lifeasmission

7 Kinds of Smoke

May 27, 2008

Besides being a gratuitous reference to Dupree’s Self-Help spiel in “You, Me and Dupree,” it’s the best title I could come up with for a post full of randomness and fun linkages. You’ve been warned, no coherency is to be found here!

Listen to this song, it’s awesome.

I hurt my knee last week and it is bad enough that it’s preventing me from running and playing sports, basically making me miserable.

Even though I missed out on being with some of the most important people in my life,

I had a great weekend with some of my newest friends. Most importantly, I am pleased to announce that at 29 years of age I am still a back flipping fool!

My friend Julia is one of the coolest people in the world. She’s an excellent writer, isn’t afraid to be honest with people, and was kind enough to be my conference wife in the Bahamas at Soularize. But all of that is eclipsed by her commitment to the reality of God’s Kingdom in the world. She is so committed to ending the the global trafficking of people for sex and slavery that she had the words “until the last lock breaks” tattooed on her forearm. Julia, the church could stand a few more men and women with your sort of heart.

I am definitely mourning the loss of a community where the sharing of life amongst people of diverse seasons of life was the norm. Note to Canton friends: Don’t forget that our experience is not that of most.

As someone whose mind is basically consumed with the idea of spiritual formation on the personal and corporate levels, I am really excited to have made the decision to seek out a spiritual director/counselor that I think might be an important piece in that process for me.

I have the opportunity to address the Living Hope community this Sunday. I am definitely excited for the opportunity to share some of my story and heart, but also nervous as someone who has only lived among these folks in this new place for 2 short months (not to mention the nervousness which always accompanies the prophetic element of my personality).

That being said, I have really enjoyed reengaging what it means to be a pastor in the context of a missional church community. Challenges around every bend, but I love the team I get to be a part of.

I really miss my house church and Anabaptist friends. There was a connection there on a deep level that I am yet to discover here in Memphis.

I have come to the conclusion that relationally speaking there is probably nothing more frustrating to me than trying to engage with people who can’t communicate deeply. I hate how little patience I often feel in this regard.

My friend Jason and his family are in the process of joining an Eastern Orthodox church and he has been blogging about it. As I was sharing my my friend Emily, another brilliant and articulate lady, the Eastern Orthodox church has a tremendous amount to offer in terms of its theology and ecclesiology, though few realize it.

OK, think that’s enough randomness for one evening.

Posted in: blogging, church, community, living hope, memphis, missional, music, preaching/teaching, prophets, random, songs, spiritual formation, theology