employment, but if God lets me walk through two or three of the doors/opportunities he is opening up, there will be nothing steady about this.

Another "door" has recently opened up. It is what I have talked about as "businesses that are churches" also known as "third places." First and second places are home and work environments, but third places are places where people gather, relate, connect, places that are safe, etc. What if churches were not places, but people in places, places such as these third places where coffee, sporting goods, books, shoes, etc are sold, but people are attracted to them not only for the products (as in our hectic paced world), but also come there to be with others. So when we are there, we are there as those who incarnate the presence of Christ connecting with people in our communities, etc. I heard about third places from Pernell Goodyear, one of the pastors of Freeway Cafe in Hamilton, ON Canada, who got the idea from reading Ray Oldenburg's book The Great Good Place.

So maybe the next generation of churches in the North American culture has to do not with building churches, but being church in such third places. I'd like to be involved in something like that and I am discovering in the past week that there are more people open to an idea like this than I thought. I have already met with someone about buying a coffee shop and turning it into a third place, and this afternoon meeting with someone to talk about a biking, hiking, kayaking store that would be a third place for the outdoor crowd. This idea intrigues me and I plan on exploring it more as I teach a course in Madison this Fall entitled Social and Cultural Exegesis through Trinity's Extension program.

I just think there is too much the Spirit is doing for something not to be happening. I want to get on board with this, rather than settling for something steady and regular.

It reminds me of the Parable of the Sower (perhaps a somewhat allegorical interpretation) -- but most of us enjoy walking on the hardened path (where God's seed does not grow to well) and we are working hard to make something happen for God. I sense God is calling me (and I am sure plenty others) to take a look beyond the shallow soil and weedy soil next to the hard path to the tilled, ploughed soil (where the seed does grow well) and begin to walk in it. Yet to walk in this soil (especially if has been recently ploughed up) makes for difficult walking. So is the ambiguity, the uncertainly, the difficulty of this time our learning to walk in soil that has no pathways in it? Yet here is where if we remain in it long enough we will see shoots sprouting.

Thanks, this has helped me process some stuff that has been sitting in my head and heart. Any responses to any of this?

By the way -- I would love it if God were to lead us to serve together in some way -- maybe God is trying to keep us connected.

Roland

Virgina Tech and Life in the Way of Jesus

Over the past few weeks when we have got together as a group we have been talking about creating a different kind of community in which we engage our neighbors and our communities differently than perhaps the traditional, and perhaps even market-driven, church has. However, I have noticed rather than talking positively about what doing life in the way of Jesus reframes us in engaging life differently we have more or less focused on what has been unhelpful in the "church' contexts we have come out of.

So last Saturday we began refocusing on how do we engage life with integrity by focusing not so much on what bugs us, but what life in the way of Jesus calls us to.

As I reflect on the tragedy at Virginia Tech last week in light of this, I wonder not so much where God was in this context, because though God is actively present, we were never created to be "robots" who have no will or responsibility of our own. We live in a messed up world largely because we mess it up and we take, rather than give to one another. But I wonder where we see God; where is God visible in this time of grieving, this time for which healing is needed?

One thing I notice is that the campus wants to grieve together. Though students have been given the option to go home, even remain at home -- taking whatever grade they have to this point as their final grade, most students expressed that the place where they want to grieve, the place they want to process this pain is on campus. Virginia Tech is very vulnerable in this time -- not in relation to security because they are evaluating this, but in terms of people open, being human, being real with one another. I see this as a time for listening to one another, for crying with one another, for holding one another -- perhaps being with other students and faculty in a way they never have before.

Where is God in this? I believe in the midst of this. God is very present on campus. Mourning, such as is going on at Virginia Tech, can lead to healing if it is mourning in hope, rather than despair. Though many may despair, those who begin to see God being present with them in this situation can begin to mourn in hope -- hope for healing, hope in the midst of pain, hope that enables students and faculty to wake up tomorrow and live into a new day. And for those who seek to live life in the way of Jesus -- they are the ones who in seeing the emotional vulnerability of the campus do not make it into an opportunity to make converts, but rather are ones who make themselves available to God's Spirit to be persons who make visible the love, the compassion, and presence of God in the midst of mourning. Jesus said, when he was talking about the new reality of living life under the rule of God, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Matthew's Gospel). Those living in the way of Jesus make themselves available to friends, neighbors, even strangers, to walk alongside them in order to help others to receive the comfort that God offers in difficult and tragic circumstances.

Let's talk more about this on Saturday -- how do we as people seeking to live life in the way of Jesus notice those around us who are grieving/mourning and how do we become persons who bring comfort to those who mourn?

Roland

Jesus Connected with People

Jesus connected with people because he took the time to be with people, to engage them, to see them, to listen to them, to touch them. I have come to realize this simple reality about Jesus that set him apart from so many of us because too many of us, including myself, seek to engage people in ways which promotes our own agenda. When we are about placing ourselves at the center, rather than seeing the other, we miss the point of God coming as a human being in Jesus of Nazareth to be among us and with us. Jesus' desire for humanity was for us to be human in ways we have never imagined -- and in his being human amongst us and with us he showed us how to be human in ways we never could. It is in identifying with him that we become truly human with one another.

We see Jesus connecting with people throughout the early writings of his followers (the Gospels). When people were brought to him who were sick, he spoke to them, touched them and healed them. When he saw people trying to get a glimpse of him, in a crowd, or up in a tree, he stopped and conversed with them and even took the time to eat with them. He saw people feeling trapped in their daily routines and he invited them to come and follow him. He saw people, he engaged people, he listened, he healed, he forgave, he set them free, he enabled others to be human in ways they had never been.

When I think of how Jesus connected with people, and the way I more times than not do not connect with others the way he did, I am reminded of the quotation by Mohandas K. Gandhi -- "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." I want to be like Jesus! I want my life to make his way of being human visible in this world.

I realize that I still am making life about me, rather than about being here for others in the way of Jesus. If Jesus offered us the fullness of life by being a servant among us, why then do we keep on trying to make life about ourselves, our success, our notoriety?

I am discovering more and more each day as I come into serendipitous encounters with people that the only way for me to live is to live in such a way that enables others to live in ways that enables them to live humanly.

In Matthew's account, Jesus expresses to those who are tired and weary with the struggles of life, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." I am finding that rest as I discover a rhythm of life that is identified with Jesus.

So it seems that when Jesus said, "Repent for the kingdom of God is here," he was not calling for people to take on another set of religious beliefs, but to begin to be human in relationship with God -- the only way for us to be truly human with one another.

Roland

Continuing the Conversation

sacred space has now been gathering regularly on Saturday morning since mid-February. We have enjoyed the venue at Cafe Barista and the conversation has involved a few regulars as well as others from week to week. At times we are asked if we are a church group, to which we reply that we are not, but that we are a conversation exploring together life in the way of Jesus.

What this has meant over the weeks is that we have engaged what it means to be human in such a way that it makes God's presence visible in the world. We have talked that for us to be human in this way necessarily leads us to identify not only with the humanity of Jesus of Nazareth, but indeed with Jesus -- for he is God who has become one of us, God who has become a human being making visible the presence of God in the world. So in being human beings identified with Jesus of Nazareth, we make God visible in the world by the way we treat customers and employees if we are business people, the way we treat our spouses and children if we are married, the way we treat our neighbors, the way we treat strangers.

Making God visible in the world as human beings who identify with Jesus, calls us to view others in ways that God views them -- not to reject people, but for us to be open to accept whomever God brings into our lives. This is not always easy, but then it is not about what makes us comfortable, it is about making space and making God visible in our community.

So as a group gathering on Saturday mornings, and those who join us in conversation, we are discovering what it means in real ways what it means to do life in the way of Jesus. We are discovering that we are becoming more than a conversation group, but a community of persons who want to help each other be the kind of people who make God visible in the world.

If you have thought about being a part of the conversation of sacred space I invite you to join us on Saturday mornings at Cafe Barista in Lake Villa, IL from 9 - 11 am and engage in a conversational journey that is stretching us.

Roland

Who is Jesus?

Since sacred space is a conversation exploring life in the way of Jesus, it might be a good question to ask, "who do we think Jesus is?" or perhaps, "what are our thoughts about Jesus?"

This was a question Jesus asked those who hung out with him as well. As he spent time with blue collar types and people on the edge of society, he asked the twelve who were closest to him, "Who do people say that I am?" I think this question caught them off guard a bit and after they had a moment to think about it they began repeating to him what others were saying about him. As one of Jesus' followers, Matthew -- who happened to be an ex-tax collector, remarked that some said he was the prophet John the Baptist (who was in reality Jesus' cousin who told the people about Jesus' coming -- some people must have figured he wasn't executed after all); some said he was one of the prophets who had wandered the earth hundreds of years before, but somehow appeared again (maybe like a ghost).

But then Jesus asked them, like he still asks each one of us, "Who do you say I am?" That is a question we all have to figure out. For Peter, one of Jesus' followers, he said, "You are the One who has come to liberate humanity, the Son of the living God."

What this means and what implications this has for our exploring together life in the way of Jesus is something we can talk about this coming Saturday, March 17th.

See you there.
Roland

God-Moments in Our Lives

I was watching the film Alfie on DVD. Its about a guy who enjoys being single and has a lot of one-night stands. However, in the midst of his hedonistic lifestyle, he begins to encounter issues that bring his life to a standstill, or at least a very uneasy forward movement. While he is in the midst of this time, he experiences what I call a "God-moment."

We all have them if we have ears and eyes to notice them. God is indeed moving through each of our lives, trying to get across to us that God loves us and desires for us to be in relationship with God. Usually when life is going our way, when we are in control, we are too focused on ourselves to notice others, let alone God speaking to us. But when we experience some kind of pain -- emotional or physical, some kind of news that knocks us to the ground, we are vulnerable, our insides are open -- and these times are God-moments in our lives. These are times when we cry out, we long for a different direction, we long for hope -- and if we open up our ears and eyes we will discover that God is next to us reaching out to us, to walk with us, to touch us and bring healing and hope to us. But most of us remain somewhat blind and deaf and don't take the opportunity to see God in these God-moments. We figure out a way to get out of the situation we are in and find a way to go on -- when the life God gave to us was meant to be more than a mere "going on."

I don't know if Alfie was ever open to the God-moments in his life, though he came close -- but one thing he did realize (at the end of the movie): though he was single, unattached, had freedom to do whatever he wanted to do, he did not have peace of mind -- and as he stated, "Without peace of mind, you've got nothing."

I want to try and be open to God in the God-moments that make themselves visible in my life, and perhaps somehow discover God in ways I never experienced before.

Roland

Sharing Our Stories

We all have a story. It is the story of our life -- where we started, where we have been, what we've encountered, what dreams we have, what disappointments we've experienced, what hopes we have. sacred space is a place to share our stories with one another.

For this coming Saturday, February 24, we will take time to share our stories -- and then ask the following question as well -- "Where have we or do we see God in our stories?"

I think this is an important question. Especially, as last week's blogpost asks -- if God was one of us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth -- then how do we experience/encounter God today if not through our lives, our stories in which God reaches out to us. If God indeed does encounter us, then there have to be clues in our lives, in our stories that help us see God. -- so "where do we see God in our stories?"

Looking forward to connecting with those who come to engage in this time of sacred space together. See you Saturday.

What If God Was One of Us?

sacred space begins this coming Saturday, February 17th. We will be meeting at Cafe Barista (in the strip mall on the corner of Route 83 and Morton Drive in Lake Villa, IL) from 9 - 11 am.

We will be meeting regularly every Saturday morning (unless another time will work better for the group that gathers) from 9 - 11 to engage one another as we explore together life in the way of Jesus. You can come when you wish and stay as long as you'd like.

Every week there will be something presented to focus and guide our conversation with one another. For Feb. 17th, we will use Joan Osbourne's song, If God Was One of Us to guide our focus. If you are there, besides talking with one another, you can post further ideas on this blog. If you can't make it, but would like to be a part of the conversation, you can share your ideas here as well. The focus is on exploring together life in the way of Jesus.

For February 17

This first session explores Jesus as God among us -- for that is the claim of the earliest writers who wrote about Jesus -- that Jesus from Nazareth is God as a human being. This is more than Greek mythology, rather these writers make the historical declaration that Jesus from Nazareth is God in human flesh -- God actually being one of us.

Here is the flyer that will be available to guide our conversation:

If God Was One of Us
Joan Osbourne

If God had a name, what would it be

And would you call it to his face

If you were faced with him in all his glory

What would you ask if you had just one question
And yeah yeah God is great yeah yeah God is good

yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

What if God was one of us

Just a slob like one of us

Just a stranger on the bus

Trying to make his way home

If God had a face what would it look like

And would you want to see

If seeing meant that you would have to believe

In things like heaven and in jesus and the saints and all the prophets
And yeah yeah god is great yeah yeah god is good

yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

What if God was one of us

Just a slob like one of us

Just a stranger on the bus

Trying to make his way home

He's trying to make his way home

Back up to heaven all alone

Nobody calling on the phone

Except for the pope maybe in rome
And yeah yeah God is great yeah yeah God is good

yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

What if god was one of us

Just a slob like one of us

Just a stranger on the bus

Trying to make his way home

Just trying to make his way home

Like a holy rolling stone

Back up to heaven all alone

Just trying to make his way home

Nobody calling on the phone

Except for the pope maybe in rome

Conversation

What is Joan Osbourne trying to say with this song?

What is she saying about God?

What do you think of her thoughts on God?

A Thought

Christmas celebrations were a little over a month ago and the claim of Christmas is that God did become one of us. God did not just take on human form, like a mask or a costume, but God actually became a human being and lived among us. This God who lived among us is identified as Jesus from Nazareth.

What kind of human being was God? Was he very much like you and me – the same passions and needs? Yet, he lived in a way that did not manipulate people to get what he needed. His life was about connecting with us and helping us see what life could be. And so as Jesus got up in the morning, washed up, ate breakfast, worked, hung out with his friends, talked and helped people in his neighborhood, he also lived out the way life was meant to be lived. He invites us to discover his kind of life by walking with him.

Further Conversation

What would be different if God was really one of us?
Where do we see Jesus today?
What would it be like if Jesus lived next door?
What would Jesus touch in our lives if we spent time with him?
What would it take to live life the way Jesus did?