You can learn much from a person by the books they recommend, and I plan on learning a lot through the book collection of the team here in Ibiza. Thus far, I have not been disappointed.

I just finished The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church by Alan Hirsch. It's a fantastic read, and I highly recommend it for anyone who is passionate about advancing the Gospel and expanding the Church.

In summary, the book examines what makes up the DNA of missional church movements throughout the course of history, focusing particularly on the early Church and the contemporary underground church in China. Incorporating a wealth of scripture and a number of academic disciplines, Hirsch concludes that there are six components of "Apostolic Genius":

1. Jesus is Lord
2. Disciple Making
3. Missional-Incarnational Impulse
4. Apostolic Environment
5. Organic Systems
6. Communitas (not community)

The theological belief that Jesus is Lord is the crux of the Church, and the other five factors are essential supporting elements. Rather than explain them all, I'm just going to encourage you to read the book and quickly reflect on what challenged me most.

In the chapter on Organic Systems, Hirsch references this quote from Neibuhr:

"there are essential differences between an institution and a movement: the one is conservative, the other progressive; the one is more or less passive yielding to influences from the outside, the other is active in influencing rather than being influenced; the one looks to the past, the other to the future. In addition the one is anxious, the other is prepared to take risks; the one guards boundaries, the other crosses [boundaries]." (190)

There is a fine line between the Church being a religious institution and being an authentic movement- the Body of Christ in this world. Discerning the distinction raises many questions. For instance,  Am I working for the expansion of an institution that contains doctrines regarding the Holy Spirit or am I working toward the advancement of the Gospel by yielding to and seeking the movement of the Holy Spirit?

In his conclusion,  Hirsch explains how the Church is returning to Apostolic Genius by incorporating lessons learned from a wide range expressions of the Christian faith. His last paragraph recognizes that the Pentecostal church has yet to truly embrace the Emerging Missional Church because its structure and systems are still reaping the success of the church growth models and methods (271). He suggests that the Emerging Missional Church is missing is the spark of the Pentecostal movement's passion for the work of Holy Spirit. While this sentiment is only briefly explored at the conclusion of the book, I find it extremely interesting as I'm also praying that the charismatic church will find its place as a catalyst in the Emerging Missional Church.

Pentecostalism is the fastest growing religion in the world, especially in unchurched regions. This is the question though: is Pentecostalism concerned primarily with expanding Pentecostalism or primarily with advancing the Gospel?  I personally know a number of Pentecostal/Charismatic missionaries whose only goal is to follow Jesus and do His work. The concern doesn't lie in the examination of the heart of individuals, but rather in the heart of the Church as a whole. Are missionaries and ministries too tied to organizations and jumping through too many bureaucratic hoops to follow and serve Jesus freely?

Of course accountability and structure are key, but has organization moved us toward following the ways of our respective institutions instead of being a fluid movement that follows the Way of Christ?

1. Individualism – the notion of cool is self-centered. (192)
2. Alienation- cool creates “in” groups and is inherently divisive. (193)
3. Competition- “people committed to being cool do not trust each other… and guard their inner sanctum of their hip cachet” (194)
4.  Pride/Vanity- Coolness feeds the ego. (196)
5. A Focus on the Now- “hip is temporary and transitory” (197)
6.  Rebellion- so much of the essence of hip revolves around rebelling against the mainstream and giving life to the revolutionary.  (199)
7. Reduction of Identity to Visual - Hipsters are often labeled by their unique outward appearance, neglecting to examine inward character. (200).

“Yes, Christianity is subversive. But that should not be the end goal of our faith. We shouldn’t enlist young hipsters to join the cause because they think Jesus is a [rebel]. They should join the cause because they need God’s grace, not because they want to take down some system or join some romantic revolutionary movement. A faith built on rebellion is, at the end of the day, not going to be very sustainable… Especially considering that Christ came to right the rebellion of man. All else but the gospel is rebellion. The cause of Christ is the one obedient cause.” – (188-189).

"It's not spoken word... it's silently-whisper-into-the-dark-corners-of-my-closet-*dramatic pause*-word." 

Apparently, my definition was amusing enough for my roommate to share it as a status update.  Personally, I'd find it a little funnier if it weren't bitterly true. Empty walls and dirty windshields have been my only audience for quite some time.

Knowing my love for poetry, the same roommate recommended that I watch Sarah Kay's performance on TED talks.  Tonight, I finally did and it's worth every second. You should watch it, if only the poem at the beginning.



As she shares her dreams for her hypothetical daughter, I found myself smiling- thinking if I ever have kids, I want to write them poetry like that. Poetry like my mom wrote for me growing up, words that capture the moment and refuse to allow time to tarnish the memories.

According to Sarah, all you need to know are a few things that are true and you can create a poem. Her theory is put into practice in her efforts to empower students through Project V.O.I.C.E.

"Conceived in 2004, Project V.O.I.C.E. encourages young people to engage with the world around them and use Spoken Word Poetry as an instrument through which they can explore and better understand their culture, their society, and ultimately themselves". - from their website.

When confronted with the task of explaining how she went from a timid teenager to an renowned poet, Sarah revealed her three step progression from hiding under bars in poetry clubs to encouraging students to take the stage themselves.

1. "I can. I can do this." - first we must recognize that we can do something. We can build connections with people, we can share our stories, and we can make a difference in the lives of others by simply expressing ourselves. (Her explanation of the three steps begins at 7:50)
2. "I will. I will continue"- it isn't enough to know that you can do something, you must decide to do it. Sarah spent years studying poetry by listening to others share their stories, but it was her willingness to continue learning by taking the stage that really began the transformation. (8:01)
3. "grow, explore, take risks and challenge yourself- infusing the work you are doing with the specific things that make you you even while those things are always changing because step three never ends" (13:30) - it's all encompassing and continually changing, and we must actively respond to and intertwine what we do, what we know, and who we are... and share it with others.

While I am challenged by Sarah's words because I love her medium of expression, I think anyone can glean wisdom from her journey. How many things do we refuse to acknowledge we could do? How many times to we refuse to do the things that we already know we could accomplish? And, how often do we stop allowing ourselves to be challenged to grow by preventing what we do from being infused with who we are and what we know to be true?

Perhaps I should share my stories with more than the dark corners of my closet, and perhaps you should too. I'm not suggesting that we all literally take the stage to share a poem (though perhaps I literally should given how often I talk to myself in empty rooms). Just take a moment to ponder this:what would happen if we each were vulnerable enough to express ourselves?

Whether it be through spoken word, art, music, story telling, or something completely different... what would happen if we shared a little more of who we are and what we know to be true with the world? What if we took the time to encourage someone else to share and actually listened to their story? Perhaps, just maybe, we would build a connection with someone else who 'feels' what we are saying. And, perhaps those connections would inspire more people to express themselves while empowering others to do the same.

Yesterday morning, while groggily scanning my newsfeed, three capitalized letters caught my attention: "R. I. P." As I normally do, I paused to read over the status, intending to say a quick prayer for the deceased and their family. This time however, my jaw dropped. Could it really be true? Did my high school principal who was young, energetic, and fully devoted to his students suddenly die twenty days before graduation?
 
And, then I read this. Through a wall of tears, I spent most of the day reading through news articles, and facebook posts.

Mr. Vitori, you will be greatly missed! At our best and worst, you were always there with a smile on your face. From the moment you stepped foot in the halls of CHS, you were dedicated to making sure that every person you interacted with knew that they were valued, that they were supported, and that they had great potential to succeed.... Thank you for investing in my life and the lives of hundreds of others! You will always be remembered as one of our greatest influences and biggest fans. May your legacy live on through those who have been blessed by knowing you. My thoughts and prayers are with your family and the Charleroi community.

My tiny memorial is not unique; hundreds of students and alumni have posted blurbs in honor of our principal. He was the unique one- a school administrator who was selflessly devoted to his students. Taking over in a school district that had seen multiple administrators abandon them, he will be remembered as a man who refused to leave any student behind. He attended every event, knew every student by name, and approached every situation with confidence that that every person was a good kid at heart.

His death is a solemn reminder of how precious life is. It can pass in a moment without notice, but a life lived with humble integrity and sincere joy has the potential to impact hundreds of others before it does.  As I sport the red and the black in honor of a great man, my heart is in Cougar country today as our small town remembers one of its everyday heroes. 

I never did properly thank him for his investment in my life, but I am now reminded to say express gratitude in every moment because tomorrow is never guaranteed...

 You have a way with words. You should write books.

As my fortune cookie a few weeks ago instructed me, I am going to get a little more intentional about writing. There are no books in my immediate future, but hopefully will be quite a few blogs. [And yes, although obviously facetious, the fortune cookie story is true]

As you may have noticed, I am slowly upgrading my blog. I will continue tweaking formatting over the next week, and have recently registered a custom domain. This was actually a test post of sorts to see if the custom domain plays nice with blog feeds. The transition appears to be seamless. If you are already following me through "searchthesky.blogpsot.com", you should (in theory) continue to be updated when I post.  If I find out any differently, I will let you know so that you can continue to stalk me accordingly.

Update to the update:  if you actually want to stalk me, you may have to add the new domain to your browser.  New posts don't seem to be appearing in Google Reader when I update them.

I am not sure who actually reads these things, but thanks for doing so! =]