Community Fun!

So we had this really good conversation on community and expectations today so I figured I'd share it with you. It's cleverly titled "Myths of Community ". Also I'm on my fourth cup of coffee today so I have a lot of energy.

We started out the conversation with a clip from the movie "The Beach". In a nutshell, the movie is about a world traveler named Richard who stumbles onto a map to a Utopian community living on an island. The rest of the film finds him and a few friends finding this beach and living there for sometime, only to find that their expectations of community life fall apart. It's an ok movie if your interested in sketchy dialog but a pretty intriguing plot.

But, I digress...

The whole point of that was watching the end of the movie, seeing their expectations not being met, and then seeing "utopia" fall apart. In that we looked at an illustration of the flow of community life. I even took a picture for you!


In this illustration we look at five different aspects of community life:
Casual, Pseudo-Community, Chaos, Catharsis, and Deep Community.

Casual - 1: subject to, resulting from, or occurring by chance casual meeting>2 a: occurring without regularity : occasional <casual employment> b: employed for irregular periods casual worker> c: met with on occasion and known only superficially casual friend>

In the casual stage, it's exactly what is sounds like. In a sense everyone is putting on their best show and conversation is limited to neutral topics like the weather or something. Every community/friendship/small group starts here.

Pseudo - 1 : false : spurious <pseudoclassic>
Community - 1: a unified body of individuals b: the people with common interests living in a particular area
When you hit pseudo-community, you start going a little deeper. You can talk about yourself to a degree, letting people in to more personal aspects of your life but still keeping them at an arms length. Conversation about deeper spirituality can be found here, but very little real personal investment needs to be made. The reality is that most small groups/bible studies/communities never make it past this, mainly because of the limited amount of face time/personal time spent with each other. They are happy with this place because the masks can still be on if you want them to be.

Chaos - 3 a: a state of utter confusion
This is where things get interesting: chaos. In the illustration this is where we go into the dark tunnel. This is where there has been a significant amount of personal investment but all the expectations you've brought haven't exactly been met. This can manifest itself in many ways, but can also be ignored. A lot of people think that chaos is a problem and try to ignore it.We believe that chaos has no place in christian community. We avoid it and never want to move past pseudo-community. The reality is that this is a healthy progression in community life. There are a lot of expectations about community that most of us deal with and will just fester in our hearts unless they are brought to light through chaos. You NEED to allow chaos to move forward. There is reality that not everyone is perfect, therefore you won't love everyones little quirks, or some of the big quirks. The best part is that you, yes YOU, have issues. And eventually those issues are going to bother someone. At some point that someone won't be able to take it anymore and that will create chaos. How you deal with it is what decides whether or not you can move on. I think I've stressed this point quite enough.

Catharsis - 2 a: purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art b: a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension 3: elimination of a complex by bringing it to consciousness and affording it expression
This, my friends, is the next step: catharsis. I love the definition, because there is this idea that when your emotions come to bear there is some sort of purification and spiritual renewal. Now we are again coming from the realization that we aren't perfect and this process may have a few flaws, so keep that in mind. This really is kind of coupled with chaos because it's part of the release that chaos needs. It's like hot lava in a volcano that needs to force it's way out, or, like the illustration, a coming from darkness into light (a slightly less violent way than the volcano, but you get the point). At this point in the community we begin to try and work with chaos, finding a way to make relationships right, learning to love in spite of faults, or just letting your emotions out for everyone to know how you feel. Now this is something that needs to be done with a bit of discretion depending on your audience. Not that honesty is a bad thing, but sometimes sharing how angry you are with so-and-so in the group in front of the whole group doesn't do anyone any good. Since we are thinking of this in terms of healthy community (basically that healthy communities go through this cycle) we are assuming that God is in this equation. Asking for guidance in this process is key. Community will never make it without serious reliance on Him. Through this process beautiful and painful things can happen all at the same time. When you share your heart in the hard times there is a purging that happens, a release in your spirit. You begin to walk in the truth of who you are and who the community is. Only then can you move to the next phase.

Deeper - 1: extending far from some surface or area: as a: extending far downward deep well> b (1): extending well inward from an outer surface
The last part of this cycle is deeper community. This is where a synthesis of chaos and catharsis creates an openness and a trust in which you don't move past someones faults but you learn to love them with their faults. You begin to recognize the Christ in others as they see the Christ in you. Now instead of the word deep we use the word deeper in it's place because there is this idea of constantly moving forward in this. The reality is that this cycle repeats itself. Not the whole cycle, but I think the last three are in constant motion. There are always new things to learn about yourself and others, so chaos and catharsis with be revisited. This, however, is coupled with the promise that when dealt with deeper community will follow each time. There is no end to the depth that you can reach with God and community, so there is always a need for love and grace.

As an aside, I think the opposite can be true in thought, that healthy communities don't go through this cycle and that God isn't in this. I think you can be absolutely focused on God as a community, seeking Him in all things and go through chaos/catharsis. I'll even go as far as to say you have to go through these to experience deep community. I know this idea is repeated throughout this entire blog, but on the other hand I don't think I can stress this point enough. God will allow you to feel pain, rejection, anger, frustration, etc. to help you a) realize you are human, broken, and in need of Him and b) so everyone else can see that about you and it can cause you to humble yourself to the community. Everyone needs a little humility now and again...

Now that's a lot to think about and even in writing this blog my head is spinning and I think I need a nap. So for anyone who has braved it this far into this entry, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. This is a conversation that didn't start with me and won't end with me. It's a conversation that we will be having in faith communities for years to come and I'm glad that I can take part. So if there is anything you would like to agree with, challenge, add, or just vent about, let me know and we can keep going. There are lot's of different types of communities and people so I can't imagine that this model is the model to define all models. That's why God made us creative. So about that nap...

Three months and still truckin'

So its been a while since I really blogged. We're hitting the three month mark here and I'm just beginning to reflect on everything thats happened. I'm already not the same person that showed up to South Africa in January. All of my expectations, hopes, dreams of what this might be have either been scrapped or changed, most for the better, but some things are still up in the air. What I've been saying lately is that my paradigm of God is shifting.

I mean, we all grow in our knowledge and reality of who God is for us and for the world, but I think their are times where there is a major shift and a lot of things change at once. That's only happened two times before in my life. The first time was when I was 15 and I actually started this journey we call salvation. My whole world changed then. The second time was when I started Bible college. Beginning to really study and think about God, struggle with different ideas good, bad and in between. Both of these instances were accompanied by sleepless nights, joy, turmoil, tears and laughter. All that happening while in a different culture with different people makes it even more difficult at times.

I think it's a necessary shift, but it's hard to deal with and it makes me frustrated and intolerable at times which is hard for the community around me. I have this tendancy to want to figure out everything all at once. I let stuff build up, ideas and thoughts that I need to process as well as things in life that I need to accomplish (or think that I need to accomplish, as if that's what life is all about). Then like the straw that broke the camels back one more thing gets itself stuck up there and my mind just goes into overload. Then I bring God into the picture and think that I need to figure all this out so I can somehow please Him by bringing him this checked off to do list. It's even more frustrating when He set's aside the to do list without looking at it. The reality is He cares more about my heart.

Shane Claiborn writes in his book Irresistible Revolution (this being the Chris Seitz paraphrase) that in one moment we can see ourselves as beautiful in the eyes of God, His creation that He is wooing to Himself. In the next moment we can see ourselves as wretched and desperately in need, like the tax collector who can't even look to heaven when he prays. The reality is that we are both. How can we be both...?

Anyhow, I know that there was promise for news from what's happening here in South Africa. Of course, I dare not leave you wanting!

So as part of our submerging posture we went to stay in the township of Soshanguve. This is one of those experiences that's hard to explain, it's one of those you just need to be there. I stayed with a guy named Thomas who has lived in townships his whole life. It was a pretty amazing time spent mostly just visiting with lot's of different people, playing pick-up games of soccer and eating lots and lots of pap. What made the experience interesting was their perception of poverty. Where I'm from, living in the conditions in which they find themselves would be considered extreme poverty. For these people, however, I don't think poverty has entered their mind. They usually have food to eat, a warm place to sleep, they go to school, and they have electricity. It really makes you think that what we think we can't live without isn't really all that important.

Just me hanging out at Thomas'. Apparently with some ridiculously dirty feet

My room mate and his sister.

The other thing I mentioned in the last post was our trip to the Drakensburg Mountains. There is so much I can say, but I don't think I could give it justice. It was a great time to spend with my fellow apprentices, a time of laughing, love, getting our micro bus stuck in the mud, and breathtaking scenery. So, without further ado here's the Drakensburg.

Well, ok. This bug is a little strange, I know. But look at him! He's like red and blue and stuff. Who has bugs like this? Only in Africa, seriously.

As far as ministry is concerned, I have made some decisions. I’m going to start working with Zimbabwe refugees. I don’t know how aware everyone is of the political climate of Zimbabwe, but let’s just say it’s bad. The current president has been in power for the last 28 years, some of which was very good. Under his leadership Zim became the center for education for all of Africa. They are some of the most friendly and intelligent people you could ever meet.

At one point in their history President Mugabe simply took a turn for the worst (in light of not wanting to misrepresent fact and also not wanting to tell a 28 year history of a country in one blog that link will take you to a basic history of what's happened). In the last several years there has been a mass exodus of people to South Africa and it has become a huge challenge for this country.

Another problem is for whatever reason there seems to be some sort of hatred for people from Zim, especially the black South African population. Through an inner city church we have been able to hook up with a large group of refugees. This is a group that was staying in a township that were getting harassed and beaten up, so the city of Pretoria took them out and put them in this open courtyard/warehouse area. Now, it sounded like they were doing them a favor (in a way they were) and they set them up with a big tanker of water, some toilets, and other provisions, but then a week later they completely abandoned them. There are 67 of them there including 9 children, so the water went fast and the toilets filled up, and then they were left to fend for themselves. As I said before the Zimbabwe people are amongst the most educated, if not the most, in all of Africa. The problem is without proper papers no one will give them a job here. I met one guy with a PhD and he makes next to nothing. Not because he won’t work, but because people won’t let him work. On top of that there is no security (which the city promised 24/7) so people are coming in and taking their food and threatening them. It really made me sick, because I saw some of it first hand and there was nothing I could do.

So now one of the guys here, Jody, and myself are going to get involved with helping them. Mainly just spending time with them talking and listening, they want to tell their stories. On the other end we will help care for them at a local church, fight for the things they need, and really just do whatever we can to help. They are a people that are so full of hope, though. There were elections held recently, but the current president would not release the results. Chances are he lost, and if he decides to actually release them and step down, these people plan on going right back because in there mind there is no better place than Zimbabwe. To hear them talk about how wonderful home is blew me away. One man even described it as 'the land that flows with milk and honey'. Just picturing their faces with such hope in such destitution is bringing tears to my eyes.

Another opportunity we have is working right here in Pretoria North. It actually started as an assignment, part of our submerging posture. We had to pick a service project as a community, either from the list they gave us or something we came up with ourselves. Either way, we decided to go and find some of the people living on the streets that we’ve gotten to know/people we don’t know and take them out to eat. So we split up and our group ended up coming across 5 street kids that park cars right down the road from us. We all met up at Nandos (a local chain restaurant) and had dinner there. It was a really good time just getting to know them. They sleep in a parking lot right down the road and I just have this desire to do ministry that’s right in my backyard. It's the idea that God has planted me here, so why not try to make a difference in the lives of the people I see almost everyday. So my hope is to just start building a relationship with them, hanging out, playing soccer (it's amazing how much "ministry" one little checkered ball can accomplish), and just hearing their stories.

So one large prayer request would be for the country of Zimbabwe, that it would return to the land of beauty and prosperity it once was. Another would be for a girl there named Thandi. She is 22 years old and has taken responsibility for this group. She left all of her family in Zim to come to South Africa so she could send them money. She needed to do this because her father died last in February. When she began to tell us this story tears were forming in her eyes. She is the one who gets harassed typically when drunk men come in and demand that they get food, when in all reality there isn't enough food for the people who stay there. She bears the weight of caring for these people and all I could really do was hug her and hold her and tell her that she is doing a good job and that she is loved. This situation has changed the way I view being "blessed".

Another would be for the guys here on the streets. They are definitely in need, but also in need of softening. Life here has hardened their hearts, so it's gotten to them and when we try to offer them hope they just ask for things. And we can give them stuff, and God commands us to take care of them, but I guess it's hard to know where to strike the balance. Then again he tells us to offer our shirt if they steal our coat. These guys haven't stolen anything from me, but doesn't that mean I should give them even more... I don't know. Just be praying for my discernment in how I interact with them. I want to just get to know them and let them know they are loved. It sounds so easy, why does it have to be so hard?

Thanks for the love and support, I need it now more than ever. I still miss my friends and family and of course Crosspoint. I hope that this blog finds you all well and that it brings the things of the kingdom. Well, as best as a blog can bring the kingdom.

Some slightly annoying news from South Africa

So, to make a long story short I'm writing this blog to let you know my computer is not doing well. It's something that can and will be fixed, but it's making blogging a little difficult because I don't have ready access to a computer. I'm able to occassionaly check my email and such, so I can respond to contacts, but I'd really like to save blogging until I really have time to sit down and put a good amount of time into it. Plus I can't upload pictures until my computer is working again and I LOVE to put up pictures.

So, as a teaser for my next blog (hopefully next week), I'll tell you briefly about a couple of opportunities we had.

First off, two weeks ago we started our submerging posture. It's basically a time where we take what we've learned from the listening posture and apply it to our current culture in the way of ministry. We are now listening to God for how we should be involved in the community around us. This week we spent three days in a local township called Soshanguve and I got to stay with an amazing South African named Thomas. The experience was completely surreal and I can't wait to tell you more.

The second thing was an opportunity to travel within the country for a weekend away with just the apprentices. We went to the Drakensburg mountains, one of the most beautiul mountain ranges I have ever seen. It was an amazing time with the people I love here in South Africa growing closer through shared experience and a wonderful chance to gaze upon God's magnificent creation.

All of this and more (meaning elaboration and pictures) in my next blog.

Please be praying for all of us apprentices as week seek a place to serve. Some of the ministries are so overwhelmed that meeting with us and helping to find a place for us in their ministries can be a little tough, which in the end is frustrating for all involved. Also, from our point of veiw the need can sometimes be so great that we feel overwhelmed in even picking a ministry or a place to serve. I mainly fall into that second category. Pray that no matter what happens or where we find ourselves that our first goal is to live lives that make the kingdom a present reality for all people, whether we are grocery shopping or feeding the homeless. That's my hope for my life, really for all of us and you as well.