We are building a whole new site for CQMissional. Check it out: www.cqmissional.com

We have 11 different people who will be contributing posts that range in topics from justice to current culture. It’s going to be fun to see what comes of it!

There is a lot of content up already, here are a few posts to check out to get started on:

Scott on the motivation the tragedy brings, and the question of the rest of the everyday tragedies: http://www.cqmissional.com/2010/01/14/motivation-x-tragedy/

Ardelle on how taking care of ourselves allows us to have something to give: http://www.cqmissional.com/2010/01/21/centered-or-self-centered/

A few thoughts on CQMissional: http://www.cqmissional.com/2010/01/17/what-we-do-and-why-that-can-be-weird/

I hope you find something interesting on this new site, and even engage some ideas. If  you like what you see and want to spread the word we would appreciate it!

last thing, if you want to just jump here is the RSS feed for the site: http://feeds.feedburner.com/CQMissional

There is a CQMissional Facebook page also..if your interested.

During our class we discussed three characteristics of communities of spiritual formation: people tell the truth, power and goals are different from the world and fear is diminished.

It seems this is a good framework for some reflection on the Garnett Church of Christ community.

People Tell the Truth:

This community values the truth. One of the most stark examples of this to me is how the leadership of the church handled the case of a young couple in the church who had a baby together before they were married. This would be a prime chance to ignore a situation, sweep it under the rug, or try to handle it in some secret cliche way. Instead the leadership of the church chose to handle this in the open. the leadership stood before the church at acknowledged that there had been sin, that there were consequences to what had happened. The couple then stood before the church and everybody laid hands on them and prayed for them.

So, it was awesome to see truth told, but it was truth backed up with love. They could have told the truth of sin and consequence, and it could have lead to rejection and isolation, but instead it is (i think) leading to healing and restoration.

I often hear (or are part of) conversations about transparency between leadership and the congregation. This transparency ranges from budget discussions to ministry leadership. I think that this openness and honesty is something that is truly being strived for.

A sort of institutional honesty is a big part of this of course. But it seems that there is another aspect to this, and that is how individuals relate to each other. Do they tell the truth and are honest? This is harder to know about of course, Its harder to know and understand what is going on within individual relationships. There are some times though when I feel like there may be some untruth between individuals. I don’t really have any specific examples of this, I think this is normal relationship stuff…people avoiding conflict, wanting people to like them and not saying no. I don’t at all think that this is some sort of indication that there is some secret covering up of truth, rather that people are people in every community.

Power and Goals are Different from the World.

There is clearly a different goal at Garnett. I have never really felt like anybody is looking for power or to build a kingdom. They truly are trying to create a place where God’s love is shown to all people. People on the outside see this. Greg has told me that even Mayor Cathy Taylor saw that Garnett Church loved all people, and that this was unusual, even at times among churches.

I think that the question of process vs. program is interesting at Garnett Church of Christ. I have never felt like there is a drive to create some sort of program that will drive people to the outcome that the church wants. At the same time I think they are still trying to figure out the process. Not that this is a community that has no direction and is just wondering around. It is clear that this community wants all people to know God’s love, but the question of how this community does that is not as well defined. This is not surprising (or even bad really) considering that the church in its current form (leadership, etc) has been around for less then a year. I guess the bottom line is that this place does not seem to want to have anything to do with programs that shoehorn people into set expectations and seek out preset conclusions. They truly are seeking ways to serve people through relationship and knowing them.

Fear is Diminished.

I have one story to tell that I think sums up this point about Garnett:

Yesterday i was interviewing a lady who has gone to Garnett Church of Christ for the last 40 years. I asked her what the biggest struggle she has overcome in her life was. She said her divorce. Some time ago, i really don’t know exactly when, her and her then husband attended church at Garnett. They were active members teaching Sunday school together and being very involved in the Church. Then he had an affair. She went through a lot, but the church stood by her. I asked if she was ever worried that the church would reject her because of her divorce, that she would in some way be marginalized. Her answer: “Never. It never even occurred to me.”  No doubt she felt a lot of fear and rejection during this time. But the community stood to accept her and to help her overcome that fear.

A lot is different about this church then it was 20 or 30 years ago, but on this point I don’t think much has changed.

Last week we got to spend some time with Mark Regouby of TellTheirStory.org. We talked a lot about how to tell somebodies story and not exploit them. Mark works to connect people from the states to microfinance projects in the developing world. He also records and tells the stories of the people who are part of these projects. So, here is the question: how do you record and tell somebodies story and not exploit them? Especially when your organization (and livelihood) depend on somebody hearing the story and being compelled to some action. I’m not sure the answer…perhaps you just have to live with the tension of that.

Tonight I was out walking around taking a few pictures. As I was walking I noticed a homeless man sleeping. I must say, this might be the hardest picture i have ever taken:

It’s not even a great picture, but it took me a long time to decide to take it. I think there is an important story in this picture…a story about homelessness, hopelessness, perhaps something about economy, health care, family…despite that it does seem a bit exploitative. Did I just take it to satisfy my desire to take an interesting picture? Or to make a blog post about something I have been thinking about? I envy great street photographers who can take pictures of people and compel the viewer to consider how to react to the situation. Perhaps someday I will take a picture that does that…but i hope that I never lose sight of people, and never disrespect the story of the people in the picture.

what do you think? How do you take pictures of people, how do you tell the stories of people without turning them into mere subjects?

Some things that have been running through my head lately.

Lots of people have been posting lately about being more REAL. Less of the “this is how I want you to see me.” And more of “this is how I really am.” With the pictures we show of ourselves, the things we blog about, everything.  www.thereignofellen.blogspot.com & People of the Second Chance are the things that have inspired me to show this:

This is me running. In pain. And ready to collapse. After 3.1 miles. Not 26.2. After 3.1 and I had trained for this. I feel like I SHOULD like running. Like I SHOULD enjoy it & be good at it. But I don’t. It’s painful & frustrating.

and this:

Now even though I’m smiling, I’m trying to mask my utter frustration. This is me “skiing.” I spent most of my 1 run down the mountain like this. Without the smile. I don’t really like skiing. At all. It’s hard & scary & bring me to say things like “I hate this!” As we were trekking over to the actual ski lift. BEFORE we even got to the ski lift. But I feel like I SHOULD like skiing. But in all honesty, I don’t.

Now, I don’t want to live a truly comfortable life. I want to stretch myself & learn new things. And I’m not completely opposed to learning to ski or learning to run. But if we’re being REAL, then my motivation to do them right now is because for whatever reason I feel like I SHOULD want to do them.

This is Ben & I at the top of Mt. Huron. A 14er we summited last year when we were in Colorado. And I’m not sure that there is a way to convey to you just how much this picture means to me. Because from this picture, you can’t see the serious mental/emotional breakdown I went through on the way up. The tears and seriously negative self-thinking that was going on in my head. And I didn’t make it to the top b/c of anything I actually had in me. But I wanted to do it for me. Not for anyone else. I needed to make it to the top for ME. But I did NOT make it to the top alone.

That’s REAL.

How can you be more REAL today?

We are both excited about our projects. They are unique and each of them have aspects that are challenging to us. They both involve meeting with lots of people and getting to know lots of people, and that can be intimidating for us. Maybe we sound a little crazy for continuing to say that we are excited by being challenged. But the truth is that while being stretched and challenged in these ways is not always easy for us, we know that they will help us experience more of this life that we’ve been called to: to love all.

I’ve never talked or thought about coffee more than I have in the past few months. (I’m not complaining though.)

My project for this year will be to help develop a cafe in the lobby of Garnett.

The vision for this is not an original idea of mine, but something that the staff of Garnett & the Green Country Event Center has been talking about for awhile now. Out of all the ideas and dreams they have for what their ministry could look like, this is the one that I have latched onto.

The idea is to create an environment that allows people from all walks of life to come and inhabit the same space for a little while. To physically see that there are others out there may or may not be like us. (This can be seen by having members of the church come and meet for coffee there, where they may run into folks that are there taking ESL classes.) The space is already there, and in fact, is one of the most under-utilized spaces inside the building. It is in a central location-right in the middle of the building, and easily accessible from all the different hallways.

In our initial talks with those who rent space in the Event Center, we have heard from several different organizations that they think having a café would be beneficial. They can see their students, parents, guests staying after their class or event to grab a bite to eat and continue to spend time together. I envision students from the GED/ESL classes being able to find an inexpensive dinner before/during classes, and maybe their family members can even come up there and see them before or after classes. By making this café open when the building is currently in use (until 10pm each weekday) and providing inexpensive food and beverage options, this space could be quite attractive to people in the community. (Not just those who currently come to the Event Center already.)

Some specifics are to provide coffee, sandwiches, snacks, juice, internet and a comfortable environment. It is an ideal addition because the Event Center is already paying for most of the overhead costs (utilities, etc.) when the building is being used. This makes it so the space is better-utilized. Also, the main purpose underlying the whole idea of the Event Center in the first place is to open up the building and interact with the community. By creating a space that is inviting and accessible, then they can foster more interactions. And by making it a destination spot (instead of going to Starbucks) they can help enable more relationships between church members and guests that are there for a class, or event. We’re also talking about using this as an avenue for raising local and global awareness. With everything from the coffee we serve to eventually being able to help provide some job training to people in the community, we want this café to have an outward focus.

This is a great project for me, specifically, because it allows me to think systemically as we develop this business. I can use my administrative skills as we develop these dreams into something real and tangible (and sustainable). Plus, it stretches me out of my comfort zone as well. I’ve been having (and initiating) many conversations with tenants at the Event Center, as well as others involved in the coffee shop business in this area. I am also being stretched by having a big project to develop into something real. I really function well when given tasks, and often get overwhelmed by the idea of a project of this magnitude. And I want to be sure to keep a relational aspect of this for myself and for the café in general as we get into this. To keep me in touch with the needs and wants of the community, not just to develop this into something that fits what I want.

So if you have any advice on anything related to coffee, or starting a business, send it my way! I’m all ears.

So we traditionally spend New Year’s Eve with some dear friends.  In ugly sweaters.  This year was no exception.

I tied for “Best Gitup” with that outfit thankyouverymuch. I didn’t win, but I’m fine with that.

At midnight was have a “Burning of the Greens” where we burn our Christmas trees.

And try to sing “Auld Lang Syne.” It doesn’t usually turn out so well since no one really knows the words.