Tall Monastic Guy

"How to Follow Jesus without being Shane Claiborne" (I'm borrowing this one!)

I'm unashamedly copying and pasting a blog post from one of my favorite peer thinkers of recent days. Her name is Rachel Held Evans.  What you'll see below hits the tension within my faith journey in a very very relevant way. And for some of you that find Access provokes your spirituality in healthy ways yet you end up frustrated in attempting to tangibly live it out I'm hoping you find Rachel's honest and practical thoughts helpful. (and I'd love for you to respond to her final question!)

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So I’ve recently discovered that my Christian faith tends to fall into a sad and predictable cycle, complete with five phases:

Phase 1: My commitment to Jesus is primarily an intellectual one.  He is an idea I believe in, not a person I follow.  

Phase 2: I read through the Gospels again and realize that Jesus doesn’t want me to simply like him; he wants me to follow him.

Phase 3: I buy the latest Shane Claiborne book, read it in two days, and resolve that following Jesus means selling all my things, sleeping with the homeless, and starting a monastic community. I begin looking into the cost of apartments in inner-city Nashville.

Phase 4:  I remember that I have a job, a mortgage, and a spouse (who hasn’t read Shane Claiborne).

Phase 5:  Heavy with guilt and overwhelmed by the insurmountable nature of my own convictions, I give up and revert right back to Phase 1. Following Jesus, it seems, just isn’t realistic.  

This cycle has been repeating itself for about three years now, but I think I may have figured out how to stop it…or at least make the ride a little less bumpy.

what's my knowledge producing?

 "And I think this is the thing that ruins many a seminary student. Knowledge. It’s not that knowledge is bad, it isn’t, it’s good, very good according to Solomon. It’s just that knowledge is incredibly powerful and dangerous. It has to be handled with care, like a radioactive material. It can easily explode and kill many, pushing people away from the church (unless of course they agree with you.)"

"A good test for me is to come back to the fruits of the spirit. Is my knowledge producing these characteristics: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control?"

-from Don Miller's post, Knowledge Makes a Secure Man Humble

(I think they may have said a few things in seminary orientation about humility, but whatever it was didn't seem to permeate the culture of comparison and competition that I remember.)

Make a Mess, Discover Your Life

Loved this article written by Anne Lamott from an Inward/Outward post over the weekend.

Make a Mess, Discover Your Life

By Anne Lamott

Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won’t have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren’t even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they’re doing it.

Liminality & Communitas

2 of my favorite subjects to talk about since I was first introduced to Alan Hirsch 3 years ago. Check out his blog post on the subjects HERE.

Transferring the Excess

Interesting interview with some Seattle college students who are taking radical steps toward simplicity and communal living. Conducted by the folks at Mustard Seed Associates.

Transferring the Excess

Tangible Kingdom

The new Tangible Kingdom website is now up and running with reviews and comments from various influential leaders around the nation. Read what they have to say and pre-order the book on amazon which comes out Friday, April 18th.

Lent: A Time

The Tuesday nights I've spent at the Issachar House have been almost overwhelmingly rich with meaning. Last night's conversation on how we reconcile the world's and our own personal pain with a loving God was beyond description. The Mile High team courageously lead these young inner city college students to places most Christians wouldn't dare go.
My friend, Scott, who led last nights discussion has written a wonderful reflection on Lent that I highly recommend you take the TIME to read. Thanks for this Scott.

ordinary time

Protestants typically pay little mind to the Christian calendar which is why I like to frequent the site of Roman Catholic blogger, Alan Creech. These were some timely thoughts to center me today.

A different perspective on simplicity

My friend and architect of the MCAP, Matt Smay, has an interesting post on the issue of simplicity that has me thinking.

Enjoy giving thanks today. Slainte!

Bottoms up.

I don't have much time to write cause Angie and I are packing and trying to be ready to move to our new location tomorrow morning. I do have some things to write about as soon as we get settled and some pictures to post from climbing the Mt. Belford/Mt. Oxford combo last Sunday.

I did just check out a couple posts by Dan Kimball that I wanted to pass on. The posts are in regard to alcohol consumption by followers of Christ. Good discussion starters.

-->Would Jesus be allowed to be a Southern Baptists pastor?

-->Gone for a week and recommended books

Grace & Peace