Blogging as Wandering – Cybermonks and Missional Orders

Paul writes - Following on from yesterday’s post I attach the following section adapted from an essay I wrote late last year for REFRESH (the NZ journal for Spiritual Growth Ministries). It isn’t meant to be a deep piece, just a rudimentary think piece. Though the original article written about blogging and creativity, for me (at least) it helps me creatively imagine some ways into thinking about “missional-orders” and the helpful role that blogging plays in resourcing the conversation. 

My good friend Mike Riddell, has written (in part) about “cybermonks”. It was the result of what he calls an exercise in “poetic imagination”, and in the process he has usefully re-mixed the Celtic monastic practices of “wandering” and “dispersion.” He makes several points that I believe are useful for helping us frame this dispersed conversation about  “missional-orders”. To use blogging as one creative response to this exploration is to creatively mirror the aforementioned twin commitments:

Bloggers, often as a response to the DIY impulse, are wanderers who travel freely wherever the Spirit seems to blow. They take creative responsibility for their Jesus-shaped formation (both individually and communally) by making use of the resources and technology that are available.

These ancient monks were creative innovators, “largely self-resourcing” and self-motivated. So too are many bloggers who creatively and innovatively resource their and others' spirituality via globally interconnected e-highways and byways. Their individual blogs (I hope mine is, at least) are missional and spirituality outposts to which 'pilgrims' can 'travel' in order to sustain and resource their journey toward God – which after all has to be a central focus of missional orders (which are a creative reworking of the monastic tradition, a tradition (at the very least) centered on God incarnated in Jesus.

This is an aside to my original article, but I hope this latter point (being lovingly centered on God) doesn’t get lost in our natural tendencies toward pragmatism and activism – to doing “mission” rather than being God’s love-shaped and ongoing mission within God’s world. Think of all the great monastic traditions of Christianity and their absolute focus in journeying “toward God” God and a deepening relationship with God was always a priority.

What do I mean? Let me put it this way. Out of a deep and personal intimacy with Christ flows love and out of that love flows the cooperative action of joining in on what God is doing. Joining in on what we discern as our response to God’s invitation. Think here of the raising of Lazarus. Jesus knows that Lazarus’ situation is critical. We know he can heal from a distance (think of the Centurion’s daughter). But, Jesus waits. His friend dies. Jesus is grief-stricken. But Jesus waits. He waits until the Father tells him when to go to Bethany and what to do (thanks to Monty Williams S.J. for this insight). So, back to what I was saying before the Lazarus excursus. The first commitment to being “mission-shaped” is not pragmatic activism; rather it is a commitment to establishing and maintaining intimacy with God.

Contemporary bloggers, like Celtic monks of old, relate as a loose, geographically dispersed network of wayfarers united by shared interests, needs and journeys. They keep alive a sense of common purpose and shared dreams, through the interactivity of writing “letters” (read “letters” as: e-mail, MSN / SKYPE conversations, blog posts, the use of “comments” and podcasts), YouTube, personal friendships, and occasional visits.

Spirituality resources and creativity; the fruit of cyber-pilgrimage, are generously shared and available 24/7 from cyber-monastic-outposts all over the world.

You can find the excellent and still very relevant Mike Riddell article – Beyond Ground Zero: Resourcing Faith in a Post-Christian Era – I was referring to (above) in the 2004 published book The Future of Christianity. It is also available, as a stand-alone essay, via Jonny Baker, here.

Comments

[brad brisco]

Paul, great post. I agree wholeheartedly, as we live sent lives we must be sure we are deeply nourished in our lives with God. This is why a group of us, like many others, have been talking about a missional order for some time now. We are currently fleshing it out and will create a site to articulate our thoughts, but for now we are organizing around three common commitments: Sacred Rhythm, Continual Conversion, and Participation in the Missio Dei.

[Mark]

Love it Paul, this is my hope and "obsession" too!