Friday, December 28, 2007

still feverish: more missional emergent monastic churchish stuff

Made it into work only to be sent home. My coworkers are kind.

I have been trying to be still. Being sick makes me realize how much energy I have, how strong I feel life within me. Maybe I am talking about what I perceive to be my spirit.

In my last post I said I didn't talk about my spirituality here anymore.

One idea I share with others is to start a group of people-- people who are alienated by the church, younger adults, older people that understand denominationalism is going to end, and others, and bring everyone into a kind of collaborative effort to ________. I wish there was a safe space for people to gather and talk and discuss. I know there are lots of people scattered in various local churches, and other people who have dropped out of churches and I want to see these and other people come together. I want help organize some kind of group that doesn't inspire people to snicker and be cynical and roll their eyes, I want to be part of a group of people seeking to connect with God in a way that is sincere and authentic.

I want to be part of a missional church, well, I am part of a missional church.

Here is what drives me mad/crazy/ makes me nuts: I know three different people, different leaders in their various communities, all of whom I have much respect for, that are all talking about a similar kind of thing/ project/gathering/conversation. I am connected to all of them in different ways, and believe in all three of their unique dreams. My question is this: why can't everyone just get together and collaborate? Why can't people start a conversation together about building a new and relevant community that is going to focus on helping others as an expression of faith?

Also, I am a very impatient person. I like to get things done, I know how to organize, to make things happen NOW, not next month, next year or in the ambiguous future. Life is short, I want to get things done!

Now, I don't like to pretend expressions of faith that I don't have, but I do believe in missional communities and really could help build, organize something. I want be a part of something, I feel like there is so much potential here. I feel like I am starving for sincere spiritual "fellowship" with people and I am going to 3 different churches! Maybe its my problem. Maybe I need to try harder. I feel that so much of church is not about our spirituality, but about churchstuff. I feel like there is so much fakery at different churches. Is that because there is a boat load of fakery or because I am too cynical?

If what I am saying doesn't make sense, my excuse is a very real fever.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

First of all, you are the sweetest person ever! Thank you so much for your care package!!! It totally made me smile! :]

Secondly, I'm surprised by your comment "people that understand denominationalism is going to end". You think it's going to end? It's a human tendency to pride oneself in something by pointing out the flaws in something else. "My denomination is better than that denomination." I think it'll take a long time to weed that tendancy out. Why just stop at denominationalism? It would be wonderful if all different religions could focus on what we have in common, but that's only slightly more unlikely to ever happen.

An ex-boyfriend of mine used to tell a joke...which I found and copied from Wikipedia:

A man is rescued from a desert island after 20 years. The news media, amazed at this feat of survival, ask him to show them his home.
"How did you survive? How did you keep sane?" they ask him, as he shows them around the small island.
"I had my faith. My faith as a Jew kept me strong. Come." He leads them to a small glen, where stands an opulent temple, made entirely from palm fronds, coconut shells and woven grass. The news cameras take pictures of everything — even a torah made from banana leaves and written in octopus ink. "This took me five years to complete."
"Amazing! And what did you do for the next fifteen years?"
"Come with me." He leads them around to the far side of the island. There, in a shady grove, is an even more beautiful temple. "This one took me twelve years to complete!"
"But sir" asks the reporter, "Why did you build two temples?"
"This is the temple I attend. That other place? Hah! I wouldn't set foot in that other temple if you PAID me!"


That joke has a lot of truth in it.