(e)mergent Voyageurs

The conversation that has grown in the comment section of my last post “Spiritual Formation, Education & Youth” has been excellent. So much so, that I thought I would push in a little further. Before we do so, however, I want to clarify some things I was a little unclear on in the last post. While I used the level of education required in respect to the difference between pastors and youth/child ministers, I did so to reflect on the implicit value system/biases that the imbalance reveals.

I was not saying that youth pastors, for example, should be required the same level of education as pastors. In fact, I think there are people who are called and practicing a pastoral gifting with very little formal education, often doing it better than some seminary grads. Obviously, as a YWAMer, I deeply believe in the power of informal and non-formal spiritual formation and education. That being said, I believe that youth ministers should pursue (in whatever form) a great depth of theological and missional training.

From the comment section of the last post, it is clear that most of us believe that this imbalance is unhealthy and needs to be corrected. The question is this: How do we do this? I know that the issue is more complex than simply saying it is wrong and needs to be made right. There are good reasons for the differences, but I think we can agree those positive aspect do not need to be lost with the change we seek to make.

Therefore, the question I would like to discuss with you here is what this might look like. Both in the context of local church expressions and in our Christian education and so called “para-church” organizations, what might we do to systemically shift towards a more balanced and holistic approach? Be creative. Share ideas and/or things you’ve seen or tried. I think we have a lot to learn from each other.

Emerging Church, Missional

This week, one of our students asked a question that I have pondered off and on for several years. After discussing spiritual formation, the student turned to Kim & I and asked:

“Why is it that pastors need a seminary level education, but youth pastors and kids pastors can get ‘certified’ with far less training or theology?”

It led to an excellent discussion about the positive and negative reasons that help create this dynamic, ultimately leaving the student (and several others listening in) frustrated with this reality. They felt, as do I to a great degree, that spiritual formation for children and youth are incredibly crucial as it represents a phase in peoples lives where they have the greatest freedoms they will likely ever have.

This is not to say that adults are locked into an immovable place where spiritual formation is wasted. By no means! Rather, it reflects the inevitable reality (generally speaking) that the older we get, the more roots we lay down, the more invested we become, etc. making significant shifts in our lives and faith more costly and challenging- NOT impossible, but difficult.

Sadly, while there are excellent programs for educating/training people for child/youth ministry, there is a general attitude (reflected in the materials) that we find these ministries less significant, therefore requiring a lower standard. This does, of course, also lead to the question of youth ministry in general, such as its validity or health in general. Whatever the case may be, there seems to be a flawed worldview at play.

What are your thoughts? Am I off base? Is there is good reason for this approach?

Emerging Church, Missional

The following article was written by Harry in the midst of the SARS scare a few years back. Without saying too much, I think this article powerfully demonstrates a serious challenge facing the church in its journey to becoming truly missional. I wish more people would discover what Harry knew about our neighbourhood and others like it. I hope you will be open to discovering it too.

Neighbourhoods can be travel-advisory victims too
May 4, 2003 – Winnipeg Sun
By Harry Lehotsky

Barely a week ago, Toronto’s Mayor Mel blew a gasket when the World Health Organization issued a “travel advisory” against Toronto. Despite his inability to articulate the facts, he was clear in his anger at outsiders who effectively “quarantined” his city, assuming Toronto was less safe than he felt it was.

A few days ago, after reviewing statistics, scientific data, political pressure and economic implications, the WHO withdrew their advisory against travel to Toronto.

Unfortunately, the removal of the WHO advisory doesn’t automatically erase the ex-officio private travel advisories of families, and friends who are not so quick to trust politicians and bureaucrats.

In a way I can’t blame them. Would you have blind faith in a system which, in our province, doesn’t count some patients stuck in hallways because there’s an empty bed in a room somewhere else? Across our country, confidence in the health system erodes as people sense that politics has taken precedence over patients.

A few weeks ago, an older friend of mine went to “Urgent Care” at the hospital after a painful fall. She waited for 4 hours and eventually sat with a doctor for about 5 minutes. He advised her to take some Tylenol for a bruised muscle. A little over a week later, she went somewhere else. They actually ordered an x-ray and discovered the arm was broken. She commented on her loss of confidence in the system.

Even doctors disagree. One doc at a local clinic still wore her mask this week. Is she overly cautious or are others overly careless?

I know some skeptical folk are still advising family and friends against travel to Toronto. I guess it’ll take more than official pronouncements and $1 Blue Jay tickets to alleviate the fear of SARS.

This whole situation parallels another “travel advisory” which has haunted my neighbourhood for years.

I have reacted strongly to outsiders who advise against travel to my neighbourhood because it’s “too dangerous there.”

I’ve heard it often. They’ll cite anything from crime, drugs, HIV, Hep C, prostitution, gangs, cockroaches, cons, crooks and panhandlers as reasons to avoid our fair community.

Several years ago, I met a young couple in a local coffee shop. They were “researching” our community before deciding whether or not they would move here.

The only things they knew about our neighbourhood was what they saw in the media or heard from friends and family. Unfortunately, most of that information was negative. Before dismissing the idea, however, they decided they would meet with some residents. They had some basic questions for me.

They asked, “Is it safe to come down here?” I answered, “Yes!” I couldn’t offer an ironclad guarantee, but I wouldn’t do that in any neighbourhood. I did, however, introduce them to healthy and happy families living without fear in the West End.

We discussed the convenience, affordability, services, and ethnic diversity of the neighbourhood. We checked out a few large renovated character homes. I could tell they were falling in love with our neighbourhood.

After awhile, they asked their toughest question. “How do you handle caring parents and friends who warn us against living here or threaten not to visit if we move?”

I asked if she had any specific examples. Apparently, this woman’s mom warned that if this couple moved into our “bad” neighbourhood she might call CFS because she considered that a move which would put her grandkids “at risk.”

Now that’s an ominous travel advisory!

It’s not just official bureaucratic “travel advisories” that hurt communities. These ex-officio and mis-informed travel advisories can have a serious detrimental impact on the economy, self-perception and social fabric of a city like Toronto or a neighbourhood like mine.

I’m not in denial. We definitely have some problems in our neighbourhood.

But it doesn’t seem to matter to these outsiders that 95% of all people in our neighbourhood have no involvement in those problems.

It doesn’t matter that these things are not normally communicable through casual contact. Most crime in our neighbourhood befalls those already involved in criminal activity or rotten relationships.

Sometimes the desire to protect ourselves takes priority over any desire to educate ourselves about real or imagined risks. You can spend a lifetime avoiding “bad” neighbourhoods, shunning suspicious people, dodging mosquitoes and every other imaginable risk. Or you could take a little time to check the facts about those perceived risks.

In case you’re wondering about that couple I met in the coffee shop – they’ve been living in the area for several years now.

As we fix homes, fight crime, and start businesses we’re grateful for those who help us spread the good news. We continue to work to abate every risk, and joyfully anticipate the lifting of every travel advisory.

Emerging Church, Missional

More than a decade ago, when I was first involved with YWAM on my DTS outreach to Jamaica, we were serving in a local church in a fair sized community. While there, a woman brought her daughter (about 10 years old) to the church leaders, as she had been having frightening dreams with images of a dark presence in her room. Concerned by how deeply it was troubling her child, the mother had brought to the church for help.

It turned out that the church was also hosting a visiting church leader from Africa (which country now evades my memory). At any rate, this African woman was asked to come a pray for the girl, and as visiting missionaries, we were invited as well. However, once there we were little more than observers- stunned observers as that.

The African woman began to explain to us that this girl was obviously possessed by a demon. Demons, she explained, entered the body of a person through their blood- through a cut, a menstral flow or some other exposure. She then proceeded to scream into the face of the frightened child (though speaking to the “demon” within her), calling for it to name itself and come forth in Jesus name. Of course, beyond terrifying the poor child and embarressing the local church leaders, nothing happened. It also served to shape my view on demon possession and exorcism.

Since that day, I have spent a fair amount of time and energy studying the topic of demon possession and exorcism. Most written material on the topic that I discovered was written from the Roman Catholic perspective, with other Protestant sources, largely of the charismatic variety. I also found particularly interesting (though I was not always in agreement with it) the writings of the late M. Scott Peck on the topic, both in his book “People Of The Lie: The Hope For Healing Human Evil” and “Glimpses of the Devil: A Psychiatrist’s Personal Accounts of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption”, both which attempt to reconcile a spiritual and psychological understanding of the topic.

Scripture offers interesting information, but due to the content being largely anecdotal, little specific instruction or explicit theology can be found. Even the larger topic of demonology (which in Christianity could be argued as a sub-branch of angelology, as demons as viewed as fallen angels) is fraught with ambiguity and unanswered questions.

Some believe that records of demon possession were misunderstood mental or phyical illness manifesting, described in the best terms available given the era. Others believe that demons should not be understood as personal entities or beings, but rather the collective systems of evil that emerge from societies and cultures, such as materialism, sexism, etc. (Walter Wink develops this approach brilliantly in his Powers trilogy- 1, 2, 3). Many other answers, explanations and variations offer an even wider understanding of the topic.

While my views are still being developed, I know that what I experienced that day in Jamaica was wrong. The girls was not possessed and even if she had been, the womans theology and subsequent response were completely unbiblical and potentially damaging to the child. Since that day I have seen and heard less extreme, but equally misguided examples of people treating mental illness, substance abuse, psychological trauma, etc. as demon possession. And yet, I have also come across accounts with more authority and substance, not allowing me to dismiss the topic altogether. I fear it would be arrogance for us to ignore or dismiss these realities out of a western, modern, scientific superiority.

Before you answer the following questions, I want to state a word of caution. Too many people, including (and perhaps especially) Christians can have an unhealthy fascination with this topic. I do not want to give any glory to darkness. However, I believe this topic is important enough for to engage. Therefore, what do you think? What are demons? Can a person be possessed by an evil spirit and if so, what does that mean?

UPDATE: For clarity sake, I want to differentiate what I mean by “demon possession” from the idea that others have been commenting on, namely “demon oppression”.  Basically, I believe the latter refers to torment, temptation, etc. of an external demonic influence, where the former indicates and submission of ones will to the control (and in some perspectives, indwelling) of an evil spirit.  While most Christians acknowledge oppression, it is the issue of possession that I am most interested in exploring here.

Emerging Church, Missional, Demons

As I was uploading pictures of the students onto the DTS blog this week, I found myself thinking about how common it is for us to be able to see our own image. Throughout most of human history people had to use water to see their own reflection. Some discovered that obsidian was also useful in this regards, as was polished metal. All of these, however, were inadequate in getting a good view of oneself. Therefore, it wasn’t much something that occupied peoples time, energy or consideration.

As art developed, portraits offer increasingly accurate representations of people, but even then only a very few had the chance to have such work done of them. In 1508 glass makers in Venice coated a sheet of glass with tin, creating the first glass mirror that reflected ones image back perfectly. In a very short time, these mirrors became easier to make, cheaper to buy and found more commonly the homes of the masses. By the time photography entered the picture in the late 1800′s, as revolutionary as it was, people were generally able to see themselves whenever they wanted to.

I can’t help but wonder what kind of an impact that has had on culture and human history. What impact has it had on our own sense of self and identity? I know, I know, I am waxing uselessly profound, but there you have it. That is what has been on my mind.

Have a great weekend!

Emerging Church, Missional, Art

When I first joined YWAM staff over a decade ago, my first job was as the registrar for schools offered at YWAM Cambridge’s Academy Of Performing Arts.  The majority of my time was spent handling student applications and dealing with references.  As a Christian program, of the three references we required, we always asked for a Pastors Reference.  Occasionally people came without any church background, but the majority of students easily provided this reference.

Over the last couple of years a shift began to happen that has caught my attention.  Almost half of our student and staff applicants contact us asking us if it is a problem that they cannot provide a Pastors Reference.  They go on to share one in a number of common explanations- I haven’t been part of one church for very long, so I don’t know my pastor well enough; My church is quite large, so I don’t have any real relationship with my pastor and he wouldn’t be able to provide a reference; I don’t attend a typical church, per se, so can I use someone else?

While their explanations themselves are very telling, I am genuinely and increasingly intrigued by the emerging pattern.  The role and relationship with ones pastor has changed dramatically.  Where 10 years ago, most Christians could quite easily go to their pastor and get a fairly accurate reference, now it seems increasingly uncommon and difficult.  For better or for worse, this is a significant change in a relatively short period of time.

So I ask you: Have you experienced this change in your own life?  What are the positive and negative causes of this shift?  How should we respond to this shift?

Emerging Church, Missional

After nearly 13 years with YWAM and being involved in the Discipleship Training School (DTS), one commitment my wife & I made when we started our ministry here in Winnipeg was that we would resist the impulse of creating a discipleship environment that was isolated from the surrounding community. Embracing the value of living in proximity with the people we were called to live and serve with, as well as attempting to contribute to what Alan Hirsch calls the Apostolic Environment, we have intentionally shaped our DTS in this way.

While finding expression in many different ways, one primary way is that we wanted to take our meals in the neighbourhood. To that end, we eat our meals at the amazing Ellice Cafe a block away from the YWAM house, sharing our lives with our neighbours. If you are not familiar with the Ellice Cafe and its story, here it is in Harry’s own words:

Revitalization can taste great – Our new cafe! - January 30, 2005 – Winnipeg Sun
by Harry Lehotsky

Some folks know me as a pastor. Others know me as an activist or a troublemaker. Some know me as landlord for some of the integrated transitional housing run by our church.

This week, however, I’m putting on a new hat. I’m becoming restaurateur at the Ellice Cafe & Theatre on the corner of Ellice and Sherbrook.

Some have asked: “Why would a church start a restaurant?”

It’s a good question. Some background.

For 21 years, I’ve pastored this inner-city church. I started in stereotypical fashion, going door-to-door, asking people if they wanted to attend a new church. I knocked on the doors of all the homes, apartment blocks and rooming houses in the neighbourhood.

I was able to count on one hand the people who expressed an interest in checking out a new church. An ordained Baptist minister with a seminary degree, I wondered if perhaps this was the wrong place or wrong time for a church — or perhaps that I was just the wrong person for the job.

I decided to go back through the neighbourhood and ask different questions. “What are you interested in? What are your concerns in the neighbourhood?”

Suddenly, people were willing to talk.

I heard their frustrations, fears, and hopes for the neighbourhood. I talked with parents concerned about their children. I heard from seniors concerned about health and safety in the neighbourhood. Business folk detailed their issues in the community.

I tried to help people regardless of whether or not they attended church. I expanded my understanding of ministry from serving people in a church building to serving the entire community around the church.

We spent years trying to help people through counsel, advocacy and referral.

I was frustrated by all the things we couldn’t provide. No sermon, song, counsel or social service could counter the debilitating effects of living in some hellhole of a building. It’s tough to sustain change when sharing long days and nights with others who have no interest in their own health and safety — let alone that of others.

Our experience in patching and painting each other’s homes helped us to gut and rehab a derelict house in the neighbourhood. A developer noticed some of our work on TV, and donated an apartment block to our church.

Government noticed our work and started helping us. We were able expand the quantity and quality of our renovations of homes for homeownership and apartments.

But the more you do, the more you see still needs doing.

I had noticed for awhile how eating and leisure habits contribute to — or frustrate — positive changes in the lives of people.

Whenever our church had a meal, people would share good food and warm fellowship. I noticed how happy people were getting out of their apartments to spend time with others.

For awhile, in addition to community meals, we started a monthly coffee house. On those Friday nights we arranged our seating around candlelit tables with a well-lit stage. We invited a variety of bands to play. We sold pizza by the slice, soda, coffee and desserts to cover our costs.

During one of those coffeehouses, a friend leaned over and suggested that I look around.

“Check it out, Harry. You know why some of these people are here? Some of them don’t even like this style of music. But they’re here because it’s better than sitting home alone and cheaper than all the other places they can’t afford.”

There were days I fantasized about starting a full-time coffee house or even a food service for residents of our transitional housing. But I never thought I’d have the opportunity.

The trick would be doing it in a way that wouldn’t force me to depend on government for operating funds. I wanted it to be self-sustaining.

But to become self-sustaining, it would have to be nice enough that people who could pay for what they want would choose to eat with us. Their income would not only pay for their own food, but also subsidize a high quality meal program for some low-income people in our community.

We were able to purchase the old Mac’s Building at the corner of Ellice and Sher-brook. This week we’ll finally open the cafe.

The name — Ellice Cafe & Theatre — was selected by community residents. A designer worked with our Lazarus Housing crew to feature some of the heritage of the building and our community. Evidence of providence came with the addition of an excellent chef.

I may be naive, but I also wanted to tackle some of my frustrations in restaurants. Waiting too long for someone to take my order, or waiting too long for my cheque afterwards. Sticker shock from how pre-tax menu prices don’t match up to my bill at the end. Above all, I wanted a warm atmosphere and great food in the healthy context of a good socio-economic mix of people.

Sometimes folks get overwhelmed with the problems of the inner city. They wonder how to support revitalization.

We don’t want government operating funds. We don’t want to be dependent on your tax dollars. We’d like to attract some of your leisure dollars.

Revitalization is also about where you go to see movies or attend concerts. It’s also about where you go to eat, and who provides your catering.

Come downtown.

Revitalization can leave a great taste in your mouth.

Emerging Church, Missional

Once again, I am tired.  I deeply, deeply tired.  As those of you who read here frequently will know, this past year or so has been filled with many ups and downs for me.  I feel as though I am at a cross-roads in my life and ministry, resulting a terrible angst and dissatisfaction.  And yet I do not know what direction God is calling me in.  Is it to stay the course I am on?  Or is it to step into something new?  I simply do not know.

Perhaps most frustrating in this process is that I feel like I lack the freedom to choose.  One on hand, I am committed to responsibilities that I cannot just walk away from without causing a great deal of grief for others (namely my wife), nor am I sure I would want to if I could.  On the other, I lack the skills, qualifications and means to do much else should I pursue it.  Both points are moot, in the end, as I lack the clarity and direction to make any change whatsoever.

What I do know- a fact that terrifies me and worries Kim- is that I cannot continue in this limbo for much longer.  I find my patience with people disappearing, my passion for ministry dissolving, even my imagination is too frequently wandering to strange, foolish and impossible scenarios that would resolve these issues.  For all of this, I ask for your continued prayer and friendship.

However, the purpose of this post was not to simply vent and ask for support, but rather to reflect on how common this experience is to so many of us to varying degrees.  As I pursue, engage and promote missional living and missional community as being at the heart of God’s vocational calling on His people, I recognize how costly these changes are to so many.  The older I get the more I realize how invested our lives become in systems, ideas and models- that, while well intentioned, often fall short- making change more difficult than I could have imagined years earlier.

I believe that the church in the West is at a critical and exciting stage in the journey.  I believe we will see in the coming years significant and historic shifts that will bring long-awaited renewal and unity in the Body of Christ resulting in missional engagement like we have not seen before.  But what I am equally confident about is that it will exact a very hard price on us all.  We cannot celebrate Resurrection and move ahead in Pentecost without first facing the Cross and the Tomb.

A great deal of what this means is that people will look back on their lives with regret.  Some will fiercely defend their choices, an impulse completely understandable if unfortunate.  Others will recognize the limits of their ability to change because of the choices they have made so far.  A few will pursue change in spite of the cost and it will be a painful shift.  Whatever the case may be, grace and compassion will be desperately needed.  Patience and perseverance will be the order of the day.

So, understanding all this, I face this dark time in my own life with a sense of hope, but also trepidation.  What fears or sacrifices or losses do you face as you seek to follow God into His Kingdom journey?

Emerging Church, Missional

Every Monday night during the DTS, the guys get together for evening of hanging out and fun. Every so often we will play games with each other. This week the guys taught be the old school game Stock Ticker, a game where you play the stock market to win top dollar and the title of winner. As we played, it reminded me of the cut throat tactics of Monopoly, whose very name explains the point of the game- domination and control.

As I was reflecting on these games, it dawned on me how these games taped into the prevalent worldview that guides our lives here in the Western world. Consumerism, education, even the legal system, is built upon fiercely adversarial models of defeating, conquering, overcoming, monopolizing, controlling, etc. While often more subtle (though sometime not subtle at all), it has also defined how we approach our faith and our missional vocation as the Church. Even our language exposes an almost militant dominionism and arrogant paternalism towards the world which we are called to love and serve.

While some might argue that Scripture often uses military language, we must recognize several influencing factors within that. First, they are rarely as prevalent in Scripture as they are in our language. Second, it is used in Scripture most commonly in reference to our relationship or response to the spiritual dynamics around us. Third, and perhaps most important, is the fact that the understanding and dynamics of militancy in Scripture are rooted in large part of the historical and cultural context they were written out of. This means that our own understanding of militancy, especially in the Western world, cannot be easily equated with Biblical references of this type.

That being said, the area where this has perhaps been most damaging is in our commitment to fulfilling our missional vocation as the Body of Christ. Along with the already mentioned dominionism and paternalism of Western Christianity, colonialism also deeply shaped the Churches ideas and actions towards the world and our mission in it. When I considered the result missiological stance of the Church, a word popped into my head that sadly and aptly describes what we have created: Missiopoly.

I have come to realize, as a result, that in the current renewal in the Christian commitment to Missionality, overcoming Missiopoly must be a central and intentional aspect of that shift. If we attempt to be genuinely missional without fiercely confronting and dismantling this principality of domination, we turn a blind eye to the parasite that will destroy those very efforts. We cannot underestimate the disintegrative impact of this force on the past, present and potential future of the Church.

The great danger in doing this, of course, is failing to see who or what our enemy is. As committed and well-intentioned Christians are deeply invested into this system of Missiopoly, we cannot attack them as the enemy, but rather as fellow suffers. We must find ways of being ruthless with the power of this insidious worldview while being gracious and patient and humble with those who are a part of it. Perhaps this is our greatest challenge.

So I put the questions to you:

Where do you see the impact of Missiopoly in the Church? How can we be intentional in our fight against it without attacking the people who are invested in it?

Emerging Church, Missional

(What Is The Gospel? – Parts 1, 2, 3 & 4)

It has been quite some time since my last installment, so I wanted to continue with my series on “What Is The Gospel?” (Parts 1, 2, 3 & 4). While I would encourage you to read the former posts, let me give a brief summary to catch you up:

In Part 1, inspired by scot McKnight’s excellent book “Embracing Grace”, I proposed a very general understanding of the Gospel – “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.” (I have since altered that definition slightly to “Gospel is the work of the Trinitarian God to reconcile every person to union with God, to communion with others, to fullness with self, and to harmony with Creation, in the context of community for the glory of God and the good of all”).

Part 2 explores the meaning of being created in God image, which is primarily Trinitarian. The perichoretic unity of the Godhead should be reflected in the restored and celebrated relationship of man with God, self, others and Creation. The work of Christ seeks to invite us, through the cross, to find restoration to His intentions for us by resurrecting as His Body.

Exploring the example of Saint Patrick, Part 3 looks to the pattern God calls us through- moving out of our “hidden nakedness” the masks and barriers that deny our brokenness and need for God, through the chaos and suffering of dying to self on the Cross; through the emptiness and release of the tomb; into the new life of the Resurrection into the share reality of His Body; filled and empower together by the Spirit to bring the message, promise and experience of restoration and transformation to a world in need of it.

In Part 4 we see how rooted our place in Creation is, as intended by God. Our commitment to Creation is not a mere stewardly environmentalism, but rather a sacramental ecology where we Creation as the medium in which our own relationship must take place. Further, rather than allowing our worldviews to be shaped by the mechanistic patterns of our “creations”, we see God’s intentional truth invested into the fabric of His Creation.

With that foundation set, I want to explore the statement “fullness with self” (earlier called “fullness of life”). It is here that I want to affirm the place and importance of the individual in this picture. In a world of rampant individualism in desperate need of true community, we can be at risk of over-reacting in the opposite extreme. One of the most fundamental contribution that the Judeo-Christian tradition brings to world is the value of the individual. When God covenanted with Abraham, for example, it was done in a time where human life had value in the eyes of god-kings and their ruthless armies. It was a monumental shift (see “The Gifts Of The Jews” by Thomas Cahill for an excellent development of these ideas).

Rick Warren said, “Spiritual maturity is becoming like Jesus in the way we think, feel and act.” In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is guided to the Emerald City by three companions- the Scarecrow, the Tinman and the Cowardly Lion. It was only in the last few years that I began to see the significance of each character, as they represented defining aspects of Dorothy’s own identity. The Scarecrow needed a brain- mind; the Tinman needed a heart- emotions; and the Lion lacked the courage to act- will. Though somewhat simplistic, the mind, will and the emotions can be seen as what are core to our souls. Based on this, I would define fullness with self (not to be mistaken with “full of yourself”) to be a God-centered harmony of the soul- that is the mind, will and emotions.

Gil Bailie once said, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” While obviously needing qualification and balance, I believe it holds a core truth. Dying to self does not mean a denial of individuality or personal identity, but to the disintegrative nature of selfishness, etc. Fullness of life comes, in part, through that God-centered unity of the soul.

The following exercise is quite involved, but can help serve as a discipline of the imagination in exploring that fullness of life. I would encourage you to spend some time over the next week(s) to give it a shot. I call it a “Soul Audit”- a tool to help you engage with who you are, who you hope to be and imagining the possibilities of what could be. The follow is a list of very personal and specific questions that will serve as a reflective tool in your life and faith. Starting with the foundational question “If I were living my life to its greatest potential, what would it look like?”, the follow-up questions draw into greater detail.

You can do this exercise in many ways. You could answer the foundational question in the time frame of next year, 5 years or 10 years from now. You might even want to do this more than one time frame (which I think is helpful). The level of time, thought and energy you put into the answer will determine how much you get out of it. Be realistic with your answers, but also be hopeful and visionary. If you do the exercise, I’d love to hear what you thought of the results.

“If I were living my life to its greatest potential, what would it look like?”

Hands (Your Will)
-”What would I be doing? Where? With whom?”
-”How would others perceive me? How would they describe my life?”
-”How would what I’d be going be most different from now?

Heart (Your Emotions)
-”How would I feel about myself? How would I feel differently than now?”
-”How would I feel about the what, where and who in my life then?”
-”What would I be most passionate about?”

Head (Your Mind)
-”How would my think about myself be different?”
-”What lies or fears would not longer be keeping me back?

Hands/Heart/Head
-”What negative or unhealthy actions, feelings & thoughts would be gone that are here now?”
-”What positive and healthy actions, feelings & thoughts would be here that aren’t here now?”

-What would your family say the driving force of your life is?
-Your friends? Your pastor or spiritual leaders say?
-What would you say it is? What would you WANT it to be?

Emerging Church, Missional, Self