Category Archives: new monastacism

An Invitation

The Holy Spirit has created, I believe, a holy discontent with our contemporary spiritual formation models that are not changing lives deeply. Without genuine, authentic testimonies of people profoundly transformed by Jesus Christ, our mission, strategies and plans will ultimately fall short. Let me begin by affirming: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst (1 Tim.1:15). This being said, I remain passionate as you might be, that the church be transformed into all Jesus Christ has called her to be. In the past few years, a growing number of pastors, leaders and others have reached out to us in their efforts to live out a radical discipleship paradigm that remains solidly evangelical and missional, while at the same time, integrates the riches of contemplative spirituality and emotional health. I seek to do this in my context at New Life Fellowship Church in Queens, NYC with people from. Read more.

Parties, Dancing, Laughter and the Contemplative Life

A hermit saw someone laughing , and said to him, “We have to render an account of our whole life before heaven and earth, and you can laugh?” Sayings of the Desert Fathers This coming, at New Life, we will bring in New Year’s Eve, starting at 6 p.m. with food, a couple of dance lessons, games, a brief time of worship around midnight and then dancing till 2 a.m. We have done this for the last nine years. Each year I struggle with the few nasty e-mails we receive (this year they are national). A voice in my head argues, “Every other church in NYC is praying and you are leading your people to a party!, you worldly compromiser! What are you mad?” Geri is the one who patiently encouraged me to break from the pack years ago and “allow” an intergenerational, pleasureable, clean, fun event as part of our spiritual formation/discipleship here at NLF. Most of us leaders are “pleasure/delight deficient”,. Read more.

The Church of the Future

I just finished reading A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists:Musings on Why God is Good and Faith Isn’t Evil by David G. Myers. Worthwhile read filled with valuable nuggets. What I appreciated most was his invitation to a “humble spirituality”, a third alternative to a purposeless scientism/rationalism and a narrow fundamentalism so prevelant in my own tradition of contemporary evanglicalism. I don’t agree with all he has written, but I believe he is in the right direction. We do need a more profound spirituality rooted in biblical wisdom and history, one that connects us in supportive communities and offers genuine hope in the face of adversity and death. We need to learn from the larger “one, holy, catholic and apostolic church.” The following is the rich content of a moving letter sent to me from my mentor Leighton Ford this past week. It is a portion of an email message he recently received. Read more.

Desert Fathers and Western Christianity

Over time I have become more convinced, not less, of the application of the radical simplicity of the Desert Fathers of the 3rd t0 5th centuries. They fled to the desert in order to seek God and eventually serve as a life raft for a church that had become almost indistingishable from the world. The church in the West is in a very similar state. The answer begins with us as pastors and leaders of God’s flock, I believe. As Tolstoy once said, “Everybody wants to change the world, but noone thinks of changing himself.” I think he was right. There is only one pathway – the pathway of Jesus. Ronald Rolheiser in The Holy Longing outlines this as the only way to profound transformation. We repeat it over and over again in our walks with Christ. 1. Name your deaths (Good Friday) 2. Claim your births (Easter) 3. Grieve for what you have lost and adjust to the. Read more.

God and My Blackberry

I cancelled my blackberry internet service yesterday. For the last year I have been able to receive e-mails at any time of the day or night. I was told it would make me more productive, effective. It would save me time. No one talked about its impact on my soul and rhythm. Actually, it hasn’t worked for the last month and I realized how much I loved not having it. I loved not checking e-mails during my daughter’s soccer practice as I waited in the car. (She is in junior high and prefers that her ‘uncool’ Dad keep a very low profile). I loved not looking at it in traffic. I loved not looking at it in the office. If it was the time to check e-mail, I simply chose to look at it during work hours. If we are going to follow Jesus in the 21st century as leaders and model a contemplative life,. Read more.

Impatience and Leadership

Now that we are entering fully into new year here at NLF and the flurry of activity that goes with it, I find myself feeling the winds and waves of our culture, demonic forces behind that, and my own tendency to do my will and get caught up in the anxiety around me. I am reminded of Tertullain (155 – 222 AD), a church leader and prolific author of early Christianity), said that it is God’s nature to be patient, and that when the Holy Spirit descends, patience and waiting is always on its side. Eugene Peterson once remarked that “impatience is the besetting sin of pastors.” The more I ponder that remark, both in my life and in Scripture, I think he may be right. It is a deep, wide root out of which many other smaller sins fall – at least in my life. I medidated deeply this morning on Psalm 27. Read more.

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