I wasn’t going to post today. Just needed a bit of a break. But this image caught me up. Click the image, read the post and the comments. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy on us – sinners all.
Well, everybody else is doing it…. QuizFarm.com :: What is Your World View? (updated)
Here are my results:
What is Your World View? (updated) |
What I found intriquing was not so much the results. I’m a cultural creative – who know! But the questions. I can’t find the language (which is sure to be deconstructed anyway) to use, but the (not-so-)hidden agenda of the questions was interesting.
I had a conversation with a friend today that got me thinking about focus. Or rather, I should say, the conversation reminded me of the ongoing internal and external conversation about focus.
Focus for VC.
Focus for our family.
Focus for me.
The focus for VC is a much larger thing that is in communal process. I think the process of clarifying is going well. We’re talking it through with folks in the community and we’re drafting a “Rule” that will help orient and guide us as a community. I feel strongly that this will be good for us all and give us clarity of vision and purpose as we move forward together. VC isn’t perfect (as if that even needs said!), but we’re a good community that isn’t afraid to ask hard questions and work together for the sake of the Kingdom.
Focus for our family is becoming clearer. Next week is our last week as part of Tuesday night’s St. E’s house church. We became part of this church when we moved into the Brownhouse 1.5 years ago. I have been leading this small church for the last year or so. After next Tuesday this season comes to close. We knew when we moved out of the Brownhouse in Dec. that eventually we’d be moving on from this church so as to start something in our new neighborhood. That time has come and it is an odd feeling of commencement – a simultaneous ending and beginning.
So, to the best of my ability here’s how I articulate the season we’re headed into:
A Season of Space
- space to be present to one another as a family and in our neighborhood.
- space to navigate through this time of transition into new jobs for both Sarah and I and a new routine for Cloey.
Those are the two main areas as a family that help provide focus for us.
Focus for me. In light of those two realities (VC and Family) where am I personally focused?
I really don’t want to make a list (its so linear), but it will have to do:
- Christ (I want to be more attentive in the disciplines of solitude, silence, and prayer)
- Family (I want to be more available for Sarah and Cloey)
- Neighborhood (I want to be around enough to really build relationships with my neighbors)
- Vineyard Central (I want to focus on nurturing leaders of house churches and the overall health of the network)
I feel like these 4 things are possible in this Season of Space. Not that they weren’t before, but I believe they tie in with this spaciousness that we’re attempting to hold.
Noticed I didn’t include work. I didn’t include a lot of things that I do. But in terms of where my mind is at, these things are of primary focus. The things I do for money will require my attention and focus – and I don’t regret that. I am excited about what I’m doing at Old Saint George with Larry – we’re really close to having him blogging. And I’m excited about this new chapter at Cincinnati Christian Schools and what God has in store for me there. I believe he has called me to both places – OSG and CCS. But my call/vocation and my income are not mutually exclusive.
I believe my Vocation includes all those things listed above – obviously not all in the same amounts or percentages. But in a wholistic sense.
I’m not sure I’m expressing myself very well. But I’ll close with this. I feel focused. I’m pretty clear about what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. I know there are things I can’t and shouldn’t be doing right now and I hope and pray that with my family/community I stay out of those. I want to be responsible for what God has placed before me – and not try to take on more than I should. I feel comfortably full.
That’s the word I was looking for last night at HC! For the life of me I couldn’t remember it! Anyway – we prayed it all the same:
+ Lord, Have Mercy +
+ Christ, Have Mercy +
+ Lord, Have Mercy +
We need lots more of this -
UrbanMonastery:
“Wiki version of UrbanMonastery, a collaborative approach to finding ways forward in spirituality and life. You can edit any page on this site, so please contribute what you can.”
it seems to me that there is of late a great proliferation of neat virtual toys in cyperspace – especially if you are a blogger – and extra-especially if you are conversant in the ways of the RSS.
i’ve heard it says that not having RSS on your site is tantamount to being irrelevant in web-land. to which i would probably agree.
so anyways. i’m contemplating a switch to WordPress. primarily for categories and for cool plugins – especially ones that allow for RSS aggregating.
here are the things i would like to aggregate either on my sidebar or a seperate page:
my del.icio.us feed
my flickr feed
my newsgator clippings
i’d also like to make my opml file of my newsgator feeds (the blogs/feeds that i read) available.
but with the exception of the flickr feed (via their handy-dandy little boxy thingy) Blogger is (to my knowledge) just not equipped to handle this stuff.
anybody got any ideas about how to do this?
Or otherwise entitled: “I want back in”
Last week at ec05 Phyllis Tickle talked about being Post-Reformation, Post-Denominational. She referrenced, I think, the German theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg (if you were part of this seminar and have more info please illumine).
I’ve done some googling and I have been pleasantly pleased with the results. Here are some links and a quote from WP. Oh, and my subtitle, “I want back in”, in looking at this stuff I have concluded that I am out of the academic loop of study and that I miss it and want back in. However, at present I have neither the time nor money for this to happen. I’m hopeful that I can pursue careful and deep study in other ways – perhaps even in ways that will prove beneficial for the future of the Church (ie. how we learn as a Christian Community need serious attention and reimagining). And at the same time, I hope that I can get my butt back in the classroom in the not too distant future.
More on WP:
Wolfhart Pannenberg (1928-) – links to articles by and about him
Best Books and Articles on: Wolfhart Pannenberg as selected by Questia librarians
Google Print: Systematic Theology by Wolfhart Pannenberg – searchable book online (sweet)
Christianity and the West: Ambiguous Past, Uncertain Future, by Wolfhart Pannenberg [1994 First Things 48 (December 1994): 18-23.] – the quote below is from here.
Contrary to what some Protestants had thought, a Christian culture is not a plausible alternative to the ecclesial form of Christianity. If it ever was, it is no longer. There is no alternative to the Church. The further the secularist dominance of the general culture advances, the more clearly the Church, in clear distinction from that culture, emerges as the reference point of Christian existence. The Church takes the form of particular local congregations and of the universal communion of all Christians. These forms of ecclesial allegiance are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, only as they strengthen one another can the Christian community face with confidence the challenges that are ever more strongly posed by both the secular culture and the competing claims of other religions. Thus have we been brought by an ambiguous past to face with confidence an uncertain future.”
Russell (my neighbor and pastor of covenant-first presby downtown) keeps putting out great posts. Check out the one from today called “Designer Faith” (not what you’d expect).
I was pleased to have lunch with Russell today. My strong sense is that God has cool stuff in store for him and his church. Not sure the shape of it, but it feels ….. right and good.
That said, I think it equally wrong that we ignore design and intentionality. God gave us a multiplicity of gifts, talents and skills. God called us together as a people, and God intends to use us for the advancement of his kingdom.”
Last week at the emergent conv. I had the privilege of meeting lots of new folks and old folks from the blogosphere that I’d never met in person.
I had a great time making new friends (something I’ve always loved doing). DJ Chuang, Jay Voorhees, Lilly and Rob Lewin, and Andrew Seely (to name a few).
Will Samson is another who I was privileged to meet. I want to single him out for a few reasons:
1. he’s a cool guy
2. he’s moving to lexington, ky
3. he’s going to be part of commonality
4. he’s a good blogger
I’ll just let that list stand on its own. Here are a few links, tho, that may reinforce #s 1 and 4:
Jessamine Journal – Communality: an emerging church
A “Post” Post
American Emerging Church – Next Steps?
I’m glad he’s moving to Lex. and I’m looking forward to getting to know him and the Commonality folk better. Maybe a few days in Lex with Alan, Pete, and these guys this summer are in order….. hum….