God is the God of our heart as well as our head and our soul. I think that means that we should express honestly how we feel to Him and to our brothers and sisters, and be given an environment to (and be taught how to) do so safely.
It takes a brave person to risk being real without knowing how that will be received. Without acceptance and compassion, being real dies away to be replaced with being acceptable…
Comment by commutertheology — November 2, 2008 @ 5:59 pm
It’s just magic when you find you are understood by your fellow church mate. mostly I feel I could be as transparent as a jellyfish, and I’d still come across as clear as mud most of the time
I just got a copy of Brennan Manning’s ‘A Ruthless Trust’, his opening story of a priest demonstrating God’s love to a child with a learning disability, has awoken a hunger in me, to really love like that, to know how much God values us, and demonstrate that depth of love – it’s a thought, no idea if it’s possible
haha!Carole do you know there’s even a British Standard for how to make Tea?!
Thanks Mimou – yes you’re right, we have to be proactive about creating these kind of communities. As commutertheology says, that takes bravery sometimes. Not my strong suit…
Father God please help us to create safe environments to be real in, where everyone can be honest and can express their hearts to you and to us, their family. Please give us grace and wisdom so we can achieve this. Amen.
Our evening service tonight was really good – we had what is known in our household as a “spirit and sausage” service (actual name: spirit and sharing). It wasn’t heavan: it didn’t help all the people all the time, we didn’t all come out of it perfectly whole and none of our problems vanished. But it was real. And there was hope and love and acceptance. And that is a very good thing. So yeah, wanted to share something positive.
Transparency is definitely lacking in many of our churches. The great stages of the world cannot rival the acting that takes place in churches on Sunday morning.
Hmmm, a theme here with 571 & 574…? Is spirituality about visualising being something one is not…and trying to live up to it (in public at least), or about being the best you can be as yourself?
i think there is a degree of aspiration… i believe it to be about becoming more fully who we are. i believe that a spirituality that leads us to be something other or less than who we are is merely a set of legalisms. i’ve seen that a lot… i think it is driven by insecurity and fear rather than liberation and freedom. for many, imposed rules (self imposed or otherwise) brings comfort.
Have a look at anything by Jean Vanier. Or better still, spend some time at a L’Arche community – a weekend, a week, a year… (there are eight or nine across the UK and it is very googlable).
Comment by Steve Lancaster — November 3, 2008 @ 2:53 pm
I think you’ve put your finger on a big issue with church – the disjunct church members feel between their ‘church’ life and their ‘outside’ life.
Somehow, at the nitty-gritty level, the only person bridging the two is the person themselves. And really, could it be any other way? I mean, if God wants to do something very deep in your life, something that uniquely equips you and no-one else, unless church services are perpetual, it won’t be possible for that equipping to take place in public.
For me, life in an intentional community (L’Arche) supported me bridging the gap. It was a kind of total immersion, all day every day for a year. And that in the long run seems to have done the trick. Certainly it provides the touchstone for everything I do now, fifteen years later. But it was a tough journey!
There’s a very decent book out called Emerging Evangelism, by John Finney, which defines five types of church, one of which is the missional community, and another the type of ‘desert father’ monasticism you associate with traditional monks and nuns. So maybe you could link into some of the sites on ‘intentional communities’.
There’s a really interesting I’d recommend called “Deliberate Culture”. It’s provocative and not Christian as such, though the author describes herself as a Quaker. It’s right up my street. It provides tools helping you to create cultures, tribes, dare I say it, churches, from scratch.
There’s a wiki attached to it too, and a personal blog where the theories are put into practise.
Comment by Steve Lancaster — November 4, 2008 @ 5:21 pm
Subo,
I think you’ve put your finger on a big issue with church – the disjunct church members feel between their ‘church’ life and their ‘outside’ life.
Somehow, at the nitty-gritty level, the only person bridging the two is the person themselves. And really, could it be any other way? I mean, if God wants to do something very deep in your life, something that uniquely equips you and no-one else, unless church services are perpetual, it won’t be possible for that equipping to take place in public.
For me, life in an intentional community (L’Arche) supported me bridging the gap. It was a kind of total immersion, all day every day for a year. And that in the long run seems to have done the trick. Certainly it provides the touchstone for everything I do now, fifteen years later. But it was a tough journey!
There’s a very decent book out called Emerging Evangelism, by John Finney, which defines five types of church, one of which is the missional community, and another the type of ‘desert father’ monasticism you associate with traditional monks and nuns. So maybe you could link into some of the sites on ‘intentional communities’.
Comment by Steve Lancaster — November 4, 2008 @ 5:23 pm
If only we could be real enough to have expressions on our faces. To often I see a silly smile.
Comment by Mike — November 2, 2008 @ 3:57 pm
Great Cartoon Jon – Amen.
God is the God of our heart as well as our head and our soul. I think that means that we should express honestly how we feel to Him and to our brothers and sisters, and be given an environment to (and be taught how to) do so safely.
Comment by Linus — November 2, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
Is this also a dig at Internet Church perhaps?
It takes a brave person to risk being real without knowing how that will be received. Without acceptance and compassion, being real dies away to be replaced with being acceptable…
Comment by commutertheology — November 2, 2008 @ 5:59 pm
ha ha, ha ha ha, love it
let’s see how many of those worked…
Comment by jody — November 2, 2008 @ 6:37 pm
so envy and wave not emoticons here then – never mind
Comment by jody — November 2, 2008 @ 6:38 pm
“and be given an environment to (and be taught how to) do so safely.”
Linus so agree with you – that sort of environments just seem hard to come by most often! May we create ourselves such environments..
Comment by Mimou — November 2, 2008 @ 7:10 pm
Not wanting to be a usage/grammar nazi, but is that “me” supposed to be a “be” or is it part of the statement of the strip?
Comment by Fremen_Warrior66 — November 2, 2008 @ 8:04 pm
No, sorry, that wouldn’t comply with the European directive for the standard Christian…
Comment by Carole — November 2, 2008 @ 10:06 pm
It’s just magic when you find you are understood by your fellow church mate. mostly I feel I could be as transparent as a jellyfish, and I’d still come across as clear as mud most of the time
I just got a copy of Brennan Manning’s ‘A Ruthless Trust’, his opening story of a priest demonstrating God’s love to a child with a learning disability, has awoken a hunger in me, to really love like that, to know how much God values us, and demonstrate that depth of love – it’s a thought, no idea if it’s possible
Comment by subo — November 2, 2008 @ 10:43 pm
haha!Carole do you know there’s even a British Standard for how to make Tea?!
Thanks Mimou – yes you’re right, we have to be proactive about creating these kind of communities. As commutertheology says, that takes bravery sometimes. Not my strong suit…
Father God please help us to create safe environments to be real in, where everyone can be honest and can express their hearts to you and to us, their family. Please give us grace and wisdom so we can achieve this. Amen.
Our evening service tonight was really good – we had what is known in our household as a “spirit and sausage” service (actual name: spirit and sharing). It wasn’t heavan: it didn’t help all the people all the time, we didn’t all come out of it perfectly whole and none of our problems vanished. But it was real. And there was hope and love and acceptance. And that is a very good thing. So yeah, wanted to share something positive.
Comment by Linus — November 2, 2008 @ 10:47 pm
Amen to the prayer.
It has happened here more often than most.
Comment by sarah — November 2, 2008 @ 11:15 pm
This is the PERFECT cartoon!!
I LOOOOVE emoticons!
Comment by Laura — November 2, 2008 @ 11:16 pm
Transparency is definitely lacking in many of our churches. The great stages of the world cannot rival the acting that takes place in churches on Sunday morning.
Comment by Paul Wilkinson — November 2, 2008 @ 11:29 pm
Mexican wave shaped church?
Comment by Robb — November 3, 2008 @ 1:28 am
Hmmm, a theme here with 571 & 574…? Is spirituality about visualising being something one is not…and trying to live up to it (in public at least), or about being the best you can be as yourself?
Comment by JF — November 3, 2008 @ 9:58 am
i think there is a degree of aspiration… i believe it to be about becoming more fully who we are. i believe that a spirituality that leads us to be something other or less than who we are is merely a set of legalisms. i’ve seen that a lot… i think it is driven by insecurity and fear rather than liberation and freedom. for many, imposed rules (self imposed or otherwise) brings comfort.
Comment by jonbirch — November 3, 2008 @ 11:32 am
fremen warrior 66… offending typo now corrected. thanks!
Comment by jonbirch — November 3, 2008 @ 12:02 pm
Subo (9),
Have a look at anything by Jean Vanier. Or better still, spend some time at a L’Arche community – a weekend, a week, a year… (there are eight or nine across the UK and it is very googlable).
Comment by Steve Lancaster — November 3, 2008 @ 2:53 pm
Great prayer Linus
Comment by Mimou — November 3, 2008 @ 8:35 pm
[...] From the mind of Jon Birch: [...]
Pingback by Smiley happy people | The Daily Scroll — November 4, 2008 @ 4:35 am
cheers Steve Lancaster, am a big fan of Jean Vanier – though haven’t spent any time with the L’Arche community.
I am aware I get very bruised in much of the church stuff I go to, as there isn’t a context to feel supported in what I’m trying to do outside church.
Comment by subo — November 4, 2008 @ 9:02 am
If they are all being real, why do they look like they are wearing masks?
Comment by Kayte — November 4, 2008 @ 4:31 pm
Subo,
I think you’ve put your finger on a big issue with church – the disjunct church members feel between their ‘church’ life and their ‘outside’ life.
Somehow, at the nitty-gritty level, the only person bridging the two is the person themselves. And really, could it be any other way? I mean, if God wants to do something very deep in your life, something that uniquely equips you and no-one else, unless church services are perpetual, it won’t be possible for that equipping to take place in public.
For me, life in an intentional community (L’Arche) supported me bridging the gap. It was a kind of total immersion, all day every day for a year. And that in the long run seems to have done the trick. Certainly it provides the touchstone for everything I do now, fifteen years later. But it was a tough journey!
There’s a very decent book out called Emerging Evangelism, by John Finney, which defines five types of church, one of which is the missional community, and another the type of ‘desert father’ monasticism you associate with traditional monks and nuns. So maybe you could link into some of the sites on ‘intentional communities’.
There’s a really interesting I’d recommend called “Deliberate Culture”. It’s provocative and not Christian as such, though the author describes herself as a Quaker. It’s right up my street. It provides tools helping you to create cultures, tribes, dare I say it, churches, from scratch.
There’s a wiki attached to it too, and a personal blog where the theories are put into practise.
Comment by Steve Lancaster — November 4, 2008 @ 5:21 pm
Subo,
I think you’ve put your finger on a big issue with church – the disjunct church members feel between their ‘church’ life and their ‘outside’ life.
Somehow, at the nitty-gritty level, the only person bridging the two is the person themselves. And really, could it be any other way? I mean, if God wants to do something very deep in your life, something that uniquely equips you and no-one else, unless church services are perpetual, it won’t be possible for that equipping to take place in public.
For me, life in an intentional community (L’Arche) supported me bridging the gap. It was a kind of total immersion, all day every day for a year. And that in the long run seems to have done the trick. Certainly it provides the touchstone for everything I do now, fifteen years later. But it was a tough journey!
There’s a very decent book out called Emerging Evangelism, by John Finney, which defines five types of church, one of which is the missional community, and another the type of ‘desert father’ monasticism you associate with traditional monks and nuns. So maybe you could link into some of the sites on ‘intentional communities’.
Comment by Steve Lancaster — November 4, 2008 @ 5:23 pm
exactly, kayte.
Comment by jonbirch — November 5, 2008 @ 5:20 pm
Oops, sorry for double posting. Teach me not to put web addresses in the body of the comments! Sorry.
Comment by Steve Lancaster — November 7, 2008 @ 11:29 am
(I haven’t been by in awhile, am just getting caught up
)
Oh, Jon, you’ve outdone yourself. This is a stroke of GENIUS.
Comment by Amy Gustafson — November 19, 2008 @ 6:59 pm