Feeling Squished

I feel a bit squished right now. I’m feeling busy in that sort of oppressive way that leaves you feeling like your trapped under the weight of the future. If I weren’t getting in some good quality time with the family, this would probably be one of those times where I give into the temptation to get lethargic and waste time watching movies.

For the most part, I’m enjoying this season of life: new baby, the company of good friends, and lots of good activity at Missio Dei. We’re hoping to rent a second (and maybe even a third) community house this summer. Interest in Missio Dei is high and our current community house is full.

Jesus Manifesto is gaining traction every week.  For the first time ever, I am contributing less than 25% of the content, and the content is growing in quality. We’ve had a healthy response to our Pentecost writing competition.  Things are good. I haven’t been writing as much as I’d like, unfortunately…though I do have some great interviews in the works).

Plus Submergent (though we aren’t likely to keep that name) is showing promise (we’re going to have a gathering into July to set some general direction and launch the informal networking to a new level).

I’ve got some speaking engagements this summer. And about 20 folks from Missio Dei (and some of our friends) are road-tripping to PAPA Fest in June where Joshua Kaufman-Horner and I hope to lead a workshop on the coercion of voting and related political issues.

I don’t feel particularly spread thin. I’m doing some amazing ministry–through Missio Dei, Jesus Manifesto, Submergent, and through various speaking and networking opportunities.

So, why do I feel squished? Even though I’m doing what I love and am seeing fruit to my ministry labors, I’m still stuck financially. With a baby, my wife’s part-time teaching income isn’t coming in, and I am not making enough to get by. The sort of groups that invite me to speak don’t usually pay me much, if they pay me anything. My gig last year at Willow Creek was something of a fluke.

I’ve considered getting a regular job, but my earning potential is small and I don’t feel like it would be good to drop some of the things I’m doing to make room for the sort of hours I’d need at a low-paying job.

I’m working on a revamped book proposal (which I had put on hold with the arrival of my son Jonas). I’m very optimistic. There is a lot of interest. Realistically, though, any advance will probably be small and it isn’t very likely that I’ll draw much income from writing.

So what to do? Well, Amy and I are planning on selling our car. We’ve gone car-less before, but we have a baby now, so we’re a bit anxious. But the income from the sell of the car, plus the savings from not having to buy gas or pay for insurance and maintenance, will make a big difference.

And I’m going to do a fundraising push. I think the time might be right to take my fundraising to a new level. In the old days, people didn’t really understand any of the stuff I did…but now lots of folks read Jesus Manifesto and Missio Dei has gained legitimacy. So I’m going to try to raise a bunch of new money–both for my income and for a future ministry center in our neighborhood.

In the meantime, I’ll feel squished.

Everything Must Change, conclusion

One thing that I am learning about myself is that I am incapable of writing serial posts. I am a one-post sort of guy. If you want a play-by-play of how things went down, check out Eliacin’s blog…he hits the important highlights.

Instead of a breakdown of how things went, I want to offer some concluding thoughts:

1) I appreciate the message of Brian’s book, though I think it leaves out a central role for the Church.

2) The format of the conference was too intellectual and not radical enough. One new friend (Ted Troxell) and I talked about how Brian’s message is radical (meaning that it seeks to overturn the status quo in pursuit of a new way), but the conference didn’t really inspire tangible change…at least not enough of it.

3) Brian should have had some activist-types who are seeking to live out the message of his book join him on the tour. Ordinary radicals of all walks of life could have concluded the conference better Brian. Even though he tries to share the voices of others in his own content, it would have been more powerful for him to bring some of those voices with him.

4) The highlight was meeting some new friends. There were many respected Mennonites there who affirmed the vision of Submergent. I am hopeful. Though I suspect that they won’t be able to respond quickly to our efforts. This is the biggest challenge with working with Mennonites. I appreciate the Mennonite desire to look at things over the long haul, but I believe that they are overwhelmingly shaped by their past ALMOST to the point that they cannot imagine a future. I know they welcome new voices like mine, but time will tell if they are able to give the keys to new Anabaptist voices from around the world.

Day One at “Everything Must Change”

Yesterday was the first day of the EMC Tour. Things didn’t start until after dinner. That left room for a lunchtime Submergent discussion followed by an afternoon conversation with Brian McLaren. Brian shared some of his perspective on the growing Anabaptist movement (of both denomincational Anabaptists and new Anabaptists).

Brian gave us a number of good contacts and shared some advice. I think he’s most excited about the possibility of Submergent helping to create space for Anabaptist church planters to connect with the Mennonites without having to do everything in the Mennonite denominational way.

Brian’s talk was good…but if you’ve read his book you’ll get the same information. He talked about the Global Suicide Machine…and how the world is facing an environmental crisis, a poverty crisis, and a security crisis…yet our Christianity doesn’t challenge these things (and often enables them).

Afterwards, Amy, Jonas, Eliacin, Joe Hackman, and Tracy Howe went to Applebees (it was the only place open) to keep the conversation going.

The Long Road with Jonas

We made it. Departing from Minneapolis at 7:30am, we drove through Chicago (with its accursed toll roads) to South Bend (where we picked up Eliacin) and on to Goshen. Jonas slept comfortably…for the most part. We had to stop a lot for feeding (both for him and for us). So we finally rolled into our destination around 9pm.

The Everything Must Change Tour doesn’t really get going until tonight, so that will give us some time to connect with some Submergent conspirators and meet up this afternoon with Brian McLaren. Stay tuned…

Random Updates

I have a new work of satire up at Jesus Manifesto: Hey I Care About Those Poor People Too! Jesus Manifesto is also running a poll on its main page about wealth…check it out (and the other recently published articles about wealth here and here).

On Thursday, Amy and Jonas and I are driving to Goshen College for the Everything Must Change Tour. I’m not really a fan of Brian McLaren, but Submergent is one of the sponsors of that leg of the tour. It will be a great opportunity for Submergent to connect with young Anabaptist leaders.

We’ll be heading back into town just in time for Missio Dei’s Sunday evening gathering. Pentecost Sunday is the day when members reaffirm our rule of faith.

Unwatchable Actor/Actress Meme

I’ve been tagged by Eliacin for a meme. I usually don’t do these things, but he said on his blog that I wouldn’t do it because “it is not revolutionary enough for me.” Well, I’m too oppositional/defiant to let that one go.

The meme asks “which five actors or actresses do you dislike so much that you refuse to watch one of their movies?”

1. Nick Cage. Once, maybe. But no more. The guy should become a director.
2. Ben Affleck…thankfully he already became a director.
3. John Travolta. He used to be ok…but then he started thinking he was a good actor.
4. Julia Roberts. For the same reason as John Travolta.
5. J-Lo. Everything she touches turns to trite.

Honorable mention: Keanu Reeves. I can’t in good conscience put him on this list, because it is entirely possible that he could be in a movie that I’d see. I mean, the Wakowski brothers were able to put him to admirable use. Plus, there is this anecdote: I know of a woman who once met Keanu. She said that the most amazing think she’s ever discovered in her life was that Keanu Reeves is very intelligent. Any man who is THAT intelligent must know he’s a cruddy actor. And if that’s the case than the joke’s on us.

As a bonus, I’m going to offer these five actors that I’ll watch in anything…and I mean anything:

1. Johnny Depp. At this point I have an almost scholarly interest in his work. And as you’ll see, he’s the only American on my list.
2. Emma Thompson. She has more talent in her pinky toe than all the actors listed in the previous list combined. Her talent is so profound that I would pay to watch her read a script.
3. SIR Ian McKellan. Brits are SO much better at acting. For them it is a discipline. And this cat does acting so well he’s a freaking KNIGHT. That makes him acting nobility. The closest thing we have to acting nobility would be someone like Marlon Brando, and like all-too-many good American actors, he decided to make poor acting choices late in life, thus tarnishing his memory.
4. Christian Bale. If he plays his cards right, he could make it into the acting pantheon. He and Depp are the best young American actors working right now. And they might, one day, prove that Americans can act as well as the brits. shows that the Brits will always out perform American actors.
5. Sean Connery. He’s not the best actor, but he’s my one man-crush. He’s great even in crappy flicks…not because he can act, but because he’s always Sean Connery in every role he plays.

Honorable mention: Ellen Page. It’s still too early in her career to formally add her to this list, but she blew me away in Hard Candy and Juno. Neither of them are my favorites, but she carried them single-handedly.

Church, Money, and the Future

The blog chat keeps growing. Thankfully, Aaron Klinefelter is keeping track of all the conversations brewing here.

This conversation is getting too big to summarize…which is exciting. But it also means that it is easy for it to dissipate and blow away. So, I’m wondering…where does it go from here? Does it need to go anywhere? Does it mean we’re all going to start a network of likeminded friends called “ecclesial village” and each have sidebar images that say “friends of ecclesial village” and start working towards publishing deals (wink wink)?

If we’re really wondering about the benefit of expensive seminary training, does that mean that our communities are going to start trying to be teaching communities where we help the next generation explore ministry in post-Christendom? Create internships that could supplement formal training? Are we going to start our own “underground” seminary that is so “underground” that nobody knows its there and nobody realizes its a seminary (wink wink)?

I’m being playfully serious here. We’re at that place (some of us have been at this place for a while, some are just arriving, and some of us are somewhere in-between) where we are all looking to the future. We are aware of the possibilities but we’re also feeling the weight of it pressing down upon us.

In these times of transition, really cool things happen. But at these times of transition it is just as likely that misguided attempts at cool things can happen. So, where do we go from here?

The Monastic Impulse, Old and New

I’m team-teaching a course at Bethel Seminary in 2009 with Dr. Chris Armstrong, Professor of Church History. The course will explore common themes of monasticism throughout history, and explore the ways in which the monastic tradition is being appropriated in contemporary ministry.

Perhaps some of you can help me out: what are some books that appropriate monastic wisdom for contemporary ministry? I’m familiar with Karen Sloan’s Flirting with Monasticism, Scott Besennecker’s the New Friars, and the works of folks like Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. What else would you recommend?

starving ecclesial artists unite!

A fascinating conversation has been brewing since yesterday via the blogosphere. The questions being raised are muy importante. I want to add my voice to the conversation, but first it is important for you to get up to speed with what has already been said.

Ok. It all started with Chris Marshall. He said, basically that in the midst of an increasingly crappy enconomy, we have a lot of people in debt and an emerging non-committal, debt-ridden, consumer generation that isn’t going to be interested in sustaining the church-as-is.

Jason Evans responded with: “The trends do not seem to say that we can fend this off by building bigger, regional churches. Though there is limited success there, I don’t see it being a long term fix to a growing problem. I’ve said this before, but I really don’t think the experts have many answers for us. They have too much invested in the Christendom machine. So, it’s going to be up to the rank and file folks to come up with the solutions.” He suggest that although the talking missional heads are exploring paradigm shifts, hardly anyone is looking at the church sustainability issue.

Mike Bishop joins in: “One of the questions that I think needs to be raised in our church culture is not “Are we being successful?” but rather, “Is what we are doing sustainable?” What I mean by sustainable is not if we can advance our ideas about church so that we are influential to the next generation. Sustainable means that we can continue on the path God has for us without having to rely on big organization, huge amounts of funding, or keeping up with the latest church trends. It means that we work without a lot of visibility, but will be able to minister right where people are hurting and in need of the good news of God’s kingdom. This is a Jesus-led underground movement.” He suggests that this presents an opportunity for us to learn from one another, listen with one another, and walk with one another.

Marshall jumps back into the fray: “What is the future? I have no idea. I encourage students (high school or college) to get degrees in fields that can support them regardless of their ministry aspirations. Get your theological training from the church community and not to see ministry as a professional, but as a missional servant…I would suspect that within 10 years due to these emerging church trends and economic realities in America that the number of vocational pastors may decrease by as much as 50%. Endowed churches and denominations will be able to hang in there longer and I suspect there will be a movement of consolidating local churches to regional churches to deal with the dwindling cash flow and top heavy debts.”

Steve Lewis adds a sinister note: “…while many of us have woken up to the nightmare aftermath of Christendom, far fewer of us have woken up to the nightmare present of the empire we live under. I’m not talking about the good ‘ol USA, either. I’m talking about the global capitalistic machine - the one that transcends borders and languages, and law in a lot of cases. The one that demands development, the creation of wealth, consumerism, and ultimately our souls. The tricky part is that unless we just pick up and move outta Dodge to some farm in Nebraska where we can be completely “off the grid” (which, by the way, isn’t exactly missional), we are forced into participating in the machine…While we do struggle in the here and now, though, let’s remember that this represents a unique opportunity to live out a counter-cultural Kingdom reality. Right now, when our wallets (and gas tanks) are empty, we have much less convincing to do when we talk about the lack of real hope that money and power provide. We have the opportunity to live a joyful, free lifestyle, which shows where our dependence lies, where our true Hope lies. And that’s where we live out our faith…”

Aaron Klinefelter chimes in with three points:

1. the present way in which we “do ministry” is less and less effective and not sustainable given the increasingly complex, pluralistic, and shifting society in which we live.
2. the current funding approach for ministry and ministers is beholden to a system that is built on a modernism (industrial, mechanistic, “cog in the wheel”) that is increasingly non-functional or a postmodernism that is highly consumerist (”what have you done for me lately”, “have it your way”).
3. the expectations placed (internally or externally) on leaders is often unhealthy in the current system (whether that system is accommodated primarily to modern or postmodern sensibilities).

He believes that God is leading some into a “new mode of ministry.” Read the rest of his excellent post here (seriously…go read the rest and then come back).

Now its my turn…

I hate to say this, but I think my generation of ministry practitioners is likely to struggle and suffer. We are coming off of a bad Christendom trip and have inherited Christendom tools for doing a post-Christendom job.

I know lots and lots of ministers. Because I am one. So many of the brightest, most gifted, most visionary practitioners I know are struggling. Let me reiterate: the most gifted ministers I know aren’t leading the most “successful” churches I know. Instead, they are pioneering into post-Christendom. These pioneers are ecclesial starving artists…they struggle for their vision, and they are sometimes brilliant, but generally off the grid.

The down side to this is that the mainstream church has all of its vast resources tied up in maintaining the status quo (even if they are innovating their practices, they are largely doing so in a way that reinforces the dominant Christendom paradigm). As a result, these subversive pioneers are doing a LOT with very little. And they are doing it in a way that escapes the notice of the mainstream. Why? Because the mainstream lacks the lens to notice what is happening and why these pioneers are doing a vital job.

I know this sounds dramatic. Because it is. I’d like to think I am one of these pioneers. I have, in the same week, been told by one mainstream Christian that “I have little to show for myself” and been told by one supportive friend in Philadelphia that “it is amazing I am able to accomplish so much.” I share this to highlight that people see what they are looking for. The mainstream church is looking for practitioners who can maintain the status quo. These starving ecclesial artists are looking for ways of being faithful in the future.

Our task isn’t to keep Christianity going as usual. Instead, we need to find ways of equipping and enpowering the next generation to do ministry in a way that is sustainable, even if we are currently struggling with doing sustainable ministry.

What does this mean?

• It means that we have to resist the temptation to “compromise” or “sell out” by doing ministry in a way that might work for the mainstream now, but will just pass things on to the next generation. In other words, we can’t secure our own sustainability at the expense of the sustainability of the next generation.

• It also means that we need to be faithful to equip young leaders for the emerging reality…not for success within Christendom. For example…is it really all that helpful, generally speaking to have future church leaders go through college and then seminary, securing lots of debt so that they can lead the church into a future that the seminaries aren’t seeing? Going to seminary is helpful if you want a career within a denomination…but not that important in a post-Christian context.

  Many agree with me on that last paragraph, yet few viable approaches exist for in depth, powerful training. There are a few “underground” seminaries but their capacity and depth are limited. Internships are ok…but in under-resourced churches how do we meaningfully train leaders?
  If equipped the right way, the next generation can get “real” jobs without being burdened with debt, yet still highly trained by alternative methods to lead a marginal church.

• In the meantime, we need to survive…and without giving into the consumer system that seduces starving ecclesial artists into mass producing Thomas-Kincade-esque prints. I’ve noticed something with some of my friendship. Some of my friends are so interested in succeeding that they basically spend a lot of their time building a platform and trying to connect with important, well-resourced, people. Other friends are interested in spreading their good fortune…sharing contacts, networking, helping their peers succeed. I feel like I’m a mix of both…but trying to be the latter. We will feel a lot better and actually achieve more sustainability, I think, if the starving ecclesial artists would encourage one another and help each other out…as many of them already do…rather than trying to break into church celebrity status.

Jesus Radicals: Another World is Neccessary

I’ve been asked to present at the upcoming Jesus Radical’s Conference (Another World is Neccessary: Anarchism, Christianity and the Race from the White House) coming up August 15-16. Even though I don’t technically think of myself as an anarchist…and even though anarchists intimidate me a bit…I’m excited to be a part of the conference.
Folks are usually surpised that I don’t call myself an anarchist…and that anarchists intimidate me.

In fact, when I told Jason Evans about my anarchistophobia, he asked: “You’re afraid of yourself?”

But I am not an anarchist. Anarchism is the rejection of rule (government). Christian anarchists are Christians that reject government. And while the phrase “Christian Anarchist” could apply to me (and in fact I’ve used it to describe myself in the past), I don’t believe we should reject government. Instead, we should embrace the government of Jesus Christ. He is our ruler. Hence, I am a CHRISTarchist. Furthermore, I don’t believe we should actively pursue the dismantling of earthly government. Instead, we are to submit to them. That isn’t to say that we should OBEY them per se. Instead, we should live at peace and submit in the same way that one would go the extra mile or turn the other cheek. I’ve written about this more here.

And regarding the point about being intimidated: I’ve seldom met a group so serious and idealistic as the anarchists. Christian anarchists are perhaps doubly so. When you get a large number of strong idealists together, things get really intense. In many ways, these are my people…I just wish we could all have a better sense of humor about things (like this paragraph).