It's the only thing I'm called to do.
It' s the only thing I can't do.
And can't not do.
For just one example:
I ' ve "got to"
and "get to"
juxtapose/juggle/synthesize/live in the creative tension of
being/doing
both
- the quiet, interior, contemplative thing
and
- the (often) louder, marketplaced, culture-engagement gig
In our experimental community in Fresno, we sometimes call it "being engaged to Jesus and engaging culture." Or 'both monastic and missional."
The catch and crux is we often are chosen to "do" and stream both simultaneously..
Maybe we should catch a bit of Matthew Fox's "extroverted monasticism."
Here, a couple of quotes may help..
On the "quiet thing":
"The function of the modern apostle, therefore, is to create the silent contemplative places where individuals can experience truth for themselves.." Inchausti, pp. 187-189
On the "loud" thing:
"the founder of Christianity left a group of eleven close friends..who were entrusted with the mind-boggling-task, 'Go and makes disciples of all nations.' The apostles had an essentially missionary function"
-p 125, "Reformations: A Radical Interpretation of Christianity and the World, 1500-2000" by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto and Derek Wilson
I am not an apostle like some folk I play on the same team with, but as a shepherd-dude in the apostolic waters, I pray/dream to be a "quiet missionary" and/or a "loud monastic." Those oxys are not morons; they just wear a pair of doxes.
But as much as possible, this stance and stand must be taken and worn
sans cheese..
and
with as much jazz (preferrably blue)
as possible.
Or impossible.
Trinity: “But no one has ever done this before; it’s impossible!"
Neo: “I know; That’s why it’s going to work.”
Ok, I get the importance of the contemplative approach. I have been doing it for about 19 years. It has reversed my career path and cost me more money than I want to think about. I do not regret taking this path but here is the danger. Leanne Payne talks about the "paralyzing passivity of the false feminine". Both men and women can become prey to this disease. It is about being adrift in a sea of meaning that fails to find its focus in a function that can reproduce itself in the lives of others.
ReplyDeleteThe trouble that the restless activism (of false masculinity) has cost us is apparent. But let us not forget that the paralyzing passivity is just as deadly as restless activism.
The eastern emptying influence on our culture would seduce us into unproductive inactivity.
Michael:
ReplyDeleteGreat reminder; good to insert Payne into this discussion.
I like the way she nails what she calls neo-gnostic listening