28 July 2008

London Layover


So I’m sitting here at CaffĂ© Nero in London’s Heathrow Airport at 9:55pm. Thank God they’re open all night because my flight doesn’t depart for another 9 ½ hours.

Wait, scratch that. I was just asked to move to the front, as they are closing the back part of the cafĂ©… the part with the comfy sofas and electrical outlets. Looks like it’s going to be a long night on marble tile.

That’s right, believe it or not, after all the traveling I’ve done, I’m experiencing my first overnight layover in an airport… and it’s not starting out too well. Of course, the caliber of overnight air travelers does appear to be a little less dodgy than that of rail travelers. ☺

Anyway, I’ve been meaning to submit another entry, but have simply not had the time to sit down and crank it out. And it seems I have nothing but time at the moment. Given some of the things going on in and around our ministry in Glasgow, I found myself reflecting on where I was at about 2 ½ years ago. The common denominator(s): Re-Entry to Glasgow after visiting family in Singapore; the challenges of leaders transitioning out/away from a place of partnership/community; finding myself in the familiar place of leaning on and trusting God to continue to guide and sustain our family as we forge ahead in ministry… often times in uncharted territories.

Two-and-a-half years ago, Jasheen, Gabrielle and I went to visit Jasheen’s folks in Singapore. Leading into that trip I had begun having serious concerns about my fit with the team/organization I was with. It had nothing to do with my specific ministry in Glasgow, but with the direction I sensed we were headed as a team, and how that was beginning to conflict with my vision, values and calling… and my original understanding of what we were doing here in the first place.
When we returned to Glasgow, for the first time since I’d arrived, it felt… unfamiliar. It didn’t feel like home. I remember walking around in a haze – not jetlag – a haze of uncertainty. I felt like I didn’t know my teammates; I felt like I didn’t get my teammates; I felt like I was no longer one of my teammates. In retrospect, I think I missed a pretty big word from the Lord back then. Ain’t grace a gas?!?

Now, for the record, I believe that relational dynamics are so infinitely complex that you can’t pinpoint exactly what makes people gel and what makes them… not. But you can usually ballpark it.
The significant relevance of this story, however, is not to focus on my first re-entry to Glasgow, but on my second, this most recent one.

Without going into too much detail, my experience upon this return was inversely proportionate to the first. I felt as if I was coming HOME… not just to where we dwell, but to where we BELONG. I was diving back into a ministry I’m excited and passionate about. I knew I was coming home to some challenging circumstances within our ministry, but I was confident and hopeful that we would emerge a stronger, healthier, tighter community… and we have.

One of the more difficult things that we’re facing as a community right now is the departure of a colleague and good friend from our leadership team. It’s always hard to say goodbye to friends. Yes, we’re disappointed. Yes, we’re grieving. But we are also leaning into our Father and discovering that His direction has not changed. His desire for relationship is still as strong as ever. He is still on His throne. Mosaic is HIS church, and nothing we do can change that. We don’t serve the perfect model. We don’t worship the perfect community. We serve and worship a perfect GOD!

Amidst the backdrop of a changing landscape for our community, Mosaic has invited and commissioned me to serve as the shepherding pastor. I have been “cut loose” to come alongside folks in our community in the areas of coaching, discipleship, small/home groups and missional living. This is an exciting part of my vision for serving here in Glasgow… as well as an integral part of my calling. I’m humbled and grateful to serve in such a role.

I’ve got to tell you, I feel pretty privileged to be a part of our unique little church. I’ve recently been meeting with a professor from ICC (International Christian College), and this guy is pretty amazing. He’s incredibly dialed-in to the Church in Scotland. At our last meeting he told me that Mosaic is the only ‘emergent’ church that he knows of in the country; the only church that is genuinely modeling church as a missional community. That’s exciting… and encouraging!

Man, there are a lot of messages in this entry: Re-Entry can be good or bad; pay attention to the words God speaks to you; in ministry, friends and colleagues come and go, but God is always the foundation we build our hope on… the list goes on.

I just want to leave Terminal 5 and get the second leg of my journey underway. I need a shower.

7 July 2008

A Return to Blogging (Singapore & Community)

So what do you lead with when breaking such a long period of silence?  Whether it's inspiration, newsworthy events, or simply extra time, I've found that blogging is something I do in spurts.  I wish I could blog everyday.  I always feel like I have something to write about.  I envy those people that blog regularly... either they don't have a family, don't have a job, or blog when they should be working.

Jasheen and I recently returned from an amazing holiday in Singapore and Bali.  While there, we experienced heat like we haven't in a long time, we experienced the joy of life and parenting with the assistance of family, we walked painfully through the loss of a child with dear friends in California, and we celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary.

While I could write pages about our time in Southeast Asia, I'm not sure I could do it justice through written word, and I'm not sure I could hold your interest for very long.  I think I'd rather share some thoughts and observations I had along the way.

COMMUNITY
Many of you have heard my take on community before.  While I see it as a vital part of our Christian life together, I've also experienced the downside(s) of the pursuit of authentic community.  Many, it seems, long for community for selfish reasons - perhaps subconsciously.  It may provide safety, security or even purpose.  Often times, community is manufactured to achieve a goal - usually in a ministry context.  Rarely have I found that community is authentically executed for the sole purpose of living out the Kingdom of God on earth.

One of the things that occurred to me on this trip was that through all the efforts that our generation chases after community, they don't seem to think to research cultures and societies that do it naturally.  I think it's obvious that Western culture does not do community very well.  Our societies foster individualism, boundaries and isolation.  We're consumed with personal time, personal space and personal autonomy.  We've even reduced the gospel to a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ."

In Singapore, and more specifically, through Jasheen's extended family, I discovered that Asian cultures and families live in community effortlessly, without thought, intention or strategy.  They don't map out community values, maxims or behaviors.  Their lives are truly intertwined and they don't rely on permission or courtesy to speak into each others lives.  Whether it's commenting on ones appearance, or sharing approval or disapproval on parenting style or a family member's choice of girlfriend or boyfriend, they engage one another authentically.  Raising children is truly a village's responsibility.

This all may seem intrusive at times, but that's because of our conditioning.  In every other facet of life and learning, people research environments relevant to their field.  It seems incredibly arrogant (in my humble opinion) to pursue and provide community without studying and understanding how to really do it.  Applied theory can't compare with observed and experienced reality.

At Mosaic, we are trying to cultivate a missional community - a community that practices the elements seen in the communities of the Bible, and more specifically, the communities that Jesus was a part of.  By observing societies that live in community naturally, and applying biblical foundations to those models, I believe that we can more effectively achieve the Kingdom-minded communities that we are pursuing.  But simply extracting biblical principals and incorporating them into our western cultures - or making them relevant to our conditioned lifestyles - I think we're spinning our wheels... and doing more harm than good.

We cannot succeed by making biblical principles relevant to our environment.  We MUST make our environment(s) relevant to biblical principles.  Inasmuch as I will make every effort to live in biblical community here in the West End of Glasgow, I remain unconvinced that true community can be done in such a context.  We're talking radical abandonment of conditioned paradigms; surrendering the "personal" in areas of space and time; letting go of expectations afforded us by a modern western mindset.

This does not mean that we eliminate times alone with God.  As Jesus took these times, so should we, for the recharging of our souls so that we can effectively engage the community and world around us.