Terry Chapman's - Sabbath Journey

mumbo jumbo

 

I've had a lot of movement on my own path this week, beginning with a severe intestinal bug over the weekend.  I became aware of how vulnerable I can be to cynicism and just plain suckiness when I'm not feeling well.  But I was able to treat it (me) with some kindness and wait it out.

Then, while teaching/leading the Sababth Journey I paused to see how people were feeling about what I was presenting.  Long story, but one women said, "It seems like a lot of mumbo jumbo..."  This feeling of not connecting in my teaching touches a deep place in my soul (yes ego but deeper still).  While feeling that I did not need to fix it, her, or me I did notice how it vibrated.  And today I continue to ponder the idea of mumbo jumbo.  This from rom wikipedia:

Mumbo jumbo, or mumbo-jumbo, is an English phrase or expression that denotes a confusing or meaningless subject. It is often used as humorous expression of criticism of middle-management and civil service non-speak, and of belief in something considered non-existent by the speaker (such as ghosts or other superstitious beliefs), or the rituals of a religion the speaker does not believe in performed in a language that the speaker does not understand.

The phrase probably originated from the Mandingo name Maamajomboo, a masked dancer that took part in religious ceremonies. Mungo Park's travel journal,Travels in the Interior of Africa (1795) describes 'Mumbo Jumbo' as a character, complete with "masquerade habit", that Mandinka males would dress up in order to resolve domestic disputes. In the 18th century mumbo jumbo referred to a West African god.

There is so much for me in this whole idea and practice of how to language mystery as I live in this world between poetry and prose... mystery and "reality"... speakable and ineffable... bold sorties into the dark and pragmatic observations in the light.... 

I'm becoming more and more aware that while called to put words around that which I don't understand and which point to that beyond what I "believe" some of what I say and do will look and sound very much like Maamajomboo.  Maybe at that moment I/we are closer to Truth.

How can I keep from singing.... or dancing...

 

New Brunswick Theological Seminary

I am having a wonerful time teaching a class at NBTS titled "Spiritual Disciplines".   I feel a little like a kid in a candy store.  Of course the accompanying feeling of incomleteness seems to always follow the sugar high.

Going Down

A reflection on Ephesians 3:16-21

and

Jeff Beck’s tune “Going Down”

I pray that, according to the riches of God’s glory, God may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through God’s Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 

and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, 

so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen. 

. . . and Amen

granting

the inner bowl

made strong

and expansive

breadth

ever widening

deepening

lengthening

to “comprehend”

katalabesthai (greek)

“to be down getting”

way down

deep down

underneath the

thinking and doing

down to the place

where the mind

sinks into the heart

and is held there

like a child in her

mother’s arms

down to the place

where grasping

hands rest gently on

the lap palms 

out softly holding

the earth's breath

down to the place

where feet

linger long enough

for love’s

roots to grow 

between the toes

way down

deep down

below the basement

with all its plumbing

that carries the

water to the thirsty world

way way down

underneath 

the church’s foundation

where unexplored

caverns and streams

hold stories untold

I’m going down

down, down, down

down down

it is not

asking too much

of the one

who gives
the invitation

deus ex machina

“Religious people speak of God when human knowledge (perhaps simply because they are too lazy to think) has come to an end, or when human resources fail - in fact it is always the deus ex machina that they bring on the scene, either for the apparent solution of insoluble problems or as strength in human failure - always, that is to say, exploiting human weakness of human problems.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, p. 283.

Holy Ground

The congregation affirmed their faith

as they do each week with the Creed.

“I believe...” they routinely proclaimed

and then uttered that which in another

place would be quite unbelievable.

“Father almighty, maker of all

Son of a virgin... 

crucified dead and buried” - easy to believe, 

but “resurrected from the dead”... now that’s a stretch.

You know the rest.

An old man stood and interrupted

the familiar rhythmic chant

with a anguished whisper now

amplified by the dead silence

"How can this be?"  

A teenager near the back

spoke in a clear unspoiled tone

“How can God have a son?

And ... by a virgin?

Are you on drugs?"

By now all but the shocked,

paralyzed into silence, began 

to also confess their doubts.

As if cork was pulled from bottled up

faith turned upside down, they spilled out.

Stories were shared that day.

Dramas played out.

messy, inconsolable, unsolvable

plots began to emerge

while many healing tears were shed.

Then suddenly the preacher tapped 

on the microphone three times

to silence the cacophony

and began to lead the song

“Surely God is in this place.... Holy Ground”.

Some felt like it was a deus ex machina

meant to put salve on the 

open wounds of doubt

and anesthetize what was

only but truly human.

Others breathed a sigh of relief

and went back to

the safe place between the

pages of their true and 

tried belief.

Which ground do you

suppose was holy, 

that is set apart for the Divine,

the solid ground of unfettered belief

or the ground that doubt opened up?

A deus ex machina (pronounced /ˈdeɪ.əs ɛks ˈmɑːkinə/ or /ˈdiː.əs ɛks ˈmækɨnə/,[1], plural dei ex machina, Latin for "god from the machine") is a plot device whereby a previously intractable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with an often contrived introduction of a new character, ability, or object. It is generally considered to be a poor storytelling technique by critics because it undermines the story's internal logic, although it is sometimes employed deliberately for this reason.

inspired field of connection

Speaking of "connectionalism", I love this post from a mentor of mine, Otto Scharmer, whose book Theory U and teaching, is foundational for my thinking. (Emphasis mine)  I so desperately long for new "fields of inspired connection" within our church.  The time is ripe for us all to be open to the Spirit who creates these fields.  I really get the sense that this is what the PC(USA) has to offer the world.... if we can find our way.

igniting fields of inspired connection

Monday, March 29th, 2010 | Uncategorized

I just spent an amazing week here at MIT with a group of 30 young leaders from all sectors of Indonesian society: deputy ministers and top civil servants of several ministries, mayors, governors of small regions, CEOs of medium-sized companies, editors of major newspapers and TV news programs, deans of three major universities, members of the national and regional parliaments, leaders of environmental and human rights NGOs, and so on. An amazing group.

With 230 million people, Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country and has the world’s largest population of Muslims. Spread over 17,000 islands, it takes 10 hours of flying time to from one end of the country to the other. Indonesia is a bit like our whole planet wrapped into a single country: it has every type of conflict that you can imagine (religious, gender, class, ethnic, colonial –you name it). A real microcosm of our planet. Given this complexity, no wonder the leadership challenges are daunting. The challenge is to transform the relationships between the three sectors (government, business, civic sector) from mistrust to trust, from blaming and blocking to system-wide cooperation, innovation, and change.

What was so amazing about this week was watching how the group (and the relationships between sectors) progressed on that journey of transformation. This week was the beginning of a ten-month (U process) innovation journey with this group that will involve deep sensing, connecting to source (presencing), and exploring the future through prototyping new forms of collaboration.

I have guided two other tri-sector groups through a similar ten-month transformative leadership journey. What has struck me most is that, even years later, the inspired field of connection and collaboration among them is still as alive and vibrant as ever. We have seen some major innovations from these groups already. More innovations will follow. To me it feels as if we are touching the deeper power of human evolution and creativity. Once they touch that deeper place, there is NOTHING on earth that such a group can’t do. That’s how it feels, anyway. Since we are now in the process of co-creating similar platforms and programs for China, Brazil, and some other places, I wonder where all this will lead us. Will these new fields of connection be able to generate new forms of global collaboration and governance? Have you seen similar developments anywhere? Have you experienced fields of inspired connection that change how we relate to each other, to our context, and to ourselves?

8th day art project videos

A project of co-creation

KNOWING - OPEN MIND 

RELATING - OPEN HEART

TRUSTING - OPEN WILL

resurrection - insurrection

As I begin to shape a sermon for Sunday I'm holding two texts together.

Luke 6:17-26 & 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Beatitudes and Resurrection

Pete Rollins take a shot at holding these together -

the exile plan...

On this morning's walk 

there were many young cedars 

bent over by the weight of the snow.  

But with one slight touch 

the burden fell and 

they sprung back to life.  

I long for such a touch.

I am heavy in heart as I consider the unfolding conversation with the PC(USA).  News flash... the church is broken and everyone therein.  So in order to fix this brokenness some want to form a "more faithful church so we can focus more on mission" and not be so "distracted by our brokenness" so that we can "build an ecumenical consensus with the majority of Christian around the world." etc. etc.

And the God of the wound weeps.... And I feel the burden of exile in exile... from the world and the church

Here are a few thoughts to add to the conversation:

Our Book of Order states:  “The church affirms ‘Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda,’ that is, the church reformed, always reforming’ also (not Latin in the book of Order) “secundum verbum dei”  - "according the the Word of God."  As if to claim a higher ground for their particular point of view some claim this as the centering hermeneutic.  But what is intended here is a christological and not a bibliological centering, thus the capital W in Word. In no way does this diminish the importance of the revealed and accepted canonical text.  But the text is not the center,  Christ is.  And Christ is revealed not only in scripture as it speaks to the church from the past but also from the future as Christ ushers in the Reign of God’s peace and justice.  The Book of Order goes on (I don’t hear this quoted as much in the conversations) to add “...and the call of the Spirit.”  Now the wind is blowing in a direction that may not be nailed down by text or by those who desperately long for a closed wound and a settled consensus.

I recall the words of Carl Jung, "God enters through the wound," and also Pete Rollins book, The Fidelity of Betrayal. Speaking about the Bible, literalism, interpretation, and a host of other bible-related things, Pete writes, "The words of the text, like Christ, are wounded." I thought this was an interesting “christological hermeneutic,” a way of moving toward both an approach to, and an understanding of, the biblical text.

Rather than expecting a clear path, with a rarified dogmatic faithfulness, and clear ecumenical consensus, Rollins argues that the text, God, faith etc. lead us not to clarity but approach and hold something that is always "frustratingly elusive," it is not a new thought, but it is nice to be reminded of in a fresh way the core reformed understanding of “semper reformanda" (always reforming or more accurately always being reformed).”   

Rollins continues, "The claim that the Bible is the Word of God, whether true or not, makes sense only if it refers to the source of the gaps between the words; or more precisely, the source of the irreducible Gap within the words themselves. God's word is thus testified to indirectly by the parallactical nature of the text itself, being communicated by the rich, weaving web of wounded words that testify to the happening of a divine event." (p. 57) In my conversations with people in the emerging church I have found much more tolerance of what seems like ambiguity in this approach to the bible.

Will further divisions (as in a non-geographic synod, or a general splintering of the denomination) in the church heal our wounds so we can get on with mission?  

For me the crux of the matter lies in these questions:  Is the future of the church as it anticipates and participates in the reign of God dependent on closing the wounds?  Or are the wounds we carry a mark of our faithfulness to the God who is the wound?  I’m inclined to believe the latter reflects the “call of the Spirit” that is blowing through the PC(USA) today.

About the Presbytery Meeting

The "Designer Jewelry" poem (below) is really about the transition from an old (modern-era-where-reason-ruled) way of being together that is no longer able to hold the center in the "postmodern" world.  The Presbyterian Church (USA) had its peek at the hight of the modern era in the mid-20th century.  The binding material was an agreed upon form or structure, an idea if you like, that could be described as the idea of covenant or the idea of connectionalism.  The idea was tested from time to time and "splits" happened along the way.  New denominations were formed, new seminaries established and libraries filled with books defending new ideas.

Some, including me, believe we are living in a hinge point in history that seems to occur every 500 years or so.  Some, look through the fog and name this time the postmodern.  Ideas (beliefs) in of themselves are no longer sufficient to lead us into the future.  Ways of holding experience, beauty, art, and perhaps most of all - the capacity to hold the ineffable, untamable, mystery called life must be added to the ideas to create a path forward.  The stakes are now, of course, higher that at any other liminal time in history.

All this to  this to say that IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT LEADERS LEARN HOW TO HOLD OPEN THIS SPACE FOR THE FUTURE THAT WANTS TO HAPPEN TO EMERGE!  That is why I am very happy there are people who are leading the way in shaping the social technologies that will be like a compass to help us find our way into the future that is, by the way, also moving toward us.

A friend asked me about how I prepared for last night's meeting.  I prepared by paying attention to the authentic self in me that does not need to be defended against judgments, cynicism, anger or criticisms. I describe this as a posture of Holy Indifference which holds together a deep longing for life to emerge in the community with the felt knowledge that the gift of depth, intimacy, and idealism is not of my making.  The call is to be ready when it happens.  In Joseph Campbell’s book on the hero’s journey, he says that the only way to be a hero is to prepare and be ready for when the moment comes.  I think that is the key.  It is not about engineering our transformation but helping to create and holding the space for transformation to happen.

I went on long sabbath walks, prayed, payed attention to my breath, listened to the encouragement of friends, and payed attention to my body using some techniques from heart math.  All of this, not just in the hours and minutes before the meeting, but every day for a long time.  And as Saint Ignatius taught in his Spiritual Excersies, I am learning to "bank my consolations" in order to access them when needed in the times of inevitable desolations.   That is the practice of gratitude, to hold, cherish, romance, share the gifts of abundance when they seem most present so that when things appear dark there remains a fire that can be kindled into flame... one that need not die away.

I stood with a non-anxious presence in the midst of much charged emotion.  I spoke in a calm voice and slowed down the meeting whenever I could.  Before a vote was taken we stopped for silence and a gentle prayer.  But, other than this there were no obvious techniques employed in the convening of the meeting.

Although the presenting matter was decided upon the real outcome is unclear.  I think that some minds were opened, feelings were allowed to be expressed and with the voice of cynicism being somewhat suspended, we are one step closer to letting go into the future that wants to emerge. However we'll have to spend more time and shed more tears before there can be a collective letting go into something new.

I, for one, remain very hopeful.  And I know I am not alone.

Designer Jewelry

There was once a 

beautiful beaded necklace

each bead hand crafted

unique in shape, color, texture

through the empty space that 

runs trough the center of 

each bead ran a strong thread 

holding the parts in the whole

in time and with the shifting 

tugging desires of the 

ones who held the necklace the

thread broke and the beads scattered

no one can recall the moment

of separation and few remember 

what the many beads looked like

blessed by the tie that binds

now the parts are held by varied 

bead lovers with different ideas of 

how each bead, now with a life of its own

might once again become the one

those who remember the whole

grieve the loss of connection

those who still see the beauty 

hope that the Jeweler will 

once again pull a binding thread 

through the emptiness in the middle

before the opening is closed by 

some sediment of corruptive desire

If by the Jeweler's delight and will 

the beads are brought together

the whole will take a different shape

perhaps bearing no resemblance to

the necklace that once was