Developing 'Community'?

I was googling a friend's name trying to find her blog (which I lost track of somehow). I stumbled across this on a forum and thought it very post-worthy. I think it is insightful and separates the human effort from the fruit of really walking in Christ, being in Him:

Every time I hear people 'developing' community... There is so much talk, so much life measuring, so so much stuff that comes into view.

I prefer this version personally, which I must give thanks to my friend Heidi Plympton for. She says, "There's no such thing as Christian community. Every time we sit down to work out a list of what it is, we shoot ourselves in the foot with stuff we now seek to conform to and it distracts us terribly. I prefer instead to seeing "community," whatever that word means, to be the same as the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Believe it or not, there are still people out there who write that fruit list down in order to remind themselves of what they need to do, how they need to be and act. Wrong, it's not a list of ideals, it's simply evidence of abiding in the spirit of God, and outworking. We start with a list, we will end with a list, we start in the Spirit, nothing else matters."

"Community," if anything (and peoples lists will vary) but forget it... We just need to abide in Christ, who He was, how He was, what He asked of us........ and that will shape everything else, our desire for others, our life-laying-down loving, fresh feeling of loss when we are distant from others He has called us to walk with..... and those in His heart but not yet in the kingdom He has also called us to be family with.

I think Heidi is onto something profoundly simple, and in it's simplicity it is profoundly powerful. Ultimately, this is the answer to all of the questions circulating in the body of Christ, and all the re-examinations and re-evaluations about what it means to be the church, to live in community and live missionally. If we seek to abide, really abide day by day, moment by moment in Christ, all this other stuff will be made manifest and work itself out. He is the answer. He is the program. He is the vision. He is the goal. :)

How Outrageous is God's Love? (Part 2)

Listen to this once a day until you feel better. :)

The Goal

I just read some great posts about significance vs. success on Jaeson Ma's blog. They're a bit long, but a good read if you have the time. Jaeson shares openly about our perceptions of success, or rather, our misperceptions. And the importance of living lives of significance rather than seeking lives of success (in his case, ministry success). I also recommend reading this excellent post (which touches on the same topic, but from pondering the other side of the coin: failure) written by a new friend, Wayne Park.

Like Jaeson, I too was trained that destiny, calling and vision were the goal - to be somebody for God meant doing something important, especially ministry. I became so zealous about the vision and the ministry, that I lost sight of my truer inheritance, my true goal. Him.

I am reminded again that Jesus is the bread I hunger for, the drink that quenches my thirst. He is my inheritance. He is the program. He is the vision. He is the goal.

Recenlty, I had the pleasure of meeting Charis, a blogosphere friend, for the first time a couple weeks ago. She shared something that completely resonated with me. She said something like, "I think that sometimes we make up for the lack of Him with so many substitutes. But He is the goal. He is our purpose." The context of that statement was a conversation about ministry goals and vision. Someone was asking her what's the vision of a particular group of believers Charis prays with and listens to God with, a network called 'Connect Europe.' She said, "More of Him. He is the goal." The other person in the conversation, "Of course. Ya, but... what are you going to do?" I loved her answer,"That's it. He's the goal." Either that sounds incredibly ridiculous, or incredibly wise.

In that one sentence, Charis articulated the very issue God has been walking me through for the past three years. Of course, God gives us vision for things, but I don't ever want to again substitute the vision or the call in exchange for His manifest presence, or my relationship with Him. I identify with feeling "the lack of Him". I am hungry. I really want more of Him. He is my inheritance. He is my goal. No substitutes will suffice.

Sometimes, I am tempted to look again toward the destiny, call, vision (whatever you want to call it) to satisfy my need for significance. But it never will. Thanks to Jaeson, Wayne and Charis, I'm reminded that my true inheritance is Him. He is the only bread that satisfies my deepest hunger.

Just How Outrageous is the Love of God?

I just read an article on the BBC titled "I ate children's hearts, ex-rebel says". Here is a testimony of God physically manifesting Himself in order to save a mass-murdering, atrocity-committing rebel leader in Liberia. Just how outrageous is the love of God? Outrageous enough to save Muslims who build bombs that kill innocent children? Outrageous enough to save world leaders who kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people with the decision to declare war? Just how outrageous is this love? Is there anyone beyond its reach? Is it too late for some people? I say no, never. Can't be. Otherwise, the blood of Jesus was not enough. Outrageous! Scandalous!

Born Rich 2

I recently reread Vaclav Havel's 1978 "The Power of the Powerless." Havel was a famous Czech dissident during the communist period, a playwright by trade, and eventually he become the first post-communist President in the Czech Republic. Havel continues to inspire me and it is my view that his observations are relevant to many contexts beyond the particular social/political setting in which he was dissenting.

Ideology can be a powerful construct, with religious overtones which demand complete adherence and unquestioning compliance. People get a sense of identity out of ideology. A sense of belonging. A sense of "this is truth" and we must defend it, no, not merely defend it, but promote it. We must evangelize the world and conform them to our ideological image. We are the truth bearers, we know what is right.

This is all fine and well until said ideology, or the practical results of it, begin to conflict with the kingdom of God. I think that as Christians, we are truly to be aliens within the dominant secular culture we may find ourselves. Our loyalties must first and foremost be tied to Jesus, to His message, and to His purpose. I believe that Jesus and His message, His life, His power, His example, His love, His value system completely transcends the ideologies of man, the cultural preferences of man. Things that go unspoken and must never be discussed or questioned are suddenly open for evaluation in light of the gospel. This is why I am so thankful to live in a part of the world that allows freedom of thought and freedom of expression. For that matter, I'm thankful to have been 'born rich' simply by being born in a first world nation. In a more global context, I identify with Jaime Johnson, and the questions he is asking in his films (even though he is asking them in a national context). But perhaps, I am looking for my answers through a different lens. I am seeking to understand in light of Jesus rather than the social and political ideologies of man.

Born Rich

I watched an interesting documentary produced by the Johnson&Johnson heir, Jaime Johnson. His great-grandfather founded the company, so his grandfather was the first in his family to be "born rich". Neither his father nor him have ever worked for the company.

The film is interesting because it is quite amateur, (Jaime was 21 when he made the film) and a bit raw for a documentary, but that's part of its charm. In the film, Jaime interviews his peers - a number of other billionaire rich kids - about growing up in the top one percent in terms of wealth. The explored themes of class, wealth, and privilege are not what makes this an interesting piece. What is more fascinating is the differences in personality, human psychology, and the variety of reactions and attitudes the kids display towards their families' money and their position having been born into such wealth.

My favorite character of the dozen or so "rich kids" was Josiah Hornblower. He is a Vanderbilt descendent. A very sincere young man with a gentle spirit and intelligent wit. He and Jaime have a humorous exchange riding the subway. He explains to Jaime how his family made a lot of its money from the subway, charging the city grossly enlarged fees. "It was a racket, basically. They were crooks. But everybody was a crook back then. Weren't the Johnson's making opium?" And they both laugh. It sounds sinister, but it was the opposite. Don't picture captains of industry mwa-hawing over their crookery (their great-grandparents, maybe, but not these two). Here are two highly educated, innocent, somewhat naive young men grappling with what it all means to be living the good life from no effort of their own.

Jaime went on to make a second documentary, called "The One Percent." In this film, he takes his questions about money even further. He begins to question the system of tax-havens for the wealthiest one percent, and the growing economic disparity in America. Of course, this makes his family and peers understandably even more uncomfortable. I haven't seen this second production yet. I watched "Born Rich" on Google video, but was unable to find "The One Percent" there. Perhaps the library... I can thank Carnegie for that! ;)

Still Alive, just too busy

Wow. It's been a long time since I posted. We had a busy but great holiday season, and now life continues to be quite busy for us. It's a transition season: job hunts (for me), internship hunts (for hubby) and of course, baby days full of chasing a now walking, well half-running, child around. :) Maybe I'll have more time to blog once some of these things become more settled. Besides, I don't have much to say lately...