How Many Are Here

Okay, trying to get some idea of how many people actually look at this blog. If you visit here, would you be willing to help me determine this?

If so, simply post a comment to this specific post and tell me who you are (if you prefer to remain anonymous that's fine), and how often you visit The Odyssey.

I'm brainstorming some ideas on how to get a more widespread readership, not out of a narcissistic need to be heard, but because I think there's a lot to be gained by all of us as we dialogue with one another.

Thanks a bunch!

Domesticated Faith

"Perhaps the tragedy of our time is that such an overwhelming number of us who declare Jesus as Lord have become domesticated - or, if you will, civilized. We have lost the simplicity of our early faith. Beyond that, we have lost the passion and power of that raw, untamed, and primal faith...

If I know nothing else about you, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, I know this without question: there is within you a raw and untamed faith waiting to be unleashed."

~Erwin McManus; The Barbarian Way

Christianity And Postmodernism

Postmodernism. It's a buzz-word that we are hearing more and more these days, particularly in Christian circles. On the one hand, some Christians see postmodernism as the newest manifestation of evil sweeping through Western society with the potential of dragging orthodox Christianity into the cesspool of heresy.

On the other hand, some Christians see postmodernism as a cultural shift which opens new doors of opportunity for the Biblical message to reclaim it's place as the voice of the culture. What is this thing called "postmodernism" and how should we as missional disciples of Christ respond?

Since this debate is raging all throughout Western Christianity, I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in, fully acknowledging that it's entirely possible that the sum total of my thoughts on the subject may be worth far less than 2 cents.

For Christians to know how to properly respond to the culture around them, we must first make an effort to understand that culture. And to clearly understand the culture requires that we take off our religious battle gear for a moment and listen; reconnaissance if you will. To understand postmodernism, we need to back up and look at it from a sociological perspective.

Since the time of Christ there have been two primary sociological eras - two primary worldviews in secular Western culture. The first, from about the time of Christ until the 17th century was the Medieval Era. For the first 1600 years or so, in the West, people viewed the world through the lens of religion and superstition. The Church was the voice of the culture. Sometimes that voice sounded like the voice of Christ, and sometimes that voice sounded quite heretical. But religion and superstition were the primary lens through which people viewed the universe, their world, their existence.

Then something happened. A cultural shift of seismic proportion began. Astronomers figured out how to peer into space and discover that earth wasn't the center of the universe. Sir Isaac Newton began to discover that the universe was governed by mathmatically calculated physical laws, therefore maybe "the gods" weren't in charge after all. Suddenly science was beginning to overtake religion as the voice of culture.

So Western society gradually began to leave the Medieval worldview behind and entered into a transitional period called the "Age of Reason" which further blossomed into the "Enlightenment." This transitional period could have been called "post-medievalism." This was a time of flux, uncertainty, grasping, turmoil, as everything that was believed for 1600 years was now coming into question.

This transition finally carried Western society into the second primary era: Modernity. For the next 200 years of so Modernity was the voice of the culture. God was no longer needed; in fact more and more people began to see religion as synonymous with superstition. Scienct and technology provided the answers we needed for the universe, the world, our existence. Modernity helped us decide that we weren't created by some celestial God, instead life emerged accidentally by random chance and we are nothing more than the product of generations of adaptation and genetic mutation.

This has been our worldview for the past 300 years. However, early in the 20th century - mostly after the horrors of WWI and WWII - the "Modern" worldview began to come into question. Science and technology weren't providing all of the anwers for us. In fact, our "enlightenment" was allowing us to create more ways to destroy ourselves than ways to save ourselves.

Another transition period began - with the same magnitude as the transition from the Medieval age into the Modern age. We are calling it "Postmodernism" which simply means After Modernity.

And here is where we find ourselves today. The idea of "absolutes" is being challenged since so many of the "absolutes" we held to in modernity have proven to be not so absolute. The idea of a mystical, supernatural world is being rekindled since there is so much remaining that science cannot explain. Today, those whom we label postmodern are in a time of flux, uncertainty, grasping, and turmoil as everything we've been taught and believed for the past 200 years or so is being challenged.

And here is where the church comes in. My next statement will clench the fists and grind the teeth of every "modernity-rooted" Christian. I believe God is the architect of postmodernism. I believe that God is now pulling back the veil and showing Western culture the truth about modernity. That it was simply another human attempt to become "god" and create our own utopia. I believe He is neutering "Modernity" as the voice of our culture. I believe He is laughing in mockery at our "enlightened" attempts to explain him away with laboratory instruments.

I believe He is now deliberately bringing Western society to this place of flux, uncertainty, grasping, and turmoil so that maybe we will take off our lab coats and once again begin searching for His truth.

So how will the church respond? What worries Christians so much about postmodernism is the tendency for postmoderns to become nihilistic in their thinking. Or to abandon truth all-together since there are obviously no absolutes. I would suggest that the things that worry us so much about postmodernism are simply the results of humanist backwash filling the void of dissipating modernity...because the church isn't effectively filling that void with the one and only enduring, ageless worldview; the Biblical worldview. And for us to be effective in filling that void, we have to be willing and able to speak the changeless truth of God in the language of the culture; following Paul's example of being all things to all people so that we may save some. Remember Paul on Mars Hill in Athens, Greece? He didn't communicate the truth of Christ to the philosophers at the Areopagus through Hebrew "language." He communicated the truth of Christ to them through the words of their own poets. We are not going to be effective in communicating the truth of Christ to postmodern secular society through our Sunday morning church "language." We have to step into their world and learn their language. And in this postmodern transition, the language of the culture is muli-sensory, interactive, participatory, and conversational.

As Modernity fades, something must fill that void. The human tendency is toward Godlessness. If the church doesn't take this opportunity to enter into the world of postmoderns and fill that void with Biblical truth, there is nothing left for them to do than create their own.

Postmodernism is a transition period. I believe we are between eras. And the next era of humanity will be the product of how well the church responds to this transition. We can shape the next era with Biblical truth by radically engaging this generation with the love and truth of God. Or we can shape the next era into one even more humanistic and godless through our neglect of the world around us today.

Another Christmas Story

Once upon a time there was a good and kind king who had a great kingdom with many cities. In one distant city, some people took advantage of the freedom the king gave them and started doing evil. They profited by their evil and began to fear that the king would interfere and throw them in jail. Eventually these rebels seethed with hatred for the king. They convinced the city that everyone would be better off without the king, and the city declared its independence from the kingdom.

But soon, with everyone doing whatever they wanted, disorder reigned in the city. There was violence, hatred, lying, oppression, murder, rape, slaver, and fear. The king thought: "What should I do? If I take my army and conquer the city by force, te people will fight against me, and I'll have to kill so many of them, and the rest will only submit through fear or intimidation, which will make them hate me and all I stand for even more. How does that help them - to be either dead or imprisoned or secretly sething with rage? but if I leave them alone, they'll destroy each other, and it breaks my heart to think of the pain they're causing and experiencing."

So the king did something very surprising. He took off his robes and dressed in the rags of a homeless wanderer. Incognito, he entered the city and began living in a vacant lot near a garbage dump. He took up a trade - fixing broken pottery and furniture. Whenever people came to him, his kindness and goodness and fairness and respect were so striking that they would linger just to be in his presence. They would tell him their fears and questions, and ask his advice. He told them that the rebels had fooled them, and that the true king had a better way to live, which he exemplified and taught. One by one, then two by two, and then by the hundreds, people began to have confidence in him and live in his way.

Their influence spread to others, and the movement grew and grew until the whole city regretted its rebellion and wanted to return to the kingdom again. But, ashamed of their horrible mistake, they were afraid to approach the king, believing he would certainly destroy them for their rebellion. But the king-in-disguise told them the good news: he was himself the king, and he loved them. He held nothing against them, and he welcomed them back into his kingdom, having accomplished by a gentle, subtle presence what never could have been accomplished through brute force.

~Athanasius; 4th century Eastern Orthodox theologian (as retold by Brian McLaren in a Generous Orthodoxy)

A New Friend In Japan

It's Saturday after Thanksgiving. I'm sitting at my in-laws in Pinckneyville, IL and in just a few hours we'll be having our second "Thanksgiving Dinner" of the holiday. I hear them down the hall in the kitchen chopping celery right now.

I got online to make some arrangements with our movers and found a wonderful e-mail from Jamie in Tokyo, Japan. His friend, in Augusta, has a link to this blog on his own blog and Jamie has been reading my posts here on The Odyssey.

He shared how he is preparing himself to be a tentmaker missionary in Tokyo and that the posts here on The Odyssey have been a blessing to him. He's coming home to Augusta for Christmas and wants to spend some time together. I'm really looking forward to meeting him!

Here are a couple of excerpts from his e-mail:

"I`ve been very encouraged by your posts. I`m currently living in Tokyo, Japan right now, with the aim of being a tentmaker missionary..."

"I don`t know if you`d have any time to talk about the ways God is changing your perspective on church and the body of Christ, but I`d be interested in discussing it."

"You`d think church would be radical over here, considering the miniscule number of them and the desperate need for real fellowship and communion in a place like this, but it`s pretty much the same `ole same `ole over here too."

"It`s been a breath of fresh air to hear your views and find them ringing true in my life and the lives of a few believers over here."

I've asked him to introduce himself here through a comment, so that every time I read comments and see him, I'll remember to pray for him and his Kingdom work in Tokyo. I want to invite everyone who reads this blog to watch for his introduction, read it, and then pray for him regularly. He's in a very difficult mission field where I think only about 1% of the population is Christian. But...what a great place for a missionary to be!

Bless you Jamie in all that God has in store for you in Japan. Dream big brother!

Embarrassed By My Brethren, Part 2 (McClendon, TBN, and Others)

This takes me to a new level of nausea over where segments of "The Church" are going. If you're "charismatic," a follower of Clarence McClendon, or a fan of Trinity Broadcasting Network you MUST read this article published by Charisma magazine:

It's Getting Really Weird Out There

Be Careful Who You Reference

Wow. I logged on tonight to see that the author of a book I referenced in a previous post (New Look) commented on my blog and sent me an e-mail offering to dialogue with me as I read through his work. Very cool. I feel almost important!

The book is Millennium Matrix by Rex Miller. Good read for those interested in the changes taking place in our culture.

True Faith - 1

"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." ~James 1:1-4

Three things we know right from the beginning. James was a Jew. And he wrote this letter to fellow Jews who had been awaiting the long-promised Messiah. And the fellow Jews receiving this letter had placed their faith in Jesus Christ as that Messiah.

Also, right from the beginning, we see some problems that these Jewish Christians are likely thinking about. They are scattered. Yet the Messiah was supposed to restore their nation. They are facing persecution. Yet when Messiah came, they were supposed to be victorious over their enemies. The reality of life after Messiah wasn't matching up with their expectations before Messiah. Obviously, some encouragement was needed.

In these first few verses, James encourages his brethren by inviting them to embrace the difficulties they were facing, rather than allowing those difficulties to tempt them to turn away from their faith in Christ as the Messiah.

Other translations of this passage replace the word "trials" with "temptations." The Greek word used by James is more accurately translated as "temptations." When we first see this word we're tempted to think of "temptations" in terms of enticements to sin. But we would be mistaken to interpret this as James encouraging us to embrace the enticements to sin that come our way.

Instead, James is talking about things that were coming against the Jews that could make them think they had possibly gotten it wrong about Jesus being the Messiah, enticing them to turn away from their faith. Suffering when they should be prospering, being persecuted when they should be living in peace, being defeated by their enemies when they should be victorious in battle...all of these things held the potential of convincing these Jews that they had made a terrible mistake in believing Christ was the Messiah.

We're not much different today. We place our faith in Christ and begin living the Christian life, only to find that life doesn't always get easier. We still get sick. We find ourselves persecuted, even killed by enemies of God. We face many of the same difficulties in life that people who are not Christians face. Did we get it wrong? Isn't life supposed to get better...easier...when we become Christians?

James is pretty clear here. Life will still be hard after you accept the Messiah Jesus. But now, embrace those difficulties because they serve two very important purposes in your life as a Christian. First, they test the authenticity of your faith. It's easy to call yourself a Christian in church on Sunday. But can you still do it when you find that professing Christ may cost you your job on Monday? What if professing Christ would result in having your head separated from your shoulders? The second purpose that these difficulties serve is in the development of character. Every time you pass through a difficulty and come through on the other side still worshipping Christ, you are stronger and better prepared to face the next difficulty that comes.

The testing of our faith that we all face both reveals True Faith and develops True Faith.

True Faith - An Introduction

Okay, my friend Ann Sattley - who writes the Prairie Thoughts blog linked to your right - has inspired me. She's been spending a lot of time reading Ecclesiastes and posting her thoughts "Vanity Under The Sun" in her blog.

In like fashion, I'm going to begin a series of posts here called "True Faith" which will consist of my thoughts from the book of James in the New Testament.

James is one of my favorite books because the author cuts through the veneer of phony Christianity and gets to the heart of what it truly means to live out the life of a true Christ follower.

Hope you enjoy!

Embarrassed By My Brethren

~DISCLAIMER~

The following comments do not represent the opinions of your local Christian television station or most best-selling Christian authors.

Okay...this is gonna sound harsh. Some won't agree with me. Some will accuse me of being mean-spirited or judgemental...but honestly, I don't really care.

I'm angry. I'm angry because I'm embarrassed. I recently joined another local "religion" forum online with people from the Augusta area. There are a lot of atheists who come in daily to post messages of ridicule against Christianity and Christians. I joined the forum to get to know some of these people, maybe get into relationship with them. Honestly...we give them so much good ammunition with which to ridicule us.

Lynn and I were at Barnes & Noble tonight and, as usual, I spent some time perusing the Christian section. I took note of Joel Osteen's best-seller with the subtitle of something like, "Seven Step to Living At Your Full Potential." I took note of John Hagee's book "The Seven Secrets" with the subtitle of, "Unlocking Genuine Greatness."

We have a local Christian television station and I recently heard the guest preacher saying, "In preparing for tonight, God told me that 1200 people would have all of their life struggles disappear tonight if they called in to the station. This is your divine moment of destiny, all of your struggles gone if you'll call in now."

Give me a break!!!! What ridiculous crap! I am so sick of "preachers" on television or in their best-selling books reducing a relationship with God down to "seven simple steps" or "seven secrets" or one "divine moment of destiny." All of this is such an empty, shallow, cotton-candy version of Christianity that in my opinion destroys the faith of more people than it does leading people into a relationship with God.

Somebody forks over the $15 or $20 to purchase the book containing the latest "seven steps," reads it, does all of the seven steps exactly the way the author says, and while anticipating their "life of greatness" to begin, their world falls apart when a child dies, or a job is lost, or cancer strikes. "What happened? I did all the steps! I guess God just doesn't like me. I'll give Buddhism a try."

The elderly widow who is one meal away from starvation calls into the Christian station and pledges her $38 per month because according to the preacher, "$38 is the divinely ordained donation amount to eliminate all of your life struggles because on three different occassions Moses confronted 8 disobedient Hebrews before victory came and since three and eight make $38 that's what you need to give to make your problems go away." Her problems don't go away. In fact, they're worse because since she's now giving $38 per month she can't afford the medication she needs. And she wonders what she's done wrong to disappoint God.

Any spiritual life than can be reduced to "seven simple steps," or "seven secret keys" is not a life of faith worth pursuing. It's like settling for a candy store when there's a gourmet restaurant around the corner.

As I continued looking over the books I saw volumes by great men of God like Aquinas, Augustine, Wesley, C.S. Lewis, Francis Shaeffer, the Desert Fathers, etc. And in there writings I see men who understood that the Christian life is a journey of discovery. It's a journey of good days and bad days. It's a journey of prosperity, but it's also a journey of difficulty. It's a journey of both tragedy and triumph. And God's desire is not to make all of our troubles go away and paint rainbows in our skies and give us perfect teeth and shiny jewelry and gold-plated pianos. God's desire is for us to find and worship him intimately and passionately in good days and bad days, prosperity and difficulty, tragedy and triumph, sickness and health.

It's not until we can experience the richness of God's presence in all of life's difficulties that we know in the deepest places of our soul how much He truly loves us and can say like Job, "Though he slay me, I will praise Him."

This next statement will make a lot of people mad. Fortunately, not many people read this blog so I shouldn't infuriate very many people. But I believe that the Kingdom of God would take a quantum leap in filling the earth if the plug was pulled on every single Christian television network and station. We would eliminate a lot of heresy. We would bring a lot less shame to the Kingdom of God. And the gospel would spread through actual one-on-one relationships the way it was intended.

Okay. I'm done.

New Look

Okay...time for a new look to the blog. Now if I can just figure out how to edit my links. Ohhh Ann!!!!! :-)

Haven't had much time to post lately. Very busy at work and with this whole house-buying stuff. New stuff will be coming soon. Perhaps some commentary on the sociology text-book I've begun reading; Millenium Matrix. Sounds exciting eh?

Bill

Community of Character

No...this isn't another sermon post on Godly character.

I was just on the website of our new hometown and saw THIS about North Augusta. I love that!

God Keeps Showing Up!

I never cease to be amazed at how God keeps showing up with these acts of kindness toward us.

When we left Illinois, we grieved over leaving a house that we really liked and were feeling pessimistic about finding one we'd like as much. But now we've found this one that we really love. The offer has been officially accepted.

However, the payment was going to be a little higher than we were hoping. We weren't going to be able to save as much and give as much. But today, out of nowhere, $10,000 dropped into our lap which will pay off my truck and free up $300 per month.

Man...God is so incredibly awesome! Praise Him!

Bill

House Update

Well...we got our mortgage pre-approval and put the offer in on our house Friday. Saturday morning, while spending the weekend with our church family in Columbus, GA, we got a phone call that our offer has been verbally accepted and we're just waiting on the signature. Unless something incredibly out of the ordinary happens, the house is ours and we'll be closing on December 4.

It's located on a quiet street of about 12 to 15 homes across the river in South Carolina. We'll technically be in the city limits of North Augusta, SC but the home is really more out in the country. It's on about 3/4 of an acre with a really nice, level backyard and huge deck. Hopefully we'll be having a lot of gatherings with new friends.

I'll keep ya posted.

Pray

Please pray with us. We made an offer on this house today. We'd really love to get it!

My Reformation

I am experiencing a spiritual reformation of sorts. In this reformation I’m finding myself laying down some things that I once considered very important. And I’m picking up some things that I once either had no interest in or was reluctant to pick them up.

I’m laying down the need for my faith and my ministry to be categorized. We Christians tend to do that. We’re broken up into two main categories; Catholic or Protestant. But then we categorize even further. If you use a band and Powerpoint on Sunday morning, then we categorize your church as “contemporary.” If you use an organ and sing out of hymnals, then we categorize your church as “traditional.” If you strip away everything that looks and feels religious and replace it with secular music, drama, and sermonettes then we categorize you as “seeker-sensitive.”

I’m even laying down the need to label myself “Christian.” What does that term mean anyway? Ask most non-Christian people what a Christian is and they’ll tell you that a Christian is someone goes to church, reads the Bible, is a narrow-minded, hypocritical bigot who spends more time talking about what they’re against than they do talking about what they are for. When the term was coined it was a derogatory label then too pinned on the radical followers of Christ by the pagans of Antioch. But then the label was truly a badge of honor because it meant that the Christians looked and acted like “little Christs.” And today, there are so many (myself at times) who wear the label "Christian" yet look very little like "Little Christs." If someone asks me about my faith, I’m becoming less-inclined to say that I’m a “Christian” and more inclined to say that I’m a “disciple of Jesus Christ.”

I’m finding less and less of a need in my life to be categorized. There was a time when I would turn on Christian television and see a praise and worship service with a Hillsong team or the team from Lakeland and be spiritually moved. Now, I am moved to tears when I close my eyes and meditate along with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy; a totally Catholic liturgy that wraps our minds and hearts with the truth of God’s overwhelming mercy toward us. I remember my first spiritual retreat to the Hermitage in Rushville, IL. Every morning and every evening I would spend an hour in the little chapel silently meditating along with the liturgical morning and evening prayers sung and read by Catholic monks. Then I would spend several hours surrounded by miles and miles of forest, trees, streams, and wildlife…and I’d sense God’s presence and voice all around me. For me those were profound times of touching God’s heart in a new way.

I’m also picking up some things. I’m picking up an appreciation for the spiritual heritage we have in ancient Christianity. There was a time when I would immediately think of horrible things like church corruption, the Crusades, the Inquisition, etc. when I would think of the Medieval church. But if you look deeper you see a spiritual passion and devotion and radical sense of mission that far outweighs what I often see today.

I particularly am drawn to the spirituality of the Celts who came to Christ and led the barbarians of Western Europe into becoming communities of faith. St. Patrick has recently found his place among my spiritual heroes. Everything they did was a violation of the “church code” of the day, yet it was revolutionary…bringing an entire continent into radical relationship with Christ.

I believe God will one day allow me to lead another congregation. And my prayer is that it will be such that if someone were to ask the question, “Are you contemporary or traditional?” I’ll be able to answer with a simple “yes.” “Are you seeker-sensitive or believer-centered?” “Yes.” “Are you Catholic or Protestant?” “Yes.”

I don’t know why God chose to begin this reformation in me. I don’t remember asking for it specifically. Perhaps, like any good Father would, He is responding to the cry of a heart that desires deeper places of intimacy with Him than I’ve experienced thus far.

The Church In My Mind; Real Life Examples.

Lest I be branded a lunatic, here are a few examples of what God is doing through a few new churches around the country:

http://mosaic.org

http://vintagechurch.org (lot's of good "church life" photos in the photo gallery on this site.

http://solomonsporch.com

http://emergent-us.typepad.com

http://erwinmcmanus.com

The Church In My Mind; Brandon's Second Visit

“I’m having to unlearn certain popular values to become a LIVING DEMONSTRATION of God’s “One Thing” for me: Putting God first, family second, and career or church next.”

“Our business product is revolutionary – people who have been invaded by the supernatural force of the Holy Spirit.” ~Mike Slaughter; Unlearning Church

Two more excellent quotes from the pastor of Ginghamsburg Church that will take us back to Brandon and his second visit to The Church In My Mind.
__________________________________

After visiting church with my friend last week I decided to go back with him again and see what else this church was all about. Same routine. We got off work, drove to the meeting place and walked in to another great meal waiting for us.

As we sat around tables eating together I noticed several faces that I didn’t see last week. I asked my friend about it and he said that there were new people showing up every week. This kind of puzzled me because I don’t remember seeing any advertising for this church and it’s not all that easy to find unless you’re specifically looking for it. “How do people find this place?” I asked.

My friend answered, “We don’t invest much into slick marketing campaigns or big signing. Not that there’s anything wrong with those things; we just feel that they are much less effective compared to the power of people simply living out in their lives what they profess when they’re here.

We believe that we are the aroma of Christ. And if we are truly in intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and are in authentic relationship with one another then we become irresistible to people who are looking for healing and purpose in their lives. They see it in ours and are easily drawn to us. Almost every visitor you see is here because the people of our church live lives of authenticity and see themselves as missionaries wherever they live and work. They make space in their lives for people who are far from God.”

“So that’s why you invited me?” I asked.

“I invited you because I’ve gotten to know you at work and you’re a great guy to be around. But yeah, I sensed from our conversations that you feel like something is missing in your life. I know that God is that missing piece, and I know that the people I’ve invited you to come hang out with have all found it,” was his reply.

He was right. About that time another guy came and introduced himself to me and asked, “Are you going to be able to make it to The Gathering?”

“What’s The Gathering,” I asked.

“Every month all of the churches that have been born out of this place come together for a giant meal and worship time,” was his answer.

“You mean there are more places like this?” I asked.

“Well, not exactly like this. But over the last couple of years 6 people have heard God’s call to ministry and have left here to start daughter churches around the city. One meets in a bar after-hours. One meets in a coffee-house. A couple are meeting in one of the conference rooms at the pastor’s business. They’re all a little different; reflecting different kinds of people, but yeah, they all started from here and the pastors are all still being discipled by our pastor.”

I couldn’t believe how passionate these people were about seeing changed lives. For them, church was all about one thing: Living passionately what they believe and lovingly sharing it with everyone they encounter.

Maxim

Risk more than others think is safe.

Care more than others think is wise.

Dream more than others think is practical.

Expect more than others think is possible.

~ Cadet Maxim, West Point Military Academy

The Church In My Mind (Wild...but good)

Ann Sattley is an individual for whom I have the utmost respect. She and her husband Matt were two of the sweetest melody lines in the opus of my life as pastor of New Prairie Community of Faith. She knows this, therefore I know she won't mind me using a quote from one of her comments as a springboard for this post.

In an earlier comment Ann said, "Thirdly, I think that you are going to have to be careful about the various ways in which people best "connect with God." It borders on postmodern thought to me due to the "what works for you..." model. Sometimes, I think that people best connect with God through good, old-fashioned conviction, which is missing from a lot of churches. Anyway, what if you get someone in your church who best connects with God through screaming "hallelujah" loudly and distracting the painter/journalist? Would you ask him/her to leave or move?"

As I think about this good comment from Ann, a couple of questions come to mind. How much do we trust the Holy Spirit to lead us in our intimacy with Him when we gather together? Is it really up to man to make sure that people are connecting correctly?

I love this segment from C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe:

In The Chronicles of Narnia, an allegory by C.S. Lewis, theauthor has two girls, Susan and Lucy, getting ready to meet Aslan the lion, who represents Christ. Two talking animals,Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, prepare the children for the encounter.

"Ooh," said Susan, "I though he was a man. Is he quitesafe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."

"That you will, dearie," said Mrs. Beaver. "And make no mistake, if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."

"Then isn't he safe?" said Lucy."Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the king, I tell you!"

It certainly isn't "safe" as we define "safe" to gather together in the presence of God and ask Him to have His way with us. Personally, I find myself longing for a little "holy chaos" in my life and in my spiritual community. Here's an excerpt from Neil Cole's book "Organic Church."

In chaos theory, random actions often are found to have ordered patterns. "Chaordic" is a new term used to describe "chaotic order" found in the universe and a resulting way of organizing and managing people somewhere in the gap between chaos and order. "Chaordic" means characterized by the fundamental organizing principles of nature. In the natural world, there is a beautiful sense of design and order. Genetic research is beginning to show us some of the ways in which organic growth and formation are determined. By studying how nature works, new social architects are devising ways to develop organizations.

One of the leading voices in this new science of human endeavor, Dee Hock, is the founder of VISA, the largest business enterprise on earth, with twenty-two thousand member institutions worldwide, 750 million customers, and $1.25 trillion in transactions annually. In "The Birth of the Chaordic Age," Hock says, "Purpose and principle, clearly understood and articulated, and commonly shared, are the genetic code of any healthy organization. To the degree that you hold purpose and principles in common among you, you can dispense with command and control. People will know how to behave in accordance with them, and they'll do it in thousands of unimaginable, creative ways. The organization will become a vital, living set of beliefs.

This is not just some new business management theory. These ideas are based on a careful study of the created order of God's univers. It also appears that some of these principles were true of the Church as described in Acts.

A question I have been faced with for the last three years makes this chapter of utmost importance. How do you organize a decentralized, rapidly expanding, spontaneous multiplication movement without killing it in the process? Can we be out of control and still have order? I believe the answer is yes. We can have order in chaos and structure without control, but they must come in a pattern different from what we are accustomed to and emerge from another foundation. The pattern emerges from the Designer, not human leadership. When God is the engineer, there is an order and a pattern that are healthy, natural, and strong. The church can be chaordic.