Some Assembly Required

Last year it was the snow and this year it's the cold. So, so brutally cold. Coldest winter I can remember enduring. I thought it might be snowy like last year, so I ordered some snowshoes to help fight cabin fever. I've had them a little over a month now and they're still in the box. I decided to take a look at them today even though I had no intention whatsoever of going out in the -40 degree weather or whatever the heck it is these days. I was discouraged almost immediately because I quickly learned that there was some assembly required. Ugh. Do they realize that their "manual" makes zero sense to someone who has NEVER snow-shoed before? I don't know what to do with this:

The diagram looks nothing like the random assortment of straps with buckles that came with the snowshoes. I HATE when this happens. Just include a picture of how its supposed to look and let me work backward from that, like putting together a puzzle. So, now even if the weather permits me to blaze a trail, I'll only be able to stare blankly at this crappy little half sheet of paper with "instructions" of how to assemble my snowshoes. Where's the love for visual learners?


This little episode makes me think about the nature of my work in the church lately. So often it feels like God gave me a passion for blazing a trail in ministry and then sent me a pair or un-assembled snowshoes. What the heck am I supposed to do with this? I keep fumbling and bumbling my way around this place, letting my feelings and failures dictate and detour my leadership here, causing more feelings of hopelessness, frustration and resentment. It's been a vicious spiral for 18 months. All I wanted to do was snowshoe! I wanted to get out in the open air, marvel at God's good creation, and take in some adventures along the way. Maybe I'd even inspire a few others to join me, leading them around to some cool places and growing together in our love of snowshoeing. So, I guess I'll just have to keep making it up as I go. I'm not too proud to ask for help, and I appreciate learning something new, even if it is attaching straps to snowshoes, but I'm tired of the run-around, the red-tape, the BS that seems to so often block from doing that which I feel I've been nudged to do for over 15 years.


Ain't nothing fun about attempting to re-route a dysfunctional way of thought (personally) or culture (this congregation). Most days I don't have the slightest clue where to begin. I've been choosing my projects carefully and praying that there is something useful being accomplished through my preaching, teaching and care amidst a people I love but don't understand.


It seems the cold has infected my brain and attitude, leaving me focused on broken snowshoes indoors, praying I'll warm up and get back to doing what I've been designed to do.

     

21 Big Ideas

I recently attended a conference called “Christianity21” in Denver, Colorado. Christians and non-Christians alike were invited to come and speak about their BIG IDEA for the future of the Christian church in the 21^st century. The format was simple yet innovative: 21 people with 21 different ideas for 21 minutes each. There were also other presentations given by dozens of others attending the conference. These brave souls were asked to prepare their BIG IDEA in 21 slides for exactly 7 minutes of speaking. All in all, we heard 35 different people talk in 48 hours  - it was a fantastic event! Here are 21 ideas or insights I came home with that made an impact on me (in no particular order):

1. May we know what we’ve always suspected, that the God who created us is better than the God we created. (Jonathan Merritt)
2. I want to take God’s love personally. I tell you my story to honor your own. (Paul Raushenbush)
3. At the heart of God’s revelation, the margins are at the center of God’s concern. Why are the margins still at the margins of the church? (Noel Castellanos)
4. Faith is a team sport, not an individual competition. (Nadia Bolz-Weber)
5. As culture and science shift so too must religion. We need to make new narratives known! (Ron Martoia)
6. Let’s give up on the afterlife for awhile, accepting that death is the dark door of mystery and focus more on this life. (Kent Dobson)
7. Authority comes from existential, experiential, vulnerable and honest growth. That’s it. (Kent Dobson)
8. What if we ritualized words about hunger and being filled, or abundance and care instead of betrayal and brokenness before we shared Holy Communion? (ErikaMarksbury)
9. People want to be loved and belong – it’s our job to remind them. (Mike Foster)
10. Be ‘sanctified shot-callers’ by building up your street cred by what we do on the street. (Romal Tune)
11. Think big. Start small. Keep moving. (Charles Lee)
12. Culture trumps strategy & vision. Hiring someone innovative doesn’t change the culture. (Charles Lee)
13. Every 500 years there is a great emergence. (Phyllis Tickle)
14. Maybe we’ve finally arrived at the place and time when we’re ready to hear anew what the Spirit is up to and move the story further. (Phyllis Tickle)
15. Hope is a radical act of faith and courage, it is not weak. And it only comes after despair. (Sarah Bessey)
16. The face of Christianity isn’t changing, its already changed. (Enuma Okoro)
17. Live in your context both physical and digital because you are good news. Digital isn’t the opposite of real but the opposite of physical. (Jim Kast-Keat)
18. Why don’t we believe God is equipping us once we are breathed into existence and not just when we are called? God is not calling us to “do missions” but to be the church. (Jamie Wright)
19. What happened to God? We don’t know what we mean by God anymore. (Kent Dobson)
20. The best way to be innovative is to get out of your normal connections. Foster experiences from different scenes outside of your field – eventually things will start connecting. (Charles Lee)
21. The (political) middle does not always indicate an absence of conviction. Fierce conviction can lead to the middle. The middle is where peacemakers seek to hold hands with those on the right and on the left. (Sarah Cunningham)