Is this the end??

i don't know the answer to that just yet.

It's spring, time to clean up, take stock of life and let the changes roll where they may. Having said that the Saturday Night Group has more or less disbanded (we haven't met in more than a year - or has it been just a year, i can't remember precisely). Some have moved on, others have become overwhelmingly busy and others just can't afford the gas. . . we all have our reasons and they are all valid.
The only constant in life is change (well. . . that and God), and so i see that the lessons that came out of those beloved Saturday Nights were preparing us for what is next. And now we (the Russell household) are at the next. Living in tight (Do you have a bigger house that we can have???) community with another family and exploring community together has been the most intense time i can remember since living with my brother, some guy from Tennessee (i miss you Dave) and a random host of other sojourners back in Santa Cruz.
Blah, blah, blah! i talk too much. So all of that being said, i am devoting my time to a new blog that will hopefully have a different look and feel that more accurately reflects these crazy days. So if you have nothing better to do with your otherwise probably mundane life take a swing over to: Thephunnypharm.blogspot.com
Or for more interesting reading from the community as a whole (everybody posts on this one - from time to time) head on over to: Reconciliation.tougas.net

As for This Side of Life. . . i may still post here. . . it's hard to say.

Be at peace.

The growing reliance on the shrinking Church

The growing reliance on the shrinking Church

 

 

I am a huge proponent of the separation of Church and state. Not because I am anti-God, but because I am PRO-God, and pro-Church. Even before my current reading I have believed in the need for the separation, but now that belief is growing all the more. It seems to me that all the signs are obvious and that no one in the Church should miss the fact that this is an un-holy union, but for whatever reason, be it culture or tradition we have the hardest time breaking away.

At the moment I am about halfway through Jesus for President. What a great book! I have to say that, like all books, there are things that I disagree with, but it has also been a tremendous resource of information and insight. The authors did an excellent job compiling information in just such a way that you can't help ignore it. As I mentioned, I have long held the belief that the Church should be devoid of politics or national allegiance, but this book has made me so much more aware of some of the often time overlooked bits of the old testament. In fact I feel that I have a better grasp of the purpose of the law in our lives as believers.

The book doesn't devote a lot of energy to environmentalism (so far­) though it is most definitely there. It does however draw to the forefront the need to rely less on fossil fuels and the pros and cons of globalization. In subtle ways it calls us to shrink our thinking, something that house church proponent Wolfgang Simpson promotes in his lectures. We lose a lot at the hands of globalization, and we cause a tremendous amount of damage to the planet. We talk to our "friends" on the other side of the planet but never see our neighbors, fisheries collapse so that everyone can have access to certain breeds of fish many of whom never had access to these species before. . .

We rely on the government in its various stages up to the U.N. to care for us and supply for us . . . and we neglect ourselves and our communities, forgetting to tend to one another.

It's the same way in the church. We build huge meeting halls and fill them to the limit. We get lost in huge groups and when we need council we look to people we will never meet because they wrote a book or an article on a subject that appeared to work, we rely on the Rick Warrens and the Billy Grahams to fill our cup every week all to the detriment of the local body.

 

"Do you think the Church will ever function like it is supposed to?" asked our housemate Chris.

 

My answer – not so long as we look elsewhere for things that God can and will equip his Church to do. We have to stop looking afar for the spiritual gifts. We have to stop relying on diplomas and certifications. We have to trust God, and trust that he will give gifts to those as he sees that we have need. At some point the local fellowships need to band together and become more self reliant (and by that I mean more God reliant and trusting that God will make us sustainable within our local body). At some point we will have to drop the facade and become trusting of God and vulnerable to one another. Not popular in this culture, no! But necessary – if for nothing else, for growth.

More life on the farm . . .

Ok, so the following two accounts may be a bit extreme, but I had to document them simply to illustrate the continual madness around the house these days.

 

Yesterday I woke up (in the afternoon – I work nights) alone in the house, the rest of the gang was off having fun, to the sound of the peahens freaking out. Now, for those of you who have no experience with peafowl, the cockerels (the boy peafowl – the pretty ones) make this tremendous noise. Hens on the other hand just honk, and it really is a soothing sound . . . at least to me. So at first it really didn't faze me till I looked out the window and realized that there was a dog in the chicken coop. Bad news. After shooing it away I discovered that of our flock of 6 production hens, two were dead, two were missing, and two were hiding.   

It was traumatizing. However . . . I was able to remove the bodies before the kids got home, and as of this morning one of the "missing" birds had returned home. Although I don't have a lot of hope for the last one, until I see a body there is always a chance. The "missing" bird is the same bird that went on sabbatical last year around the time of the great fox invasion – and returned. So who knows?

 

 

Today – we were approved for our loan and we bought the van. A little back story here: on Saturday we put a down payment on a fifteen passenger van that we have been looking at. Chris called and put the down payment on my ATM card. Mind you, I have never talked to any of the people at this dealership. Now while on the phone on Saturday, Chris said, "This is not my card", and the guy at the dealership processed the card without batting an eye. They didn't ask for confirmation from the owner of the card or anything. What the heck is up with that????

Further, Chris has had some trouble getting his CDL transferred to the state of Maine and this has wreaked havoc on their (the Hogans) insurance situation. The van is going to be on their insurance – well that can't happen till his license gets squared away, and the vehicle can't be inspected without insurance.
Long story short. . . The van somehow (;-P) ended up with Florida tags on it that were supposed to be on a different van that we use (which in this great state is illegal – but apparently not elsewhere). The new van, made it home without inspection, unregistered and with the wrong (hence illegal) plates.

To boot, the car salesman signed all of the paperwork, but forgot to take payment . . . so we effectively paid $200.00 bucks for the van. Teeheehee!!!!

Meanwhile, James' school called to let us know that he was sick. Amy went to pick him up in the other van. The van that didn't have any tags on it. . .

So now two adults are risking having a vehicle towed and arrest, while back in town the other parent unwittingly risked having a vehicle towed, and arrest. . .

Leaving me home – alone – with 5 kids . . .AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHH!

 

I love our little community!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--
Reconciliation.tougas.net
Saturdaynightwalk.blogspot.com

Passive subversion.

Fight the man!

 

Or so they say. i am reading an excellent book (especially for an election year) entitled Jesus For President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw. It is a sweet follow up to Shane's other book The Irresistable Revolution.

 

The book reminds of our Jesus call to love and passive resistance to the world systems. The authors look, albeit broadly, at the history of the church - going back to the likes of Abraham and our interaction with God - reminding us that we are called to be a nation (not America but the Church) set apart. We are called, by God, to be a people that look like no other nation on earth, whose only elected official is God! We are to practice an economy of equality, and that through mutuality and love all are accounted for. Every person concerns themselves with contributing to feed the others and by doing so all are fed, both spiritually and physically.

i hope this yammering doesn't bore too many. i know that i keep coming around to themes like this, but i am super encouraged by all the reinforcement.
--
Reconciliation.tougas.net
Saturdaynightwalk.blogspot.com