Hit the Back Button to Move Fwd by Gavin Richardson

the future of church : a green life returns to what we knew

 

a few weeks back i was in a conversation where we were talking about the future of the church. i made some statement, not slamming the megachurch, but being less than kind to the megachurch as the future of church. which, i am prone to do.

one of the people just happened to be a part of the staff at one of the biggest megachurches, that i will leave unnamed (haha!). and he offered his view. he shared that he felt that the future church will look like megachurches and house churches.. hmmm..

now i pondered that. it most certainly could be the case. people seem to embrace the large corporation securities/offerings or they go against the grain in some anti-establishment stance, which could bring about that dynamic. but i don't know if corporation is the future (and lets be honest, the megachurch is a corporation) of the life of the person.

what i got to thinking about was the inclination people are having to live the 'green' lifestyle. it is just now becoming a norm and part of peoples daily practices. so as families develop with young adults that have grown up being 'green' what are some of their behaviors that might shape they way they participate in church life?

we are already seeing that people are not too worried about their church denomination loyalites. the economics are poor in large global corporate climate, which was otherwise safe & secure 5 years ago.

so these three things, 1. green living 2. falling denomination loyalty 3. an unsecure corporate economic will lead to resurgence of parish life.

people, conscious of their impact will doing old school transportation, walking to & from the markets/cafe/stores. because people cannot blindly count on corporations for their economic securities there will be a move back to small business (which i hope government taxes make easier, or less taxking, to do) bringing up local entrepreneurship, and finanicial control back to the individual, that we have not seen in 50+ years. people will move back into those houses of worship that were abandoned by a church denomination, or are a dieing congregation, in their neighborhoods and reshape them to what is core to their local needs.

when will this happen? maybe 20-30 years or so from now. there will be that generation shift where the older folks who have grown up with behaviors of driving all over God's green earth to get what they need are not the norm. they will be replaced by children of my family who have grown up living simply, using canvas bags for daily grocery pick up, walking to schools, riding a bike to the post office, knowing who all is in your neighborhood (instead of driving in and driving out).

will this replace what we currently know? not completely. just as the corporation will never leave us the megachurch will never leave either. but it will become less a significant voice in our day to day lives. there will be nothing to be enamored about as people lives will have become reoriented towards a parish life. house churches i don't see as being a norm, but being the new 'satalite' campuses of the parish church, which isn't such a new idea at all.

in the future, we will see parish life return.. will we, our denominations, be ready or will we have moved out our stakes?

chime in? agree/disagree? thoughts? am i crazy?

look back into the past : the things that were about this time years ago

in my on going toss out of lifting up some of the archives of this blog from similar time period over the years.

• i jumped in on some oovoo conversations with marketing & tech type people (pretty sure i was the only youth minister participating in the event). that was fun, but oovoo hasn't taken off. tokbox seems to be the next multi person video conference center.
• some ponderings from the desert fathers & mothers on parenting & youth ministry
• everyone can use some new 'faith filled' pick up lines
• an early morning reflection on the homeless in my city
• remember when the nfl was going to sue churches if you had a super bowl party.. seems they have learned from that pr nightmare
• i was again likened to a celebrity.. well, he wasn't so much celebrity then, he's more now
• church shopping & the devices of the entertaining church
• i took the strengths profile test that our church is big proponent of. can you guess what i came out as?
• my abbey journal kept while on retreat at gethsemani. good times, need to get back soon.
• in what is the only time you see capital letters use consistently, my pastor michael williams guest blogged on the theological conversation with miroslav volf
• this is what happens when you are friends with jonathon norman
• thoughts on how justice issues can become an idol unto themselves
• some ponderings on contemporary worship in my church context & how our greater church sold their soul to contemporary worship
• starbucks goes down!

ordinary radicals review : my life as i knew it

some time back i ordered my own copy of 'the ordinary radicals' a documentary by jamie moffett and focusing on the people and experiences that circled around the jesus for president book tour.

i was super stoked about the documentary. had these ideas of all the different people it would profile and story.

when i got the documentary i watched it at the first opportunity. my emotional reactions were somewhat uneasy, there was some stuff in there that made me uncomfortable, which i felt strange about because all the concepts and ideas were things i have been familiar with through readings of shane's books or others. many of the people in the video i had heard of and got what i would expect. but some of the lesser known, or unknown folks, stories were way powerful.

the documentary got really long for me. almost 2 hours in length it felt long. i might have done a shorter movie length with continued stories on a website. that might allow for more adaptability and continued conversations.. might even have a place where people upload their own videos of stuff they are doing.

at the end of it all the documentary ended up in moorestown, nj which was funny to me. i went to church at first umc in moorestown, growing up next door in cinnaminson. i spent many years with the people of moorestown. they were doing a contrast of moorestown and camden, which only are about five miles apart (with cinnaminson in part of the middle of that 5 miles). camden is notoriously one of the most violent and poverty stricken places.

what is funny to me is that i hung out in camden too. it was for various reasons, but i remember doing a driving lesson through parts of camden to pick up the next student. there was shopping spots and even a night club as i remember visiting. in my early days of hs we played various schools from in and around camden in sports (that changed when our schools restructured the whole league system). the waterfront was built up with the aquarium and concert amphitheater to check out. then there were my emt days where we went to cooper hospital over and over again. though i knew camden to be a dangerous place by reputation it was never some huge stark contrast.. but then again, back in those days moorestown isn't what it is today either. the divide of haves and have nots may have just gotten so much bigger.

back to ordinary radicals. its a good movie, great for stirring conversation. wish it was shorter to get allow people to get to that conversation without feeling they are leaving something out. as for teaching spots it has some great testimonies to pull from to share specific thoughts on empire, money, mission, homelessness, government, and more.

anticipating the vision : meditation with nouwen

The marvelous vision of the peaceable Kingdom, in which all violence has been overcome and all men, women, and children live in loving unity with nature, calls for its realization in our day-to-day lives. Instead of being an escapist dream, it challenges us to anticipate what it promises. Every time we forgive our neighbor, every time we make a child smile, every time we show compassion to a suffering person, every time we arrange a bouquet of flowers, offer care to tame or wild animals, prevent pollution, create beauty in our homes and gardens, and work for peace and justice among peoples and nations we are making the vision come true.

We must remind one another constantly of the vision. Whenever it comes alive in us we will find new energy to live it out, right where we are. Instead of making us escape real life, this beautiful vision gets us involved.

you can get get meditations sent to you from the henri nouwen society

remembering thomas merton : remembering father louis

today is the anniversary date of the passing of thomas merton, or father louis merton. i've mentioned before his impact on my life. today i want to share a prayer that comes from new seeds of contemplation.

Justify my soul, O God, but also from Your fountains fill my will with your fire. Shrine in my mind, although perhaps this means “be darkness to my experience,” but occupy my heart with Your tremendous Life. Let my eyes see nothing in the world but Your glory, and let my hands touch nothing that is not for Your service.

Let my tongue taste no bread that does not strengthen me to praise Your great mercy. I will hear Your voice and I will hear all harmonies You have created, singing Your hymns. Sheep’s wool and cotton from the field shall warm me enough that I may live in Your service; I will give the rest to Your poor. Let me use all things for one sole reason: to find my joy in giving You glory.

Therefore keep me, above all things, from sin. Keep me from the death of deadly sin which puts hell in my soul. Keep me from the murder of lust that blinds and poisons my heart. Keep me from the sins that eat a man’s flesh with irresistible fire until he is devoured. Keep me from loving money in which is hatred, from avarice and ambition that suffocate my life. Keep me from the dead works of vanity and the thankless labor in which artists destroy themselves for pride and money and reputation, and saints are smothered under the avalanche of their own importunate zeal. Stanch in me the rank wound of covetousness and the hungers that exhaust my nature with their bleeding. Stamp out the serpent envy that stings love with poison and kills all joy.

Untie my hands and deliver my heart from sloth. Set me free from the laziness that goes about disguised as activity when activity is not required of me, and from the cowardice that does what is not demanded, in order to escape sacrifice.

But give me the strength that waits upon You in silence and peace. Give me humility in which alone is rest, and deliver me from prise which i s the heaviest of burdens. And possess my whole heart and soul with the simplicity of love. Occupy my whole life with the one thought and the one desire of love, that I may love not for the sake of merit, not for the sake of perfection, not for the sake of virtue, not for the sake of sanctity, but for you alone.

For there is only one thing that can satisfy love and reward it, and that is You alone

the monk & the fish : a break in the day

this is just a fine break in the day.

saint scholastica : love the story

its kinda funny to me. my movement into monastic practice came with stories of and the rule of Saint Benedict. lately i've found myself loving stories of his sister, Saint Scholastica. this is a fav.

One winter night, Benedict's sister, Scholastica, was awakened by a song bird. How can this be, she thought, and she lookd out the window of her cell. Three naked men were dancing in the monastery garden by the light of the moon. One whistled like a bird and made her laugh. The men were fair to look at, Scholastica thought, but she knew she needed more rest before the prayers of the day.

Kneeling by her bed, she closed her eyes and sleepily said a prayer for the men - if they were men - that they might find shelter, clothing, and rest for their dancing feet, and if (as she suspected) they were demons, that they might return from where they came.

When she awoke, her cell was filled with the scent of roses. Where the men had been dancing a rose bush had sprung up and was blooming in the snow. It bloomed all that winter and blooms to this day.

jesus for president : shane claiborne

 

yesterday i went with my church clergy to hear shane claiborne as part of belmont university's sermon series. here were some of the fun quotes from that morning out of the office.

• My pastor. It gives me hope to here this message and see all these young people.
• SC. We vote everyday with our lives. Advise everyone. Endorse no one.
• SC. The bible doesn't say God so loved America but God so loved the world.
• SC. We are supposed to live in ways that don't compute.
• SC. Im not so sure how we as Christians became so normal.
• SC Song. Come patriots bring your flags. We're doin a foot washin and will need some rags.
• OpeningPrayer. How could we worship a homeless man on Sunday and step over one on Monday.

i've heard shane a few times in the last two years. this presentation was a little different. partly, i believe, he was speaking more to the empire and work for the poor. most of the other times it was more about reframing church. i like his message. it is terrible for me though as someone who is trying to go back and write down notes.

in other fun. we discussed politics & faith, using jesus for president as part of our framework. i'm still chuckling at thomas for saying 'shane is a better christian than Jesus'.. he had a good point, regardless of the point, the statement just has be cracked up.

shane claiborne : speaking in nashville

sorry for you folks looking for info on shane claiborne speaking in nashville this week. here is where he will be speaking tonight. here is info on his website. he will be at belmont tomorrow.

update: i will be going to see him at belmont tomorrow. so look for me if you are there

a good day : its what i like

this morning started with a bit of a chaotic drive through nashville rush hour. not something i have had to deal with for a few years now. but, in the end, i spent my morning hours with jay, chatting a new book project and all points updates on each others lives.

now i'm sitting in alektor cafe, chilling out, reading a bit, eating some good foods, and just breathing in prayer. this, is the kind of morning i miss having not living as close to downtown as i used to. it may sound shallow or an excuse, but having physical, pilgrimage sites, to feel rejuvenated really does make a difference.

the ordinary radicals : proud owner

i ordered my own copy of 'the ordinary radicals' today. for some reason i noticed today, and not others, that the nashville showing is just for belmont univ students. lllaamme! so i bought my own copy. it's only 20 bucks and i suppose it could be a quick back up for youth if needed.

The Ordinary Radicals - Trailer from Jamie Moffett on Vimeo.

taize : compilation

caught this little taize video via bosco's liturgy site. notice the diversity, imagine the languages,.. wonder how youth react to a worship in the spirit of taize? here is some of our experiences from last summer.

things on tab : linkage for the week

since i'll be heading out on our senior high mission experience tomorrow i'm guessing this post will stick around for a bit. unless i can find some wi-fi in the area. here are some links that i'm perusing.

• a beer pong video game controversy.. really? check out who has more skill time than one should
• teens opting to get pregnant.. is penelope onto something?
• apparently though the pregnancy numbers are low
• teen dating & other abuse
• what other than the bible is considered sacred literature?
• dealing with sexual brokenness in youth article
• magnetic wallpaper the next thing?
• employers are having to cater to gen y's wants.. how bout a youth pastor?
• honestly,.. virtual reality abuse?..
• jay got me to sign up for jott.. still not sure if i need it
• british methodist church is actually reaching to unchurch young adults
• 80's work for todays teen consumerism?
• what do teens want?
• the new teen trend is to control tv..
  
• teens various views of oral sex
• research says youth get alcohol from adults.. is that news?
• the foreclosure market is helping out the teen party scene
• the "cool" or "responsible" parent that drinks with their teen?

mark yaconelli : youthworker movement podcast

episode five of the youthworker movement podcast is up and going. subscribe via itunes

mark is the director of the youth ministry spirituality project and the author of "contemplative youth ministry" and "growing souls." i met up with mark to talk contemplative youth ministry approach & growing souls. how does a youth leader care for the soul of themselves and the youth in their charge. we also bring back some 80's music. interviewed at the national youth workers convention in atlanta, november of 2007.

contact me to get plugged in or ask questions on the podcast. i could use hearing from some friends.
email at: gavoweb(at)gmail.com or call: 615-357-3275

shane claiborne : way of life

shane claiborne on urban ministry. tip dale

shift conference : mark yaconelli

they just posted a highlight video of mark yaconelli talk from earlier this afternoon.

my second life : the methodist cyberchurch

so in one of my postings yesterday. revmom brought up checking out the cyber world of "second life." now i have never been a simulation game or virtual reality person.. i've never been a that person at all. so this world is quite foreign to me. however, i do see this coming as one of the next mission fields or the next social networking medium being avatar based.

so i followed her instructions.. and then got left on my own, i think i canceled the reminder/guide thing they give you for the orientation island. wandered aimlessly, lost my clothes, but then got my digs back on and made it out into the "real" world.

now an interesting part was walking around and seeing people that you know are people somewhere out there in the actual world. i didn't talk with anyone. i am shy that way. i didn't mind bumping into them as i still had a hard time walking straight for some reason. i made it over to the koinonia church. it was quite pretty.. for something not real. i checked out the list of services and all that. i don't know when, but i'd like to make it back to see the church in action. i had a seat in the cozy sanctuary area. after that i wandered

i stumbled upon, not to far away from koinonia church was a methodist church. low and behold part of the british methodist church at that. they had some wesley stuff, organ, bell, the whole set up. i even tried to preach a sermon.. to no one of course. then it was over to some other really odd places..

i ended my stop at a monastery.. a nice peaceful time to rest after teleporting and flying all over the place. yes, flying & teleporting, this is real you know. &:~D

i don't see this being my thing. but in ways, this was engaging, fascinating and fun. time consuming as well, so maybe i can be quicker next time to get in and out. who knows. i do think if you have yourself some energy to take on a bit of a challenge it is worth it to familiarize yourself with this or another world. there are seeking people in all parts, even flying around in a second life.

samuel wesley : monastic methodists

so my whole allure with monasticism over the last five or six years has some historic friends from my tribe. talking of samuel wesley, father of john wesley.

The practice of the societies to meet regularly to encourage each other in "practical holiness" was part of a larger design to retreat from the snares of "the world." In this respect there was more than a passing similarity with the purposes of the medieval monastic orders. As Samuel Wesley noted in his "Letter Concerning the Religious Societies,"

I know few good men but lament that after the destruction of monasteries, there were not some societies founded in their stead, but reformed from their errors and reduced to the primitive standard. None who had but looked into our own church history, can be ignorant how highly instrumental such bodies of men as these were to the first planting and propagating Christianity amongst our forefathers... A great part of the good efforts of that way of life may be attained without many of the inconveniences of it, by such societies as we are now discoursing of (M&M, 44)

wesley and the people called methodists

thoughts of the day

• i am pondering what sort of relations do a postmodern model of youth ministry have with a methodist church and it's laity driven history.. and the trouble that brings about because it goes against just about every other model of youth ministry out there..??
• i am wondering what all i need to do to start doing a to-do-list to make sure i get stuff done during the rest of this week.
• i am thinking i want to get a new little tv for our bedroom, one that has a remote that works and the sound doesn't go funny when you have at a low volume.
• not sure what books i want to try to finish reading this week... it is a pretty open week work wise, so i've got some opportunities here.
• with some odd church activities tomorrow, we have no regular programming.. do i go and do some observations of other churches or just take the night off...??
• i am going to move into using the prayerbook from the iona community this week.. that is generally a month or two earlier than i have done in the past (usually start in summer)..

my friend brother david

it has been awhile since i intro'd a new blogger on ye' ole blog.

a number of years ago jonathon & i took a retreat down to Saint Bernard Abbey in cullman, alabama. there we met brother david. it was kinda odd finding such a young person in the monastery, but we got all jazz up talking websites, music, climbing & rappelling, and taking hikes through the woods. we have returned to the abbey a few times and hung with him again. the oddest thing was running into him randomly at opry land hotel in the late summer. he was there for the knights of columbus gathering and selling candles. now i see he has a flickr portfolio and is blogging as well, for the monastery of course.

christianity today totally ripped off my blog : part 2

yes, remember this past blog posting? well, they seem to have the featured article online now for your perusal.

day off links

taking the day off.. if you call getting the car fixed a day off. some links i'm pondering

• that phelps clan is back at it, now their implement is our recent tornados
• Saint Benedict thoughts on Lent
• time has an interview with nt wright... many suggest it
• size does matter.. to sam.. and probably should to us as well
• i missed podcamp nashville, so i will be checking out all the write ups and pics
• oh man.. another book that peaks my interests.. damn you sam!

desert fathers : parenting and youth ministry

this post is stemmed off of tim's recent post on parents and youth ministry. i don't know if will go the same direction, but i want to uplift that sharing as critical to this one.

a few weeks ago had one of those big parents meeting for our youth ministry. running through the programming and events of the next eight months. it was a good meeting. i lead off with a devotional, and i was kinda struggling to come up with something. so this is what i shared as our devotional time.

in thinking about what to share as a devotional erin asked me, what is the goal of the youth ministry? to that i shoved it off saying, "well isn't that a loaded question." knowing i needed to answer the question i came back to it. the foundation of the youth ministry of the church, should reflect that the church is a place that is safe. so that when youth and young adults begin to question their faith, wish to dive further in theological understandings, take on new spiritual practices. they know that the church has people that are there to welcome them, listen to them, usher them to places to find what it is they seek, mentor them, teach, worship, prayer with them. for at those moments in the education world we call 'a teachable moment.' that is the goal. i we can do just that, then we will be a successful youth ministry. erin responded "that is a good goal." (i love my wife, so affirming when she needs to me)

so i read this story from the desert fathers & mothers

Another brother asked the elder Abbot Theodore, and began to question him and to inquire about things which he had never yet put into practice himself. The elder said to him: As yet you have not found a ship, and you have not put your baggage aboard, and you have not started to cross the sea: can you talk as if you had already arrived in that city to which you planned to go? When you have put into practice the thing you are talking about, then speak from knowledge of the thing itself!

so i unpacked this with our parents. too often parents, adults, young adults do not want to get involved in leadership/teaching/sharing/reflection of their faith because they do not feel worthy of talking about what they do not know. apparently Abbot Theodore agrees with you. however, this is when it is critical of sharing what you do know. you come to church why? because in some way you were instilled in the foundation that the church is a safe place to come to help live out your faith. you crossed the sea of bringing your presence to the church. share why that is important to you so that your youth will can understand what it is that you speak of. this experience you know.

the doctrine, theology, bible races, etc are all seas you can cross in time. but for the sake of your youth. it is not important the 'what' things you want them (and yourself) to know but that you chose to become part of a community of faith in Jesus and your presence here says more than anything else about who you are and what you wish to be.

the youth want to know there is a safe place for them out there. come and help us share our journey's across the sea and why we are present in this place we call church. this we know, we can share it.

we closed with this prayer for young people from the BCP.

God our Father, you see our children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new start. Give them strength to hold their faith in you and to keep alive their joy in your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

christianity today totally ripped off my blog

notice something eerily familiar about this cover in relation to this blog?

i got an anonymous tip from guy that christianity today totally ripped off my blog title because it is oh so creative. actually, i think my title is more creative & relational to the medium of this blog.

what got me going was an email from guy, who shall remain nameless, and sent me on a non-adventure for a few days.

I just got my new Christianity Today and they've totally ripped off your blog name/concept (which I was peaved I hadn't thought of first when I first stumbled across you). I don't know if it's on their website yet, but thought you'd enjoy knowing if you didn't.

indeed they had not updated their website. i let the idea pass. then i was downtown on wednesday, stopped into a favorite bookstore looking for the magazine, no dice, they don't carry magazines. this sorta peeved me and only heightened my anticipation to find out if it were true.

next day i went into a large bookstore with lots of magazines, no dice & their service kinda stunk, though i did find some decent magazines to pick up. grocery shopping with wife later in the day, surely somebody has to have the current issue of ct? no dice on the grocery store.. (note: now expecting a grocery store to have ct might seem like a stretch, but i am in the bible belt, they were playing christian music over the music system)

so we come to today. head to another mega bookstore and low & behold, tucked away with the health & home section, between the diet and log home magazines i find the ct hiding out. obviously shameful of the blatant plagiarism of my blog title.

i would consider lawsuit, but i think they would get away with a loop hole that they direct it towards evangelicals, which, i am not..

so what do you think? at least a letter to the editor? &:~D

contemplative youth ministry : refresher

refreshed myself with this video that jonathon did when we spent time being part of the contemplative youth ministry's blog tour. it still rings powerful with me.

prayer of Brother Lawrence

Lord of all pots and pans and things..
Make me a saint by getting meals
And washing up the plates!
- Brother Lawrence

just thinking of part of my work today.

remembering thomas merton

today is the anniversary date of the passing of thomas merton, or father louis merton. i have been strongly influenced by the gleaning and words of thomas merton over the years. i have spent some time with his community at abbey of gethsemani. today, what i think i remember most partly due to the recent events in colorado, is probably the one quote from his prayer life that i have held onto. this i read in his journals once. it is part of a more complete prayer, but this stuck out to me then and sill walks with me.

"My God, I frankly do not understand Your ways with me."

nywc atlanta : fellow morning pilgrims

my third day of pilgrimage started off with hanging out with fellow pilgrims.

while the rest of the convention folks were sleeping or attending seminars. i had a fab breakfast with natalie. many blogger folks might remember her from a post she threw out there last year about why she gave up on youth group. we were part of some of the same networks and struck up a fun friendship before that blogger celebrity and after. we actually got to meet for the first time this summer and finding out that her university was just down the road from my hotel (atlanta driving speak for 15 minute drive) we had to catch up. met up at a cool little spot for breakfast. i had carmalized banana pancakes.. yummie! talked college, church, life, stories, mutual friends and theology. sorely missed was revmom, who on this saturday was busyrevmom. there will be a next time, i have gleaned some understandings of atlanta traffic and will be more apt to make a 2nd pilgrimage.

upon arriving to the convention center i pushed through a haze of shiny sequins, bright colors, belly buttons, and funny eyes to get to a quiet room. there i met up with mike king. we were supposed to catch up yesterday for an interview, but today worked out and i am glad it did. we both think we have met before, but no clear picture of that emerged. we spent time together talking youth ministry, wesleyan practice, youth front, our own spiritual practices, and some blog stuff. as we sat together i felt i was hanging with a friend. we have some similar paths in our past & some veeery different paths, but i see us finding our way on very much the same pilgrimage now. i love what mike represents for himself, humility, honesty, and deep thought. i love how he has challenged his ministry world and brought about change. that is gutsy. shows an incredible amount of confidence in God's movements in one's life and ministry. look for our conversation to end up in a future episode of the youthworker movement podcast.

i now proclaim myself a member of the mike king fan club. i look forward to catching up again and maybe taking a little pilgrimage to his little monastery called a youth front.

merton on suffering

Indeed, the truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you, in proportion to your fear of being hurt. The one who does most to avoid suffering is, in the end, teh one who suffers most: and his suffering comes to him from things so little and so trivial that one can say that it is no longer objective at all. It is his own existence, his own being, that is at once the subject and the source of his pain, and his very existence and consciousness is his greatest torture. This is another of the great perversions by which the devil uses our philosophies to turn our whole nature inside out, and eviscerate all our capacities for good, turning them against ourselves.

thomas merton, the seven storey mountain

prayer station index

i have been getting more and more hits for "prayer stations." unfortunately this site is riddle with various ideas and efforts that are not always directed to a specific setting. this is my effort to put all my braintrust into one collection. fyi: these prayer station links are not in any particular order.

• finding God in the ordinary, some prayer stations i put together for connection 2005
• my contemplative worship photo album, random collection of prayer station photos
• review of my worship feast prayer station cdrom project
• epiphany contemplative worship with prayer stations, worship we did on epiphany sunday
• youth minister prayer stations, some prayer stations we put together for a youth minister retreat
• a contemplative pentecost, yup, put together some prayer stations for a pentecost worship
• reflections on a prayer room. my recap of the youth 2007 worship feast prayer room and the prayer stations that we used within that
• youth 2007 photo album with prayer station write ups
• introducing contemplative worship practices to your congregation
• a retreat experiment, not quite prayer stations, but a youth ministry retreat experiment bore out of my various use of sacred space worship
• ash wednesday service prayer station, not for the faint hearted church facilities person
• advent prayer station worship, some of these stations are profiled in the cdrom
• choir of angels prayer station, something we used for an advent service
• at the feet of God prayer station & face 2 face with each other, used when i was a youth groups retreat leader a few years back
• lent prayer station worship, a worship service for lent we had as a youth community
• a prayer station gone bad, my failed attempt at an exodus inspired prayer station

i think that is about it. there are some random pictures within other posts, but this seems to be comprehensive enough. besides prayer stations are more about the context of your community and bore out of that community. so recreating what i have done because it is easy isn't suggested, it may not have the same meaning that it does for us here in tennessee. i hope that it can help to stir some inspiration for you

the new innovative church isn't that new or innovative

so i've been promoting things like this for years, but stupid me never put it into a list. so internetmonk did. the church of the future looks a lot like the church of the past.

4. Celebrate the Lord’s Supper more frequently.

5. Have a Scripture reading in the service.

7. Read, study, and teach theology.

13. Use the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds in worship.

15. Less music. Fewer instruments.

labyrinth from the methodist church

how cool, the british methodist church has started a new online labyrinth experience. i am so impressed with the way that the british methodist church puts imagination, vision, and money behind progressive movements in order to connect with those outside the church. some things are still taking voice like fresh expressions, others have run a course like church of fools. with regards to the labyrinth, i love how they have made some of the resources to the labyrinth available. i haven't gone through this labyrinth setting to know all the meditation details, but the labyrinth itself is different from the online labyrinth put together by some of the alt worship groups in the uk. this one is more the ancient/monastic model while the alt worship labyrinth is the contemporary form.

on growing up

What is the good of religion without personal spiritual direction? Without Sacraments, without any means of grace except a desultory prayer now and then, at intervals, an occasional vague sermon?

-Thomas Merton, Seven Storey Mountain

life on the monastery

i really enjoyed this video (minus the audio/video delay) of the monastic life. i haven't been to the Abbey of Genesee, but with the Rule of St. Benedict it is much the same as others i have been too.

thomas merton & the dalai lama

some of this i knew, much i didn't. i have spent much time working through some of thomas merton's works on peace, war, and the Christian. i was particularly touched to see the abbey as just the images bring back the serenity of the place to me.

*note: not much happens after the musician starts to play, it is nice, but if you are pressed for time.

a monastic view of dog fighting

i found this mending of a conversation between gregory of nyssa and his sister compelling as diana butler bass compares lessons from greg that michael vick could have used.

Macrina argues that human beings and “irrational animals” share common gifts from God, the ability to perceive and passions. What separates human animals from “irrational” ones is the capacity of free will, part of human ability to discern and choose. Thus, humans are given the responsibility to care for animals, as irrational animals are subject to human free will.

Gregory, quoting his sister, goes on to say: “For when reason does not control the impulse which naturally lies in them, the fierce animals are destroyed by anger because they fight among themselves.” Likewise, human beings who fail to discern and act upon what is good will be consumed by irrational sin. Gregory directly links human treatment and care for animals to acts of human violence, and implicitly develops a Christian theology of creation care.

..

The Michael Vick allegations revolt good people, those who believe it is wrong for a person to treat animals viciously. If proved true, Vick failed to meet even the basic Christian requirement to employ reason and free will to care for his dogs. But this case pushes further: What of the animals? What are the fundamental rights of the dogs to happiness and life? How can those rights be guaranteed and protected? (Interestingly enough, India’s highest court recommended a course for the construction of animal rights in 2000.) And how do religious people generate a vision for animal justice from their theological traditions?

a little shane claiborne revolution

youth 2007 : day three & four

the third and fourth day of youth2007 was a bit of elation and frustration on the worship feast side. we had a bit more of an expectations from the youth, but again the numbers of participants grew and grew. at one point our art area was filled with youth creating artwork pieces that they started to tear apart our nice painting and drawing books.

it was one of those moments where we had to give away a control and let it be. for me to do this successfully i had to go and get lunch. it is the tough part of a contemplative ministry where you give up control, you have to be willing to allow your ideas and concept of 'how it should be' and allow God to do with the space.

as i would come and go within the space it we started to hear and see results of our efforts in this endeavor of sacred space. our morning prayers and compine prayers were always well attended. some with almost 100 people. for a morning prayers being at 7:30am at a youth event, that is pretty remarkable if you ask me. the taize' worship services we put together were a real highlight for me and i noticed others staying for long periods of time after we could end a service. hundreds of youth and leaders continued to come into the space, we continued to run out of canvas's no matter how many new ones we would purchase we would keep running out. frustrating, but still very cool. youth and adults alike would find those of us tending to the space and would express how much they appreciated the atmosphere, the calm, the opportunity for expression which was very encouraging.

i did three "splatshops" or workshops on spiritual practices over the week. day two we taught and practiced lectio divina, day three we worked through the awareness examen, day four we taught the Jesus prayer. it is an interesting experience to talk to a group that may not be listening at all. good thing i spent all that time as a state of tennessee trainer.

our general sessions were way fun. some high energy and over stimulation for me. i retreated backstage a number of times to take pictures and just hangout with the design team folks there. i took one of our youth backstage to help move some of the artwork we brought for on stage. he really enjoyed being backstage, though i told him this meant he had to be on design team in 2011.

our speakers were wonderful people. i couldn't say enough about them. as with every speaking engagement i take little bits with me. to close my personal journaling for now i will leave with what i gleaned from ray buckley.

"we take the things that god has given us and give them away. this is the dance"

i am thinking that this worship feast dream was part of our dance.

i will continue to keep posting worship feast room pics on my flickr. check out youth 2007 stuff experienced by our group at our hfumcyouth flickr site.

youth 2007 : day two #2

it is actually time to do my day three update, but i still didn't get a day two finished. i will direct you to some of our youth blogs. two of our guys sat down to give a mid event update.

for me yesterday was a bit stressful. i was up late working on some things for prayers and the videos for the next day. went to bed at what could be considered a normal time for an event like this. set my alarm clock on my phone. when i woke up the phone was next to me in the bed.. which was not where i left it. i knew then something not so pleasant was up. picked up the phone & saw that it was 7:46. prayers were to start at 7:30. i dressed quickly and ran downstairs with computers in tow so that i could get the videos going and help direct what part of prayers i needed. luckily jenny and jonathon had prayers covered. we had a great crowd, but i wouldn't allow myself to enjoy the moment. i buzzed around with these videos and let it all just set me wrong.

for the duration of the morning i was off balance in some measure.

this was the first full day of youth2007 so we were intrigued to see how things went over. simply put, it went over amazingly well (even with my agitation). we probably saw over 500 youth and leaders over the course of the day. something we were not expecting. most everything was fine, if you count; running out of canvass, freight train like groups going through the labyrinth, and having difficulties with printers. through it all, we count our blessings, people used the space to the extreme and we couldn't have been happier.

as i mentioned in pre-day two coverage, i was asked to lead a lectio divina reading from the main stage in the evening session. i was certainly nervous about the whole deal. how does one lead a contemplative practice with 7,000?.. let alone, 7,000 teenagers. the cool part of it all was that the prep involved in being on the stage allowed me some personal space. up to that point things were decided on by me. so i had to say bye to everyone early in the afternoon and go for a sound check. afterwords i just hung out with some of the speakers, superchick, the stage crew, and some design team friends. it was a good few hours to focus on what i was asked to do.

in the scheme of the evening i was the "calming" factor in the worship which was themed "pray." i walked up through the middle of the stage after fusebox did a two or three song set. walking up i see the crowd of kids & youth ministers pumping fists "one more song! one more song!" all i could do is look at them and say, "give it up, i know who is in charge & you are not getting one more song." i greeted with a blessing of shalom and started on. eventually people figured out that we were not going to mosh pit, so they sat down or ran back to seats.

luckily i had planned a somewhat energetic introduction to lectio. after that we began with the readings from Matthew 6: 1-9.. stopping before the Lord's Prayer for your super scholars. times of silence, times of reading, light instructions, then a quick share with your neighbor. it's kinda amazing how much sound 7,000 can make in a whisper. &:~)

we closed by finishing the scripture we were reading by saying the Lord's Prayer together. during which i walked out of the lights and off the stage. there was a pretty loud applause, so it was either that we were done or they enjoyed it.

nervous and weirded out, i wandered the backstage after that. many people said it was wonderful/well done/great job.. which was affirming. in some ways, it takes so much to lead others through a contemplative practice. you give it out, but you never own a response or get that instant feedback to measure your connectivity. i did get a great compliment however. i ran into nina reeves behind the stage. i hadn't seen her in few years and just adore her. she's wonderful & respected storyteller. i introduced myself saying "hey, you don't remember me, but..." and before i got far into all that story she starting giving me praise over what i had just done. "not just anyone can do that" she said. standing next to her was ray buckley, another whom i have great respect for. same intro to ray and i received back similar praise. i continued to wander in a haze i cannot explain

we closed our day with compline which has been a wonderful blessing for myself and i believe for our group. even though none of us ever went straight to bed after compline.

posting worship feast room pics on my flickr. youth 2007 stuff experienced by our group at our hfumcyouth flickr site.

the simple way needs help

i have mentioned the simple way before & shane claiborne as well. i am saddened to hear of the 7 alarm fire that has damaged the homes and hub of kensington neighbor hood in philadelphia.

This morning, a 7-alarm fire consumed an abandoned warehouse in our Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. The Simple Way Community Center at 3200 Potter Street was destroyed as well as at least eight of our neighbors’ homes. Over 100 people were evacuated from their homes, and 400 families are currently without power. Despite this developing tragedy, we are incredibly thankful to share that all of our community members and every one of our neighbors is safely out of harm’s way.

This fire will forever change the fabric of our community. Eight families are currently homeless, and in many cases have lost their vehicles as well as their homes. One of our neighbors, the Mahaias Family, lost their three cars as well as the equipment one family member uses for her massage therapy business. Teenager Brian Mahaias is devastated not because he has lost his belongings, but because he fears that this fire will force him to move away from this neighborhood that is his family as well as his home.

The Simple Way has lost a community center that was home to our Yes! And… afterschool program, community arts center, and Cottage Printworks t-shirt micro-business as well as to two of our community members. Community members Shane Claiborne and Jesce Walz have lost all of their belongings, Yes! And…’s after school studio and library were ruined, and community member Justin Donner’s Cottage Printworks equipment and t-shirts were destroyed.

a 7 alarm fire is big and tough to handle with the row home neighborhoods in philly. my feelings come from being a firefighter across the river in nj (which had some row homes) but mostly i grew up watching these incidents a number of times over the years and hearing of the people displaced.

this one hits me a little harder as i have a passion for the mission of the simple way. i appreciate what the people of the simple way stand for. i will be helping support the simple way, i'd encourage everyone to check out the simple way, you will have a hard time not finding a reason to feel for their situation and

We have established an emergency relief fund, not just for the simple way, but for those in the neighborhood who lost their homes. You can contribute by either sending checks to the simple way at PO Box 14751 Philadelphia, PA 19134...