Steve Knight :: Friends blog

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I have been reading a book by the brilliant Catholic theologian and ethicist George Weigel called Faith, Reason, And The War Against Jihadism: A Call To Action. It just so happens that I was reading it as the Mumbai terror attacks happened and so I post the headings of his insights here. His issue is not with Islam in general, but with the particularly dangerous brand called Jihadism, and I do find these insights very honest, insightful, and confronting. I am inclined to agree. What think ye?

• Lesson one: The great human questions, including the great questions of public life, are ultimately theological


• Lesson two: To speak of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as the “three Abrahamic faiths,” the “three religions of the Book” or the “three monotheisms” obscures rather than illuminates. These familiar descriptions ought to be retired


• Lesson three: Jihadism is the enemy in the multi-front war that has been declared on us


• Lesson four: Jihadism has a complex intellectual history, the chief points of which must be grasped in order to understand the nature of the threat it poses to the west


• Lesson five: Jihadists read history and politics through the prism of distinctive theological convictions, not through the lens of western assumptions about the progress of dynamic of history


• Lesson six: It is not “Islamophobic” to note the historical connection between conquest and Muslim expansion, or between contemporary jihadism and terrorism. Truth-telling is the essential prerequisite to genuine interreligious dialogue, which can only be based on the claims of reason.


• Lesson seven: The war against jihadism is a contest for the human future that will endure for generations


• Lesson eight: Genuine realism in foreign policy takes wickedness seriously, yet avoids premature closure in it’s thinking about the possibilities of positive change in world politics


• Lesson nine: In the war against Jihadism, the political objective in the middle East and throughout the Islamic world is the evolution of responsible and responsive government, which will take different forms given different historical and cultural circumstances


• Lesson ten: in the war against global Jihadism, deterrence strategies unlikely to be effective, because it is almost impossible to deter those who are committed to their own martyrdom


• Lesson eleven: Cultural self-confidence is indispensable to victory in the long-term struggle against Jihadism


• Lesson twelve: Islamist salami tactics (also known as the salami-slice strategy, a divide and conquer process of threats and alliances used to overcome opposition) must be resisted, for small concessions in the name of a false idea of tolerance inevitably lead to further concessions, and into further erosions of liberty and security


• Lesson thirteen: We cannot, and will not, deserve victory (much less achieve it) if we continue to finance those who attack us, therefore, a program to defund jihadism by developing alternatives to petroleum based transportation fuels is a crucial component of the current struggle


• Lesson fourteen: Victory in the war against global jihadism requires a new domestic political coalition that is proof against the confusions caused by the Unhinged Left and the Unhinged Right


• Lesson fifteen: There is no escape from US leadership

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The explorations of communitas (the theme for the next series of posts around The Forgotten Ways) took on a very personal form in my own experience as leader of South Melbourne Restoration Community (now called RED), the church I had the privilege of leading for 15 years. When I look back to the early dynamics of that vibrant community, especially as it was still forming, we were functioning as missional church in a very naïve, pre-cognitive, and instinctual kind of way. All we did was set out to build a community that was radically open and engaged with all kinds of people on the edges and fringes of society. Things happened. It was exciting— the community was focused and sharpened by a sense of destiny and mission and as a result we grew in a strange and wonderful kind of way. We were missional, even though at the time this was as yet largely unarticulated, and as a result we experienced a remarkable form of community.

But something seemed to change as we grew and self-consciously became a more trendy, pomo, Gen-X church. For understandable reasons lots of grounded middleclass Christians from Melbourne’s Bible belt moved to the inner city to be part of what God was doing—and we welcomed the newfound stability in what was to that point a very chaotic experience of ecclesia. These were established Christians weren’t needy and that was a wonderful change for us and we basked in a period of sublime stability. But something shifted as we became more stable. And while we gained a lot from the participation of these wonderful people, nonetheless something significant was inadvertently lost as the church culture changed and became more middle-class and steady.

There is something about middle-class culture that seems to be contrary to authentic gospel values. And this is not a statement about middleclass people per se; I myself am from a very middleclass family, but rather to isolate some of the values and assumptions that that seem to just come along as part of the deal. In the chapter on discipleship we noted that much of what goes by the name middle class involves a preoccupation with safety and security developed mostly in pursuit of what seems to best for our children. And this is understandable as long as it does not become obsessive. But when these impulses of middle class culture fuse with consumerism, as they most often do, we can add the obsession with comfort and convenience to the list. And this is not a good mix. At least as far as the Gospel and missional church is concerned.

Operating under the influence of these ‘bugs’ in our middleclass software, our community became a marketer of particularly zesty religious goods and services vying for the attention of discerning spiritual consumers. Flattered by the numerical growth, and driven by our own middle-class agendas, we thoughtlessly followed the ‘gather and amuse’ impulse implicit in church growth theory and so we grew in numbers, but something primal and indispensable was lost in the bargain. We got more transfers from other churches, but the flow of conversion slowed down to a trickle and then ran completely dry. Paradoxically, we became busier than ever before, but with less and less real missional impact. We had moved from the missional idea of ‘me for the community and the community for the world’ to the more consumptive ‘the community for me’ and it just about destroyed us. We recovered only by recalibrating the community along fundamentally missional lines, and this was not achieved without pain and numerical loss. But in doing so, we moved from an experience of church as community to that of communitas.

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Sorry if the previous post on exorbitant Christian conferences in a time of crippling recession was a little gray (sorry David). But I do want to ask the question:

Where we gonna find the eyes to see a brighter day?

Where we gonna get the wisdom to find a more sustainable way?

Where we gonna invest our time, talent and money in the Great Commission so that it will . . . pay?

Ok - that last one was a little forced. I'm a blogger, not a songwriter. But if you have a good idea on how we can respond to this global financial crisis, leave a comment below. Maybe we should compile a top ten list or something . . . .?

Technorati Tags: puppy, recession

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Really helpful discussion in the comments of the previous post [Recession: How bad is it?] about the recession and how its affecting our non-profits and ministries. I want to continue it here by picking up on some of the comments and questions that have emerged.

Its obvious that the recession is having a huge impact on all of us. On the negative side, budgets are cut, events are cancelled, and job security is soooooo 2007. On the positive side, organizations are forced to reexamine strategy, expenditure, and use this current recession as an opportunity to retool where necessary.

"This is helping us clarify what we are really all about and how to spend not only our money, but time, energy, prayer, and talent." Michael Kaspr

One of the culprits, as Becky pointed out, are these extravagant Christian conferences (PreacherFests) where participants are asked to pay an exorbitant admission price to go and hear their favorite speaker. Add to that a flight, meals, and a hotel room and there's not much change from A THOUSAND from which to buy the speaker's book to support this weird cottage industry.

Thats a heckofalot! Its also out of reach for many young struggling missional entrepreneurs and it sets an unsustainable example for the rest of the world who try to mimic the West.

The unsustainable lifestyle of some [a small minority] of professional Christian circuit riders is also on the chopping block. I heard about a well known Christian speaker that was invited to fly overseas to share at at an emerging church event in a particular country [not USA]. They managed to appease his life-style choices by putting him in a four-star hotel but he checked himself out and into a five-star hotel down the road . . . at their expense. I wont repeat the word they called him [rhymes with "banker"] but I will say that in today's climate, God's five star conference speakers will either have to suffer some two or three star inconveniences or struggle to find gigs at all.

Even better if we totally rethink this conference thang.

Our conferences? Over the past ten years, all of the events we (Boaz Project) have hosted have been free of charge. The only was to do this was to have teachers who could speak with little or no honorarium, invite participants from a smaller geographical location, parasite ourselves inside existing festivals, ask local churches for buildings and personnel, have zero promotional budget and request funding from foundations. Once or twice we partnered with another organization or seminary and there was a minimal charge. And quite often we have hosted roundtables inside existing festivals and the cost of that festival is usually (but not always) met by the participant.

In 2009, I expect to host events [and partner with others to host events] in at least a dozen countries. I am hoping the recession will have less impact than other more high-profile, high-budget events than depend on a high price of admission. Our events are usually smaller, more local, more invisible, especially if they are embedded inside other bigger festivals [like SXSW, Freakstock, etc]. As a rule, I like festivals more than conferences, as I said in a recent post called Festivals as a Way Forward, because they are much cheaper, leave a smaller carbon footprint and are not dependent on one or two Superstar Christian Celebrities who insist on fancy hotels and a hefty honorarium at the end - thus raising the price of admission and reducing accessibility to the people who really need to be there.

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I try not to give preference to conferences that reimburse my travel and offer an honorarium over the more organic "emerging" events where there is no budget or funds. At least I don't think I don't. And when I am asked to speak, I accept whatever accommodation I am offered. Either sleeping on a couch, some tent space, or sometimes a hotel room when offered. Again, I accept the offer of hospitality and don't ask for an upgrade. Luke 10 comes to mind.

As a missionary, I occasionally have enough funds to help me travel and teach. Most of it has to be raised from others so I can do my job. So please don't take this as an insult to those who teach at conferences as a career. But be encouraged when I say that God is faithful - and some of the best opportunities are sometimes the scariest. You might not get home as soon as you want, and sometimes you might not get home at all, but its always worth it.

Sometimes I have been invited to speak at a conference where the admission cost is high and inaccessible to everyone except church and mission executives, but I have gone along anyway. Other times, I have turned down the offer because the conference is so expensive, inaccessible and unsustainable as a model. I figure that most missional entrepreneurs can't afford to be there anyway and the only people who will attend have an institutional/corporate budget behind them.

Honorariums? I have been speaking in Christian conferences for over 20 years. Probably hundreds of them. I have never once asked to be paid. I have never requested an honorarium. I have never suggested a fee. Highly unusual . . I know . . and maybe a little anal . . but I have felt led by God to do it this way. Yes, I happily receive gifts and voluntary honorariums but I don't request them nor do I have a "suggested honorarium" figure. In my reading of the New Testament, the financial responsibility lies more on the apostle/teacher than on the students.

Many of you reading this post have invited me to speak at your events and you know that what I am saying is true.

But enough of my whinging and whining about conferences . . . .

- What else can we do to enable training and teaching and gathering during this recession without resorting to unsustainable models?

- What else about the way we do church and mission can we change to be more sustainable and emerge from this recession in better shape?

- Where should we be funneling resources during these lean times in order to keep obeying the Great Commission?

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“Jesus was truly free.  His freedom was rooted in his spiritual awareness that he was the Beloved Child of God.  He knew in the depth of his being that he belonged to God before he was born, that he was sent into the world to proclaim God’s love, and that he would return to God after his mission was fulfilled.  This knowledge gave him the freedom to speak and act without having to please the world and the power to respond to people’s pains with the healing love of God.  That’s why the Gospels say, ‘Everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all!’” - Henri Nouwen

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My wife and daughter Abigail are the lead story on the Orkney Today website. This is related to an unwanted HPV jab a few months ago that made the news. This time, a member of Scottish Parliment is upset that Scotland has no minimum age for consent for medical treatment and sexual health services. Our story is the one she is using to push her case. God speed!!!

Heres how it looks in today's newspaper. Click on it to enlarge.

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that for which i’m thankful

Originally uploaded by slight clutter

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful to God for the opportunity to have a blog and interact with so many people all around the world. I have been encouraged by the kind of response that this blog has been getting, according to StatCounter, Google Analytics and MyBlogLog. I am always encouraged when you make comments and interact with some of the stuff I write about.

I have been particularly encouraged by the response to my post on A Primer of Today’s Missional Church. The amount of comments, links and responses confirmed my sense of call to put those resources together. Thanks for linking it so others might read it.

EXPERIENCE THANKSGIVING EVERYDAY

According to the Apostle Paul, everyday should be thanksgiving, which is why he said, “In everything give thanks.” John Henry Jowett, a preacher from England says this about gratitude:

“Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.” What did he mean? He meant that gratitude, like a vaccine, can prevent the invasion of a disgruntled, discouraged spirit. Like an antitoxin, gratitude can prevent the affects of the poisons of cynicism, criticalness, and grumbling. Like an antiseptic, a spirit of gratitude can soothe and heal the most troubled spirit.”

Why is practicing gratitude so important for our lives? Because every day is a gift from God, that we are called to unwrap; yet so often we miss many of the gifts that God gives us, because ingratitude is moral blindness. A blindness to the goodness of being alive, the beauty of creation, the love of friends and the joy of work. It’s a blindness to the fact that life is basically good. The Psalmist said, “Praise the Lord, I tell myself; and never forget the good things he does for me.” Ps. 103:2 NLT

One of the best examples of someone who has learned to count their blessings in difficult circumstances and choose joy is a guy by the name of Tim Hansel. Tim was a Stanford graduate who for the last thirty years, has lived with chronic physical pain. He has authored ten books and each one that I have read I have been thoroughly encourage by. As a man who lives in grueling chronic pain, he exudes great joy, because he has learned that joy is a choice.

In his book You Gotta Keep Dancin’ he writes: “Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional. We cannot avoid pain, but we can avoid joy. God has given us such immense freedom that he will allow us to be as miserable as we want to be.”

He says, “I know some people who spend their entire lives practicing being unhappy, diligently pursuing joylessness. They get more mileage from having people feel sorry for them than from choosing to live out their lives in the context of joy.

Joy is simple (not to be confused with easy). At any moment in life we have at least two options, and one of them is to choose an attitude of gratitude, a posture of grace, a commitment to joy.

There is no question that life is difficult. In fact, it has been said that God promises four things: peace, power, purpose and TROUBLE. For example in John 16:33 Jesus reminds us quite boldly that in the world there will be trouble. There will be tribulation, but we are not merely to endure it but to “be of good cheer for he has overcome the world.”

Many of us have only gotten half the message. We recognize the difficulty of life and drearily drag ourselves through each day, mumbling about our burdens. It can be different – but the choice is ours.”

He says, as I learned after my accident, I could not live by the maxim “When I get stronger, than I will be joyful.” It’s an attitude so many people share, agreeing to be joyful when the circumstances improve.

Tim Hansel’s thoughts are even more meaningful, as I for the last year and a half have had his wife Anastasia in my Fuller Cohort. We shared a small group together and one week she wrote me this e-mail:

I just wanted you to know I am once again facing the possibility of losing my husband. I went to bed at 2 a.m. on Monday morning and at 4 a.m. Tim was calling for me. He could hardly breathe. The paramedics came and off to ER we went. Tim’s O2 level was at 50%! He has been ‘intubated’……..an absolutely horrific procedure. He has a severe case of pneumonia. It seems like his lungs have become his Achilles heel. His body has been paralyzed to keep him absolutely stilled. The opening chapter of the latest book, DANCIN’ ON THE CHAOS! we titled, “No Pulse” because that is what we have lived with for years…….doctor’s diagnoses telling us he’s not going to make it. It will be a miracle this time if he does pull through. Doing my Fuller assignments has been a blessing as well as tough to meet ‘the deadlines’. I’m not sure I made a great deal of sense trying to think through the last assignment. I have a speaking engagement this Saturday on top of all of this……..so, as I would appreciate your prayers that I would not ‘cry my way’ through my talk. I don’t mind the tears but it’s tough to understand someone when they are in tears! As Tim and I have shared with people, life isn’t just difficult as Scott Peck has written…….life can be desperate at times!

The more I have lived, the more that I have noticed that People who say “thank you” to God have a way of looking at life. They see life differently. The good, the bad, the ugly—they see all of it as a part of the package of life—that great gift of life that God has given us. And they know how and who to say “thank you” to. They regularly say “thank you” to God. They know how to truly celebrate the great stuff, like being in love. They have learned to thank God for the stuff most of us overlook. When they see a beautiful sunset, they say “thank you”. When they listen to music they enjoy, they say thanks. When they eat a delicious meal, or when they enjoy an evening with a friend, they are thankful.

They also have a way of being able to live with and live through the hard and difficult and disappointing things. Because for them, it’s all part of the gift of life that God has given. And they live out their thanks to God. Their life is lived out like a big thank-you note to God—a thank-you note to an amazing and forgiving and grace-giving God.

A teacher asked her students to list what they thought were the present Seven Wonders of the World. The students cast the most votes for: 1. Egypt’s Great Pyramids 2. Taj Mahal 3. Grand Canyon 4. Panama Canal 5. Empire State Building 6. St. Peter’s Basilica 7. China’s Great Wall

While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not turned in her paper yet. She asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied, “Yes, a little. I couldn’t quite make up my mind because there were so many.”

The teacher said, “Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help.” The girl hesitated, then read, “I think the Seven Wonders of the World are: 1. to see 2. to hear 3. to touch 4. to taste 5. to feel 6. to laugh 7. to love

This little girl understands something that we all need to remember, and that is the simple wonders of life. Every morning when we wake up and live out our day, we are simply unwrapping God’s gift to us. We have so much to be thankful for.

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• Adizes' lifecycle of organizations | Realize!
  Lifecycles, Management Roles

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I am about to start blogging on the whole idea of communitas as one of the key elements of Apostolic Genius (the latent power inherent in God’s people).  But I can’t get beyond a few quotes which I put at the top of the chapter.  I love them…here they are.

“That which does not kill you will make you stronger”

- Friedrich Nietzsche

“The ship is safest when it is in port. But that’s not what ships were made for”

-  Paulo Coehlo

“It is the unknown that defines our existence.  We are constantly seeking, not just for answers to our questions, but for new questions.  We are explorers…”

- Cmdr Ben Cisco, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

These seem to get at the heart of what this part of human experience is on about.  the whole idea of communitas focuses on putting the adventure back into the venture.

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Earlier this month I was introduced to Tumblr, a creative way to communicate pictures, quotes and ideas.  I asked people to share with me their tumblr page, if they had one or if they wanted to make one.  So now I would like to make mention of these different pages.

The first two that I wanted to introduce you to are by Luke Mysse, who also happens to have designed the cover of my first book that should come out sometime next year.  In regard to that book, you can go to my writings and read the first three chapters.  It’s called: Re-Sketching the Church and it is about reimagining leadership in the church.  Anyway, Luke is a great designer, you can find out more about him here.  He has a lot of cool pictures at his tumblr personal blog site.

The other site that Luke is a part of is Eaglez - America’s Sentinels, where he and others post pictures of everything eagles, so check it out, especially if you are into those birds.

The other tumblr site that I wanted to introduce you to is SOMA.LIFE by Chris Thomas.  I like the layout of his pages and the quotes are excellent.  He has six different pages, so check them all out.  Beautiful photographs mixed with meaningful words.  Chris is the one who turned me on to Tumblr.

And of course, if you didn’t check out my tumblr page, you can still do that.  Now it is time for me to tumble out.