More Reading? You Want MORE Reading?

You've read through a bunch of posts and still have questions; you still want to read more about what it is we're trying to do; who it is we're trying to become, but you're not ready to eMail us and start a conversation just yet. That's OK -- you asked for it!

Probably the best thing you could do is go to my other blog The Can Opener Boy Translations and read through the posts with the labels "church" and "following Jesus"

You can also read these four foundational posts:

1. What is church?
2. What is your role in receiving from the church?
3. What is your role in giving to the church?
4. What is your role in participating in the missional nature of the church?

Also good for you to read would be this post I did about how we view other churches and our relation to them.

Happy reading!

~ Keith

Autumn Beginnings

Autumn is here with its crisp cool mornings and early twilight.

I think of Autumn as a season of nesting and readying for hibernation; of pruning back and storing up. In order to store, one must harvest. Autumn is about bringing in the fruits of the year's labors, to sustain one's family through the winter. Autumn is for gently removing bulbs from the ground and placing them in warm safe pots so they can be replanted and bloom again next spring. Outwardly, autumn seems a dormant time. Inwardly, preparation work teems at the cellular level.

Recently we received our official release paperwork, affiliating us with the Association of Vineyard Churches. We'll be applying for our non-profit status in Oregon, and Federal 501(c)(3) status, speaking with potential board members, figuring out by-laws, State & Federal regulations, trademark agreements and liability insurance.

All of this is necessary work, but it is also secondary -- the deep, cellular work of formation is continuing right on schedule. We're not driven onward by goals and agendas and two-year plans. We're drawn forward gently by the Voice of The Master Who speaks to us of purpose and potential; of hearth and home.

Autumn is here with its golden-leaved changes, layered-warmth walkings, and hope-filled ponderings.

Roots of The Orchard

In the original post on this blog, I discussed the unique distinctions of The Orchard as compared to The Vineyard, and why this led to us choosing a different, but similar name.

Despite these distinctions in form and practice, our values and character; indeed who we are today, is very much influenced by our roots in The Vineyard movement of which we've been a part for the last 20+ years. Here is a great (18 min) video of the heritage there:
Vineyard USA 25th Anniversary from Vineyard USA on Vimeo.

We're Not Doing Anything

Recently I read this quote by Thomas Merton on Inward/Outward:

Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny…. This means to say that we should not passively exist, but actively participate in God’s creative freedom, in our own lives, and in the lives of others, by choosing the truth. To put it better, we are even called to share with God the work of creating the truth of our identity. We can evade this responsibility by playing with masks, and this pleases us because it can appear at times to be a free and creative way of living. It is quite easy, it seems, to please everyone. But in the long run the cost and the sorrow come very high. To work out our own identity in God, which the Bible calls ‘working out our salvation,’ is a labor that requires sacrifice and anguish, risk and many tears. It demands close attention to reality at every moment, and great fidelity to God as God is revealed, obscurely, in the mystery of each new situation.

It was a timely thought for me to read, you see, because I've been reflecting on having been here in Oregon over a year now. Moving here from the Bay Area of California has been a big culture change, and we have enjoyed this much slower and much more restful lifestyle!

But I was wondering "what do we have to show for ourselves, in the spiritual realm? What have we really done since moving here? In California it felt like we were always doing something. Should we be doing more here?" The answer I sensed in my spirit to that question was a strong "No" but I couldn't figure out why. The best I could come up with is "Maybe we just need to detox more from the busyness of the Bay Area?"

And then I read this, also by Merton, in Seeds, on pg 14 and it all made sense:

There are times, then, when in order to keep ourselves in existence at all we simply have to sit back for awhile and do nothing. And for [people] who [have let themselves] be drawn completely out of [themselves] by activity, nothing is more difficult than to sit still and rest, doing nothing at all. The very act of resting is the hardest and most courageous act [they] can perform: and quite often it is beyond [their] power.

Don't get me wrong: I understand that there is an insoluble link between faith and action (I even blogged about it here). So mark me: if God said "Do this." or "Do that." we would -- but He's not saying that. Instead God is saying:

"Don't do anything -- just rest and let Me restore and refresh you and continue to craft you into who I've made you to be as individuals and as a couple. That way, in this new unique situation, you'll be able to naturally, properly reflect my image within your context, without striving."

So we're being intentional about not doing anything right now -- and that is the best thing for us.

Filling In

On the 1 year anniversary of our arrival in Oregon, I had the privilege of being a guest speaker for my friend Jon Nethers at the Sunset Vineyard in Hillsboro. If you'd like you can check out the audio link here:

Community = Cross Pollenation

Some day, when we begin having community gatherings, we want them to be communal meals and worship collaboratives where everyone present can bring something to share, so that everyone's lives are enriched.

This past weekend we went to the lavender festival at Daffodil Hill. It was a beautifully sunny (hot!) weekend and we had a very nice time. We looked at some nice art pieces and smelled wonderfully fresh fragrances. We spent a long time clipping fresh lavender. We got really hot and sweaty and a nice woman working there came and spritzed us with fresh lavender water -- very refreshing! (once home, Cathy fashioned all the lavender into little bouquets for a few of our neighbors, which they loved!). In a small shed made into a small store, there were lavender products for sale. Around the top of the walls was painted a quote by Judy Phipps, the owner of Daffodil Hill. It does a good job of capturing what I would like to see in the life of our commmunity:

"Experiences are the elements from which our fondest memories spring -- the doing, the being, the sharing -- the coming together of friends all contributing their strengths of humor, intellect, creativity and compassion, to leave us more than we began with -- more laughter, more friendships, more smiles from the recollections we will forever cherish"
~ J Phipps

Summertime

Today is the Summer Solstice. More than just a day of the year, it's an actual moment in time -- this year it is at 2359 UTC. I think that's cool: a moment in time when the "sun stands still". On the negative side: with time zone differences, that means for me the sun will stand still just 1 minute before 5:00 pm on a Friday!

Most people think of today as the first day of Summer. For others, it marks the mid-point. Like life for the poor characters in Shakespeare's famous play, midsummer is sometimes tumultuous. Think about summer rainstorms.When they're building up, and the sky begins to darken, everything seems ominous. The wind sometimes begins to blow -- other times it stops completely and everything gets eery.

Summer storms
come and go, but
in the midst of them
it seems
they'll last forever.

I suppose "sun stands still" is an apt description with regard to how long the daylight lasts, but this whole "stopping" idea fits very little else. Sometimes life gets untethered and I feel adrift, longing for some constancy.

Right now our front and back yard are both torn up; in the middle of a reconstruction project. The finished result will be peaceful and green and inviting. Right now it is just a bunch of dirt that keeps getting moved from one place to the next. The front walkway and the back patio are now almost complete. Or I should say were almost complete. The front walkway has to be completely redone. The workers somehow misunderstood our directions. They got the right kind of pavers, and installed them in the right pattern -- but the pattern itself is oriented at the wrong angle. So the whole thing has to be picked up, the already-cut stones discarded, the uncut stones re-placed (after re-preparing the pathway's foundation of sand and gravel) and then the borders re-formed from newly cut stones. There's about a 0% chance of being able to re-use any of the already cut stones.

Two steps forward
One step back

As another example: where we live in Salem, Oregon, the weather has been pretty goofy this year. The other day I was driving around and it was sunny. Then it became overcast, then it started to rain. Then, while still raining, the sun came out again. Then the rain stopped and it was just sunny again. OK, OK, I know what you're thinking: "Duh -- it is Oregon!" but what made it weird was -- it kept cycling like that...every 10 minutes or so for about an hour:

1. Sunny.
2. Overcast.
3. Rainy.
4. Rain with Sun.
5. Repeat over and over.

At first I wished God would make up His mind and just pick one. Then I thought it was kind of cool how it kept repeating.

As I've thought back on that experience and shared the story with a few people, I finally realized God was speaking to me through that hour of weird weather:

Keith, I never change, but life all around you is always in a constant (often cyclical) state of change and growth.

He is Creator and Life-Giver -- and He never changes. So He is always creating and always giving life.

I don't know if He designed it for the sun to stay out really late so we could get more done since there is so much going on -- or if we overly-busy humans just naturally try to do more since it is light later. I've never been one to feel guilty for sitting on the couch reading a good book on a bright sunny day, but at this time in my life I'm trying to listen as He teaches me about real rest for my soul. Apparently it has little or nothing to do with inactivity.

It is Summer here in The Orchard. Many things are in the midst of change, but I'm learning that is an OK thing.