Prodigal Kiwi(s) Blog

Wendell Berry and “The Real”

Paul writes – I came across this great little quote from Wendell Berry (original source, unknown). A little thought to ponder today:

“…It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work and that when we no longer know which way to go we have begun our real journey…” 

There are times when ones life and journey must enter a cloud of unknowing. Rather than encouraging emptiness, it is the way of fullness and of depth in an age of the superficial.

 

David Runcorn: Back to the Future: History, Remembrance and Renewal.

Paul writes – You’ll here more from me on David Runcorn, an Anglican Priest, in the coming weeks. He’s been a wise companion of my journey, albeit it peripherally by way of his books, especially this one.

Meantime, here’s a story from him titled: “Back to the Future: History, Remembrance and Renewal”:  

“…While visiting an Orthodox monastery in Essex I met a young man who was a regular visitor there. He had been a spiritual searcher for a long time. His journey had led him into powerful but ultimately damaging experiences in various New Age spiritualities. He had come to faith in Christ, but his journey continued to prove difficult. He spent time successively in a Pentecostal church, a house fellowship and then in a lively Anglican church. They were full of life but they did not touch this vulnerable pilgrim’s deepest wound. He had a breakdown before finally finding this monastery and the Orthodox faith. Here at last he found the spiritual home he most needed. And what was so healing about it? ‘The sense of history’, he said. With that came a deep sense of knowing where he belonged and of being securely rooted somewhere. In that ancient Christian tradition he found both the strength to live the present and a faith that renewed him in hope for the future…”

For the rest of Runcorn’s 2006 reflection go here.  

It’s a Mystery to Me!

Paul writes – Longtime friend Maggi Dawn included the following paragraph in a recent post titled “Fresh Expressions: Rewriting History”.

“… What really happened was that long before Mission Shaped Church or Fresh Expressions, a whole lot of people either left church or divided their loyalties in order to start new congregations outside the formal structures of the Church.  The Mission Shaped Church report was in part a way of persuading the church at large that they either needed to make room for such alternative congregations or stand back and watch while a whole lot more people left the church in favour of these new projects. Stephen Croft, Graham Cray, Jonny Baker and a number of others then put in a lot of work to open up space for such congregations within Church of England and Methodist structures. But the resulting “Fresh Expressions” was a new title for something that had been going on for a good 15 years already (some would say longer)…” 

In New Zealand, and in Anglicanism in particular, a whole lot of people are leaving church, but very few are yet starting new congregations outside of the formal structures of the (Anglican) Church. The parochial system rules unchallenged, and this reality is a mystery to me. Despite a wide range of recent (relatively speaking) input from the likes of Steve Taylor, Alan Jamieson, Ian Mobsby, and Dave Tomlinson, why haven’t contextualized kiwi versions of the kind of missional creativity and imagination, seen in parts of the Church of England, been more in evidence here? What will be the catalyst? For goodness sake, it wasn't even on the agenda of the most recent General Synod (we'll not that I've gleaned)!

What will trigger meaningful change and stop us from sitting back and watching while the average congregant age goes up and the gap back to younger generations continues to enlarge and all the while large numbers of people continue to leave while even larger numbers (and growing) never arrive. 

Why are we so wedded to the parochial parish model and singular congregations rather than multi-congregational models that enable the contextual work of mission in contemporary culture? 

In this “can do” land of “number 8 wire” and leading edge innovation, it’s a mystery to me. 

Steve Taylor: Contextualizing the Spirit of God at Work Within, but Importantly, Also Beyond the Four Walls of the Church

Paul writes - Over the last 24-hours, as I’ve been travelling to and from work, I’ve been listening to long-time friend Steve Taylor, and appreciatively recalling his presentations at the Waikato & Taranaki Anglican Diocese Ministry school and talks at the Missional Church Leadership course.  Additionally my listening was filtered through our many conversations, other presentations Steve has made, and his writing. 

It’s been good to be going to and from work. One of my favourite times to learn and to think with a whole host of fascinating ‘conversation’ partners and teachers. 

So, what was I listening to? 

The Norman and Mary Millar Lecture at the 28th Queensland Synod of the Uniting Church was presented by Rev Dr Steve Taylor a New Zealand Baptist minister who is now living in Adelaide and serving as the Director of Missiology at Uniting College for Leadership and Theology in the South Australian Synod of the Uniting Church.

If you’re an Anglican leader, or were at the Ministry School I referred to above, Steve’s lecture (interactive as all his talks/lectures are) will be really useful as it captures many of the themes he touched on in that lecture – change, leadership, the missional invitation etc etc. The recording is in three parts, the latter part being largely questions and responses.

Here’s Steve’s post referencing the lecture, and the report / news story in the Queensland Uniting Church’s “Journey online” website. It also has the links to the Mp3’s.

Take some time to download them and have a listen over the next few days. You’ll be pleased you did. Steve still names the challenges and opportunities that face churches in 21^st Century Post-Christendom Western contexts. 

A Perpetual Journey: Enclosing worship ancient and modern and all between ancient and modern

Paul writes – I came across what is quite an evocative few lines from Walt Whitman’s lengthy poem Song of Myself.

...I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise,
Regardless of others, ever regardful of others,
Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man...

My faith ... Enclosing worship ancient and modern and all between ancient and modern...

...I tramp a perpetual journey...
...My right hand pointing to landscapes of continents and the public road.

Not I, not anyone else can travel that road for you,
You must travel it for yourself.

It is not far, it is within reach,
Perhaps you have been on it since you were born and did not know...”

An Insatiable Moon Taster

It was directed by Magdalena Laas, with a crew consisting of Lisa Moore, Angela Gray and Skye Clark. The present clip has been edited up by Sam Genders from Blue Hippo Media. Spread the word. Available on Youtube

Our Own Interior Transformation for Our Own Wholeness and the Sake of the World

Paul writes – Here’s some more from Fr. Thomas Keating – an extension of yesterday’s post – (and) more from his interview. It’s a gem on so many levels: 

“…The normal human life is to be a contemplative, because it is this that makes one fully human, and without it you don’t quite see what being human is because you’re seeing the whole process at a level that can’t give you the answers…[you need in order to become more fully human]…”

Unfortunately, the transcript of part 2 of the interview doesn’t appear to be available. I have only been able to transcribe a little bit of it (above)… but if I could have I would have included a lot of the end of the interview. Keating makes important links between personal “unitive transformation” and the healing of the wider world of which we are a part. He situates the outworking of the contemplative life; of our own interior transformation, within the context of embodying gospel in the world for the sake of the world. The contemplative life, drawing on the rich Christian heritage and it's ancient practices is much needed in our local church contexts and community's. One observation I often make of my experiences of church is that we/they never get below the surface... we/they major in the externals, but the interior life is mostly neglected and unresourced - hence the flight to other religious and philosophical traditions (e.g. Buddhism) and to so-called "spirituality" and its practices etc, apart from religion. Hence too the need for so many to leave our churches in order to find and experience God. 

Positively that flight from church belonging can often lead many to rediscover the rich, ancient, and neglected Christian tradition and its tried and tested practices of prayer, meditation, contemplation etc. But, as the term "ancient" suggests, this has meant going back to the sources, to the Desert Fathers and Mothers, back to the monastic and mendicant traditions, back to the deep wells and guides that lie within -in particular, the Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox traditions - though you'll seldom drink from these wells on a Sunday morning in an Anglican or Catholic congregation, or from much of the literature found in so-called Christian bookshops. I apologize if this sounds overly critical, but so many of my own experiences, and so many conversations with church leavers make or underline just these points.

Thomas Keathing is one such significant guide to me; a bridge back to the ancient and to the sapiential and wisdom traditions within Christianity. 

 

Fr.Thomas Keating OCSO on Contemplation, the Spiritual Life and the Future of Monasticism.

Paul writes – Again, recently, I have been enlivened and enriched by my listening to 87-year old Cistercian monk Thomas Keating OCSO, from St. Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass, north east of Aspen. My interactions with Keating, whether audio-visual or by way of books, have been important in my journey. In fact the Cistercian / Benedictine tradition as a whole has been life giving to me in so many ways.

While not aware of any collections of essays that engage Keating and his understanding of spirituality, prayer, the monastic life, contemplation etc, Keating has a number of books, which are well worth reading. He is most well known for his work on centering prayer. I’d recommend his: 

Open Heart, Open Mind: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel. 

Intimacy with God: An Introduction to Centering Prayer.

He has also recently published a new book entitled Divine Therapy and Addiction: Centering Prayer and the Twelve Steps (pub. May 2009) which I had a look through last week. It looks very insightful and helpful, particularly if you offer pastoral care, counseling or spiritual direction. 

The “listening” I refer to above was a fantastic and insightful 2010 interview with Keating by Tami Simon. The interview (podcast) is in two parts – part 1 and part 2, and is titled: Inviting the Presence of the Divine. In it Keating talks about his journey into monasticism, the monastic vocation, the formative pattern of “death and resurrection”, the contemplative life, the future of monasticism and religious orders, and lots more. 

You can find the interview(s) and transcripts here and here respectively.

Meantime, here’s an excerpt from the interview: 

“…Contemplation over the years has been looked on as something that is pure gift. Yes, it is a pure gift, but the clarification that is usually not added to it is that it's a gift that's already been given. It comes with life. And it's not so much a question of going out looking for it as it is accepting it and awakening to it… I went into this monastery hoping to find the circumstances that would lead me as quickly as possible into the heights of contemplation. I now think that it probably was an expression of my native ambitious character. Who knows? What I do know is that contemplation is a gift—to me it's an innate gift of which every human being is capable and possible and which they need in order to fulfill the human destiny of union with God and each other and all the cosmic oneness that is described in all the traditions as the gradual unfolding of the interior life…” 

I highly recommend the interview. If you’re interested and search this site for “Thomas Keating” you’ll find other references to him, quotes, and podcasts.

Immature Christianity – Hans Kung and Jurgen Moltmann

Paul writes – Peter Carrell usefully directed me to an interesting post by Bishop Nick Baines, consecrated Bishop of Croydon at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, in May 2003.

Baines recently had the privilege, along with many others (but interestingly they had to turn people away as the venue was full) to listen to presentations and a conversation between Hans Kung and Jurgen Moltmann. Bishop Alan Wilson, while referencing Baines’ post also offers his own thoughts, and they’re also worth a read, here.  Wilson’s reference to a quote attributed to Richard Rohr is especially worth taking some time to reflect on.

You can read Baines’ full post here. Meantime, here are a couple of excerpts:

“...Most of the excluded were young people eager to garner the wisdom of these two theologians. Why? Because their theology is neither dry nor ‘merely academic’, but engages with the real world of economics, politics and culture. They bring to their subject the intellectual rigour that is associated with German philosophical thinking. Yet, they speak with simplicity, clarity and passion – eschewing theological cleverness in order to communicate accessibly with all-comers: they are remarkable men who show no sign of being ego-driven...   

...Moltmann sees the future of churches in lay people taking responsibility for their own faith and organising the church in house groups that come together sacramentally. Christians are not ‘customers’, there to ‘visit’ the church, but members who take responsibility for the life of the church...”

Leaving Church: Missed Opportunities…? Part 4 of 4

 [Parts  1, 2, and 3] I guess too that those of us who follow our questions, fears and doubts – and are not (necessarily) the victims of explicit spiritual abuse – are often complicit in the process of both leaving and of becoming marginalised from others. But then again churches in my experience, as I’ve already noted, aren’t good at accompanying or learning from those who are on what invariably, but sadly, becomes a leaver’s journey. Neither party is often good at, or sometimes even able to listen or of putting into words etc what is happening for them. Neither party often feels safe (churches can feel threatened, for example; individuals feel they're closed down and unable to safely talk about what's happening for them), and as a consequence an opportunity for mutual growth is missed. We need more safe and agenda-less spaces. More spaces where the power of the establishment and establishment roles are laid aside for the sake of discerning God and God’s kingdom opportunities.   

Again, as I’ve already said, as a “leaver” you often get to a point, or you make a decision to internalize your experiences and new learning and to keep them to yourself – as much for self-protection as anything else. However, in that process (and its often a very needful process) you find yourself leaving more and more of yourself at the door on a Sunday morning. You find it harder and harder to be yourself in any kind of authentic or life-giving way in church contexts. This strains relationships – you become more distant – and as a result, perhaps the need to leave becomes inevitable – you loose connection and the inertia of your own journey continues to propel you away from a congregation. It becomes impossible to maintain the façade of “fitting in”, of being what you’re implicitly (and often explicitly) expected to be as a member of a congregation. The gap between what you experience as a member of a congregation and what you experience and need beyond the congregation grows ever wider.

Interestingly though, we honor and bless pastors when they leave, people who leave the congregation to shift to another part of the country, the dead, but we do nothing for those who leave congregations in order to find God and to better resource the needs of their lives and their humanity.

Existing congregations, I believe, miss the opportunities of walking alongside the person who is following their questions and their hearts, and they miss a profound opportunity to discern what might be the invitations of God to them as congregations – invitations to newness, growth, and the future (in contrast to the typical retreat of congregations into the safety of the past and the familiar). 

Perhaps therefore, by way of a conclusion, it’s less important for “communities to challenge the ways things are done” in church contexts and more important for churches themselves to be willing to allow themselves to be challenged and thus to change…?

So, by way of summary, what are some of the practical things church can do in a healthy response to those on the outside of the inside and what Alan Jamieson calls “internal leavers”…?

• Create a “Spirited Exchanges” type of group – a safe space where people can talk about and explore what’s happening for them.
• Start a discernment / listening group around coffee and/or food – a small group which includes church leaders (as facilitators and especially listeners) and begin to listen and discern for the ways in which God might be at work; the ways in which God might be inviting change and growth and a personal and corporate level.
• Encourage the use of spiritual directors (and where useful therapists – there could well be life issues that are contributing to the marginal places people are finding themselves, for example, mid-life, grief & loss, relationship issues etc).
• Creative and participative learning opportunities, workshops (e.g. prayer and contemplation; art, film watching experiences, faith-stage learning, Myers-Briggs etc) retreats etc.
• Field-trips – visit and explore other ways and creative/imaginative ways of being church.
• Invest in books like Alan Jamieson’s books A Churchless Faith, Chrysalis etc.
• Explore Alt.Worship and other useful ways that a new (outward-looking / missional) congregation might be formed.
• Enable Theological Study.
• Get on the mailing list for the Spirited Exchanges (UK) newsletter.
• Create meaningful leaving rituals for those who decide they have to leave. 

The list could go on. What have others found useful or life-giving…?