The Adventure Continues ...

When we began this sabbatical adventure a month ago it was Travis and I leaving early (for me) on Saturday June 4th to begin our westward journey. Last Wednesday Les, Leah and Gracie arrived in the early hours of the morning on a flight from TO to SF. Travis and I were there at midnight to welcome them to California to continue our adventure as a family! We have made our home in a fantastic trailer at my Dad's house provided for us by Eddie and Jodie Huber and Rachel and Cassie! It's been awesome! Amazing weather and blue skies everyday! Seriously, I haven't seen a cloud in two weeks!

So the sabbatical part of this adventure has been amazing. I'm reading and thinking and praying and listening to what God is saying about Himself and our journey together. I believe that God is always speaking and my difficulty is not being a) a good listener and b) quiet enough to listen. I have been able to work on the quiet environment a bit as mornings here are filled not with the sounds of trucks, cars and phones (not to mention the sound of my own agenda and deadlines for the day) but rather, with the sound of birds and sprinklers and the breeze. I'm working on my listening skills too as I've found it hard not to hear God speaking in the books I'm reading, the converations and interactions I've had as well as the movies I've seen (and plan to see!) All that to say - it's exciting as the chance to rest has brought some recharging and some refocusing!

So - as I looked over this blog, I realized that I had titled it "Radical Sabbatical" but it had become more of a "sabbatical" report at this point. I don't want this to become simply a "here's what I saw and here's what I did" kinda blah blah thing that is the written version of the family vacation movie. It won't, but I woke early this morning with a realization that there are those who will be reading this who may not enjoy anything else but some nice pictures and descriptions of what we are doing. I'll still include those because they are part of our experience out here but when I began this sabbatical blog it was my intent to put some thoughts together about what I was hearing and to have dialogue with those who may be interested.

Having "attended" church for the last 36 years and 9 months - I felt this sabbatical was a radical adventure to experience what the "body" of Jesus is about in different and unique expressions in unique and different places. I no longer want to "attend" church or "go" to church but rather it is time for me to lead in "being" the church (thanks to Dan Kimball for that phrase!) and that perhaps will lead (for some) to more "radical" thinking.

The blog has been quiet the last week or so because - quite honestly - I was/am afraid of someone reading my thoughts and getting annoyed because my thoughts don't line up with their perceptions of how the world of the "church" should be. It is most definitley easier to report facts on places visited and show pictures as it is less likely to offend anyone but I'd get bored if that was all this was about. And most likely you would lose interest as well.

So courage is the order of the day for me. Since this blog isn't sponsored by anyone and I don't speak on anyone's behalf but my own - you are free to read and not feel this is propaganda by any organization, because it isn't. And if you are comfortable with "church" as a "place where" people come and programs form the structure - that's cool, but I would brace yourself if you want to follow along here - because I don't believe that's a full picture of what the "bride" of Christ is. I would be careful if you come to this blog looking for new "programs" that I have seen - because I'm not looking at programs at the churches I am visiting.
If you are looking for some evidence to add to a list you are compiling that I am "losing it" or that I have gone off the deep end - then depending on your perspective you may just find it here but I'll leave that to you to decide if you want to read on.

I've been a youth pastor for 14+ years now and in that capacity have been given the opportunity to watch and experience trends and new approaches to ministry in an attempt to "shepherd", "guide", "lead", "attract", "inspire", "keep" and "grow" healthy young people to know who Jesus is and to experience His love yada yada yada. The most annoying part of that responsibility has been to counteract a prevailing culture within the minds of some people that the teenage years are simply a "holding pattern" for young people. I heard one youth leader say that very thing to me a few years ago, basically saying "if we can hold them steady for a few years and keep them coming to church then when they 'mature' they will become productive citizen's of God's kingdom." Well, basically that's a load of hooey (which is greek for baloney!) But buying into that "hook" mentality of providing exciting programs as a kingdom daycare is the way to keep most people happy. Flashy posters announcing the next "event" give a sense that "something's" happening - there's a lot of promotion going on. But is it an allusion? Is what's happening really just another meal for the church "culture monster"? Make no mistake - good things have and are happening but for me there is something missing. Something that feels incomplete. Why is it that so many young people seem to "leave" the "place where" of church looking for something else when the finish high school? I know there are many different reasons but one that sticks in my mind constantly is this - have they played the game we lead them in long enough and look around and say - "get real!" "The world around us (that Jesus called us into) is loved by God and there are so many ways to be "in" the world and yet we spend most of our time being 'in' the church culture and doing things that we find entertaining, distracting or fun - that have little or no impact on a world created by God that needs to hear Him calling their names."

My personal opinion is that young people are way smarter than that and are simply waiting to experience what it means to be the body of Jesus and we need to lead them to that authentic expression which includes more than we have seemed to have the courage to allow in years past. I think it's time for courage (for swinging for the fences as a friend recently shared with me) engaging a culture within the church that is way too much about 'me' and what 'I' want and to love God - experience His love and then love others in intentionally practical ways and let God's spirit do what He desires to do - reconnect with the hearts and lives of mankind. I think that the "place where" culture of church is good but incomplete. I think I have been part of a system of "experiencing church" that is out of balance and we need to bring balance by living missionally and "expressing the body". I think when we look for ways to do that we will "be" the church as Jesus gave His spirit to empower us to do and that the "people who" mentality of the body will profoundly affect the "place where" reality.

So if that puts the "radical" back into the sabbatical - that's the intent here. I hope you will follow along - feel free to comment and interact - that's also the intent. And if you enounter people who feel differently about what church should be like I hope you will engage them with humilty, honesty and integrity as we are all part of the body in which love is what binds us together. In all the expressions of church I have encountered so far on this sabbatical - I have not encountered complete agreement on all philosophies by those who are part of that body expression. But I have encountered an uncanny overdose of love by everyone remotely associated with that body. I have heard stories of people expressing Jesus' love that tells me again and again - the body and God's kingdom is not about a business philosophy or strategy and is messier and less structured but more profound, deep and lasting than anything a building or system can contain.

Tune in again as the adventure unfolds ...