There are some ways of getting more financial support for the community. Depending on the community's interest, you could do anything from brew beer, roast coffee, grow vegetables--whatever. It's really up to the community, and how they could best use their gifts. You may also look into getting grants from Lily and one's ecclesiastical authority.
Alright, another important factor is having a social presence for the community. So, it should be built into the community that they not only work with the church's existing outreach ministries, but also find other places to offer time and help. Obviously the community cannot do everything, but should try to choose which ministries are best suited to the community members (likewise with other social works) and try to do these things as a community. This allows the community to be known as more than a para-church organization, and allows the community a chance to be the Church in an active way.
Finally, if at all possible, the community should try to offer hospitality whenever possible. Whether this is inviting people in the wider community or their parish to meals--or even keeping a retreat room. It is important the the community be outside of the house, but also allow others to come into the community's space.
As to this idea of offering retreat space, some ideas I have on this would be that a minimum offering would be required. A person on retreat would keep the prayer schedule of the community and share common meals. The minimum offering would vary according to how long a person might stay (to cover food cost, etc.). The community would be responsible for checking in with the person, and mainly help them feel welcome.
I know all of this is pretty ridiculous--but it does make me wonder what would happen if the stars were right and something like this actually took off...
As I've said before I feel like we're approaching a kind of new Dark Age when the place of the Church and true religion is being usurped by selfish, narcissistic 'spirituality.' The garbage that Thomas Merton called false mysticism. Just like in the time of Christian Monasticism's birth, we have politicians using religion and devotion as campaign platforms. And the truth is, that like it did back in the original Dark Ages, the Church just might need to go to seed, and explore it's roots to see how to survive. Maybe monasticism is part of that.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
More Ways to get yourself and your church group into trouble
2) Helping the Church Go To Seed (Monasticism and You)
This could take a lot of buy-in and planning, however, I think it could be a pretty viable plan.
First off you will need a group of people willing to apply their lives to a rule of life. By nature you CANNOT apply a rule of life to your life, you have to apply your life to the rule. Go check out the Rule of St. Benedict.
It's important that the clergy person in charge of the church group is part of this discussion as it will require their leadership and by-in. It also requires some time spent reading about monasticism and religious rules of life. But once you've done this work, you need to sit down with your would-be community to discuss the formulation of a rule of life.
An important, and I think necessary, part of this rule should be that it needs to be a spiritually centered one. That isn't to say that all residents must be of the Christian faith, or even theists for that matter. However, they must still agree to live to the standards of the religious rule of life, and be part of the worship/prayer life of the community.
The point of this is that when the social mores of community life begin to tear at the community, the community must get back to the centrality of the rule. They must have a means to return to the rule because otherwise they are no more than a group of people living together for cheap.
Once the rule is set, and residents have background checks (yes, do background checks!), you need to look into a house. In the present economy, foreclosures might be the way to go. Ideally, this community would be sponsored by a church--so, monies for a house could be raised.
Now, as to the house, it would be the responsibility of the community members to keep up the house. This would mean continually keeping common areas neat--literally in expectation of guests. Because they are technically part of the church as a community, they must adopt a policy of hospitality. Remember, this isn't just a social experiment, it is about being the Church.
The community would either schedule to take turns to prepare meals, which would be eaten in common at every possible opportunity. Housekeeping and maintenance of grounds would be the same way.
Community members would need to maintain work outside of the community in secular jobs (unless viable, independent support is possible). A portion of income would go to the common life of the community. This would pay for bills, food, etc.
As to the connection to the church, the community would do such things as keep regular prayer offices. Whether these are weekly in a formal setting, and daily in an informal setting--the community must have some lay spiritual responsibility in the church. In the Episcopal Church, it might be good to have the community plan and lead one of the prayer offices. Likewise, the community might be responsible for some sextant duties--caring for the church building and property.
This post is getting pretty long, so I'll stop here and post more separately.
In my next post, I'll talk about viable income to support the community; moving the spirituality of the community out into the world; and drawing the Church and the world nearer to the community.
This could take a lot of buy-in and planning, however, I think it could be a pretty viable plan.
First off you will need a group of people willing to apply their lives to a rule of life. By nature you CANNOT apply a rule of life to your life, you have to apply your life to the rule. Go check out the Rule of St. Benedict.
It's important that the clergy person in charge of the church group is part of this discussion as it will require their leadership and by-in. It also requires some time spent reading about monasticism and religious rules of life. But once you've done this work, you need to sit down with your would-be community to discuss the formulation of a rule of life.
An important, and I think necessary, part of this rule should be that it needs to be a spiritually centered one. That isn't to say that all residents must be of the Christian faith, or even theists for that matter. However, they must still agree to live to the standards of the religious rule of life, and be part of the worship/prayer life of the community.
The point of this is that when the social mores of community life begin to tear at the community, the community must get back to the centrality of the rule. They must have a means to return to the rule because otherwise they are no more than a group of people living together for cheap.
Once the rule is set, and residents have background checks (yes, do background checks!), you need to look into a house. In the present economy, foreclosures might be the way to go. Ideally, this community would be sponsored by a church--so, monies for a house could be raised.
Now, as to the house, it would be the responsibility of the community members to keep up the house. This would mean continually keeping common areas neat--literally in expectation of guests. Because they are technically part of the church as a community, they must adopt a policy of hospitality. Remember, this isn't just a social experiment, it is about being the Church.
The community would either schedule to take turns to prepare meals, which would be eaten in common at every possible opportunity. Housekeeping and maintenance of grounds would be the same way.
Community members would need to maintain work outside of the community in secular jobs (unless viable, independent support is possible). A portion of income would go to the common life of the community. This would pay for bills, food, etc.
As to the connection to the church, the community would do such things as keep regular prayer offices. Whether these are weekly in a formal setting, and daily in an informal setting--the community must have some lay spiritual responsibility in the church. In the Episcopal Church, it might be good to have the community plan and lead one of the prayer offices. Likewise, the community might be responsible for some sextant duties--caring for the church building and property.
This post is getting pretty long, so I'll stop here and post more separately.
In my next post, I'll talk about viable income to support the community; moving the spirituality of the community out into the world; and drawing the Church and the world nearer to the community.
Some ways to get you and your church group in trouble...
So, these are some ideas that I've been thinking about for a couple of years now, and I haven't had the time to get them started. That said, I am posting them here in the even that anyone reads this and could take these ideas and use them. I don't need credit for them, you just need to promise that you'll let me know how their working.
1) Guerrilla Art Fair
This one needs some buy-in from your local government if you hope to do it for longer than 3 hours. Or...maybe you don't care.
Call together artists, musicians, spoken-word poets--whatever. Confirm the people that you have and tell them to bring some of their work to a certain location on a certain day. (PLEASE UNDERSTAND: This is NOT a flash mob.)
Make fliers with the names of artists, include what will be at the fair. Pass them out in clubs, bars, tattoo parlors, up-scale coffee shops, etc. It's important that you have a mix of places canvassed.
Have the fair. Ask a couple of artists to offer workshops. Depending on how adventurous you feel, allow people to sell their stuff.
Also very important: Allow places for people to drop business cards, sign e-mail lists. Keep them in the loop for future events.
Evil Plot Twist: Contact any businesses who left information. See if you could round them up to sponsor a proper art show featuring the artists at the guerrilla show.
1) Guerrilla Art Fair
This one needs some buy-in from your local government if you hope to do it for longer than 3 hours. Or...maybe you don't care.
Call together artists, musicians, spoken-word poets--whatever. Confirm the people that you have and tell them to bring some of their work to a certain location on a certain day. (PLEASE UNDERSTAND: This is NOT a flash mob.)
Make fliers with the names of artists, include what will be at the fair. Pass them out in clubs, bars, tattoo parlors, up-scale coffee shops, etc. It's important that you have a mix of places canvassed.
Have the fair. Ask a couple of artists to offer workshops. Depending on how adventurous you feel, allow people to sell their stuff.
Also very important: Allow places for people to drop business cards, sign e-mail lists. Keep them in the loop for future events.
Evil Plot Twist: Contact any businesses who left information. See if you could round them up to sponsor a proper art show featuring the artists at the guerrilla show.
Fair Warning
So, I've decided to start posting my back-log of sermons. I lost a ton of them due to a failing external hard drive, however, because of this blog I still had many of them.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
I think we're in trouble.
As I (with my best intention) work at cleaning up the kitchen, I find myself thinking about the Church. I know. But it's kind of what church nerds do when their cleaning the kitchen. Besides, I really do love the Church.
Anyway what occurred to me is that the problem that we seem to have with the Church seems largely a post-industrialized world problem. Y'know? It's like at one time the Church really fit us--it was fashionable and we wore it everywhere we went. Now, it's out of fashion. It's not someting we'd be caught dead in--in fact, we really only get it out and wear it at holiday dinners and when the aunt who knitted it for us comes around. "Yup, auntie. I really love the Church you made me..."
That said, the Church seems to have become something like deer in North America. No more natural predators, so there is over population and starvation due to lack of food source.
Now, I'm not advocating for the removal of Christians. I'm not advocating for persecution. But I would like to point out that the last time the Church got this comfy and fat we had the Dark Ages. Something to think about.
Anyway what occurred to me is that the problem that we seem to have with the Church seems largely a post-industrialized world problem. Y'know? It's like at one time the Church really fit us--it was fashionable and we wore it everywhere we went. Now, it's out of fashion. It's not someting we'd be caught dead in--in fact, we really only get it out and wear it at holiday dinners and when the aunt who knitted it for us comes around. "Yup, auntie. I really love the Church you made me..."
That said, the Church seems to have become something like deer in North America. No more natural predators, so there is over population and starvation due to lack of food source.
Now, I'm not advocating for the removal of Christians. I'm not advocating for persecution. But I would like to point out that the last time the Church got this comfy and fat we had the Dark Ages. Something to think about.
Religion isn't the problem... (A Rant. A Response. Not Spoken Word.)
I suppose because I'm not as on top of things as I'd like to be--or because I just don't have time for this kind of B.S.; I didn't catch this video until recently. It's the spoken word video called "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus."
I know a lot of people have responded to this...and , well...whatever. But this whole spiritual but not religious thing that has infected society is really something with which I have beef. So, in the event that anyone reads this, and you disagree with me, here's my premise:
*cue overdone artsy video footage in sepia*
Jesus didn't come to abolish religion.
In fact, we read that he was faithful in attending synagogue, and even participating in synagogue worship. His family made trips to Jerusalem (a religious necessity for God's people). And, aside from the few times we see him challenging the cultural norms that oppressed people, he was an authority on midrash and Torah. whoops.
Guess the revolution is over. Edginess and angst (a word often misused) aborted.
Here is my point. Our relationship with God is not only our own. If it were, that would be a great excuse for isolationism. Isolationism as we know from the DSM IV can easily lead to socio-pathology. Isolation is also a result of sin. So, what we can derive from this is that our vocation as Christians is based solidly in relationship and community. God as Trinitarian is the model for perfect union in community, and as creatures created in God's image, perhaps we should strive to live more fully in community...?
Now, the tricky part about relationship is that there needs to be more than 'feel-goods' holding us together in community. What I mean is that we need more than just orgasmic worship experience and fluttery hearts to keep true relationships going. If there isn't something more, we become gigolos or whores to false religious experience--maybe even junkies. We always need the next fix, but are never transformed by the experience.
Right.
So, this is where we come to the issue of religion. Religion is not the problem. It has become a scapegoat for us to ignore our responsibility to God and one another--you know, a mature relationship?
Sure, people abuse religion and power--but we already know that. And to say that wars are started over God and religion is only to say that we don't want to take responsibility for our own actions and in-actions. That said, I refuse to stop driving a car because of the number of bad drivers, drunk drivers, or other causes of vehicular deaths... Get my point?
Here's my point about religion. I'll use my marriage as an example.
When I married my wife, it was because we love one another, we're attracted to one another, and we get all of the 'feel-goods' and heart flutters that come with relationships. At our wedding, we invited people to hear us take vows. Those people help us to live into those vows. We took the vows because the truth is that there are times when I'm pretty tough to live with... I'm not quite as attractive as I was in my twenties. I've gotten worse about doing cute little things to commemorate stupid little events in our relationship.
I'd imagine it can get pretty tough for my wife to dig up those feel-goods when I'm short tempered, or otherwise insufferable.
Luckily for us, we have these vows. We have this covenant between the two of us, and with God and with our friends who were there to keep trying, even in the tough times.
The problem with being spiritual but not religious means that we can have as many partners as we want... When the magic of celebrating those sentimental little events lose their appeal--we go to the next fuzzy-wuzzy...
Where's the relationship? There sure as hell isn't any responsibility.
That's all for now.
I know a lot of people have responded to this...and , well...whatever. But this whole spiritual but not religious thing that has infected society is really something with which I have beef. So, in the event that anyone reads this, and you disagree with me, here's my premise:
*cue overdone artsy video footage in sepia*
Jesus didn't come to abolish religion.
In fact, we read that he was faithful in attending synagogue, and even participating in synagogue worship. His family made trips to Jerusalem (a religious necessity for God's people). And, aside from the few times we see him challenging the cultural norms that oppressed people, he was an authority on midrash and Torah. whoops.
Guess the revolution is over. Edginess and angst (a word often misused) aborted.
Here is my point. Our relationship with God is not only our own. If it were, that would be a great excuse for isolationism. Isolationism as we know from the DSM IV can easily lead to socio-pathology. Isolation is also a result of sin. So, what we can derive from this is that our vocation as Christians is based solidly in relationship and community. God as Trinitarian is the model for perfect union in community, and as creatures created in God's image, perhaps we should strive to live more fully in community...?
Now, the tricky part about relationship is that there needs to be more than 'feel-goods' holding us together in community. What I mean is that we need more than just orgasmic worship experience and fluttery hearts to keep true relationships going. If there isn't something more, we become gigolos or whores to false religious experience--maybe even junkies. We always need the next fix, but are never transformed by the experience.
Right.
So, this is where we come to the issue of religion. Religion is not the problem. It has become a scapegoat for us to ignore our responsibility to God and one another--you know, a mature relationship?
Sure, people abuse religion and power--but we already know that. And to say that wars are started over God and religion is only to say that we don't want to take responsibility for our own actions and in-actions. That said, I refuse to stop driving a car because of the number of bad drivers, drunk drivers, or other causes of vehicular deaths... Get my point?
Here's my point about religion. I'll use my marriage as an example.
When I married my wife, it was because we love one another, we're attracted to one another, and we get all of the 'feel-goods' and heart flutters that come with relationships. At our wedding, we invited people to hear us take vows. Those people help us to live into those vows. We took the vows because the truth is that there are times when I'm pretty tough to live with... I'm not quite as attractive as I was in my twenties. I've gotten worse about doing cute little things to commemorate stupid little events in our relationship.
I'd imagine it can get pretty tough for my wife to dig up those feel-goods when I'm short tempered, or otherwise insufferable.
Luckily for us, we have these vows. We have this covenant between the two of us, and with God and with our friends who were there to keep trying, even in the tough times.
The problem with being spiritual but not religious means that we can have as many partners as we want... When the magic of celebrating those sentimental little events lose their appeal--we go to the next fuzzy-wuzzy...
Where's the relationship? There sure as hell isn't any responsibility.
That's all for now.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Why I'm Terrible At Emergent Church Stuff...
First off, please understand that this is mostly toungue-in-cheek. So, please don't take offense. We have enough offense-taking in the Church and para-Church, Psuedo-Church world...
Anyway, I've been thinking about why I'm so terrible at participating in the emergent church movement, and I think I've devised a list of reasons. I plan to list these rather than finish my Christmas Day sermon right now...
So. Here goes. Reasons why I'm terrible at Emergent Church Stuff.
1. I have escaped Protestant Evangelicalism with very little baggage.
2. I continue to find the questions posed by popular emergent church thinkers to be answered by many ancient and early church thinkers. I suppose the issue is really a marketing one.
3. I refuse to believe that the answer has to include acoustic guitars, praise songs, or "contemporary services." I do think it has everything to do with learning why we do what we do--and if it still doesn't fit, find out how to make it fit.
4. Church never was and never will be about me. I have a relationship with Jesus Christ and therefore his Church. This also means responsibility to those relationships. It's up to me to make right what's wrong, not pout. It's not about how I feel, it's about love, loving and being loved--that's where transformation happens.
5. I think the term emergent is now irrelevant. The proverbial cat is out of the bag, and cats should not be kept in bags. The question now is how do we build something in the image of the Body of Christ without tearing it down, and without cloning something that looks like it, but isn't it. Freakin' cats...
6. I am terrible at blogging. Simple.
7. I'm paying attention, but am still not morally outraged--at least not with Church stuff. Now, there are certain brands of Christianity which can fire me up, but I think what the emergent church movement was about was saving those poor souls from those brands of Christianity which fire me up. *pause to catch breath*
8. I'm relatively young, but not hip. I wear scarves outside of their appropriate seasons and I wear t-shirts and jeans a lot. But it's not really a statement about my theology, it's just the way I like to dress. I got nothing to prove, so take that establishment!
9. Sexuality, doubt science v. religion...meh. Not really issues to me.
10. The types of soap I use do not come in the necessary packaging to hold my weight. However, I do have some pretty strong core values, and if you cross me I will probably invite you into a relaxed discussion so that I can try to understand your point of view. Don't mess with me! I will probably even provide the coffee, tea or pint.
Yes. I admit that I am an Episcopalian and to use the wrong fork is advocating anarchy. But you can trust that I'll always wave to you at the liquor store. Thanks for reading if you did.
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