A Man on a Bike ...

One of the questions I have heard asked in the last few months in thinkin and talking about emerging expressions of the body of Christ is - "what will it look like?" What will an incarnational/missional expression of the body of Christ look like?

If you want to read an amazing book that does that question serious justice - then check out "The Shaping of Things to Come" by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. If you wanna check it out - here's the Amazon link:

The Shaping of Things to Come

Anyhow - with the thought of what a missional/incarnational body of Christ look like - on my mind - we as a family were on our way to attend church a couple of Sunday mornings ago. It was a church that we had not been to before but we had arranged to meet some of our family there this particular morning. As has happened before on this Sabbatical - I/We got lost. We had promised to meet our family there and now we couldn't find the place. I wanted to use the intuitive approach (ie - just drive around aimlessly until we stumbled across the church) but my wife wouldn't allow it - so as we stopped at an intersection waiting for the light to change - she noticed a man riding up beside us on a bike. She rolled down the window and said we were lost and could he help us with directions to the particular street that the church was on.

After putting his head down to think and trying to come up with the location for us - he let out a frustrated sigh and said that he had had a rough morning and a tough week and for that matter a tough life and and that he really wasn't sure where the road was. In fact he wasn't sure about much of anything as he said he felt so discouraged and frustrated that he was thinking about ending his life.

That's a little awkward for first thing on a Sunday morning now isn't it. What would you have done? What would you have thought about?

Now - here's what happened at that poignant intersection. I wanted so much to "be the church" for this man and the thought came into my mind immediately that we could offer to take him to breakfast and love him like Jesus would love him for a while that morning. But as soon as that desire came in - the corresponding thought also came in that we had commitments/expectations and people were counting on us to join them at "church". So as he peddled away to who knows where - we drove away and I sat in a stunned and nummed silence. Les, Travis, Leah and Grace (for once!) all sat silently trying to make sense of what had just happened. We all knew that something had indeed happened, we just couldn't put words to it yet. At that point "going to church" seemed about as ridiculous as wearing a parkha here in 100 degree heat.

As I have reflected on that moment - and what felt so awkward about going to church - wasn't that church was bad - in fact the gathering was really good. The sermon was good and as part of our time in prayer we gathered around a young 19 year old marine who's unit had been called up and was heading to Iraq the next morning. That gathered community would mean everything to him as he shipped out. I thought how important and beautiful these people were to him. The time of musical worship was great too - and I thought perhaps how this community's fragrance would be pleasing to God.

No - it wasn't that there was anything wrong with the place or the people and I'm sure some of you are asking - why didn't I just invite him to church with us? It certainly seemed like it could have made a difference to him. I guess I'm wondering why I felt as though I couldn't just drop every plan I had and go with him and "be the body" and why I felt like inviting him to church wasn't an option either? In short - why did I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place?

Most likely because for most of my life I have lived with the "unspoken rules" of an attractional model of church. The attractional model asks the question what can I do to help "attract" people to church? What ideas, programs and events will make it possible for people to come and get connected to the church? At that moment with someone I didn't know - I had nothing but my attractional model and asking him to join me on "my turf" so to speak, just didn't seem to make much sense - wasn't there another way to let this man meet Jesus?

But what if I had simply just invited him to breakfast and been the incarnate body of Christ to him that way? What if I lived every moment of every day with that outlook?

In considering that moment and trying to answer the question what will a missional/incarnational body of Christ look like - I guess it will be one in which people have the freedom to seize the moment and love radically, joining God in the moment and change plans and traditions in order to be a cup of cold water to someone in need. Even if it means having to swim against the "unspoken rules" of "attendance" or "expectations" to be at a place the priority over giving the gospel hands and feet. Here's an example to perhaps its most extreme - wouldn't it be cool to be gathered on a Sunday morning and have someone come and anounce that the speaker/teacher that morning was not able to be there because they were living in a moment of incarnational love - responding to the need of someone they pulled up next to in their car on their way to the building that morning?! That kind of community freedom would be amazing and radical and yes, annoying for some who have come to expect certain things at certain times. I'm sure - that God would not be caught off guard as a servant obeyed His spirit and He would take care of His gathered bride as they met. That's the kind of community - I long for the church to be. Is it different? Does it defy norms and expectations? Absolutely! Is it messy? Definitley - but what a testimony of radical love and grace!

The story here also helps to illustrate what I think is one difference between the missional/incarnational body - which looks for and is given the freedom to respond immediately if prompted by God's spirit to the needs around, and the attractional model which works diligently to get people to "church". It's about location - one asks how can we be the church in the world - the other asks how can we get people to church. I envision the church being a "people who" are loved by God and who practice His love in dynamic and out of the norm ways, and that characteristic makes the "place where" a much more attractive place to be.

Peace.

The Place - Victoria!

We've made it back into Canada! After a final farewell to some new friends in Tacoma who Travis and I met on our first stop in the west - we are on to stay with old friends - Don & Karen Crawford and their kids Megan, Frasor and Colin in Victoria, BC. We're gonna be getting a chance to be part of their community for the next couple of days and hang with the crew from Lambrick church - and The Place Community.

You can check out Lambrick and some of the very cool things that God is up to here with this expression of His body - by clicking below:

Lambrick Church

Here's the link to The Place Community there:

The Place Community

Peace. Seriously, everyone ... peace.

We visited Yosemite National Park on Monday! It's breathtakingly amazing and hard to take a bad picture - unless of course you are trying to avoid a hungry bear ... which happened! 

Here's Half Dome in the setting sun. 

Some Perspective...

I read an interesting article in the LifeStyles section of this morning's Modesto Bee newspaper. It's about religion and perception. If you are interested in some opinions that can be helpful in gaining an understanding of another perspective - here's the link:

Ye of Little Faith

If that doesn't work - try:

Modesto Bee

Then on the left hand side click on LIFE and then the link to the article should appear on the right - it's entitled "Ye of Little Faith"

Peace.

Hanging Out ...

Long time no post. It's nice to know that some people are following along and thanks to those who are staying interested with our journey.

We've been hanging out in Turlock, California for the last couple of weeks and have had the opportunity to spend lots of time with family and to meet some new friends. One of the nicest and yet most unexpected blessings came from the chance to hang out with Enclave - a very cool part of the body here in Turlock. You can check out their web site by clicking below and then looking for the Enclave link to click on.

Enclave

Their pastor Brian has been a real and geniune friend and brother and I have enjoyed the chance to be part of that community for the last few weeks. Brian and I have also had the chance to talk about the beauty of the body of Christ and the struggles and joys of the emerging expressions of the body we are witnessing. He is also the only pastor I know who owns a pot bellied pig!

I have felt such a peace to be part of the Enclave gatherings. Enclave is a missional/incarnational expression of the body that I felt right at home at. They have been gathering for a little over a year now and it has been great to ask Brian questions about who they are, how they birthed and what their vision is for the future. It will be very cool to see where God leads them as a community in the next months and years.

I have been reading "The Shaping of Things to Come" and looking back on this Sabbatical I can see how God has knit the moments, meetings, conversations and experiences together. All have been affirming and encouraging and for the few moments of harsher reality that have found their way into our journey - they have also helped me to process the future and to consider the story that God is writing in our lives as well as asking how the radical sabbatical can continue after the road portion stops for a while. Les and I are passionate that the adventure not stop upon our return home - but that we live radically in ways we haven't before. I expect there are those who are afraid of what that will mean - but I am no longer afraid of what that will mean for my family and I. There are a lot of paradigms that are shifting and I am at peace with where those shifts may lead.

I had a chance to watch the re-launch of the space shuttle Discovery and I was so inspired by the bravery of those who would take great risks to lead us beyond where we think we can go. There are those who will say such risk is foolish when the status quo allows them comfort and to them I say that's okay - but I want to be numbered with those brave souls who say - "Why? Why Not? and What If?" and who stack hands to step out into the place of risk, adventure and possibly ridicule in order to be about loving God and kingdom building. To all those who have inspired me these past few weeks - I thank you - you have been the body to me. To those who seek a milder adventure or a different one - I thank you too and look forward to the time when we will all worship as one at the great gathering and share the stories of the different journey's that brought us to there.

Peace and continued adventures ...