The Divine Commodity

I just finished Skye Jethani's book The Divine Commodity and found it to be both fresh and convicting in diagnosing much of the state of contemporary Christianity. One of the main characters in his book is the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. Jethani does an excellent job telling the story of the modern church through the works and life van Gogh. Here are a few excerpts from the book that really struck me.

On the church's idolatrous focus of creating a consumer experience:

"Ministries that focus on manufacturing spiritual experiences, despite their laudable intentions, may actually be retarding spiritual growth by making people experience dependent. Like caged animals, consumer Christians lose the ability to do what they were designed by God to do—have a vibrant, self-generating relationship with Christ. Instead, they become dependent upon their zookeeper-pastors for life nourishment. This captive/captor relationship is unlikely to change as long as both the church member and leader are satisfied with the arrangement. But is this what the Christian life is supposed to be?" -pg. 79

On the church's tendancy to practice a form of divination where we try to control God and get him to do our bidding:

"The exchange of an unpredictable God for controllable principles is also common within the church. Our insistence on an institutional and programmatic faith is a savvy new form of divination. Invariably, churches that experience significant numerical growth will publish books outlining their methodology and create conferences so other leaders can reproduce such success in their in their own churches. The assumption is that with the right curriculum, the right principles, and the right programs God’s Spirit will act to produce the outcomes we desire. This plug-and-play approach to the Christian life makes God a cosmic vending machine, and it assumes his Spirit resides within well-produced organizations and systems rather than people." -pg 97

A call to live out the Gospel in the midst of our daily obedience, hospitality and authenticity:

"Our homes are to be hospitals—refuges of healing radiating the light of heaven. And our dinner tables are to be operating tables—the place where broken souls are made whole again. In our churches people should find rest from their battle for acceptance and release from the lie that they are nothing more than the goods they possess. When we lower our defenses, when we remove our facades and our peepholes, and we begin to be truly present with one another—then the healing power of the gospel can begin it’s work." pg-154

Cultivating Life in the Dessert

It was a scorching afternoon, but as they say in Arizona it was a dry heat. That did not stop the sunshine from feeling like a cosmic laser beam that was attempting to burn your skin right off your body. The day before I had been invited as part of a small group to see a local pastor's field. Coming from Ohio where large swaths of land are covered by corn, wheat and soybean I had been trying to imagine what this field might look like in the Arizona dessert in the middle of the Hopi and Navajo reservation. I had seen no sign of vegetation and each time the pastor said he went to his field, I imagined that he would go to a small piece of Ohio-like farm land hidden somewhere nearby near an oasis behind a barrier of trees.

The small group of us piled into the white rental van and passed through one of two stoplights that Tuba City has. We drove to the edge of town and our guide took us on a driving tour of the new and the old Hopi villages. The older village looked like it could have been a small pueblo straight out of Galicia, Spain except that it was in the middle dessert land and over looked a small (small by Arizona standards) canyon.

As we drove out of the village the road began to descend slowly into the small canyon. Along the way we passed by a spring where some people were filling of large plastic containers with water (many of the homes on the reservation have no running water). The pastor explained that the Mormons helped the Hopi's find this spring several generations ago. As the road brought us down between the canyon walls we could see the land divided into small fields before us. We parked the van in a space that entirely shaded by a fruit tree and as we got out we heard the distinct sound of rushing water. Beside the parking spot was a ditch with clean, potable water rushing through it. The ditch made it's way down into the canyon, bisecting the fields.

A Communal Culture- According to Hopi culture and law, the land is not owned by individuals but it is owned by the tribe. If you want to farm a piece of the land you can petition the tribal counsel. Our guide said that if you let your farm land lie fallow for two complete seasons then someone else could bring a petition to the counsel asking to take over the field. Since our guide was also a pastor he said he personally observed the Old Testament practice of working the land for six years and then letting it rest on the seventh year. The first time he did this his Father thought he was crazy, but on the eighth year his crop was significantly more robust than the other nearby fields and now his Father lets his own field rest on occasion.

The water that comes down the ditch in the middle of the field can be hooked up to pipes that will divert some of it to the fields. Our friend comes to his field every morning at 5am. In the dessert the air is crisp and cool and refreshing in the early morning. He said he will spend about two hours taking care of the plants in the field. He waters the crops and hoes the weeds so they can't take root. Sometimes he said that coyotes or foxes will come at night and gobble up the water melons. He also pointed out that some of the other farmers had over-watered their crops (this was evident by leaves that were yellowing).

The pastor grew peppers, melons, squash and a lot of corn. He said that the Hopis use corn for a lot of different dishes and so they plant several different kinds and colors of corn. In his larger of the two fields that he works, it was entirely planted with corn. At the end of the season he said it would produce multiple barrels of corn that could be dried and stored. Whenever some was needed for a meal it would be boiled in water and was ready to eat. He said that of all the barrels of corn that this one field would make he would keep one and then deliver the rest to cousins, aunts and relatives around the reservation. At this point in out tour one of the visiting group members asked, "Do your relatives come and help you plant, cultivate, or Harvest the fields?" The Pastor thought for a moment and said, "No, not really." Our group member said, "Well, it seems strange that they get to benefit from the harvest even though they did not participate at all in the work." The pastor smiled and nodded in a knowing way and said, "This is just the Hopi way. The one who has takes care of those who do not."

I was totally impressed by the richness of Hopi culture and the way it was displayed even through such a small task as having a small field of crops in the middle of such and arid landscape. I also had the sense that this field was a living, tangible illustration of the spiritual work that good pastors are engaged in every day. Watering, cultivating, protecting from weeds and pests that would devour the crop, it reminded me that there is someone working hard on our behalf to help us bear fruit, even in the worst of soils and conditions. Not only that, but like this pastor's relatives, I know I receive far more of the blessings then I ever deserve or worked for. It is my prayer that I can be more like this Hopi Pastor in the way I think about and care for those around me.

Free Coffee From Starbucks

If you pledge to donate 5 hours of community service between 1/21 and 1/25 Starbucks will give you a free cup of coffee. Click here to find out more.

Seeding Missional Communities Conference

This coming weekend I am heading to a seeding missional communities conference. It's a free one day conference and if you are interested in finding out more go here.

Cafe Terra Nova MMIV-MMVIII

I just saw these photos posted by my friend Betty last night. It is sad to see Terra Nova close it's doors as a cafe. The truth is though, the dream of Terra Nova had very little to do with a cafe and very much to do some of the people who passed through that place. This place only provided occasional glimpses of the real Terra Nova. While the cafe Terra Nova has closed the dream of Terra Nova lives on...

...at least it lives on in me? How about you?

"But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."

On Pilgrimage

I just read two different blogs by people who are on pilgrimages. My friend Nate Walter lives in A Coruña, Spain and just finish a solo journey on the Camino de Santiago. He kept a daily record of his journey and made a couple posts about it over at Unfamiliar Paths. Immediately after reading some of his entries I stumbled upon this post about Urban Caminos at Mustard Seed Associates. In this post Tim Mathis talks about how we perceive the world around us in relation to God effects our own pilgrimage journeys. Are you being faithful to the pilgrimage that Christ has called you to?

Ask Christian Writers

Andrew Jackson is the author of Smart Christian Blog and just started a new resource called Ask Christian Writers. It is a conglomerate of Christian Bloggers who will respond to questions or may have already responded through their blogs. This resource will point you in the right direction if you can't find what you are looking for on a Google search.

Friends in Galicia

Now that Lori and I live in the NW Suburbs of Chicago, we continue to follow the lives of our friends across the pond through their blogs.

This week I had the opportunity to talk with a good friend from Spain in person. I was able to grab a coffee with Roberto Reed as he was passing through the Chicago area. Rob lives in A Couruña, Spain. We met several years ago and I always enjoyed when I was able to visit Vida Nueva Church (A church that he helped to plant). Occasionally friends from the church would come and assist us during the opening of art exhibits in cafe Terra Nova. We enjoyed the kind of partnership that happens when Christians take kingdom view of ministry and work to encourage one another.

Last summer we were able connect with Nate and Faith Walter as they left the Chicago area and headed to Galicia with International Teams. Rob and his church graciously welcomed them and have been working alongside of them as they adjust to life in Spain. We are thankful for Rob and his family and the way that God is working through them to reach Spain with the Gospel. If you ever make it to Galicia it would be well worth your time to look up Roberto and the Walters.

Single Family Dwellings?

Are single family dwellings the best way to live or is there a better way?? Read this article and also check out what Tom Sine and his family are doing at Mustard Seed Associates. What do you think about living in an intentional community? A dream come true or your worst nightmare? Why?

Christian Bloggers Network

Yes, I finally bit the bullet and joined facebook. It has been pretty cool to connect with people from all over that I have not been able to maintain contact with. I also joined the Christian Bloggers Network. Check it out for some links to some good blogs.

Cheers,
Matt

Ministry in Suburbia

Suburbia is a relatively new way of living within the context of world history with the advent of the personal automobile and with it has brought many challenges to ministry. Here are some of the most obvious challenges I have observed after living in a more urban context:

Lack of Proximity- People are far from everything. Far from neighbors, work, jobs etc... This lack of proximity reduces the amount of chance encounters with others or even just repetitive contacts.

Lack of Time- The suburbs have developed a culture of business and activities which is often seen as a kind of social capital while the sabbath has been rendered obsolete.

Lack of Community- The first two challenges contribute to this. As people have to work extra hard to connect with others (you don't just drop by if someone is a half an hour drive away) most social events must be planned well in advance. Because of the combination of distances and activities if people are able to get together then their time is often highly limited.

Ideas for combating these cultural barriers:

Location- Be very intentional and picky when choosing where you will live. Choose a location that will reduce you travel to the places that you will spend most of your time. This will allow you to spend more time in the places that matter to you and will free up much of the time that you would normally be sitting in traffic.

If you are locked into your current location, then look for ways to spend more time in your immediate area. Choose activities with a closer proximity to were you are as much as possible.

Time- Don't be stingy with you time but make sure to plan times of pause, rest, holy leisure and silence into your day. Avoid over-scheduling with activities that will leave you physically spent and unavailable to connect with others.

Community- You will have to work within the social norms of planning and preparation in order to connect with others. However, try not to cast the nets too wide, start with a small group. A deep and healthy community requires time, energy and repetition.

Art in Chicago

Last weekend Lori and I had the privilege of going into the city of Chicago and see an Art Exhibit that our friend Karmen did along with some other local artists. One of the artists who was there has a great site called Don't Talk to Robots. I loved his work and was checking out his site and it turns out that he designed the Harvest site. What a small world!

Anyway, it was great seeing how this group was using art to bring light to some of the issues that people in the city are facing. We look forward to seeing their next exhibit.

What do you Bring to the Table?

I gave a sermon this week at HCC based on Colossians 3:15-17.

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

This was something that our team sought to live out in a very literal way while we gathered together as a local body in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

New Documentary

Facts on the Fatherless

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

This past weekend a small group from our church had the privilege of serving the office staff of GRIP. Grip is a Chicago inner-city ministry that works with a lot of students from broken home. Jen Carlson works at Grip and gave me the following stats. I was so blown away by what I read that I had to pass it along.

The Facts on “Fatherlessness”

The percentage of kids born out-of-wedlock has grown 223% since 1970.
[US Dept. of Health and Human Services, 2005]

7 out of 10 African-American kids are born out-of-wedlock.
[US Dept. of Health and Human Services, 2005]

3 out of 10 Caucasian kids are born out-of-wedlock; an increase of 440% since 1970.
[US Dept. of Health and Human Services, 2005]

The Consequences
90% of homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes.
[U.S. D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census.]

80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes.
[Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol 14, p. 403-26, 1987.]

60% of repeat rapists grew up without fathers.
[Raymond A. Knight and Robert A. Prentky, "The Developmental Antecednts of Adult Adaptations of Rapist Sub-Types," Criminal Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, 1987, p 403-426.]

71% of pregnant teenagers lack a father.
[US Dept. of Health and Human Services press release, Friday, March 26, 1999.]

63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes.
[US D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census.]

85% of children who exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes.
[Center for Disease Control.]

90% of adolescent repeat arsonists live with only their mother.
[Wray Herbert, "Dousing the Kindlers," Psychology Today, January, 1985, p.28.]

71% of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes.
[National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools.]

75% of adolescent patients in chemical abuse canters come from fatherless homes.
[Rainbows for all God`s Children.]

70% of juveniles in state operated institutions have no father.
[US Dept. of Justice, Special Report, Sept. 1988.]

85% of youths in prisons grew up in a fatherless home.
[Fulton Co. Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. of Corrections, 1992.]

75% of prisoners grew up without a father.
[Daniel Amneus, The Garbage Generation, Alhambra, CA: Primrose Press, 1990.]

Fatherless boys and girls are…
2x’s as likely to drop out of high school;
2x’s as likely to end up in jail;
4x’s more likely to need help emotional or behavioral problems.
[US D.H.H.S. news release, March 26, 1999.]

43% of US children live without their father.
[US Department of Census.]

Post-Congregational Christians

I stumbled across an interesting blog post today entitled Reaching the Post-Congregational Christian.

As I read this three things immediately came to mind.

1) We as a church need to continue to be about more than disseminating information. In the world of the internet information abounds, so if the church is only about getting information out, than we are missing so much of our calling, especially what it means to make disciples.

2) Technology can help us meet some of these people where they are. Technology is a useful tool and has been helpful to me in the sharpening of my faith. I regularly follow blogs of other people in wide range of ministries and I am challenged. On a few of these blogs I even participate in discussion, however...

3) If someone is truly "yearning for God and they desiring community", technology will never be a substitute for real life human contact. As much as I love some of the "communities" I am part of on the net they are not nearly as powerful as connecting with someone face to face.

What are your thoughts???