Trish and I have some big decisions coming up. Vocation, life direction, God's will, career, medical insurance, church, transformation, and philosophy of life are words on our lips in recent days. I graduate in October which will set in motion a series of events that will force us to make some changes. It's time for us to re-evaluate our philosophy of life; review our past decisions and their consequences; clarify the core values on which we base our decisions. It's a time of awareness, listening, and stillness.

It's interesting to note that the "will of God" in the Bible never talks about our immediate circumstances, but about having our character transformed (many times through suffering). Here are a few recommended steps from pamphlet that Henry Drummond wrote:

1. PRAY
2. THINK
3. TALK TO WISE PEOPLE, but do not regard their decision as final.
4. BE AWARE OF THE BIAS OF YOUR OWN WILL, but do not be too much afraid of it. God never unnecessarily thwarts one's nature and likings, and it is a mistake to think that His will is in the line of the disagreeable.
5. IN THE MEANTIME< DO THE NEXT THING, for doing God's will in small things is preparation for doing it in great things.
6. WHEN DECISION AND ACTION are necessary, GO AHEAD.
7. NEVER RECONSIDER your decision whe it is finally acted upon.
8. You will probably not find out till afterwards, perhaps long afterwards, that you were led at all.

Gotta love #8!

This weekend we went to visit with Trish's Brother-In-Law who just got back from Iraq. He is a captain in the 101st in charge of a battalion of cannons. He won a bronze star for "doing his duty". That means he pulled a family of civilians out of a burning ammo dump that exploded while they were looting it for the metal. Listening to him talk about his experience, and seeing the pictures from over there was really interesting. It becomes really obvious that the news reports a slanted story. The bottom line is death, blood, destruction and sex sells, humanitarian aid and construction just don't make the news. While I think the US Govt. has other motives for being over there, it was cool to get another point of view.

We also had dinner with the folks from our worship team. It was nice just to hang out, share, learn some songs and talk about spiritual things. Knowing a little bit about the stages of faith is helping me to be more patient with people. Seeing them on the same journey, but in a different place is allowing me to see people in our city from a different perspective. These are good people who haven't had the experiences that I've had. Not that I'm better, or more advanced, but just in a different place. I used to just get pissed-off because people weren't "serious" about their faith, but the truth is that they have had a flawed model of what faith looks like.

While I still desire to have some "like-minded" people to journey with, maybe surrounding myself with like-minded people is a form of isolation. Maybe not so different from institutional church's isolation from the rest of the culture.

I have been revisiting Fowler's theories about stages of faith. Through hundreds of interviews Fowler was able to determine that people of all religions go through similar stages of faith. The bottom-line is that when we are "saved" we begin a progressive and predictable journey toward Christ-likeness. Communities also seem to go through a similar pattern, as evidenced by Israel. So, these stages become guides and tools of where individuals and communities are in their spiritual growth toward Christ-likeness.

The really interesting part is that the last two stages, Conjunctive and Universal, are evidenced by a detachment from the groups where "faith" has taken place, and a increasingly singular faith in God. My first thought was that the institutional church has a vested interest in not helping people reach these last two levels of faith! I asked Prof. Thompson about this theory and he smiled and said, "People who reach these levels of faith cause pastor's a lot of trouble." People in these stages of faith begin to challenge the pastor's/denomination's teachings, practices and motives. These people will either choose to live in the conflict of their consciousness and commitments, or they will leave and forego their commitments to seek the "deeper life."

Thompson believes individuals, groups and churches go through each of the faith stages. The stages cannot be skipped. The stages are progressive, and some stages may be permanent, depending on the conditions of spiritual growth. Additionally, Fowler believes that the advanced stages are a result of cooperation with the Spirit. Therefore, these stages portray ways in which God intends to call individuals, groups and churches to maturity of knowing, moral development. Israel (the nation) and Jesus (an individual) are representative of the process.

Looking deeper into these stages, I can definitely see my own journey and those of people I am journeying with... I can also see more clearly the stage of faith of my church....


Primal Stage – Genesis – Birth Stories of Jesus – Decision to be a Christ-follower
 Represents maximum human dependency; maximum care by others, including God.
 Genesis - The beginning of Salvation History for the Hebrew/Israelite/Jew.
 Jesus birth.
 Decision is made to follow Christ.

Intuitive-Projective – Call of Fathers(Creeds) – Journey to/from Egypt – Romance/Setting Apart
 Babies learn that “others” are out there, with whom to interact.
 Call of Abraham and the verbally repeated in Israel’s creeds of Duet. 6:20-25 and Duet. 26::5-10. Call of Abraham and Egyptian slavery.
 Jesus journeys to and from Egypt. (Math. 2:14-15)
 The follower learns that he is “called” and “set apart,” but is still largely dependent on “other people like him.” This is often a time of joy and bliss.

Mythic-Literal – Exodus, Sinai Stories – Jesus Returns to Nazareth - Non-negotiable Faith
 One learns stories and ways of acting which define one’s family and group identity.
 Stories of the Exodus and Sinai celebrated in Passover and the Feast of Weeks form Israel’s identity as a nation/people and develop a national consciousness.
 Jesus returns to Nazareth. (Math. 2:19-23)
 The follower begins to take on the stories, beliefs and observances that symbolize belonging to the community. Beliefs and morality are appropriated with literal interpretations.

Synthetic-Conventional – Wandering and Conquest – Jesus Grows and is Baptized – Loyalty to Group
 Loyalties to persons or groups from the core of one’s identity. Strong attachment to ideals and rules.
 Israel begins to establish the parameters of what it means to be God’s people in the 40 years of wandering and the conquest of Israel. This is reinforced in Sukkoth (Feast of Booths) and Bar Mitzpha.
 Jesus “grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom.” (Lk. 2:40) Jesus is Bar Mitzphad (Lk. 2:42ff.)
 The follower experiences a synthesis of Church, Bible, stories, and experience to form faith. Faith is likely to be “rule based” with strong identification with a particular group/church.

Individuative-Reflective – Davidic Covenant and Prophetic Movement – Jesus’ Ministry and Death – Awareness of Other Faiths Persons develop skills for dealing with theirs and others faith and ideas.
 King David’s ambassadors bring other cultural ideas to Israel (Solomon’s wives).
 Jesus’ ministry challenges the social, economic and religious practices of contemporary Judaism. (Parable of the Good Samaritan – Be a Jew, but act like a Samaritan.)
 The follower becomes aware of, examines, and deals with the contradictions and ramifications of other faiths and beliefs.

Conjunctive Faith – Sabbath - Messianic Promise – Death, Resurrection, Ascension, and Final Return of Jesus – Reconciliation of Faith
 Emotional, behavioral, societal and religious opposites and contradictions meet and are reconciled.
 Israel’s concept of the Sabbath is the weekly meeting in the presence of God for prayer and thought.
 Jesus’ death, Resurrection, Ascension and Return are the ultimate reconciliation of all Creation.
 The follower’s faith insists on humility, based on the fact that the grasp on ultimate truth that any tradition can offer needs continual correction and challenge. The follower may also acknowledge that paradox and apparent contradictions are intrinsic to that truth. Deep faith to a particular tradition, with openness to the truths of other traditions.

Universalizing Faith – Eschaton - Eternal Kingdom
 Oneness with God. Possible tension with the religious system as consciousness and commitments, love and loyalties conflict.
 Jesus’ exists as the eternal ultimate reality, the Reconciler of all things.
 The follower experiences a “radical decentration of self,” widening inclusiveness of the circle that counts as “neighbors”. The follower experiences a radical shift in values as a detachment from causes, institutions, persons and posessions is replaces with love for the Creator. Manifests the fruits of “kenosis,” the “pouring out” or emptying of self. Total and pervasive response to God’s love.
 Fowler suggest that a very small percentage of people actually attain this level of faith. He suggest Gandhi as an example.

"God will not suffer man to have the knowledge of things to come; for if he had prescience of his prosperity he would be careless; and understanding of his adversity he would be senseless."

You are Augustine! You love to study tough issues and don't mind it if you lose sleep over them. Everyone loves you and wants to talk to you and hear your views, you even get things like "nice debating with you." Yep, you are super smart, even if you are still trying to figure it all out. You're also very honest, something people admire, even when you do stupid things.

What theologian are you?

A creation of Henderson

Well, not everyone loves me.....

Taken from the inner walls of one of the concentration camps in Nazi Germany at the end of the Second World War, this prayer was scratched by an unknown hand:

O Lord, when I shall come with glory into your kingdom, do not remember only the men of good will;
remember also the men of evil. May they be remembered not only for their acts of cruelty in this camp, the evil they done to us prisoners, but balance against their cruelty the fruits we have reaped under the stress and in the pain; the comradeship, the courage, the greatness of heart, the humility and patience which have been born in us and become part of our lives, because we have suffered at their hands.

May the memory of us not be a nightmare to them when they stand in judgment.
May all that we have suffered be acceptable to you as a ransom for them.

And then the writing concluded, "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and die..."

This is joy and suffering; this is the love of God and neighbor.

Excerpt for Fowler's "Becoming Adult, Becoming Christian."

Individualism Continued

I could go into a long diatribe about individualism and how I believe it influences our perceptions of what church is and what it means to be a Christian, but I don’t think most people care. This is one of those topics that us abstract thinkers like to ponder though. I think most people would agree that we live in a “me first” culture, and that we all have been influenced to some extent, especially in our Western culture, by individualism.

For instance, I have had times of tremendous individual spiritual growth as the result of prayer, solitude, fasting, study and meditation. These were done in a private matter, for my own benefit as an individual, between God and me. This growth may, or may not have had any influence on the community as a whole. I am implying that faith is both an inward and an outward journey.

I could say, salvation begins with an individual decision, but then implies an ecclesial responsibility that transcends self-interest. I’m not sure if that is an accurate statement either, because salvation didn’t begin with me, but with God and has been communicated to me through the stories, actions, and history of the Community of Believers.

There is a tension between the individual and the community. As a Christian in a community, and as a community full of Christians, each has an obligation to influence the other for the common good (God’s Kingdom Come). Interdependence doesn’t happen without dependence. Interdependence doesn’t happen without independence either.

A practical example that I’ve experienced is interpreting Scripture, or prophecy. I have felt that God is showing me something specifically from His word. I have chosen to share that with friends that are the journey and they have pointed out other interpretations, or things that I may have missed. Sometimes I find out that I am COMPLETELY mistaken, other times I find out I’m on the right track. Sometimes there is no agreement. Any action that I take on my interpretation has consequences in the larger community, so I submit my interpretation to them and they hold me accountable for the actions I take as a result. I can take action on what I perceive to be the Holy Spirit, which may be off-base, because I am not perfect, or I can take action on what I perceive to be the Holy Spirit informed by the community.

Is the community always right? Probably not. But there are people with more wisdom than me, people who are farther along on the journey of faith, people with more experience than me, people with more knowledge than me, and other people who are also trying to listen to the Holy Spirit that can inform me as I seek to listen to the Spirit.

As part of your journey try reading about St. Patrick today! What a great story of how God can use our circumstances for His glory! I first learned the real story in college when we read The Celtic Way of Evangelism by George Hunter. That's a great book too! It got me really interested in Celtic Christianity.

Patrick of Ireland
...was not Irish. He was a British Celt, first enslaved in Ireland as a teen, later a missionary to Ireland.
...was not necessarily the first missionary to Ireland.
No one knows his birth or death date. 17 March is traditionally considered to be one of the two, but there is no documentation for this.
The only documents about Patrick are his Confession and a letter he wrote to Coroticus.
There were never snakes---or other reptiles---in Ireland for Patrick to chase out.
Patrick predates the Roman Catholic Church, and was considered a "saint'' before the Roman church created its canon of saints (and added him to it).

Why participate in Lent?

My friend George asks some good questions: "Do the things we give up for Lent bring God closer to us? Or is it a thing that makes us feel as though we are closer to Him? I guess my question is what difference does it make?"

Traditionally, Lent is a time to focus deeply on, and relive the death and resurrection of Jesus, as well as my own "death and resurrection," and typically is a time of repentance. Additionally, it is a link to part of our Christian heritage where I can participate in a tradition that precedes me.

On a personal level I participate in "fasting" because Jesus did it, and assumes we will keep doing it (Mat. 6:17). We chose to do this type of fast becuase our whole family could participate in a shared experience. The hunger/craving reminds me that I should hunger for God above all other things. It reminds me that Jesus is the Living Bread.

I don't think God can get any closer to me than he already is, but I can always open my life to him more. I think that's the purpose of any of the disciplines. I discipline my body because it houses my spirit/soul. On a deep level, I can't change myself, but God can, and participating in the disciplines puts me in a place where God can do His work. So, for me, the issue isn't whether I "feel closer" to Him, but if participating in Lent helps me be transformed into Christ-likeness.

Anyone else participating in Lent? Or, have a different point of view?

Thanks for all of the input on individualism and the Christian. I have some more thoughts that I'll share later on the topic. I will take the criticism that "Emerging Church" was not the right term to be used. Please forgive me.... :-( My bad.

In other news...We have been having some real good times of fellowship with some people in our little town. God seems to be moving in some ways that certainly weren't expected. After Lent we are going to open our house up on Friday nights for the bruthas and sistas to hang out. We're waiting until after Lent because we live in a largely Catholic town, and a lot of our friends are former Catholics that still go to the fish fry. I personally like fish anyway!

We have given up one of our family favorite things (addiction?) for Lent. This is the first time we have really participated in Lent by sacrificing something. In addition, I'm going to help with an all-nighter for some teenagers on Maundy Thursday. We are staying up all night, fasting, meditating, reading Scripture and I'm sure some fun will be thrown in somewhere, then we will attend the community Good Friday service (I'm supposed to sing, so I hope I have a voice left after that!). I really look forward to participating in the Passion in this way.

Radical Individualism and the Christian

A great conversation/debate with some brothers in Christ about accountability, individualism and relativism in Christianity has caused me to think and rethink some views about the EmergingMissionalRelationalHouse Church movement that I have been moving toward, and explains some of my hesitancy in jumping in with both feet. I am going to try to be objective and look at these issues from a distance in an attempt to sort them out for myself.

I want to preface everything that I say here by saying that I am still working through these issues in my own mind. I may cause as many questions as I ask, but I believe these issues are vitally important for the Body of Christ. I believe that our relationship to each other and our understanding of truth and reality is of utmost importance. I hope we can give each other grace as we discuss and not get into semantics. Some of us will take offense to certain terms that may be used as the best way to express an idea in our limited vocabulary.

There are strains of the Emerging Church movement (Please give me some grace on the term used here. If you know a better word to describe, I’ll use it!) that appears to be based on anti-intellectual, radical individualism. I define individualism as an excessive or exclusive regard to one's personal interest. In other words, the self becomes primary in our decision making, worldview, interpretation, and belief system giving little or no thought to the community. Personal autonomy is exalted as the ideal source for interpretation and understanding.

Emerging churches seem to be formed when an individual decides either decides that their needs are not getting met at the institutional church, or that the institutional church’s priorities have become convoluted and no longer represent God’s kingdom. There seems to be a third reason that people are leaving the institutional church that I am just becoming familiar with, namely, to escape any vestige of authority or tradition so that one may focus on “only Jesus.” I’m sure there are other reasons that Emerging Churches start, but these seem to be common themes. Additionally, I am not saying that Emerging Church movement as a whole, nor that every Emerging Church is individualistic. I find it ironic that some have left the institutional church due issues caused by individualism only to further entrench themselves in deeper levels of individualism

The third reason for leaving the institutional church is most disturbing. Some of the comments, specifically or implied, that seem typical from people in this strain of the movement things like: “Two or three people gathering together make a church.” “I am not accountable to any man, only Jesus.” “I am the sole judge of what is right and wrong in my spiritual life.” I don’t believe I have any obligations to anyone other than Jesus.” “My heart, being confirmed by the Spirit is the ultimate judge of correct Biblical interpretation.”

I am not judging anybody here, but I am trying to be discerning about the underlying beliefs, and the ramifications of the comments that were made.

The issues brought up by these statements are many and varied and certainly cannot be dealt with in one blog entry (Individualism and Collectivism, Interpretation of Scripture, How we know truth, Obligation of the Christian etc.). But, it appears to me, at the heart of these statements is a kind of radical individualism that seems to be the ultimate extreme in the Emerging Church movement. The underlying motivation for leaving the institutional church is not to reestablish a proper Kingdom focus, or get needs met, but to interpret Scripture in an unaccountable, anti-intellectual way in the guise of following “Jesus only.” I could be wrong about the motivation, but the end result is the same.

So, here is my first question on this topic. Is there anyway among individualist Christians, in an individualist culture, that we can be accountable for our beliefs, teachings, interpretations and practices?

Some will say that is the concept of “mutual submission.” We are told to submit to each other, that is a given. Mutual submission is part of the “check and balance” for us as individuals. But, the issue is, that when that command is put into the context of radical individualism there is no real accountability. If I teach a view that is contrary to tradition and reason, and those that I willingly submit to challenge my interpretation, I can “pick up my toys and play with somebody else.” In fact, I would argue that the only real option for the Christian individualist is to find those that agree with his point of view and create an enclave of likeminded individuals.

We’ve seen it hundreds of times in the formation of new denominations, church splits, and now the Emerging Church. Denominationalism has its problems, but it did provide some sort of accountability for pastors/preachers/teachers.

Isolation is the ultimate result of individualism. We surround ourselves with a few likeminded individuals, and because they agree with us on our beliefs/interpretation/practice we feel that we are justified. I am not suggesting that every Emerging Church is doing this, but you have to admit that it is possible. Judging from some of the conversations in Blogdom I would say that it is definitely happening.

How are we dealing with this issue? Is there an answer? Is there another option other than the individualistic point of view? Is there any objectivity in the Church, or is everything subjective? Is there a difference between our concept of community and a lifestyle enclave? Is there a balance to be found between individualism and collectivism? How are these issues worked out practically?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject....There’s a lot more to be discussed about these issues....

Great Discussion

There is a great discussion going on at George's Blog about church, individualism and accountability. Between that, school work, church and family it's a full load!

I Am Proud...

I can say, maybe for the first time since moving here, that I am proud of our church. There is a little girl in our community that was born without the frontal lobes of her brain. She can't walk, talk, or really do much of anything. The mom and dad found out about some therapy in Philly that could help her. One of our small group leaders heard about the need and planned a spaghetti dinner fund raiser in two weeks. It was so cool to see him passionately pursuing mission! There were so many people helping out, each doing there thing.... I would say that between 400-500 people showed up! For our little town, I would say that is pretty amazing! We offered up some music while people stood in line and sat eating their food. It was fun to do some kid songs too. One of the few times I get to cut loose!

We have been extremely busy lately....School, Church, Family, House Rehab....

I have been reading Becoming Adult, Becoming Christian by James W. Fowler for my Worldview class. Last night I got to Fowler's theory of the stages of Faith Development. I was totally floored by what I found! I'll do my best to sum up the stages and focus a little more on the last two. I believe this has tremendous implications for the church, and may explain why some of us feel like we have to leave the institutional church in order to continue our spiritual journey/growth.

Mythic-Literal Faith - About age 6 or 7 (some teens and adults). Story/Narrative is the important idea in this stage. Knowing the stories of our people becomes important in the child's identity. Know what they believe, but cannot distance themselves from the belief to critically analyze the meanings.

Synthetic-Conventional Faith - Early Adolescence (Some adults). The God of moral reciprocity dies and must be replaces. They begin to understand that good things happen to bad people etc. Feelings of anguish, struggle, guilt and grief are typical. Begin to systematically integrate beliefs and identity. Their faith is strongly embedded, but identity is primarily derived from "face-to-face" relations. Move on through life with a set of strongly held/felt beliefs that are largely unexamined.

Individuative-Reflective Faith - Person is forced to examine, objectify and make critical choices about defining elements of their faith. Critical choosing of beliefs, values, and commitments. Rethinking of roles and relationships. A person may be "stuck" between this stage and the previous if they rethink their faith, but take no action.

Conjunctive Faith - Usually midlife and beyond. Person begins to come to terms with certain patterns of behavior that may never be fully changed. Death becomes more of reality. Acknowledge paradox and apparent contradictions of different perspectives on truth. "A postcritical receptivity and readiness for participation in the reality brought to expression in symbol and myth." " Exhibits a committed belief in the truth claims of a particular tradition, insists on the humility that knows that the grasp on ultimate truth that any of our traditions can offer needs continual correction and challenge...to help overcome blindspots....and tendencies toward idolatry." Combines deep, particular commitments with principled openness to the truths of other traditions. Combines loyalty to ones own primary community with loyalty to the reality of a community of communities. "They know that the line between the righteous and the sinner goes through the heart of each of us and our communities, rather than between "us and them."

Universalizing Faith - Lives in the tension caused by consciousness and commitment. Person sees the "corruption and vulnerability of the old regime, even as they can also see and rejoice in the possibility of a new order, one more replete with a balance of equality and justice, of inclusion and corporate devotion to the common good. They have attachments and commitments that make revolutionary alignment too costly and frightening to entertain. So they live divided, in tension, working for amelioration (improve) and evolution toward justice, but deeply aware of their own implication in the unjust structures that they oppose." "The polarities in its loves and loyalties can cancel each other out." Because their wills, affections and actions create tension, division and disunity they feel a cosmic homelessness and loneliness. Begin to manifest an "emptying of self" as the result of having ones affections drawn from the finite centers of value and power to the infinite center of power and value. The attachment to causes, persons, institutions, possessions etc. that have protected our identities and values are relinquished for a "response in love and trust to the radical love of God."

When I read this the light bulb went off in my head. I'm not crazy. I'm not having a crisis. I'm not depressed. I am in the tension of moving to a different stage of faith. This guy describes so well the tension I feel between my love for God and the loyalty to the institution that I am a part of. The separation from the sources of power that have given me self-worth/identity for the God who is truly power, and the reason I have worth and an identity. The separation and loneliness.

I believe this faith development theory also has implications for the church. Fowler believes that the Universalizing Faith is a way of "being and moving, a way of being on pilgrimage," not necessarily something to attain. We live this life by cooperating with the Spirit. Kind of sounds like Dallas Willard's stuff. It's easy to see why so few people live this way. The institutional church has a vested interest in keeping people's affections linked to the church, rather than moving to a Universalizing Faith where their affections would be on God. I am wondering if SimpleMissionalHouse Church is simply a movement of people who are trying to live a life of Universalizing Faith and have found a way to remove the "divided tension" that they experience in the institutional church.

We had a great time Friday night with some friends with whom we needed to reconcile. What a great time of just hanging out and talking about Kingdom stuff. Much needed! These are folks that we feel deeply connected too because God has us on similar journeys, even though we are very different people.

God calls us to community because we have Christ in common, but the practicalities of that are sometimes hard to work out. When your parenting style, political affiliation, denomination, views of community, views of mission, goals etc. are so different, true agape love must come in to play. Nothing, but the glue of singleminded focus on Christ will hold the pieces together. Isn't that the beauty of what Christ did with the disciples? He took twelve guys from radically different socioeconomic and political backgrounds (fishermen, tax collector, zealot), and taught them the Kingdom for three years....