(e)mergent Voyageurs

Few lives tell the tale of the Gospel as beautifully as that of St. Patrick of Ireland. Patrick, born into a wealthy family, did not give much credence to the Christian faith of youth. Some scholars believe that Patrick went so far as to reject God’s very existence. At any rate, at the age of sixteen, enjoying the prime of his decadent life, the young man was captured by a druidic cheifton from the north. During the ordeal, he witnessed many other abductees killed and cast aside, deemed unworthy for slavery.

For the next 6 years, Patrick lived the life of the lowest slave, tending the flocks of his new master, a druidic high priest. Stripped of everything- his privilege, wealth, even the benefit of his education- he became like one forgetton, dead. However, it was during the long, cold hours alone on the hills that the faith of his childhood begin to come to mind, filling him with peace and humility. At the age of 22, with divine guidance, Patrick followed God’s leading out of captivity and back to his home in a truly miraculous story.

Patrick returned to his people transformed forever by the power of the love and grace of God. He could not, however, return to the life we once led. Instead, he gave himself fully to the service of God, entering a monastery. This alone would have been a powerful tale of the Gospel, but it does not end there. Again led by a divine calling, Patrick returned to the land of his former captures to bring them the message of hope and community of faith that had so deeply changed him.

Patrick’s life reflects a story that seems to play itself out again and again through the power of the Gospel. While not to be considered in any way a formula or stages, the process can be expressed as:

Let me explain further:

 

1. Hidden Nakedness: In the Garden, finding themselves naked, Adam and Eve hid themselves from God. In the same way, hiding before his wealth and position, Patrick hid the “nakedness” of his own brokenness. Hidden Nakedness is all about pretense, where so many of us live, even in the Church. Whether it is too hide something on inside or to present some image on the outside, it is about failing to be authentic before God and each other.

Characterized by an avoidance of conflict, hidden nakedness pursues uniformity of belief and practice. While giving lip service to the value of diversity, it ignores or denies the deeper truer differences, prefering to function in generalities. People who embrace this way of life can create what would appear to be happy, functional community, but it is a facade maintained at great cost to everyone. It is individualism at its “best”.

2. The Cross: Jesus showed us the way back to wholeness through the Passion, in joining us in our brokenness and inviting us to participate in His on the Cross. Patrick faced the Cross as he was beaten, robbed of everything, witnessing the worst brutality as his fellow captures were slaughtered. The chaos and suffering involved in embracing the Cross cannot be merely interpretted as metaphorical. If we remain in our hidden nakedness, the Cross is nothing more than an abstraction. Again, that is about pretense.

Part of the chaosis due to the dualing forces- on one side, the instinctual withdrawal back into the pseudo-safety of our pretense, on the other, the terrifying prospect of letting go, dying to self. Differences can no longer be ignored or denied. Brokenness, our own and others, becomes more and more apparent, stirring in us a desire to fix, heal, convert- ultimately to normalize. And while these may seem to be admirable intentions, it too often limits true honesty and is too often motivated by our own discomfort.

Even when we recognize the need for this brokenness, our desire for it to be “constructive” or “productive” is often an attempt to escape into order, organization and “resolution” (this is especially tempting to leaders). Often rooted in the mundane, we are even willing to mimic intimacy by “confessing” our pasts, without baring the now. In the face this uncertainty, we may think that we were better off before the chaos, but we must not try to escape back to where we came from.

3. The Tomb: After the noisy, messy brutality of the Cross, the Tomb, though it signified the end, would also have been peaceful. It was in the despairing loneliness of the field that Patrick first heard the whispers of God. This is a time of paradox, of emptiness and also of peace. Here we release the pretense, the agendas, the fears, the lies, even the good intentions that keep us from truly dying to self. To borrow from “Finding Nemo”, it is the time we must step into the “swirling vortex of terror”, letting go of personal, individual control.

Like each of these experiences, it will not just happen to us. It takes the intentional disciplines, like mediation, dialogue, true listening. We must be open to the possible, even when that kicks our own feet out from under us. The Tomb is not the end, but a necessary and inevitable means to a greater end. Doubt, uncertainty and ambiguity cannot be ignore or denied either. If we are unwilling or unable to acknowledge them in ourselves, we will either stay stuck in the grave or be forced to flee back to pretense.

4. The Resurrection: Conquering the enemy and death itself, Jesus triumphs for us all. After the seeming hopelessness of his situation, Patrick is liberated and restored by God. In the same way, we all are invited to join Christ in His resurrection, into His Body. However, we cannot forget that we are resurrected together into One Body. Thus, the true Community of Faith, the Church, is a necessary result of the Gospel. We do not experience Resurrection in an individualistic vacuum.

True individuality, true identity, comes in this place of shared Resurrection. And while fulfilling, it is exceptionally demanding. Like marraige, it can be the best and hardest thing you will ever do with your life. In fact, it is when you get past the idealized, simplistic vision that we realize that Jesus’ Resurrection does not promise the perfection of Heaven, but the inauguration of the Kingdom, one that moves towards His ultimate intention through the Missio Dei. Our greatest witness is being a community of people who embrace this practice of the Passion, demonstrating our vulnerability and brokenness while simultaneously offering a welcoming hope to others.

5. Pentecost: It here that we too often miss one of the crucial elements of the Gospel. When the Holy Spirit descended on those hidden in the upper room, not only did He unite them as a true community, a Body, but empowered and engaged them in His missional intentions for the rest of Creation. Patrick’s story would have been incredible had it ended with his restoration to his home and the transformation of his character, but God did not simply want moral adherence from Him. So to does God want us to recognize that others are waiting, longing, dying to be a part of this Perichoretic Dance.

This is what Missional Community truly is, not something we do, but rather something we are. It isn’t simply about getting people converted, saving them from Hell, but rather building a Kingdom of love, peace and justice that reflects the promise of the eternity that awaits us, a promise we can begin to taste of here and now. It is here that the diversity is celebrated (see the paper “Practicing Pentecost” by Anthony Smith).

Here is where we are called back into that which we have been saved from- not to become captives once again, but like Patrick out of the irresistable necessity to bring Truth to all. “Mission” is no longer something we do beside “church” or as an “outreach”, but rather a defining quality of how we live our whole lives- meaning where we live them. Just as the incarnational located Jesus into the fabric of our lives, so to must we integrate our lives into those we seek to invite to the dance.

As you can see, the “process” does not allow us to engage the Gospel on our own terms, soley as individuals. And while perhaps it is simple, it is by no means easy. In our attempt to make the Gospel more “available”, we have too often skirted the heavy demands to the Gospel. Yes, it is a “free gift”, but it will cost you everything. But what a Pearl of Great Price!

In his excellent book, “Good To Great”, Jim Collins tells the follow story to illustrate change:

“Picture an egg. Day after day, it sits there. No one pays attention to it. No one notices it. Certainly no one takes a picture of it or puts it on the cover of a celebrity-focused business magazine. Then one day, the shell cracks and out jumps a chicken.

“All of a sudden, the major magazines and newspapers jump on the story: “Stunning Turnaround at Egg!” and “The Chick Who Led the Breakthrough at Egg!” From the outside, the story always reads like an overnight sensation — as if the egg had suddenly and radically altered itself into a chicken.

“Now picture the egg from the chicken’s point of view.

“While the outside world was ignoring this seemingly dormant egg, the chicken within was evolving, growing, developing — changing. From the chicken’s point of view, the moment of breakthrough, of cracking the egg, was simply one more step in a long chain of steps that had led up to that moment. Granted, it was a big step — but it was hardly the radical transformation that it looked like from the outside.”

My first post in this series started with the premise that: “The Gospel is the glory of the Triune God made manifest in His work to reconcile every person to union with Himself, communion with others, to fullness of life, and to harmony with Creation, in the context of community for the good of all.” What Jesus teaches us is that how we get to this glory is as important as the end result. You cannot simply “read the end” and try and duplicate the result. The transformational process of the Gospel is what makes the end authentic.

 

Emerging Church

(If the links don’t work or the images don’t work, let me know)

Click on the thumbnails for the full sized images:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In northern Uganda, a conflict has been waging for 20 years.  Over the last three, tens of thousands of children have been kidnapped from their homes during the night.  They have been tortured, terrorized, raped and killed.  They are kids like the ones in our own homes, schools and churches – doing schoolwork, listening to music, hanging out with friends.  And yet they face the daily risk of being kidnapped by Joseph Kony, leader of the “The Lord’s Resistance Army” or LRA.  He’s a twisted, cultic leader who mixes shallow Christian ideas with folk religion and politcal rhetoric, aiming at ruling the country.  Sadly, very little is being done.  Calling it one of the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet, the United Nations has been calling for intervention.

After watching the ground-breaking documentary, “Invisible Children”, several of our staff decided that had to act.  And so they created the Gulu Prayer Project.  Starting on March 16th at 8pm (Central Time), they are attempting to orchestrate a prayer initiative that will run 24 hours a day for two week straight- 336 hours of focused prayer.  We have created the website www.guluprayerproject.blog.com to facilitate the movement.  We are committed to see this prayer project to be the launching point for direct involvement on serving these children, both through awareness and on-location development.

That is where you come in.  We need to get people involved.  We need to get the word out.  We need people to help make this happen.  Therefore, I am asking that you take a few minutes to visit the website, considering how you might help out and let me know.  You can even sign up for a slot using the comment section of “Sign Up To Pray” page.

Thank you so much for taking the time make this dream a reality.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Uganda child soldiers justice Emerging Church

I recently returned from Mississauga where I attended a National Strategy Session for the Micah Challenge Canada held at the World Vision Canada national office.  I had not heard much about the Micah Challenge before being asked to be one of the representatives of YWAM Canada, so I was intrigued to see what the deal was.  The Micah Challenge is the official (affiliated) Evangelical branch of the Make Poverty History movement.  Let me give you a brief intro from their site:

As the emerging church is calling for a theology of justice and a deeply informed praxis of compassion for the poor, this is an exciting development from within the larger Evangelical church.  To that end, we need to get behind this in any way we can.  While we may find differences in theological understandings and response to these issues, this unprecidented move from within Evangelicalism should not be discouraged, but invested in, shaped from within.  Please get involved.

Micah Challenge Canada is part of the larger Micah Challenge International.  Here are some other important expressions of the movement (including Micah Morphosis, the youth track):

Andean Region

Australia

Belgium

Canada

Ethiopia

France

Germany

India

New Zealand

Switzerland

USA

Zambia

Sierra Leone

Zimbabwe

Ivory Coast

Netherlands

Emerging Church

When it rains it pours. That’s what people say when things seem to go wrong all at once. I’ve said it to others a few times myself. However, we are currently in such a time in our lives and would really like your prayer.

As many of you know, my wife (Kim) is Australian and has been serving with YWAM here for several years. In the process of renewing her visa, we recently received a call from Immigration Canada suggesting that they are considering NOT renewing the visa, as they feel Kim should apply for Permanent Residency. We have an interview with them on Feb. 28th to find out.

The trouble is that they could very well make Kim leave the country to apply from Australia. Needless to say, this would be terrible. One of the reasons we have not applied for her status earlier is that it requires a significant amount of money to do so. Needless to say, we dealing with a great deal of stress right now.

Our first hope is that they grant us the visa that will allow us to pursue Permanent Residency while Kim remains in Canada. However, even we this is the case, we face the challenge of raising the finances (nearly $2000 in the end) and dealing with the limitations of the process that will strongly impact Kim’s ministry leadership (i.e. travel limitations, etc.).

As if that weren’t enough, we came home to find that the YWAM Mission House furnace, which we just spent $500 to repair a month ago is dead again. Sure, it isn’t a huge deal, but in times like this, every little challenge gets blown out of proportion.

That is why we really need your prayers during the next few days, weeks and months. God has always been faithful in His provision. Stand with us as we seek Him for the peace and wisdom to deal with each day.

Peace,
Jamie Arpin-Ricci
www.arpin-ricci.blog.com

For anyone who has read my story, my spiritual formation has been influenced by a variety of Christian traditions. Amoung them was a significant impression from charismatic Christianity. While most of it has been deeply beneficial, there was obviously experiences that were less than beneficial.

How does one seperate the two? How can someone understand how it all has been shaped? How can a person respond to and move away from these negative elements while still celebrating the God-given blessings of this rich expression of faith?

I am deeply thrilled to annouce the launch of “Post-Charismatics”, an online project of my friend Robbymac. His launch announcement was as follows:

J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma Magazine, wrote these words over a decade ago, as he called charismatics to some house-keeping in their own movement.

Grady also reported that by 1990, there were an estimated 92 million people worldwide who referred to themselves as “post-charismatic”. Although current statistics are unknown, it is safe to assume a significant increase in that number since 1990.

The Post-Charismatic project is broken down as follows:

I highly encourage everyone to take the time and read this thorough and essential treatment of the topic. I cannot give it higher praise. It is a MUST READ.

Well done & thank you, Rob!

Emerging Church

More than 10 years ago I came across an unsettling article in a copy of Writer’s Digest magazine which has stuck with me ever since. The article, tucked on the last page of magazine, was written anonymously by a freelance author who specialized in developing promotional material for relief and foreign aid agencies. In the article he confessed a well-kept secret in the industry which he had (and continued) to be a part of. The organizations learned early on what best motivated people to give financially for the poor throughout the “third-world”, which included powerful images of impoverished and malnurished people, gratefully and humbly receiving our gifts and support.

The problem was that the poor in these places, be it Africa, Asia or South America, were not the saintly, stoic people who were the “absolute victims” of poverty. Rather, many were as riddled with the complications of poverty, both causal and consequential. The communities dealt with the oft present challenges of abuse, addiction, racism, and much more. Further, there was not guartuntee that the aid given would not be abused, taken for granted or even refused. It was (and is) a serious complex reality. Frankly, it was a fully human situation, with all the good and bad that inevitably entails. It was not, however, the pretty picture they needed to promote the cause.

Therefore, professional writers and marketer were hired to created a new image of the global poor, one that was more palatable to potential donors. As expected, the donations soon flooded in. Behind closed doors, the technique was considered acceptable for the greater good. Missions agencies are also often complicit in this approach. Now, in fairness, this is not a practice of every agency, and even those who have or do utilize this technique are slowly improving. However, a great deal of damage has already been done. We have shaped the worldview of millions in their understanding of world poverty.

The devastating impact of this approach could fill many pages. As someone working with and living amoung the poor in Canada, I have specifically been shocked to discover how the attitude toward the “local poor” is highly critical, receiving little attention or support from the church. All kinds of philosophical and political arguments can be made for why this is “fair”, but they all fail to recognize that by sanitizing the poor who are far away, we create a mythology of poverty and charity that requires the impossible of the local context to gain the needed resources here. This is why I am excited by move within many churches towards a highly missional and incarnational presence in their own communities. This is highly promising, a model that must be explored, improved and reproduced.

We must guard, however, against the opposite extremes. Many who are coming to terms with this myth we have created and embraced make the mistake of abandoning our global responsibilities for the sake of the local. First, this fails to acknowledge the calling Christ made of His disciples to go into all nations, a call upon the whole Church. Second, it fails to understand that our lives, choices, economies, governments, etc. do not function in a vacuum. So much the economic, political, environment and cultural devastation experienced around the world come as a result of our so called wealth and freedom. There is NO disconnect. We need to be both locally and globally aware and engaged.

Our compassionate response to the needs of people throughout the world must be motivated- yes, by emotions that reflect the heart of God, but also by obedience to God’s eternal vocation for all His people, by the acknowledgement that where much is given much is required, by a recognition that (in the words of Lilla Watson) our own salvation is caught up together, as God seeks to reconcile all of Creation into the perichoretic dance of Love.

Recently, I have been asked to add a more personal element to my blogging. While I have endeavoured to do so (and will continue to do so), I thought that I should probably mention that this is not the only blog which I contribute to, with others reflecting a far more personal take. So, far your weekend reading pleasure, let me give you the 50 cent tour:

• N.O.W. aka No Opportunity Wasted: As co-directors of YWAM Urban Ministries Winnipeg, my wife & I have always kept a website to keep our family, friends & supporters up to date with our lives & ministry. We recently shifted our site over to a blog format, allowing readers to interact with us more dynamically. NOTE: We just posted our most recent newsletter. Check it out.
• Gracelet Blog: Though my wife is not a daily blogger, Kim’s site is worth the visit. She is always honest, thoughtful and thoroughly worth reading. Drop by her site and read for yourself. If you nudge her enough in the comment section, she is sure to post more frequently.
• YWAM Blog: As a long-term missionary with YWAM, I wanted to create a forum to express & explore ideas about our international mission. While I have not yet “launched” the site to the wider YWAM world, it is available for anyone to read.
• Looking Forward & Just Curious: The first is the blog that will be used to better promote my first book, “Looking Forward: Facing the Future of Christian Leadership”, which will feature more frequent posts when I relaunch the larger Looking Forward site. The second, while no longer active, as an archive of book & movie reviews, humourous stories and random thoughts. One of my favourites would be “When Groceries Travel”

Several weeks ago, I posted on the recent Christianity Today article “Deliver Us From Kony”, detailing the atrocities facing the people of northern Uganda (and southern Sudan) at the hands of Joseph Kony and his so called “The Lord’s Resistance Army” (LRA).  Since my participation in our local Gulu Walk, this reality has consumed my attention, driving me to do more about it.

While I gathered information regarding these issues, I came across the website Invisible Children (IC).  I have since ordered the DVD of the documentary Invisible Children: Rough Cut (they are adding footage and editting for full feature release), which my wife & I watched this afternoon.  Our staff saw it recently at a conference as well.  When you buy the DVD, you get a second copy for free to give away.  I highly recommend everyone buying this film for their own collection, church, school, youth group, etc.  Order it here now.

I have already been in contact with the film makers about partnering, both through events here and possible trips to Uganda.  I would never much like to make the trip to Uganda some time in the near future, hopefully coinciding with the IC crew’s trip.  It will require some cash, but I feel it is worth it to bring back first person accounts to call people to action.  If you would like to get involved or donate to this cause, please let me know (Canadians will receive tax deductable receipt).  For those in Manitoba, I will be arranging several viewings of the film in the near future, so if you’d like to help make that happens, please let me know.

I encourage all of you to check out the site.  It is new and can be tricky to navigate at times, but it is well worth it.  Here are a few features I’d recommend:

• Invisible Children Blog: Keep up to date with their blog.  Things are busy there, so be patient with updates.
• Invisible Children FAQ: Get answers to the most commonly asked questions.  Take note of the Brian McLaren/Donald Miller connection.
• Brief Project Overview (links to PDF download): This is perhaps the most exciting development at IC, as it looks to create effective partnership to create sustainable change and options for the children.

Uganda child soldiers justice

With all due respect to the Bard, a great deal of this blog is defined by its name. I have intentionally chosen the name to act as a guide by which all posts are meant to be written. It has served me very well, keeping me from wandering off course time and again. However, what may be clear and essential for me might be far from clear to you, the reader. Therefore, I want try and explain my reasons for choosing the name “(e)mergent Voyageurs”.

Why (e)mergent?

When I began this blog, I was familiar with the terms “emerging church” and “emergent”, but had not yet grasped how deeply entrenched they were in the (inevitable) branding that would result in the organization Emergent US (and Emergent UK). While I resonate with the conversation coming out of these organizations, I chose the name for this blog with no intention of indicating direct affiliation with any organization or individual leaders in that or other groups.

Rather, like the emerging church movement itself, I was drawn to the name as it relates to the emergence theory. One of the reasons that the emerging church movement is ill defined (the constant bane of critics) is that it is an emergent organization (NOTE: I use the term “organization” here I am referring to the order of things, not an institution or highly defined group). Emergent organizations spontaneously emerge out of complex and dynamic environments. The emerging quantum sciences were also pivotal in defining the name. However, those details are better saved for another (longer) post.

Regular readers will have noticed that I changed the title recently from “Emergent” to “(e)mergent”. This was to intentionally differentiate my use of the word with the Emergent organization/branding. Again, this is not to reject or discredit them, but rather to be clear that my own path in exploring the emerging church journey is not synonymous with theirs. Unfortunately, due to the cultural dynamics in the US, the conversation there has taken some turns and emphasis that I don’t believe are as central or helpful to the realities I see here in Canada. This does not diminish those sisters and brothers in Emergent US, many of whom I call friends.

Why Voyageurs?

In Canadian history, few figures stand out more uniquely than the Voyageurs (French for ‘travellers’), otherwise known as the Coureur des Bois (runner of the woods). They were the men, most often French Canadian, who explored the wilderness, building trade routes and relations with the First Nations people. When the North West Company faced seeming impossible odds in competing with the well established Hudson’s Bay Company, they developed a new approach. Rather than requiring the Native traders to come to the port cities to trade, they sent their voyageurs out into the uncharted wilderness, dealing directly with the communities. In the end, The Bay used this same technique to rally and overcome Northwest, but their ingenuity is still commended today.

Further, given their willingness to go to the tribes, these voyageurs built far deeper and more respectful relationship than the colonial cities at the ports. Traders would often come together with the Native peoples at Rendezvous (literally, “meet you” in French), where an uproarious party would ensue. It was a time of building relationships, swapping trade routes & secrets and sharing cultures (and a lot of beer). In fact, many married women from the indigenous communities, creating some of the first Métis peoples (people of mixed European and First Nations descent, forming a unique culture).

While not a perfect metaphor, the voyageurs represent powerful imagery that resonate with my own emerging voyage. No longer satisfied to practice a “safe” faith, requiring the world (and God) to come to me to make our spiritual transactions, I seek to discover the fullness of God found in all people, created in His image, and within the larger Creation, while at the same time, bringing that which God uniquely invested in me to share with and be transformed by others. Rather than an institutional faith defined by the “business” of right propositions, it is a celebratory relationship, a joining of the Perichoretic Rendezvous of the Trinity.

To that end, I chose the name (e)mergent Vouageurs to describe my own faith journey in this emerging age. Additionally, it is why I choose the image at the top of this site: “Canoe Manned by Voyageurs Passing a Waterfall” (1869) by Canadian artist Frances Anne Hopkins. In it you see a diversity of paddlers, including the uncommon presence of a woman, possibly the artist herself who often joined her husband on such journey’s with the voyageurs. The participants are in the same canoe, yet at different places on the journey (some Native, some voyageurs, come colonists or traders). While the wilderness may be uncharted to them, it is not, strictly speaking, unknown or undiscovered. My faith journey is similar in all these respects.

In my very first post, I quoted the patron saint of Canada, St. Jean de Brébeuf. Brébeuf was martyred, along with many other early missionaries in Canada’s history. In training the priests under his care, he once shared wisdom I hope we will all follow, regardless of where we are on the journey:

Emerging Church Canada Emergent Voyageurs