Back from PAPAfest

I had a good time. It was an adventure with an 11 week old, but Jonas did fine. The best parts were bonding with some of the folks from Missio Dei and meeting new folks.

Observations:

• For some reason, 32 is old for PAPAfest. I felt like an old man; everyone seemed to be 20. I was a bit surprised by that.
• For some reason, a lot of the “old-timers” and members of older, established communities (like Reba Place and Koinonea farms) found their way to our camp. It made us feel like an older, more established community–which compared to most of the folks there, I suppose we are.
• My session went better than I could have expected. Turn out was good. Conversation was candid.
• I am not looking to clean out all of our gear. We have dust in EVERYTHING.
• I was surprised by how many people from Minneapolis were there…but also surprised at how unconnected we in Minneapolis are.
• I’ve begun to realize that Minnesota breeds people that are a bit more aloof than the sorts of humans bred in other cities.
• Almost everyone was white. There were a handful of black folks. And I think there were like 3 Latinos (not counting the three Latinos in our camp).
• Everyone was more courteous than I expected.
• I’ve never seen so many dreads in one place. Even babies had dreads.
• By the end of the festival, I was ready to go home…but begining to think I could do another week if I had to.

Bummer man. Fines suck.

A couple of Missio Dei community members just got picked up for dumpster diving from a local Naked Juice dumpster. We were going to bring some of this juice with us for PAPAfest. Basically, the juice gets thrown out before the expiration date because they can’t make the deliveries in time for them to be profitable. So they throw away hundreds of dollars worth of healthy juice daily.

Thankfully, they were only slapped with a fine, which we’ll all share. But it all still sucks.

Manifesto

Below is a poem I wrote as an exploration of Luke 4:18-19. I call this passage the “Jesus Manifesto,” since it sets Jesus’ agenda for his political/prophetic ministry. It is particularly powerful to me since in Luke/Acts a parallel is made, it seems to me, between this passage and Acts 2, which is the Spiritual birth of the church. So, by strong implication, it is our “manifesto” as well.

Manifesto

Drawing in the hot breath of God,
My shaking lungs sting
Struggling to contain the power of the Almighty.
So I exhale the God-breath,
Upon those awaiting salvation.
Prophesying powerful portents of liberation.
Awakening the imaginations of the dispossessed and downtrodden.

This is my manifesto:

“This is your day, pauper.
Your empty stomachs will be filled with justice
Your lonely pockets will burst with peace.
The Heavenly Banker stocks you account
With cash from the money changers.
No more hanging your head low.
No more thrift store spirituality.
You are the princes of the Kingdom.

Freedom is yours, prisoner.
Your cell bars will turn to noodles.
You’ll exchange the dank dark for golden sunsets.
The New Warden has signed your parole papers
And put the old wardens behind bars.
No more scratching the days into brick walls.
No more false religion shutting out the stars.
Now you sleep under the rising red moon.

Open your eyes, blind-man.
The darkness will be choked by light.
Confusion broken by the sound of a trumpet.
The Holy Physician shows you a new world
While the watchmen are lost in the fog.
No more scratching your eyes in despair.
No more stumbling in perpetual night.
You will bear witness to the edges of the world.

Step out of the shadows, oppressed.
The Principalities will lose their thrones.
The Powers will fall to earth.
The Spirit of God has ended the occupation
While the imperial fleet burns to ash and drifts away.
No more plotting feeble rebellion.
No more struggling against steel and flesh.
For you are free citizens of a peculiar nation.

The old fire have been suffocated
While holy coals smolder,
Purifying the hearts of the people.
I announce the jubilee
Upon those shivering in fear.
Shouting a sermon of shalom
As dawn of the last day breaks upon those he loves.

Mustard Seed House in Seattle has an opening…

There are lots of different approaches to intentional community and/or new monasticism. I’ve been able to visit a number of different communities and one of my favorite is the Mustard Seed House in Seattle. They blend Celtic spirituality with learning and international community building. If you are looking for a community to be a part of, and are drawn to Seattle…they have an opening. Find out more here.

Gone

Wow. This moved me much more than I would have expected. It shows you how much you can do with very simple effects. Amazing. Sad.

An Apology to Emergent Village

Yesterday, Emergent Village released a survey, asking for input about the future of their organization.

In response I wrote a strongly-worded response that, though an honest attempt to offer my opinion on Emergent Village and its future, was somewhat carelessly worded. To make matters worse, I failed to practice what I preach by doing two things:

1) I did publicly what I should do privately. I should have stated my concerns to folks at EV instead of airing them publicly. That was wrong. And I’m sorry for it. I apologize.

2) I focused too much on my concerns with EV and not enough on those things for which I’m thankful regarding EV.

I’d like to say I came to these conclusions on my own. But I’m kinda thick-skulled. I had to get an upset email from a friend calling me to account. Well, I stand rebuked.

Jonas laughed

I love being a father. I love him even at his crabbiest, but he sure makes it easy when he’s laughing.

PAPAfest Session: Nurturing Spiritual Rhythms in Community

I just got a peek of the sessions for PAPA fest. They look great. If you’re one of the 1000 who registered, please drop by my session on Saturday morning…here’s the info:

Nurturing Spiritual Rhythyms in Community: Becoming the Uneventful Church

The Church in America is easily characterized as a weekly event facilitated by a few professional Christians in an expensive building. How do we move from event-based spirituality into a way of life with spiritual rhythms? In this session, we will look at the examples of several intentional communities–primarily MIssio Dei in Minneapolis–for ways to follow Jesus in a rhythmic way of life.

I was originally hoping to co-lead a session called Embracing the Empire: The Problem With Voting and Other Forms of the Politics of Coercion with Josh Kaufman-Horner, but the organizers felt as though there were too many “anti-empire” sessions and encouraged me to submit something else.

Beat: A Poetic Homage to the Beatitudes

Here’s a video clip of me performing a new poem (titled “beat”) at a Missio Dei Sunday gathering. It was recorded on a $99 flip video camera, so the quality ain’t that good (if any of you have a decent quality camera you want to donate, I’d be your new best friend):

In case you’re interested, the lyrics can be found here.

Search Inside

Amazon.com now includes Search Inside for our Breviary. Check it out. And leave a review!