A Living Alternative

Perhaps one of the most formative experiences in my life has been that, for nearly 15 years, I have been living in intentional community. The pursuit of genuine community has been increasingly important to Christians. For some, however, the idea (or ideal) can be a romantic notion that fails to recognize the true cost that community exacts.

David Augsburger tells a story that well illustrates this dyanmic:

Long ago in a distant land, a prince dreamed of creating more than a geographical or political kingdom. He dreamed of establishing a community in which all persons were committed to each other in loyalty and equality, where every person sought the welfare of the neighbor even at a cost to the self. So the prince called a great meeting of all the heads of clans, all the wise and trusted people of the land, and dared to tell his dream. Each chieftan and his clan were invited to join in on the foundation of a new society.

As part of the community's inauguration, each was requested to search his cellar for the best wine produced from his ancestral vines. These treasured bottles would be uncorked, poured into a great communal vat, and blended, as the true community it represented, into a common vintage.

"How can I mix my exquisite wine with that of my neighbors?" asked one of the winegrowers invited to the covenanting. "I would sacrafice the unique variety of grape, the special climate of the year, the sweetness of a late harvest, the indefinable magic of bouquet, and I would violate my art as a winemaker. Impossible! Give up my distinct variety? Lose my separate self? I will not be adultared in such a common cup."

So he corked a bottle of tap water, affixed his most beautiful label to the bottle, and at the time of ritual poured the water ceremoniously into the vat. When the convenanting was solemnized, all filled their glasses for the communal draft, the toast that would seal commitment to community. As the cups touched their lips, all knew the truth. It was not wine. It was water. No one had been willing to pay the cost of community.
-from "Dissident Discipleship: A Spirituality of Self-Surrender, Love of God and Love of Neighbor"

This story powerfully illustrates that, for all our intentions about the ideal of community, it is quite easy rationalize our way out of doing what it takes to achieve it. In many ways, as most wine drinkers will attest, there is a legitimacy to the concerns of the winemaker in the story. In the context of our faith communities, our distinctives are most often deeply valued and trial-defined convictions that are far from arbitrary. Is our call to community really a call to reliquish our individuality or unique community distinctives to achieve a reckless mix of uniformity?

I don't believe that this is what Augsburger is suggesting. Rather, he is challenging your all too common instinct to protect our own best interest ahead of the greater good. Too often, in our pursuit to be faithful to Christ to our best understanding, we seek to achieve it by excluding those who would complicate or distract from that end. Scripture teaches us that people will know we are Christians by our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, not just the ones who we selectively include in our circles.

This is a challenge for us, especially in a culture where a new "church community" can be chosen every week by simply driving to another location. Part of the reason why locality is so signficant to missionality is that it requires of us to forge genuine community where we are, willing to allow our distinctives to be changed, shaped and merged into something new. Even if it is not "better" by the measures of success that we so often look to, the unity and love experienced and expressed in solidarity together- achieved the the messy and challenging conflicts that are inevitable to such a process- will be one of our most power evangelistic displays to a watching world.

So many of us have brought water and not wine to the communities to which we are a part. While we go through the motions and give lip service to the value of community, we too often withhold our true loyality and commitment. However, the beauty of our Lord is that He is a God of grace, able to even turn the tepid tap water of our mediocrity into the finest vintage. We must simply trust and follow Him.

Perhaps the single most quoted bit of wisdom from St. Francis of Assisi is:

"Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words."

In fact, Francis never made this statement, though it is most certainly inspired by his life and words. Most likely it is a simplification of these two sentiments:

"It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching."

"...As for me, I desire this privilege from the Lord, that never may I have any privilege from man, except to do reverence to all, and to convert the world by obedience to the Holy Rule rather by example than by word."

When we look at these two statements together, we see that the commonly attributed quote above only partially reflects Francis' ideal. Francis believed that, at some point, words would be necessary. A charismatic and poetic preacher, Francis was never ashamed to boldy proclaim the Good News. While more commonly expressed in verse and song than any other form, his words nonetheless reflect a vital evangelical zeal.

What Francis was challenging in these statements was not the use of verbal proclamation of the Gospel, but rather when the words of our message fail to find reflected authority by the lives we lead. Francis was raised in a community where the excesses and abuses of the church were the fuel that give birth to the merchant class, undermining the longing reigning feudalism that kept his family and neighbours poor and subservient. Francis endeavoured to live a life that so radically imitated Christ (sometimes to extremes) that his example would be not only a shining beckon of the hope of salvation through Christ, but also a rebuke to a church that had become a white-washed tomb.

It would be highly misleading, however, to suggest that Francis' extraordinary dedication to Christlikeness was primarily to lend authority to the Gospel he proclaimed. While he was convinced that this was true (as the "walking/preaching" quote proves), his devotion was born out of passionate love for God. Even his life of self-denial, not inspired by the self-mortification so common to monastic orders, was the extravagent gesture of a lover.

Francis teaches of some important lessons here. First, while we need to be appropriate with means and method, we should never be ashamed of the proclamation of the Gospel. Second, if we expect our words to carry authority, we must passionately pursue lives that reflect the radical message of transformation and forgiveness that we preach. Finally, we cannot forget that we do not preach the message nor do we live godly lives for the purpose of convincing others. Rather, we do so for the glory of God born out of love. It is then that our words and our deed truly reflect the Good News.

"Live the answers faithfully;
Listen, be patient for the questions"
-David Ausburger (Dissident Discipleship)

Missional, St. Francis, Evangelism, Preaching

While I find this sentiment easy to agree with, the more I consider it the more I realize how often I am guilty of choosing power over love. It is not that I take control out of a selfish desire for power, but rather find the demands and expectations of leadership make it an easier choice. In fact, it can often seem like the best, most loving choice, as it can help avoid a great deal of suffering.

I also realize how easy this compromise is to push on our leaders. I cannot count the times I have been in a situation where people demand my intervention as a leader, but fail to own a fraction of their responsibility in the demanding process of reconciliation. We justify our abdication with all kinds of "legitimate reasons", but ultimately only contribute to systems of power that rob us of communally moving towards Christlikeness.

Genuine love- the love that reflects the imitation of Christ in our individual and communal lives- requires to unconditionality that does not allow for us o hoist the challenging responsibilities of faith onto our leaders. Especially when we then cry out with the masses for an end to hierarchies and power structures. In the same way, leaders must serve their communities, not by wielding power to achieve stability, but to serve, guide and nurture them through the difficult processes of reconciliation and growth.

What do you think of Nouwen's vision of the future of leadership?

How might we work towards this, both as leaders and followers?

Missional, Leadership, Henri Nouwen

Several years ago at my old blog (which is strangely still getting more traffic than this blog), I did a series called "What Is The Gospel?". For some reason, Part 3- "Towards a Sacramental Ecology"- was deleted. After much digging and a bit of providence, I finally found it. I am posting it here, slightly updated:


Growing up, I had the rare privilege of living in the woods on the shores of the broad Rainy River. Miles for the nearest town, I had a natural playground that was second to none. When I wasn't exploring game trails, I would often spend my time combing the beach with my Grandmother and her sister, my Great-Aunt Rosemary. It was on these excursions that my spiritual formation in Creation was established- learning the patterns of migratory birds, exploring the world of creatures large and small, discovering the synchronicity of life and the earth that sustains it.

Naturally with this foundation, I found deep resonance with the growing environmental movement during my teen years. "Green" voices in the Evangelical world were rare, but the writings of Tony Campolo offered me great encouragement. However, even then, environmentalism seemed too shallow an approach to something of such deep significance as Creation itself. For years I lacked adequate terminology to gave name to what I believe to be an increasingly important element of faith. After some time in trying to come up with a name, one suddenly came to me (which I later learned has been used in Orthodox circles for some time): Sacramental Ecology.

In the Orthodox tradition, sacramental ecology denotes how Creation itself can serve as an icon, venerating (though never worshipping) it for the window it opens to the divine. In my definition of the Gospel, I intentionally place "harmony with Creation" as a core element for this very reason. Far too often, Creation has been treated as merely a stage upon which the story of God in Humanity is played out. However, this represents a false and dangerous dichotomy that undermines God's intentions.

When Jesus defeated death in the Resurrection, He did not abandon His earthly body for an etheral spiritual being. His Resurrection was true, Jesus emerging from the tomb with a glorified, but decidedly physical body. He sits forever at the right hand of the Father, a Man, bearing the marks of the Cross forever. In "Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship" N.T. Wright says:

"Resurrection, then, means what it says: not survival, not the immortality of the soul, not eternal disembodied bliss, but bodily resurrection. Jesus seems- and the New Testament writers are as aware as we are that they are at the edges of language at this point- Jesus seems to have gone through death and out the other side. His new life was not less than physical; but it seems to have had a new dimension to it as well, a kind of transphysicality, humanity with dimensions added."

In the same way, the promise of the Resurrection stands true for us as well. God's original and ultimate intention for us includes the physicality He created for us. Further, Scripture clearly tells us that this promise extends to all of Creation, with the emergence of a "new earth". In fact, as we read the Creation story, we see that Humanity was given life by God through the dust of the earth. We are an inseperable part of Creation, our very physicality being dependant on the earth and all it produces. By acknowledging our own promised Resurrection, we must acknowledge that of Creation as well.

As I explored previously, when God created us in His image, it was rooted in His Trinitarian nature, reflecting the relational dance of the divine- Perichoresis. This means that we best reflect God's nature when our relationships with Him and with each other embody the mutuality of that perichoretic dance. If we recognize our place within Creation, we must recognize that all of Creation is part of that perichoresis. How, then, we relate to Creation must be driven by the very force that calls us to the embracing grace of God. This finds culmination in the Eucharist, where the fruits of the earth- the elements, both grain and grape, brought to the table through our labours, which unite us as His Body in our shared consumption.

Some will argue that God clearly placed us seperate from and above Creation- in dominion over all of it. I am not arguing that the trees, animal and mountains are equally valued by God as we are, but rather that God's love for His Creation isn't an all or nothing spectrum. Jesus clearly defines dominion, turning the worlds view of power and authority on its head, in Matthew 20. Confronted with the question of who would sit at His right in His Kingdom, He said:


In the same way, we practice our dominion over Creation by serving it. In the same way we seek to build God's Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven while knowing it cannot fully happen prior to the culmination of history, so too must we seek to move Creation towards that promised restoration, the Resurrection, even now. If we fail to allow this transformational practice of sacramental ecology to speak to the heart of our faith, we cut ourselves off from some of the most beautiful aspects of God's nature and character. Further, our failure to live it out as a Church has already resulted in significant damage, not only to the environment, but to millions of people who are inseperably connected to it- ourselves included (though the worst seems to have impacted the already suffering global poor).

Sadly, our failure has not resulted from a lack of adequate Scriptural evidence. However, so deeply has our view of the world been twisted by gnostic dualism, the dry rationalism of the Enlightenment and the mechanistic mindset of the Industrial Revolution, that we can longer see the forest for the trees. Without embracing this sacramental view of Creation (and the requisite praxis), we fumble between shallow environmentalism and aimless mysticism. We can no longer see these issues as well intentioned causes which can distract from the cause of "saving souls". The Gospel we bring is Good News for all Creation, to be "preached" to every creature (Mark 16:15).

Like so many truths, this cannot be simply examined and applied to our existing faith. Rather, we must consider the implications this truth has on every aspect of our lives. It is then that we will discover that Creation plays a far more central role in our ongoing reconciliation with God, communion with the other and our own fullness of life.

These words, spoken by a young girl in the devastated region of northern Uganda, may seem like simple wisdom to us. Of course they can do good things. And yet, among a people who suffer the despairing uncertainty that comes with war and in a culture where such atrocities leave the stigma of a curse, they are words of fierce hope.

"War Dance" is an Academy award nominated documentary that tells the powerful story of a small primary school from a refugee community in the warzone who qualified to compete in the national music championships. Fueled by their love and commitment for their homeland, they sing and dance with a passion that is unparalleled. It is a story that will leave you changed forever.

As many of you know, we have been working in communities in Uganda for several years- advocating, fundraising, sending relief teams, etc. While great progress in being made to achieve peace in the north, the region- the nation- faces decades of grueling effort to heal and rebuild. The stories told in this film are like the many we have heard in our work over the last several years, stories so terrible that they resist the imagination. And yet, through the beauty of dance and song, there is genuine hope.

I highly recommend that you purchase this film- not rent, buy!- today. It is an important story. I also hope it will encourage you to get involved.

As we continue to prepare to plant and pastor our new church plant, I am becoming increasingly aware of how important it is that understanding and establishing our community as God's missional strategy for His people must be the our first priority. To begin with the nature of missional leadership fails to recognize that the pastoral role (as with other leadership roles) are sub-vocations of the over all general vocation of the church.

Of course, this is a far easier premise to begin with when you are planting a new community. When you are leading an existing community, making the transition to a genuinely missional community identity is not only vast more difficult, it is often resisted by the very assumptions and expectations that established and empowered the leadership in the first place.

In these circumstances, those in leadership are faced with the challenge of using their position and authority to empower the community in a way that does not make their role central to the nature of the missionality. It can be a very challenging experience for all involved. And yet I am convinced that discovering how to forge this new path will help usher in a move of God through His Church like not seen for some time.

How have you seen this transition done well? What questions do you have about the process?

Missional, Missional Community, Leadership, Christianity

One of our goals in starting The Dusty Cover was to create a third space in our neighbourhood. Sadly, public spaces are diminishing quickly, largely driven by consumerism that seeks to encourage (even demand) consumption as the price of participation. In our inner city community, it is also fueled by sweeping attempts police "undesirables" from loitering or getting "up to no good". In its mildest form it manifests as classical music playing outside the 7-11, moving into more serious forms like loitering policy that is applied with heavy racial bias.

Yesterday I read about our downtown mall's most recent tool in this warfare: The Mosquito. The Mosquito, mounted outside the entrance of the mall, is an electronic device which emits high-frequency sounds (like the buzz of a mosquito). As our ability to hear high frequencies deteriorates over time (known as presbycusis), the sound is most commonly audible to younger people (between 13 and 25). Thus, teens who hang out in front the mall entrance are literally driven away by the annoying buzz.

The following report presents both sides of the issue (as well as a wonderfully creative counter-use of the technology by teens):


In my opinion, this technology (which isn't generaly used "only as a last resort" as some would claim) is offensive. While it does target only a specific segment of the population, it does so without discrimination. It forces young people to either be good consumers, get lost or suffer the discomfort. It is unapologetically used as a weapon designed for use against children.

I am not disregarding the very real problems this technology seeks to address. Living and running a business in an inner city community, I see these issue daily- issues that do need creative solutions. However, when we resort to this kind violence- and I truly believe it is violence- we are paying too high a price. We may achieve a degree of order, but we do so through aggresion and force. Part of our missional commitment to our neighourhoods is to make them places of welcome and peace. This might also mean that, in resisting these methods, we will need to participate in creating and sustaining better options. Genuine missionality always comes at a price, needing to inform every aspect of our lives.

If you disagree, I would like to hear what you have to say. If you agree, I would ask you consider getting involved. Send an email to the Mall manager and/or Security manager of the mall asking them to remove the device, calling for less aggresive methods:

Marilee Eldridge, Mall Manager
Email: meldridge@portageplace.mb.ca

Nick Basarowich, Security Manager
Email: nbasarowich@portageplace.mb.ca

One of things that most distinguishes St. Francis as an important example for us all is that it is his life, and not (for the most part) anything he said or wrote, flies in the face of our culture of religious respectability. He demonstrated the fullness of life that comes through Christ in such a way that has transformed lives and nations over the centuries. He continues to resist boundaries, embraced by so many traditions and denominations, yet left behind little to no written teaching.

As someone who is is a regular blogger, as well as working to write a book, this is an important and humbling reminder. Francis most reflected the character and nature of Christ in this way, that he incarnationally lived truth with an abandon that could only be born out of selfless and devoted love. We must never forget that our words, while important, have only the level authority to which our lives, through the power of the Spirit, lend them credibility.

In his excellent book "Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi" author Donald Spoto said this of the little poor man:

"...He saw his journey to God as a process, a constant deepening and adjustment of his aspirations, a refinement of his presumptions about what God wanted and a winnowing of his own good intentions. In that regard, his conversion was not the event of a day but the work of a lifetime."

May that work of salvation in our own lives work to such an end.

This past week the house across the street from us got new tenants. As is typical in our neighbourhood, in place of curtains, a blanket was used to make the upstairs bedroom private. In this case (and to the chagrin of a few of our staff), the blanket in question features a full sized Playboy bunny logo. While the image itself is harmless enough, as a symbol it represents a very clear message. I am sure we will come to ignore it in time, but in the meantime it continues to spark conversations in our little community.

As I considered the response this logo evokes, especially to Christians who (rightfully) criticize it for it's association with pornography, I began to think about what our response to such popular images teach us about ourselves. Consider your own response: What did you think and feel when you saw the logo above? Why do you think you responded it this way?

Now, consider your response to this logo:


For most of us it will result in more or less benign responses (like thirst). And yet, if we took a closer look at the Coca-Cola Company- it's history, it's international business practices, it's role in some of the more questionable aspects of globalization- we would likely find that, in fact, we have more to be concerned about than we first suspected. Perhaps even more than with the first example.

My point is not to compare the relative "badness" of either company, but rather to expose our own biases and blind spots. While pornography is one of the most destructive and exploitive forces in the world today, we cannot understate the millions of lives impacted (and ended) as a result of heartless corporations that exploit people for their own bottom line. Having served among the poor of many nations, I have seen far more devastation at the hands of materialism and greed than through pornography. This doesn't mean we ignore the latter to address the former, but rather to acknowledge that our emphasis is dangerously imbalanced.

Enculturated by individualism, the models of discipleship we utilize empower us to recognize and fight the more explicit and personal sin in our lives. However, it also fails to open our eyes to the systemic, big picture realities of how our choices, while not explicitly "sinful", can contribute to injustice, suffering and even death. On a daily basis we make seemingly innocuous choices that, through the connectedness of our world, contribute to the very problems we are called to transform for the Kingdom.

I am not saying that everyone should stop buying Coca-Cola (though I can think of worse advice), but rather that ignorance cannot be an excuse for our complicity. The greatest evils in our society parade in the guide of respectability, with our own system reinforcing this disparity (i.e. compare the nature of criminal justice applied to an armed robber and a CEO who defrauds millions). It is time that our discipleship- both personal development or corporate formation- breaks through the limits of individualistic, one dimensional moral policing and call for a radical allignment of every aspect of our lives with the way of Jesus Christ.

Missional, Coca-Cola, Playboy, Corporations

Steve Wiseman posted the other day on the real challenges of being missional in the suburban context. I posted this affirming comment (which he has since made a post unto itself- thanks, Steve!):

As someone who lives and serves in an inner city community, I couldn't agree with you more. I am a very strong advocate for increased Christian involvement in the inner city, but only because that it the context to which I am called and can see the need. However, I am not blind the broader needs.

I have said it many times before, but it is worth saying again: Suburbia is a far more challenging context in which to be truly missional than the inner city in so many ways. While the problems in the inner city are many, they are also largely out in the open for many to see. Further, because so few Christians genuinely engage the community missionally, there is a freedom to explore and experiment with creative ways of serving God and our neighbours.

In suburbia the culture of respectability and privacy means that the very real problems are often hidden behind a veneer of manicured lawns and smiling faces. Further, the culture is less forgiving about innovation in ministry. All this to say that, while many people pat me on the back for living and working in the inner city, my heroes are those who genuinely contend with the culture of suburbia for Christ without abandoning it or compromising within it.

As I considered this, along with my recent and heated dialogue about church planting and the commuting culture (here and here), I have increasingly been considering how these two contexts could/should relate to one another. The most common ways they interact is through short-term service and financial support. While these are not in and of themselves bad (in fact, they are important), it is primarily uni-directional and lacks a relational connections.

I am convinced that part of the journey towards genuinely missional Christianity will require intentional and mutual relationships built between these very different contexts. In order for this to truly happen, however, both groups will have to embrace a new perspective and divest themselves of their assumptions and judgments of the other. Both groups have much to offer the other and, ultimately, our understanding and relationship with God will be strengthened.

Like any engagement between cultures, this will take time, patience and grace. We cannot arrive at an ideal all at once, so we need to allow ourselves the freedom to move towards relationship through redemptively transforming our exsisting connections. Further, as we seek to resist extremes (such as paternalism in service to the poor), we must not take it to an opposite extreme (such as cutting off all financial support or volunteerism). Through dialogue and understanding, we will negotiate another path together.

What might this look like? In what ways could we build these bridges of mutuality? Where have you seen this done well before?

(It should also be noted that, while the dynamics are different, there is also a need for this kind of relationship with other contexts, including rural and international)

Missional Missional Community Christianity