Previous Post – What Is The Church? Conclusion

As we settle in here in Australia for Christmas with my wife’s family, I won’t have much time to blog.  However, my soon-to-be brother-in-law showed me the following video with is, aside from being technically brilliant, beautifully imaginative.  I hope you enjoy:

As we all know, one of the things that make blogs to great is that conversation is possible through the comment section.  We are all also aware of how easily this gift can be hijacked by people less concerned with conversation.  Their comments can be rude, off topic, annoying, hurtful, etc.  It isn’t good.

Therefore, I’ve decided to institute a new comment policy here at The Cost of Community.  Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here it is, expressed better than I could ever have possibly hoped:

Thank you, XKCD.

The Rally To Restore Unity

#RestoreUnity

]]> http://www.missional.ca/2011/05/the-rally-to-restore-unity/feed/ 7 http://www.missional.ca/2011/04/history-in-perspective/ http://www.missional.ca/2011/04/history-in-perspective/#comments Mon, 04 Apr 2011 03:37:24 +0000 Jamie http://www.missional.ca/?p=1386

Previous Post -Faith & Freeganism Interview

This is brilliant! The whole ad campaign is just… brilliant!

Previous Post – Being Missional in a Culture of Compromise

When I first discovered that Anne Rice, famed author of the dark Vampire Chronicles, was doing a series of novels on the life of Jesus, I was intrigued.  I soon learned that in the process of researching and writing the books she was compelling and wooed back into the life of faith, returning to the Roman Catholicism of her youth.  I even interviewed her at about her books of Christ and her return to faith.  She shocked millions of fans and critics alike with this move.

Recently, Anne has again got thousands abuzz with her recent public comments on Facebook:

“For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.”

Then again later:

“As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.”

As I read her words, I felt deeply for Anne.  After all, many of us share her struggle to identify with a religion that so often seems to distant from the teachings of the Lord whose name it bears.  And while I am frequently drawn to the writings and examples of Catholic women & men (namely, St. Claire & Francis of Assisi), I can also see why the Roman Catholic expression of faith would be particularly difficult for Rice.

Her comments brought to mind something I had read from Cornell West recently.  West commented that, in terms of identification with others, especially those who faced injustice and persecution, he explicitly calls himself the other.  In other words, in the face of anti-Islamic attitudes post-9/11, he said “I am Arab American” or to the way the church or culture treats the LGBTQ community, he said “I am gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual”.  Like Rice, he refused to let his identification as a Christian make him separate than his sister and brothers.  Rice refuses to be identified with the hatred and bigotry she sees in the institutional church and West refuses to deny identification with this rejected by the same.

While I differ with Rice & West in many details surrounding this crisis of identification, I do resonate with much of their unique (and overlapping) emphases.   I struggle in my own life and in the life of my community to offer an alternative vision and/or experience of Christ to a world that often only sees self-righteousness, judgment and violence.  I am passionately committed to recognize that my identity, my very salvation is caught up with that of others, even those who Christians traditionally reject as outsiders.  In this, I affirm what these two are modeling in these statements and in their lives.

However, I am caught on something I can’t get past.  While in no way diminishing the prophetic authority of Rice & West in this respect, I cannot help be realize that Christ takes this radical identification even further.  Jesus condescended to become human, giving up His rightful place and power, to identify with us so that we could receive the grace of salvation through His life, death and resurrection.  “While we were yet sinners”- in other words, before we accepted or even acknowledged His gift, He suffered and died for the hope of our salvation.  Jesus identified with all humankind without exception.

This is the identification that Christ calls us to follow.  It is a radical and impossible identification that is only possible by His Holy Spirit.  It is an identification that, while never compromising or ignoring injustice, extends a love that surpasses familial loyalty even to those who despise and reject it.  It is an indiscriminate identification that is no respecter of persons.  It is an identification that is willing to also say, “I am a bigot”, “I am a homophobe”, “I am a racist”, “I am a misogynist” and “I am the worst of sinners”.

Because Christ identifies with everyone, even in their most horrific sinfulness, then we too, as His Body, must also identify with them.  We do not have the luxury to deny their sisterhood and brotherhood, while also never ignoring or justifying their hatred and sin.  The Body of Christ is one, like it or not.  To identify with Christ means we must identify with each other.

Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.

(UPDATE: I think, perhaps, I have been too subtle in this post with respect to the attractional church.  I am not attempting to defend what has been critiqued as the attractional church, but rather offer an alternative.  While attractional churches are still part of the Body of Christ that I affirm as family, I have strong concerns about the impact of said approaches on the quality of the faith & community it produces.)

One of the central themes to the missional movement has been the call to return to an incarnational understanding of ecclesiology and missiology.  As Christ’s Body, the Church is called as one to embody the truth, hope and love of the Gospel in all we are and do, in addition to what we proclaim.  Like Jesus, we are then called to go into the world and actively pursue the lost.  In this sense, as all Christians are part of His Body, all Christians must be by nature missional- that is, shaped and moved by our shared vocation to establish God’s Kingdom through the message and saving work of Jesus Christ.

When incarnational ministry is discussed, it is often discussed in contrast to the attractional ministry model that has so deeply shaped the evangelicalism that we see around us today.  In brief, the attractional approach to ministry seeks to draw people into our churches through attractive and relevant programing, services and opportunities.  The means by which they seek to attract people varies greatly, both in style and intention.  For the sake of this article, I am going assume that most attractional churches seek to offer what they see as healthy, God-oriented programs, services, etc.- that is, despite how it plays out (for better and for worse), let us assume the best of intentions from the attractional church.

Now, it should be said from the beginning that missional-incarnational is not at complete odds with the attractional.  They are not mutually exclusive or completely incompatible.  Rather, it is about priority and emphasis.  I am deeply convinced that missional-incarnational should lay the foundation, working as the primary (though not exclusive) organizing function of the church.  Within that, there is a place for attractional ministry, as long as it is subject to the missional-incarnation emphasis.  Or as I once heard Ed Stetzer put it, the church should not be attractional, but it certainly can be attractive!

Recently, as I was considering this dynamic, I found my mind drawn back to the story of the prodigal son.  After squandering his inheritance, the destitute son decides to return home to his father, for even life as a servant in his family home would be better than the empty life he was living.  And so, he begins the journey home.  When he still a ways off, his father sees him coming, runs to meet him and brings him the rest of the way home, kissing and embracing him with love and compassion.  And then they celebrate his return with a great feast.

This parable, like the two prior to it, is (in part) a story about repentance, recovery and restoration.  What struck me as so beautiful about this story was that, when life turned sour for the prodigal, he knew the nature of his father’s home- that is would be a place of security and forgiveness, even if it meant humbling himself to the lowest position as servant.  His father’s heart was known to him, even in the face of his selfish and reckless behaviour towards him.  His confidence that his welcome, in one form or another, was sure, inspired him to make the journey home.

Are the communities of faith that we build such homes?  Do we represent the Father’s heart in such a way that, even in the face of rejection and exploitation, the prodigal would know that our churches would welcome them?  Sadly, most people would characterize the church as a place where just the opposite is likely to occur.  And yet, it is this kind of attractional nature that we must desperately seek to embody as His people.  This is what we should endeavour to become so that people will be drawn to Christ and His Church.  This is attractional ministry at it’s truest.

And like the father in this tale, we must also go out into the world and meet people even before they have “made it home”.  We need to learn to see with new eyes, recognizing when people are in the process of returning to the Father, even before it happens explicitly.  We are to meet them with joy and love, not judgment and harsh requirements.  Without question, once the son was home and the celebration was complete, his duty to the father would have been clear and uncompromising.  However, it the process of returning, the emphasis was on embrace.

Like the elder son in this parable, we can expect that we will resist this approach as though it were unjust and compromising.  After all, they are sinners and must learn from their mistakes, not be celebrated for them!  And yet we must hear our Father’s words when He says: “My son, celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” After all, we are all returned prodigals.

This vision of a missional-incarnational community is one I can believe in.  Not only does it call us to embody the richness of who Christ is and what He has called us to be, but it also requires us to become together a community of welcome that would inspire the lost to begin their journey home, a journey on which we would join them with love, grace and patience until they are ready to enter into the embrace of the Father and receive their full inheritance.

The gorgeous little fella in the picture is my very first nephew, Zephaniah David Ricci.  While we’ve video chatted with him many times, tomorrow they arrive for a visit and we get to meet him in person for the very first time.  We are really excited for my brother and sister-in-law, and very happy to be an uncle & aunt.

Of course, there is a small twinge of pain as well.  For many years now Kim & I have been trying to start a family with no luck.  A few years ago we decided that adoption was our best choice.  We attempted private adoption, but none panned out.  In fact, the first baby we were meant to adopt was aborted, which left us almost as crushed as when we experienced the miscarriage.  Going through the system in Manitoba can take 10-15 years to get the placement of a baby, even then usually requiring several failed placements, something we were not emotionally prepared to risk.  In the end we decided to adopt internationally from Ethiopia, a decision we have not regretted and increasingly believe to be the best choice.

However, we recently found out that due to factors outside of our control (such as increased numbers of adoptive families, etc.) our expected adoption date had been pushed back to more than a year from now.  While we are trusting God’s timing, it has been a blow.  As you can imagine, as thrilled as we are to see our nephew, it also stirs a lot of emotions for us.  Please be praying.  (If you are interested in helping us with our adoption, please visit Adopt-A-Pixel here.  Thanks!)

Given that my attention will be undivided in it’s focus this weekend, I am going to be skipping the weekend linkage round-up.  If you want a few good links, these three guys always have a good variety on Saturday morning:

• Subversive Influence
• Dashouse.com
• Jesus Creed

Previous Post – Richard Twiss Video

Is it Saturday already?  This week has FLOWN by with the beginning of our huge Blow Out Sale at The Dusty Cover.  We’ve sold thousands of titles.  The story in the Winnipeg Free Press helped (sadly, not online).  Just over a week left in the sale, then the store closes, so head on down today.  Now, on to the linkage!

UPDATE: I had to update this post to add a link to David Fitch’s post “Ordination and the Lord’s Table: Providing some ‘Shape’ for “Things to Come’”, a MUST read for those who are seeking to nurture missional communities.

-If you haven’t already, check out this great story about a small group of Franciscan friars who walked 300 miles on a pilgrimage.  I am excited to say that later this month I will be posting an interview with these wonderful men, so stay tuned!

-Speaking of Franciscans, I will be leading a workshop on “Monastic Vows as Missional Virtues” at “The Great Emergence” day seminar with Phyllis Tickle here in Winnipeg (Oct. 31).  I’ll hopefully have taken full profession with The Company of Jesus by then, so I might even lead the workshop in my habit.  You’ll have to come to see it for yourself!

-When I saw how many comments Michael Spencer (imonk) got on his average blog post, I was blown away.  Until I read more.  I love this guy, especially this recent post on leaving room for churches to be wrong.  Well worth the read.

-Two people who have made Little Flowers Community possible, especially for Kim & I, are John & Delia Knight.  Their friendship, support & leadership have been amazing.  They are also both blind.  Which made this story so amazing. (HT: Scot McKnight)

-While controversial, I am a huge fan of the mysterious artist, Banksy.  Check out this amazing video:

Over this past week, while on vacation, I put out a few tweets on Twitter that draw more attention than usual.  A few people messaged me, asking me to explain in more detail what I meant.  While I won’t go into too much detail, I’ll try to shed some light.  The comments are largely on the topic of community that I teach fairly regularly.  Again, this just brushes the surface on a topic I am deeply passionate about.

“True community is found when we explore the right questions, not when we rally around required facts. This isn’t a denial of absolute truth.”

So much discussion has gone on around propositional beliefs, absolute truth and relativism.  This statement is not meant to be epistemological.  Rather, I believe that what generally brings us together as a community has less to do with what we are sure about than what we are seeking to understand.  Again, this does not suggest that the answers are not important and don’t bind us.  It is about the risk we face in ignoring those shared uncertainties out of some misguided belief that uniformity is the same as unity.

“Leaders should create space, raise the question and facilitate conversation. Out of this service, community is nurtured.”

Again, this is a topic that needs more attention than I am going to give it here.  However, my point here is that the role of leadership is less about using power to control or decide, but rather to serve others in the process of becoming the community they are meant to be.  We need not abandon leadership, but focus on its more servant-focused function.

“We must check our impulse to comfort, answer or fix. Often it is motivated by our own discomfort, not love or compassion.”

This does not suggest that there is not a time for comfort, answers or correction.  Rather, it is about learning the discipline of examining our true motivation.  So often we choose to act in these ways to relieve our own discomfort.  So often I have seen good people comforting a hurting person without making any effort to understand their suffering.  We need to learn to be present with people in their suffering.

“The threat to true community is not difference of belief or even conflict. It is shallow, lip-service commitment.”

True community is a born out of embracing the cross of Christ, dying to self, being reborn together as one Body.  When it comes what it really takes to become community- the sacrifice, the vulnerability, the giving up of rights, etc.- most of us would rather talk about it than walk it out.  I sometimes wonder if we spend so much time on arguing peripheral details in order to avoid the real challenges.

I hope that clears things up.  To follow me on Twitter, check out the Twitter feed on my sidebar.

“Our Father’s World: Mobilizing the Church to Care for Creation”, by Edward R. Brown
Laying a solid Biblical foundation for our responsibility as God’s people to care for Creation, Brown leads readers into a very practical way of life that responds to the inevitable implications of this shift in thinking.  Linking Creation care with the overall mission of God (an aspect of the Gospel I have found far under explored in Evangelicalism), it is pulled off the sidelines of activism and casual stewardship and returned to its place with God’s purposes as it was always intended to be.  This book is an excellent starting for any individual or community to begin to engage these issues.

“Subverting Global Myths: Theology and the Public Issues Shaping Our World”, by Vinoth Ramachandra

As an academic title, this book is still taking me some time, though time well spent.  Exploring (and exposing) six areas of global discourse where myths still command great power, Ramachandra reveals that, even in the sophisticate worlds of politicians, media moguls and intellectual elites, myths are still embraced.  The six areas are: Terrorism; Religious Violence; Human Rights; Multiculturalism; Science; and Postcolonialism.  Again, this is heavy stuff that is stretching my thinking, but I think it is important to wrestle through.  Anyone else read this and care to comment?
“Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels”, by Kenneth E. Bailey

Also an academic title (and the longest of the three books), this title has been of greatest interest to me.  It is a book I will be reading (and rereading) for some time, but well worth the time and effort.  Bailey takes readers through the life of Christ, giving particular attention to Jesus’ masterful engagement with Middle Eastern culture.  Giving special attention to such things as His relationship to women, His use of parables or the dramatic acts of His ministry, challenges so many casually held Western interpretations of Christ that have robbed us of a deeper understanding of Jesus and His teachings.  If you are up for the work, this title is a must read.