Church Anatomy
Tonight, I had a great night. I had dinner and hung out with a few of my favorite people over at the Rowes' place.
We had some awesome conversations. On the way home, I asked Kim what she thought about our "grown up conversations". It may seem like a funny label, but our talks were not your typical "how's it going?" or "did you see such-and-such on tv last night?", a lot of them were deeper than that. I felt like we talked about life. I'm glad I live in a community where I can discuss things that really matter.
I'm glad I can say "this is what I am thinking and why", and have people give their opinions and ask questions. You may think, "You can get that anywhere." And, you're right. You don't have to try very hard to ge people to throw out their opinions, or ask questions in an attempt to poke holes in your ideas, when they don't line up with the status quo. What I feel like I have is an environment where I can share something that might be considered radical, and have people ask questions for clarity, where the answers are not only for them, but also for me. They try to understand where I am coming from, but also try to make sure that I know where I am going. They push me.
We also had a conversation that has been needed for a long time. I think that even as close as we are, we fail to be truly authentic. There are things that are done or said with good intentions, that have effects that are not what was intended. However, the negative effects get masked by sarcasm1, laughter, or silence. Over time, these negative effects build to the point where something that was meant for good, never has a chance. It immediately gets a "here we go again" reaction.
Our discussion covered the topic of how important the language we use is to spreading our message. It was incredible how everyone felt the freedom to express their opinons. People would ask questions and statements, not in a way that was judging, but in a way that was refreshing. It wasn't a debate where any one person or party was trying to win. It was as if we were on a journey in search of answers, or truth, and we were doing it together, in community.
Tonight, I think we experienced unadulterated, uncommercialized, unstructured, true church. Looking back, it was amazing.
Thank you for letting me be a part of your community, and lives.
1 I would be the pot in this case.
Labels: church
posted by Shannon Smith @ 3/03/2007
7 Comments
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7 Comments:
I was glad to be part of the convo. and glad to be part of a community with these types of "problems" (as shifting concepts and vocabulary can be problematic) I've always thought that life is full of problems, but i've been blessed to have the ones worth having.
i enjoyed the conversation as well.. it was nice to dig a little deeper and be challenged in some ways.. i am personally struggling with changing my vocab, but i think the more it's talked about, the more i can begin to wrap my head around it... thanks y'all :)
thanks for thinking radically, I hope to live radically, one day at a time... you are inspiring... I don't think we can make these changes without community, thanks for being such a key part of ours
Did you know that radical and radish have the same root? Funnier than that is the fact that the root rad actually means root. So, being radical simply means getting to the root of things. Now, that is a radical idea. I'd bet the TMNT didn't know that.
This is a great story, especially because my sister is involved. It's inspiring to see you guys asking the tough questions together.
I also did not know that radical means to get to the root of things.
I love that you guys are a group of ordinary radicals.
By the way, I read the Irresistable Revolutin this fall, and I had the same experience. I couldn't put it down. While I don't agree with all the conclusions he came to, I think that he challenges our Americanized Christianity and inspires us to actually seek first the Kingdom in our entire life. It's exciting to me that you guys are asking the deeper questions as a community about how your actions affect the world around you (in good and bad ways), and are grappling with those things together. I think that is where some exciting things really start to happen, when communities rather than just individuals here and there start asking those questions.
Can't wait to be apart of it.
peace out homey
Shannon--
when I was growing up, my mom always told me that being radical for christ mean "rooted from above"... maybe being a radical means getting in touch with our true roots, which are not of this world??
Corey-- you are already a big part of our community!
wow - love you guys... thanks.. more than you know
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