Moving Forward

Previously I have written on this blog and elsewhere about the influence of AA on our local community, The Well. Both the steps (as a means for spiritual transformation) and traditions (as a means for keeping ourselves centered on that transformation) have been extremely helpful for imagining what a Jesus-led underground movement looks like in Jupiter, Florida. But what about supporting a larger community of allies, a community of communities that have the kingdom of God as their primary concern? What can AA teach us about initiating and sustaining a network such as this?

In a follow-up post to the discussion that has been taking place over the past week, Mark van Steenwyk asks an important question:

"In these times of transition, really cool things happen. But at these times of transition it is just as likely that misguided attempts at cool things can happen. So, where do we go from here?"

As I said in my last post, our experience of this transition has been anything but cool. We have met some cool people and simple community can be a wonderfully cool breath of fresh air, but we have also had to endure quite a bit of pain, loss, and confusion. We've struggled with vocational issues, raising families in a climate of uncertainty, and this general gnawing sense that we just aren't quite where we want to be yet. For many of us, we've been reluctant to try anything significant because...well, honestly...this transition has been keeping us pretty busy. Recovering from a life filled with cultural addictions is not something that happens overnight. In fact, it seems the farther I go, the more I see that needs to change in me and in our way of life.

AA's steps one and two go hand in hand:

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

I believe where we go from here is to begin articulating for ourselves and the church that our lives have become unmanageable, that by ourselves we are powerless over the kingdom of 'me' and all of the cultural realities that kingdom has produced. We can practice step one in a variety of ways - by continuing to nurture simple communities of faith that have a vision of God's kingdom, through art, through being with the unwanted or ignored, through love rather than becoming another brand of entrepreneur. We must see those things not as ends in themselves, as if they were what God was wanting us to do all along instead of planting churches or saving the world. Rather, they are spiritual disciplines - avenues of God's grace - to get us out of the way. Within AA, there is no recovery without step one. We'll never move through transition without it.

The second step is learning how to express that there is no future without God's provision. Our addictions will kill us, literally. I am just beginning to come to terms with this reality myself. For example, questions about the sustainability of our economics are not just a way to keep coffee-shop conversations entertaining. When the bank takes your house, there's not much to debate anymore. Drastic change is required. "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Not just something cute to put on your refrigerator door. Those are revolutionary words and if we took them seriously, it would turn the world upside down.

AA's fifth tradition reads, "Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers." If we become people who acknowledge that we are powerless over our cultural addictions without Jesus and the authority of his kingdom, I believe it opens the door wide open for God to move among the suffering around us. Excuse me, but when did 'missional' become a new organizational strategy? Go read your Newbigin people. It's God's mission. Can you picture a group of alcoholics organizing a slick promotional campaign to convince new members into their society? That's why tradition eleven exists - "Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion." In other words, alcoholics just go tell their story to other addicts and let God take care of the rest. Anything else would be a disaster.

Voicing our addictions to culture (what Bruggeman describes as confronting 'numbness'), giving our allegiance to God's kingdom and learning how to rest in his provision, and witnessing to God's transformative power among our suffering friends and neighbors are a few of the lessons we can learn from AA as we move forward. This has been brewing in me for a long time. I would appreciate any feedback as well as any further insights as we explore what God is doing.

Finding Allies

There are more interesting posts in this thread, which Aaron Klinefelter has graciously tagged here.

Kevin Rains brings up something important that I'd like to play off in his post, I'm 'Bi' and Proud:

"A community of allies is key to sustainability: I remember talking to Chris Marshall about all this many, many years ago as we were both transitioning into new, non-paid-ministry positions. He ended up in education and I ended up in business. Most importantly we’ve remained allies and champions for one another since those early conversations."

The questions surrounding sustainable ministry / rethinking vocation / kingdom economics cannot be addressed in a bubble. These are not, in essence, academic questions that are debated by non-practitioners in general terms. Answers will come slowly through trial-and-error, slogging through the mud and mundane of real life: hurt feelings, difficult family situations, confusion, fatigue, and sacrifice. Solutions will be found on the way to the store to pick up some eggs or in the middle of losing your house to the bank. For this reason, having allies - comrades - that you can call on and that have your back are absolutely critical to the process. The question at hand for many right now is, "How can I find allies...and how should we relate to each other?"

When I started blogging in 2002, these kinds of conversations were common among the blogs that I read on a regular basis. Many of us were 'starving ecclesial artists' who were simply trying to make sense of what we were thinking, reading, and trying to live. Since then, blogging has become an arena for pushing your position or product more than an exchange of ideas. This doesn't surprise me...but it does make me miss the 'old days'. Within a year of starting a blog, I had found ten or so other people who were tracking with me, that I could count on as allies and 'champions'. We occasionally met face to face, first at conferences or other meetings...but then we just found ways to be together with no agenda other than to be together. In fact, we found these agenda-less times to be the most powerful and beneficial. We were able to share our stories (and eventually even share grief through tragedy) without the typical posturing that happens around conferences or in most organizations. Even though we don't see each other often, I know those men and women are for me with no pretense or reservation. We share a common anchor in the hope of God's kingdom and the resurrection...and that is enough.

Is there a way to reproduce what we have? I honestly don't know. These relationships were not planned. We had no organizational aspirations and even resisted the idea that we could somehow spark a 'movement'. Honestly, these relationships were about our survival more than anything else. We are not influential people in the wider Christian conversation, at least in terms of being authors or known speakers. Collectively, our faith communities do not amount to much on paper. But now five years later, I know I am going to survive. In fact, I have great hope for our future, what God is doing, and how he is going to use us. Believe me, this conversation about kingdom / vocation / economics is right in our sweet spot. This is stuff we've been thinking about for years and experimenting with in small ways in our own communties. So no...we don't have all the answers. We aren't qualified to prescribe a step-by-step plan for planting the next great emerging church or creating some world-changing organization. Ours has been a way of waiting, questions, pain, and even death. Not fun stuff. Not "host the next big innovative conference and sell a million books" kind of stuff, that's for sure. But where I stand, I'd rather have a few friends that will call me brother for life than a successful book deal or my name on a conference agenda.

This post is already too long, so I'll stop here. I do have some thoughts about these kinds of relationships can be initiated and sustained, mostly from lessons our local community has learned from an unlikely source - Alcoholics Anonymous. More on that next time, though.

The Conversation Continues...

The conversation I posted about on Wednesday continues. Here's some snippets from the posts I've been reading:

"What if ministry was defined as beginning and ending with the relationships that already exist in our lives? Of course, we would begin new relationships - some intentionally so - but they are not a means to an end. We take on the role of friend as opposed to director, parent or mentor as opposed to "expert, brother or sister as opposed to business partner." - Aaron Klinefelter

"The empire is cracking right now, and there may be dark days ahead. But I don’t think that will last for long. I think there are a ton of smart (and greedy) people who will figure stuff out eventually. While we do struggle in the here and now, though, let’s remember that this represents a unique opportunity to live out a counter-cultural Kingdom reality. Right now, when our wallets (and gas tanks) are empty, we have much less convincing to do when we talk about the lack of real hope that money and power provide. We have the opportunity to live a joyful, free lifestyle, which shows where our dependence lies, where our true Hope lies. And that’s where we live out our faith..." - Steve Lewis

"I have, in the same week, been told by one mainstream Christian that “I have little to show for myself” and been told by one supportive friend in Philadelphia that “it is amazing I am able to accomplish so much.” I share this to highlight that people see what they are looking for. The mainstream church is looking for practitioners who can maintain the status quo. These starving ecclesial artists are looking for ways of being faithful in the future." - Mark Van Steenwyk

"Although many leaders in the church do a great job at getting out into the world, there is no impact greater than working 40 hours a week alongside people who don’t want to be in church. This is where we build relationships and allow God’s grace to work through us. And, really, if you think about it, how much easier is it to connect with people when you are going through the same pains of unsteady, uncomfortable jobs?" - Kimberly Knoll

I'll chime in some more later today...

The Jesus Underground

Jason and Chris had two great posts today:

This Hurts

Church, Money, and the Future

One of the questions that I think needs to be raised in our church culture is not "Are we being successful?" but rather, "Is what we are doing sustainable?" What I mean by sustainable is not if we can advance our ideas about church so that we are influential to the next generation. Sustainable means that we can continue on the path God has for us without having to rely on big organization, huge amounts of funding, or keeping up with the latest church trends. It means that we work without a lot of visibility, but will be able to minister right where people are hurting and in need of the good news of God's kingdom. This is a Jesus-led underground movement.

What we can give away to other churches is our experience - not a step-by-step plan to being a successful church - but rather an extended hand and a listening ear. We can say to them, "We'll walk with you as you step out into the unknown, where the Holy Spirit is your guide and you might have more questions than answers." Believe me, there are not many people out there who are willing to say that. We have that opportunity.

Tom Wright

Not that he needs my endorsement, but I shameless admit to being an N.T. Wright fanboy. Here's a little associative exercise...

Apple Geek : Knows what Steve Jobs had for breakfast
N.T. Wright Fanboy : Slips into a British accent when talking theology

Okay, I'm not that bad, but his work has been pretty huge for me over the past several years. In the same way that The Challenge of Jesus shook some foundations, Surprised by Hope is making me weak in the knees all over again. But in a good way. A really, really good way.

One of major frustrations for me over the past few years has been reconciling all these ideas about the kingdom of God with the slow process of discovering an authentic way of being church in our context. God's kingdom keeps pushing us forward, way beyond what we are capable of experiencing right now. The problem (at least from my perspective, maybe other people don't think this way) is that I feel as if we're struggling to keep up. We relate, as church, on the basis of our past experiences - good and bad - and the potluck theology we've collectively accumulated. That could be a recipe for disaster, or at least for stagnation.

This is why I find Wright's work so refreshing. He is cleaning up my messy potluck and helping me put together a coherent meal. This is also why, I believe, he is facing so much resistence from certain theological strains. He is presenting a comprehensive vision of Christianity that is challenging convictions that might be blindspots or in some cases just plain wrong. Not to say his vision is perfect, it just makes a heck of a lot of sense for someone like me with 30-years of evangelicalism in my blood.

In order to move forward into the whatever-is-next of God's kingdom, we need to grab hold of a comprehensive Story about God, what he has done, what he is doing, and what he will do. Wright, unlike some of his contemporaries from a more liberal bent, does not throw the baby out with the bathwater. He says, "Here is the baby - who has been here all along, but in some significant ways we did not recongize her." Jesus, the Kingdom, the cross, the resurrection, Paul, the early church, mission, and the world to come - all questions with answers that have more or less been all over the map. Wright is helping to bring coherence and answers which I believe will only serve to help the church in transition.

More N to the T

"When God saves people in this life, by working through his Spirit to bring them to faith and by leading them to follow Jesus in discipleship, prayer, holiness, hope, and love, such people are designed - it isn't too strong a word - to be a sign and foretaste of what God wants to do for the entire cosmos. What's more, such people are not just to be a sign and foretaste of that ultimate salvation; they are to be part of the means by which God makes this happen in both the present and the future." - N.T. Wright, 'Surprised by Hope'

Monday Morning Quote

"As long as we see salvation in terms of going to heaven when we die, the main work of the church is bound to be seen in terms of saving souls for that future. But when we see salvation, as the New Testament sees it, in terms of God's promised new heavens and new earth and of our promised resurrection to share in that new and gloriously embodied reality - what I have called life after life after death - then the main work of the church here and now demands to be rethought in consequence." - N.T. Wright, 'Surprised by Hope'

The Definition of "Love Your Enemies"

A Victim Treats His Mugger Right