Talk about hittin’ the flippin’ nail on the head.

Say what you will about Brian McLaren, but I like him. I’ve read several of his books and I don’t agree with everything he says, but he certianly challenges me to think.

In his new book Finding Our Way Again he recounts an interview he conducted at a pastors conference with Dr. Peter Senge. It went something like this:

Dr. Senge was saying that in any given bookstore, the best selling books are first, “how to get rich” and second, books on Buddhism.

“Why are books on Buddhism so popular, and not books on Christianity,” McLaren asked.

Senge replied, “I think it’s because Buddhism presents itself as a way of life, Christianity presents itself as a system of belief. I would want to get Christian ministers thinking about how to rediscover their own faith as a way of life, because that’s what people are searching for today. That’s what they need most.”

“Awake, you sleepers,

from your slumber…

examine your deeds,

return in repentance,

and remember your Creator.”

-Maimonides (ancient Jewish Rabbi)

Today is Rosh Hashana and the next nine days following are referred to as the “Days of Awe” in Jewish culture.

The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim) or the Days of Repentance. This is a time for serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur. More here on Jew FAQ

So rarely do we look inward and reflecting upon what the Lord has done in our lives. The next 10 days are a time for reflection and introspection before the Jewish New Year. It’s never a bad thing to pause and reflect in our busy lives. So often time passes and we just keep on going. Let these next 10 days be ones of prayer, remembrance, introspection and repentance.

To hear more about it The Days of Awe from a  Jewish perspective, listen to this podcast (the first 10 - 15 min are the most succinct and interesting;, the rest is fairly superfluous)

Speaking of Faith: “Days of Awe” podcast

From “what the heck is that Ventus god thing?” to “what the heck do you do?”  I’ve been fielding lot’s of questions lately about Ventus. And recently Alaina asked:

“I’d love to hear more about your concept, what you do to create the space, etc. I know that is a lot of technical stuff, but it would be interesting/easier to wrap my brain around Ventus as a concept.”

Hopefully this may shed some light…

So what is Ventus?

It’s a gathering; a community of people seeking to know the Lord more.

It’s a weekly place to meet and contemplate our lives and where the Christ fits into them.

It’s a sacred space for quite contemplation.

It’s a time to talk, hang out, to ask questions and to listen (to God and others).

We’re just broken, undeserving, messed up folks journeying towards an amazing, loving God.

What does Ventus look like?

Our goal was to do something simple and easy to replicate on a weekly basis. We wanted to create a space that felt sacred and different from our every day lives. We meet in an old church sanctuary in town. They have pews and do a regular church service the next morning (Sundays). So we’ve had to learn to work around what’s currently there.  What we’ve done to create a conducive space has been minimal and mainly based on lighting and music. People sit in pews, the lights are low, incense burns, and there’s 50-60 candles going for mood. Background music plays and is usually something ambient/chill/reverent (ie. Moby). We convert available clear spots into worship stations by tossing a sheet on the ground and decorating to suit the activity.

Simplicity is the key, getting the most out of minimal effort.  Our goal is for us to purse the Lord and we could do that in a cardboard box - so keep in mind that the mood is an important part, but not essential. It should never overtake or overshadow the true focus of the service.

What happens during Ventus?

It’s a simple service that opens with a prayer and greeting. We have a scripture reading and then unpack what it means in our lives. That usually lends itself to conversation and discussion about the scripture or whatever tangent we find ourselves on. Some week we sing hymns or praises to the Lord, but most weeks we have worship stations. Those stations will usually include elements of prayer, reflection, contemplation and expression (lectio divina, etc.). After the stations, we gather once again for a response; a time to share anything that is being impressed on our hearts from our times of reflection and communion. The service is ended with a prayer and blessing over the group. Then we hang out eating snack food (or whatever else someone brings) and drink coffee.

The service typically spans an hour.

Any other questions? Or points of clarification?

We are by no means experts in this. Long before Ventus started we were doing many of these practices on retreats and trips. Most of our wisdom has come from other more intelligent individuals from books and also plenty of trial and error.

This week, Ventus was labeled “emergent” by some local pastors like it was a dirty word. I was a bit offended to be so easily labeled. It was very judgmental and off base.

On a side note, I got the new Rob Bell and Brian McLaren books in the mail today. I’m way jazzed.

Free book from Thom Ranier about:

“Why do so many young adults (18 to 22) leave the church, and what will it take to bring them back?”

Not sure if I agree with books of this type, but I’ll give it a go and give you my opinion. Why are young adults leaving the church? My opinion? They’ve never experienced a faith worth following (I can digress, but that’s not the point of this post). Besides my opinion’s too short to put into a book. Who knows, I may learn something from this one…

Go here for the book.

[Thank Tommy Parke for the hook up]