(re)turn to ritual

Recently I got to go to a friendly Baptist Church. Even before the service started I had an urge to be part of a traditional Anglican communion (there was no communion at the service). I’m thinking that ritual will need to be an important part of a churchless faith. Those with a church less faith do not have a homogenous set of beliefs, and unlike say more fundamentalist churches, so we need something in common. I am wondering what a Sabbath ritual might look like contain. Here are my first thoughts...

Lighting of a Candle
Opening prayer
Journal by ourselves for an extended period (thinking about what God has taught me this week?) then discuss
Read from Lectionary readings and discuss
Listen to read a contemporary Xn thinker (group takes it in turns to provide)
Prayer of Confession
Communion
Prayer for others (intersession)
Foot washing
Prayer to end
Blow out candle

Things Jesus lived without: (2) the mobile phone

Come on, seriously does anyone really like having one of these things? Does anyone like to say to someone who has taken the time to see you in person that the effort they have made to see you in person is not as worthy as someone who has just called you on your mobile phone? I think the reality is that we like other people having them. We all the love the ability to contact someone at any time and make ourselves the most important thing in their life. How many times have you heard someone complain “I don’t know why xxx even bothers having a mobile phone if they won’t answer it!” Well, I bet that (a) the caller is the one to benefit from the call (b) and the reason they were calling is not really that important, and is something that should have been organised a few days ago or could be organised in a few days time.

Goal 1 for 2005: Don’t own a mobile phone.

Enjoying sitting out the back

Xns often talk about church surfing. Where, I guess the Church’s are waves and we try and surf them. Well like many people I’ve been out the back waiting to find a good wave to catch. And, after sitting out the back for quite sometime I’ve decided I like it. I’m still on my board and still in the water and love it. A Xn who doesn’t go to church, a surfer who doesn’t catch waves…

Church surfing… What’s a good wave?

Well I’m due to move into my new house in a month so this means some serious church surfing coming up.

In my experience church recommendations have always been along the lines of…
Why don’t you check out xxx they’ve got a really good music ministry
Or
Why don’t you check out xxx they’ve got a really big youth population
Or
Why don’t you check out xxx the pastor is interested in getting involved in the wider community.

Unfortunately a church with all these 3 qualities could be banal, self serving waste of time. It could be lots of young people sitting around singing songs with no intention of reaching out to others with a pastor thinking that would be a nice thing to do.

Oh… and the other one is when people say “the first time I walked into xxx I felt so welcomed” Well I felt pretty welcomed the last time I walked into a furniture store but I wouldn’t want to do that every Sunday.

So how should one judge a church? I’m not sure. I’d love to hear any suggestions.

The one question that has always been my first question, which I have never had a positive answer for, is “How would a deeply spiritual non-Xn person looking to explore Xn spirituality and Faith fit in to this church?”

The Station Agent

Mmm what a beautiful movie, definitely in my top 5 for 2004 (Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind is going to be hard to beat). Unlike 99% of movies instead of taking you for a ride that makes you feel like you need a break afterward, The Station Agent left me feeling relaxed, like a burdened had been lifted and left me believing that no matter how different we are or how screwed up our pasts have made us we can still enjoy being with each other.

Things Jesus lived without: (1) the clock

This is first on my list of things Jesus lived without that I would also like to live without.

The clock, I think this invention has had a greater impact on our lives than anything else in the last 2000 years. The clock currently determines what time you get up, go to bed, how long you work and how little you see the people you love. We are slaves to the clock. We can get by in our every day lives without a car, computer, mobile phone, probably everything but the clock? No way.

Another one of those Coffees

Well last Sunday night I had another one of those coffee with a couple of committed Xns between the three of us we could probably think of at least twenty other committed Xns who weren’t going to church or if they were, were only going because they were paid to. All of us have a churchless faith and I can’t see any of us going back as we get older. I was struck once again that if we cannot work out how to have a churchless faith then our faiths may slip through our fingers. We may not lose our faith put if it slips through our fingers we may not be able to pass our faith on to our friends or our children.

Promises – a reflection on Matt 5:37

I hate broken promises. This week I was promised something by last Friday (which I needed by this Thursday) It was put off until Tuesday and then it got done last thing on Thursday was rushed, looked bad and needs to be done again. Hence what I needed to be isn’t and now I have to put others out because I didn’t organize the item to be ready. (And I am no better, last week I promised a friend that I would go on a camp which I didn’t go on. – which I feel bad about even though I had a great reason / excuse not to go)

Now, general wisdom and the advice I always get is that I need to start treating people like crap if I want to get things done. That’s right my problem is that I am too nice. Well Frig off if you think that’s good advice. There is something seriously wrong with a world where 95% of the advice that I get to this dilemma is that I need to start treating people like crap. Well I’m proud to say that generally I don’t do this well and I have no intention of trying.

Jesus said “Let your yes be yes and your no be know” and I know that other things can get in the way so I propose we factor in margins to all our promises. So instead of saying “I’ll be there at 8pm” and trying to get there then. Say “I’ll be and there at 8:10pm” and aim to be at the destination at 8:00pm

Or, instead of “I’ll have this done by 8pm”. Say “If nothing else comes up today I’ll have this done by 8pm which there is a 90% chance of happening but, if something does come up I won’t be able to do it until 10pm. I’ll call you as soon as something does come up.”

This is not a simple yes or no but I think, it keeps the principle of being completely honest. So with the last dude I know that I’ll get my thing done by 10pm but most likely by 8pm. I can then plan around this.

Too much we tell be what we think they want to hear and then don’t follow through. “Let your yes be yes and your no be know” If you probably meet someone at 8pm and can definitely meet them at 8:30pm then please meet then.

Church is too easy

I think a lot of people have friends who say the reason they don't go to church is because they are too busy. But according to the last Australian church life survey the real reasons are that church is boring and that people just don't believe what Christian’s believe.

My contention is that church isn't to hard but rather it is too easy. Stick me in a world were there are only kids books and I'll tell you that I don't like reading. Seriously I think to be warmly embraced as got it together Xn in a typical western church you only need two things (1) to only have sex with the person you are legally married to (2) to turn up every week to church.

Compare this to a person who reads the Bible, prays and has given everything to the poor (unlike the rich young ruler), visits people in prison, gives money to world vision, (like the sheep in Matt 25) and doesn't criticize the immorality of others (take the speck out of your own eye first) (I could go on but you get the point). But, yet is living with their long term girlfriend and doesn't regularly go to church. Mmmm?

Churches often majors on the minors. To me church seems to consist of communal singing (where we sing to God lots of stuff that we don't actually do eg: praising God no stop, trusting only in God, giving everything to God, etc...) listening to sermons where instead of working out how to apply the Bible to our lives a preacher applies it to their life and we secondarily apply it to ours. Then someone prays for things that they think we might all want to pray for, we have announcements (encouraging people to be part various teams to make this all happen next week).

Apart from turning up on Sunday to do the above we have no spiritual disciplines and church is too easy to get into, anyone can join! Which actually limits how intimate we can actually be with each other, so we have no idea how each other are actually going.

Church numbers falling? I think the solution is not to make church easier but to make it harder.

TV: Just say no

Blogging is looking at myself

I have started to enjoy blogging, and not because thousands of people are reading what I am saying. But because it is possible that they might. I have lots of crazy theological, political and artistic thoughts that tend just to whirl around in my head. And I guess this is my way of putting them up for me to see and others perhaps to see, once they are aired in a public place it means I have to actually do something with them, act on them, form them into something meaningful and live by them. Not just let them whirr around in my head.

Thank God for the Blog :)

Politics... Right game Wrong rules?

As a Xn I feel the need to change the world and make it a better place, a more Eden like place. Praying "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is on heaven", is surely matched by taking action to make the world a more just and loving place.

One of the greatest instruments of change is politics and for a long time I have felt both fiercely drawn to getting involved in politics and fiercely repelled by it.

I am drawn because I can see the social change that can be brought about by change in government policy. I have felt repelled because I can see how any new policy must appeal to 51% of the nations selfishness, particularly over money. Everyone wants to know not what parties are going to do but how much is going to be spent and in particular how much is going to be spent on themselves.

For example the argument over education is not about making sure every child gets a decent education and what strategies are going to be put in place to make sure that happens. It is all about whether more money goes to the private sector or the public sector.

What I want is for every child to be able to get a decent education. Whether that is by every single child going to a state school or every single child going to a private school (with say each parent given a certain amount of money for each child) and there are regulations on teaching standards / facilities and the spread of types of children that attend each school (social and academic - relative to the surrounding area). But alas no one is even talking like this it's all about who is going to get what money and yes that does effect the quality of education but that is secondary. Money is not the solution it funds the solution.

I would love to join a political party but until there is one brave enough to talk solutions first and funding second I don't think I will.