Gentry pointed me to a blog that Gordon Cosby (the founder of the Church of the Savior in DC) will be contributing to.  The blog is called inward/outward. Gordon’s first post, titled "Becoming the Authentic Church" can be found here.

Although I’ve never met Gordon or been to the church of the savior, I feel a kindred spirit connection and find inspiration from what I know about Gordon and his approach to church and following Jesus (see some previous comments here). In particular, his sense about the role of our culture pulling us in directions that God did not intend really resonates with me. Gordon touches on this a little in his first post:

What I imagine is a revitalized and committed people who take Jesus seriously, joining a movement that is already underway, a movement toward recovery from the culture’s addictive pull, a healing movement that lifts up all who touch our life together.

I was first exposed to these ideas by a missions pastor here in the Bay Area. I believe that the local pastor I connected with was drawing from the work that the Church of the Savior has been doing in DC to integrate new members in their community.  I’m looking forward to hearing more from Gordon on the web. Thanks Gentry.

Tags: Gordon Cosby, church, faith, church of the savior

I had to opportunity to join the peer learning community that ReImagine hosted in San Francisco. It is described as a group of leaders (thought leaders, those exploring spritual leadership, and people leading with their lives in various vocations who also have a heart for guiding other spiritually). It was a great opportunity to connect with different people who are struggling with what it means to follow Jesus in their context.

I got to meet a gentleman from the East Bay who is moving on from a career as an oil spill responder for the coast guard. He shared some of his experiences in trying to start a community center/coffee shop in his area. I also got to reconnect with Bob and hear some stories about his background and the job he is starting on Monday. Bob had some great thoughts to share about culture, the cluetrain, emerging trends in marketing, ministry and his efforts to pay for college for his daughter. I really enjoy connecting with him.

I also got to hear some of the stories, struggles, and progress of some of the other folks in the group. In our breakout group of 8 or so there were a few folks that were grappling with a call to be in ministry but finding it hard to live that out in the traditional church. A few mentioned that they were longing for ways to support their families while seeking their call that didn’t mean being on the pay role at a church. I found this encouraging since I’ve been finding myself on a journey to free up more time to seek my call while also keeping my technology vocation in some form. We all seem to have a deep longing for an integrated or more holistic life– a life where the different compartments of our world begin to bleed together.

I’m looking forward to learning from this group of people. I’m not sure what will come of it, but I was definitely sensing the energy to encourage, learn, and share with each other.

Tags: reimagine, emergent, spirituality, holistic

Since Mark posted this on his blog, I thought I would throw it out here to. Here are some thoughts on what the organization we are working with is trying to build.

ReImagine and a Regional Center for Spiritual Formation
The goal of ReImagine is to create a regional center for spiritual formation. This regional center will be composed of a progression of stages or forums for engagement that will be designed to further the spiritual formation of the participants. The center will be composed of the following stages: proclamation, conversation, new vision/new habits, and a community based on the new vision.

The proclamation stage will incorporate the announcement of the Kingdom of God. "The time has come," he said. "The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:15). This proclamation, taking different forms, will be an invitation for the hearers to explore the Kingdom of God, explore ways in which the world has captured their imagination that God did not intend, and seek a new, holistic vision of their life as apprentices and followers of Jesus.

The next stage or forum will be a place for people seeking conversations and encouragement in their efforts to follow Jesus in a complex and diverse culture such as the San Francisco Bay area. This forum will serve as one of many regional connection points for emergent.

At the next level, the center will provide a vehicle for participants to develop a new vision, new habits, and new actions as people seeking to be formed in the way of Jesus. This stage currently referred to as the Jesus Dojo, will offer a year-long process of spiritual formation composed of six modules or exercises eight weeks long. Each module will be devoted to a stream of the teaching of Jesus. The modules will focus on the following six streams from Jesus’ ministry: generosity and abundance, healing, imagination/story telling, prayer, integrity, and community. Once a “novice” completes the year long process of spiritual formation they will be encouraged to live out their call or vocation which could included participation in the next level—the covenant community.

The final stage will be a monastic or covenant community based on a new vision and new habits and whose members will take vows pledging their commitment to living lives as apprentices of Jesus. This community of men, women, and children will devote their lives to living and teaching the six streams of Jesus ministry mentioned above. They will serve as the facilitators, guides, and stewards for the center for spiritual formation.

Tags: spirituality, monasticism, culture