c o n v e r g e n c e

Friday, November 18, 2005

Here it is -- the first official post for the young adults website. My thoughts on the matter: blogs are a huge trend (sidebar: it’s rather funny that the young adults user name is always ‘trendless’). But, perhaps this is one of the few trends that holds promise. My hope is that this space will both inform and connect our Convergence community, it will provide information on what’s happening @ Convergence, some of my thoughts, and hopefully some of your thoughts. There are two ways to join this cyber-conversation: leave a comment, or email me some of your writing and I’ll post it. We can consider this a sort of ongoing, community-building Spontaneous worship evening.

An empty space is both scary and exciting. Like this blog, and so many other things in life, it holds great potential. Before I start writing, I sometimes feel overwhelmed as I stare at the blank page. In my experience, the only way to overcome this feeling is to jump in with both feet. That being said, here goes…

Freedom. Interesting concept. Kind of like the blank space. We fight for our freedom, but sometimes when faced with freedom, it’s terrifying. I’m reading a book right now called ‘A New Kind of Christian’ by Brian McLaren, discussing what the church might look like in a postmodern culture.

This book proposes that human beings are currently experiencing a transformation of worldview, often referred to as ‘post-modern’ –- a term that generates fear in many Christians. Contrary to most pop-Christian sources, McLaren’s simple definition of post-modern is that we’ve experienced modernity, it has changed us, and now we’re moving beyond it. The trouble with transformation is that it hurts. It’s uncomfortable. It’s messy.

Often during transition, the boundaries and guidelines that were once effective no longer make sense. Before a new way of thinking or understanding can be established, there is a period of vulnerability that comes with uncertainty. A place of freedom. Sometimes it’s the scariest things that hold the most potential in life.

We’re going to be continuing this discussion over the next couple of months as Convergence becomes slightly more interactive and topically focused. Right now, the only conclusion I can bring to these thoughts is one of my favorite quotations.


“I beg you…to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language, don’t search for the answers, which could not be given you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer…”
-- Rainer Maria Rilke
I am a firm believer that we were made to ask the questions, live the questions. So, as we approach God together, united in community, feeling our way through the dark, let’s not forget to ask the tough questions. More than that, let’s live them.

J.

3 Comments:

  • hey... am I the first to respond?? exciting. First off... love the new look of the blog. I haven't fully explored it yet, but so far so good. More importantly, I am prompted to write in response to Jamie's comments. I was talking about this very subject with a lady at work today. She and others close to her were wounded in the past by Christians who were threatened by those who think outside the box. Some pretty harsh things were said and done (specifically, board members went to her friend's house and prayed that the devil would leave her. She and her Christian husband have since divorced). My point is this... people need to be allowed to ask questions at church. Maybe I feel strongly about this because I have so many questions; but the fact is, too many people equate "faith" with blind acceptance. And not only acceptance of doctrine and creed, but religious practice as well, which is often based on tradition. Well, our culture has changed. New traditions exist. We must make room for this!

    that's what I think....

    Jared

    By Blogger Jared, at 3:28 PM  

  • umm, I dunno. I would like to think that I will always ask questions and challenge the status quo. However, I don't think that's usually the case once people move far enough into adulthood. Maybe in an attempt to find resolution or peace in their own hearts/minds, people form habits that become a part of their everyday lives. This spills over into the church and suddenly traditions are born. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but why does the quest for truth have to stop at adulthood?

    So to answer your question, I don't know if this type of thinking is specific to our generation. I doubt it. I'm sure that when we are middle aged a new group of young adults will challenge the boundaries we have established.

    By Blogger Jared, at 11:13 PM  

  • k this is sad im 26 your all younger and what your all talking about is going over my head! FRIG whens the maturity in Him gonna come frig! *as i go back in my little furry small box and live*(gonna have fur keep me warm!)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:08 PM  

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