Creating Space and Shared Practices

'Unless you are the queen of England, you probably don't live in a museum. We might visit a museum occasionally or, for many of us, just once or twice in a lifetime. Museums preserve the history of a nation or civilization, displaying the best achievements of artists and artisans over decades, centuries or millenniums. I've always been fascinated by the contrast between the order and prestige of museums - where works of art are displayed in rooms gleaming with marble and stationed with security guards - and the places where most artwork is made: in dingy warehouses in low-rent districts, in studios splattered with paint or piled with debris. The most important visitor to the museum is not the patron or connoisseur, but the artist, in her paint-splattered pants, who comes to the museum to pay respect and be inspired by those who have gone before her. The museum preserves the long conversation about what art is, and the community of artists labor with the hope of making their contribution to this ongoing dialogue, that one day their work will be worthy of display.

For seekers of the Way, the buildings, rituals, documents and theologies of the Christian tradition serve as a rich museum that inspires our efforts to practice the way of Jesus. They remind us that we are part of an unfolding story and an ongoing conversation about what it means to live as "children of light" (John 12:36) in our time and place. But we don't live in museums. The place where we create our "art" isn't in the clean and well-ordered world of books, historic institutions or even public gatherings, but in the grit and messiness of daily life and in our relationships with one another. The question for us is, how will we act courageously together to make our contribution to this unfolding story?' (Practicing the Way of Jesus by Mark Scandrette, p. 40)

building blocks

Last year, my daughter gave me a book for Father's Day called Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon. I'm pretty sure this gift wasn't so much a judge of my masculinity, but more a result of a sale at Borders and the limited budget of an 11-year-old. In any case, the motives behind the purchase aren't important here, but the book is.

In a chapter titled To The Legoland Station, Chabon explores the development of Legos and the freedom of imagination and creativity in children. Chabon points out the simplicity of Legos when he was a child. Squares and rectangles, six basic colors, simple trees, snap-in doors and windows, and red sloping roof tiles. Abstract, minimal, and never meant to be "realistic," we accepted Legos for what they were, a product for our imagination. Open-ended and exploratory.

Somewhere along the way, Legos changed. Now, this shouldn't surprise us because most things change; however, it wasn't only the Legos that changed, but the rules that govern playing with them. A short trip to any Legos store will prove that there are numerous color options, every shape imaginable, uncountable minifigures (Lego lingo for Lego people), etc, etc. Even though such changes are to be expected, Chabon writes that it was the predetermined boundaries and the prescribed formula for play that he resented most.

What used to be basic building blocks for your imagination and creativity to run wild, have now become elaborate attempts to create realism based on predetermined outcomes. Most Lego kits now come with detailed, step-by-step instructions for creating miniature versions of things like race cars, pirate ships and pretty much anything from the Star Wars movies. The dreaming and scheming of working with these basic building blocks has been substituted with the frustration of trying to follow a 47-page manual with no words. And once some of these elaborate things are made, children are cautious in playing with them for fear of breaking them or losing an irreplaceable part.

As I read this chapter about Legos, I kept thinking about church planting. The building blocks for church seem to be fairly basic. I'm thinking in terms of things like prayer, service, care, teaching, fellowship, worship, communion, etc. With basic building blocks like these, under the supervision of the Spirit, the possibilities for how a church lives out its mission within its specific context are endless.

What I have seen, and have been guilty of myself on occasion, is trying to plant a living, local body of Christ using some formulaic set of rules with a predetermined outcome. It's as though we have more confidence in "tried and true" models than in our ability to hear from God and partner with what He is already busy doing. We serve a creative God, who has given us all that we need, but we often turn from the hard work of listening, praying and submerging for quick fixes that boost our numbers and give the appearance of success.

One of the goals of play is to engage the imagination and unleash creativity. Similarly, in church planting we need to engage the heart and imagination of God and unleash His creative Spirit. The substance of church, the transformation of its people and its impact on the surrounding community has less to do with forms, and more to do with heart and spirit. Unfortunately, young church planters often become disillusioned, confused or frustrated somewhere along the way because the reality of what is may not resemble some self-prescribed ideal.

Because of this, our team has made it our mission to walk alongside young church planters as they work out the dreams that God has laid on their hearts. The results may not follow one of the “prescribed formulas” of church planting, but they certainly strive to be in tune with the heart of God, His kingdom and His mission.

significant wins

I recently had to fill out an annual role review for CRM where I made the comment that there have been times this year when I’ve wanted to be further along as a team both relationally and productively. I then went on to say that I’ve felt God moving my heart to extend grace to myself, especially in light of all that has happened this year.

The following day, as I went through my role review with my boss, Gary, he challenged me to consider this past year from another point of view. Instead of needing to extend myself grace for things we didn’t accomplish, what if I embraced the wins that our team did have this year. He then proceeded to point out a number of things that I had written in my role review that he considered to be significant “wins” during this year of transition.

1. We successfully made an international move – it was only 11 months ago, on January 20^th, that our family landed on American soil.

2. We’ve settled into St. Paul and our team is being woven into the fabric of the Hamline-Midway neighborhood.

3. We have some great relational connections – through Thirdway’s coffee house, the kids’ friends and their families, volunteering at local schools and spending time with neighbors, we have made some significant relationships.

4. We are mentoring young leaders - both Daleen and I meet weekly with young men and women, who are part of our community.

5. We are serving Thirdway, a church plant in our neighborhood – from serving on their leadership team to volunteering in their coffee shop, we are helping them fulfill their mission in our neighborhood.

6. I am walking alongside Seth, the leader of Thirdway – we have been meeting every couple of weeks to think through and consider important issues facing Thirdway. I have also begun to shoulder some of the teaching load at Thirdway.

7. We bought a house – in June we moved into our new house and we have made it our home.

8. We are networking with other church planters/missional communities in the area.

9. We are starting a small business, Bags by Hand, that is making jewelry bags for a local jeweler, as well as hand bags, which are being sold locally. This will not only help to meet our financial needs, but will help connect us into a network of creative locally-owned businesses.

10. We are developing a healthy, balanced rhythm of life for our family.

As my perspective shifts, and I begin to embrace the victories of this past year, my focus is moving from myself and my shortcomings to God and His faithfulness. With that, my “need for grace” is being transformed into a voice of gratitude. And, my demanding expectations of perfectionism are moving toward contentment in God’s goodness. This seems like a simple shift in perspective, yet it makes such a vast difference in how I understand this past year.

As we quickly approach the end of the year, won’t you take a few minutes to consider your year from the perspective of “embracing the wins in your life.” Most will find, as our family did, that there is much to be thankful for.

May you have a wonderful Christmas filled with joy and gratitude,

Bryan, Daleen, Kyle and Zoe

Launch

As we move into Autumn and a new school year, we find ourselves moving into a new season of life and ministry here in the Twin Cities. Summer has been busy with the move into our home (June), Daleen’s trip to South Africa and her father’s passing (July) and a 4-week trip to the West Coast to visit family and friends, and to do some support raising (August). It’s good to be back in our neighborhood, which is feeling more and more like home.

Launch

In Spring, our team began the process of defining our identity within CRM. If CRM’s vision is to “empower leaders,” then what is the unique contribution of our team? After much deliberation, we felt like “Launch” was a good descriptor of our team vision. We desire to launch vibrant expressions of the Body of Christ that will reach those, who are unreceptive, and sometimes hostile, to the church as we know it. We also desire to launch leaders, who will pilot these young, vibrant, missional communities of faith.

Fresh Expressions

Over the past ten years we have participated in, given leadership and been exposed to a variety of “missional communities.” This has shaped a longing within us to see local expressions of church that are resolute in effecting transformation in the lives of its people, as well as the wider community where they live, work and play. We find such churches moving from building-centered to community-centered, from attractional programs to missional initiatives and from city-wide to neighborhood-focused.

Missional communities often experiment with alternative ways of gathering where members’ lives are woven together more consistently throughout the week. This will often lead people to live in close proximity to one another. It is proximity to one another that helps missional communities to participate more fully in the life of the local neighborhoods where they are located. And, as people live, work and play in a spirit of being “on mission,” lives are impacted, people transformed and the Kingdom expanded.

Unreceptive and Hostile

Many Christians desire for their church to be a welcoming place where people find Jesus. Unfortunately, for many, the church is not the place to go in their quest for Christ. In some cases, it is literally the last place people would go due to past hurts, painful experiences and a sense of “not being welcome.” We want to see followers of Christ mobilized in order to help others venture beyond these barriers, whether perceived or real, so that they might know Jesus and His transforming power.

Our team is trying to lead the way by building relationships with those, who are part of the vast Creative Arts community in the Twin Cities. We are also meeting our neighbors in the local places where they gather, inviting them into our homes and accepting invitations into theirs, engaging in service projects alongside them and tending to their hearts.

Leaders

A church living on mission requires leaders, who have the character, gifts and experience to guide her into uncharted territories. Leaders who will not only inspire with their words, but will demonstrate by their actions what it means to follow God in the way of Jesus. In contrast to always looking for outside “experts,” we are encouraging and assisting churches to cultivate leaders from within, based on faithfulness, gifting, experience and knowledge.

My Father

When we moved to Minnesota in January, we knew that my dad was dying and it was only a matter of time. We knew that there was a very good chance that we would never see him again. Taking my kids away from my parents at such a time was one of the hardest things I have ever done; however, Bryan and I deeply believed that it was God’s time for us to move. It was my “Abraham moment”, and I didn’t want an “Ishmael situation” on my hands. So we left.

Thus began a 5-month plea that God would give me a week with my dad before he passed, and a couple of weeks to care for my mom afterwards. With my brother also living in Minnesota, my father’s passing would mean that my mom would be alone to deal with my dad’s death. I could not imagine that for her.

My dad had been ill for a long time, and there was no way to tell when he would go. I felt like I was walking a tightrope that could snap at any time. There were no promises or guarantees, just blind faith that God’s goodness and faithfulness would extend to every detail of my torn heart. I prayed that God would tell me exactly when to go…

In the end of June, God started pressing in on my heart that it was time. We booked a ticket that allowed me to stay for 3 weeks. The morning after I arrived in South Africa, we brought my dad home from the hospital, and for the next 5 days I helped my mother take care of him. My dad was never really lucid and only said my name once, but I spent a lot of time praying for him and reading the Psalms to him.

On day 6, I was tired and emotionally worn out, so I went to do some shopping and banking for my mother. I was planning on taking my time drinking in the familiarity of home, but God, in His grace, had other plans.

I took one turn rather than another into the local mall and spotted a car out of the corner of my eye. It looked like the car of my friend who lives on the other side of town. And then I saw her daughter get out of the car. Of all the spaces in the parking lot, that was the only one where I would have noticed her. I pulled over, we hugged and cried. As we spoke, she shared about the day that her father passed away a few years ago. She told me how she went to help her mother, and one day while she left to run a 10-minute errand, her father passed away.

As I started my shopping, I kept thinking how crushed I would be if I came all this way to be with my dad and he died while I was at the store. I abandoned my shopping and rushed home. When I arrived home, my mother called for me and told me that it was time. I held my dad and told him how much we loved him, how much he meant to us and how much we would miss him, but that we wanted him to be whole again, to be restored and to be with God whom he loved with all his heart. And as I held him he slipped out of this world into the next.

In His amazing mercy, God heard the cry of my heart, guided me in his perfect timing, and even chose my friend, Sonja, to guide me back home. For many, such events may seem insignificant, but as I reflect over my time in South Africa and God’s care and faithfulness, I will never again doubt how much God cares about the desires of my heart.

With love, Daleen

third places

The Word became flesh and blood,

and moved into the neighborhood.

John 1:14 (The Message)

Jesus set the example. He came to be with us. He “pitched his tent” and lived among us, inviting us into his world. He ushered the kingdom into our global neighborhood.

place

People desire to know their place in this world. We want to have a place where we fit in. A place where we are known. A place where we can be the person God created us to be. A place in the work that God is doing in and around us.

Daleen and I are slowly, but surely finding our place here in Minnesota. When we landed in the Twin Cities, we were embraced by a community of people that make up Thirdway. We were welcomed by Daleen’s brother’s family and their friends. And we were included in the wider CRM community that lives in Minneapolis/St. Paul and throughout the U.S. We were blessed to step into a network of people that extends into our neighborhood and far beyond.

However, not everyone is so fortunate.

From what I see, many people struggle to find a place where they fit. They struggle to find a community that welcomes and embraces them. They struggle to find their place.

third places

According to Wikipedia, 'third place is a term used in the concept of community building to refer to social surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home and the workplace. In his influential book The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg argues that third places are important for civil society, democracy, civic engagement, and establishing feelings of a sense of place.

Oldenburg calls one's "first place" the home and those that one lives with. The "second place" is the workplace — where people may actually spend most of their time. Third places, then, are "anchors" of community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative interaction.'

groundswell

In the spirit of Jesus, the people of Thirdway Church decided it wasn’t enough to travel in and out of the Midway-Hamline area. They began moving into the neighborhood at a time when many were moving out. As they pitched their tents in the neighborhood, they became part of the fabric of local life. Eventually, they bought a neighborhood coffee shop with the hope of creating a third place for those in the neighborhood.

From what I’ve experienced, Groundswell is a great success. I cannot tell you how many relationships with my neighbors have been fostered at the coffee shop. Groundswell is also growing as a local hub by hosting art shows, music nights and poetry readings. There is a telling joke among transplants to Minnesota that goes something like this: Minnesotans are so nice that they will give you directions to anywhere, except their home. In a culture that may not readily invite into their homes, third places become even more crucial.

According to Wikipedia, “all societies already have informal meeting places; what is new in modern times is the intentionality of seeking them out as vital to current societal needs.” In light of this, we are growing in our ability to create third places where others are exposed and introduced to the love of Christ, the reality of God’s kingdom and His community.

Cold is a relative thing

I just got this list from a woman, who grew up in Minnesota, but now lives elsewhere. It actually gives some insight into the Minnesota psyche and their pride of survival in extreme conditions. Last year, they built an outdoor stadium for baseball in Minneapolis. My family got to enjoy their first professional baseball game ever on April 27th. It was around 35 degrees and snowing, and the stadium was 75% full when the game started. As I learn more about these hearty people of the North, the well-known description of Russians comes to mind - "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." Enjoy.

65 degrees Arizonans turn on the heat. People in Minnesota plant gardens.

60 degrees Californians shiver uncontrollably. People in Minnesota sunbathe.

50 degrees Italian & English cars won't start. People in Minnesota drive with the windows down.

40 degrees Georgians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, wool hats. People in Minnesota throw on a flannel shirt.

35 degrees New York landlords finally turn up the heat. People in Minnesota have the last cookout before it gets cold.

20 degrees People in Miami all die. Minnesotans close their windows.

0 degrees Californians fly away to Mexico. People in Minnesota get out their winter coats.

10 below zero Hollywood disintegrates. The Girl Scouts in Minnesota are selling cookies door to door.

20 below zero Washington DC runs out of hot air. (Ya think? Nah.). People in Minnesota let their dogs sleep indoors.

30 below zero Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Minnesotans get upset because they can't start the snowmobile.

40 below zero ALL atomic motion stops. People in Minnesota start saying..."Cold enough for ya?"

50 below zero Hell freezes over. Minnesota public schools will open 2 hours late.