Posted 8 days ago
More on MSA Discernment Project - June 24
The Mustard Seed team met again this morning for a session on discernment. We had intended to discuss our spiritual gifts and talents and seek to discern together how we could use these to further the ministry of MSA. However Ricci Kilmer was unable to join us because Gabriel still has a slight fever so instead we spent our time going through the Jesuit Prayer of Examen. This was a very rewarding exercise in which we found ourselves not only listening more closely to God but also to each other.
This prayer takes about 10 – 15 minutes to complete and provides a process in which we seek to discern the movement of the Spirit of God throughout our day or week. It is a prayer that draws us into the presence of God and with the intention of discerning how God has interacted with us during the day. It is not always a comfortable prayer as we must take time to allow God to challenge as well as encourage us. This is a prayer that requires a response from us. Sometimes we need to seek forgiveness from others that we have wronged. At other times there may be a very positive response as we are made aware of God’s enjoyment of our faithfulness.
There are five steps to the prayer
- Recalling we are in the presence of God
- Looking over the events of the day with gratitude for the day’s gifts
- Inviting the Holy Spirit to help us evaluate our actions and attitudes with honesty and patience
- Reviewing the day making yourself aware of where Christ assisted your decisions and where you should have paused to receive his instruction
- A heart to heart talk with Jesus sharing your thoughts on your actions, attitudes, feelings and interactions.
I hope that you find this process as helpful as we do.
Posted 9 days ago
using facebook to fight global poverty
This comes from our friend Eugene Cho
using facebook to fight global poverty
After mocking social networking sites for awhile, I finally joined Facebook one year ago. And while there are still some things that I strongly dislike about Facebook [e.g. constant invitations to Applications], I am a big fan. It works. I’ve reconnected with friends from high school and college. And Facebook is helping me to stay connected to the growing community at Quest.But asides from just connecting with past and current friends, I’ve been dreaming how to leverage the power of technology and the internet to further social causes. This is one of the primary hopes with the new organization we are working on. How do we utilize and converge technology and human relationships to fight global poverty?
With that in mind, I started this GROUP on Facebook. Because we haven’t yet publicly revealed the name of the organization, we thought of the catchiest name: “For each person that joins, we will donate $1 to fight Global Poverty.”
We need your help. My wife and I [and our three children] want to sincerely invite you to join us in helping Fight Global Poverty. We will donate $1 to the cause of global poverty for EACH person that JOINS this group – with hopes of this group growing to at least 100,000 people.
We might not be able to save the world but we can certainly make a difference in a family, a town, a village… Even a few dollars can make a difference.
Why are we doing this? Our motivation is not to appear altruistic or righteous. We don’t want any pats on the back. We are simply convicted to ACT. We can’t afford to not do anything. We have decided to make some life decisions to give $100,000 to fight global poverty through a new Humanitarian Organization and simply ask that you consider learning together how we can CARE and ACT. Together, we believe we can make a difference.
Our hope is that AT LEAST 100,000 people will join by the end of August because our conviction is to donate $100,000 in hopes of encouraging others to consider giving. Thus far, 21,119 people have joined since the group started one month ago. Our goal is to launch the organization in September and we hope to leverage this group to help build momentum.
Would you help us? It’ll take you no more than 5 minutes but if you can help us with these simple five ideas, it’ll be a great help to our organization.
1 ► If you haven’t done so, please join the group – CLICK “Join this Group”
2 ► CLICK on “Invite People to Join.”
3 ► SELECT all of the friends that you want to join. Think strategically about friends who might invite other friends. Think of friends who are strategically located around the world.
4 ► CLICK on “Send invitation”
5 ► SHARE on your “Posted Items.” This may be the most effective way of spreading the group. After you’ve joined, would you simply share the group amongst your “Posted Items.”
Add your comment or view comments » 1 people have responded
Posted 9 days ago
Jordon Cooper Reviews The New Conspirators
The New Conspirators by Tom Sine from Jordon Cooper’s blog
Posted 10 days ago
Change the World in Just One Year??
I saw this ad for a volunteer organization on a bus a while back, and it struck me with its irony. Take a close look. Can you see it?
It seems to imply that the only time available to one for changing the world is between graduating and getting “a real job.” Why are “changing the world” and “getting a job” seemingly mutually exclusive? What about the people who want to change the world with whatever job they choose?
At MSA, we encourage young people to do just that—make intentional decisions about jobs, homes, families and futures that will change the world for good and help them live into the already-here kingdom of God. Enough of this give-a-year-and-then-be-done stuff! Make and difference and be a difference! Love and serve God in all that you do!
Add your comment or view comments » 4 people have responded
Posted 12 days ago
More on MSA Spiritual Discernment
By Christine Sine
We held our first discernment meeting Tuesday with our MSA team. It was an exciting time which we felt drew us both closer to each other and also closer to God. We were particularly encouraged by the fact that this process gave everyone in the MSA team a sense of ownership and drew us together as a team that is focused on Christ rather than on our own agendas. We see it as an opportunity to mentor each other and to integrate our spiritual practices with our work. Our greatest struggle was a concern that this would slow us down and make it harder to accomplish concrete goals. We were also concerned at the extent to which outside pressures distract us from God’s purposes. To be honest as I reflected on this I realized that we are probably not wasting time at all – in the long run we are probably saving time. The more time we spend focusing on God and God’s agenda the more effectively we will be at doing things that have eternal value.
Here is a summary of the process we used. It was developed by Bruce Bishop – one of the authors of Practicing Discernment Together.
Centering
(Recognizing the presence of God)
Gathering silence before the meal/meeting
Relating
(Checking in with each other)
Briefly checking-in: Something we are looking forward to this week, something we’re not so excited about
Receiving
(Attending to God, listening)
Prayer of Examen on your experience of God this last week: Consolations and Desolations
Ruminating
(Considering the fruits of the prayer, looking for direction and threads)
Listening to one another, considering how God is moving in our personal lives
Reflecting
(Given what we’ve heard and shared, what is God doing among us or calling us to?)
Noticings and reflections and implications of where God is active
Responding
(With this focus on God and God’s activity, we do the business at hand)
Looking at our business agenda in this spirit of attentiveness
Business
including recentering as needed to keep ourselves attentive
Returning and Closing
(offering ourselves and our efforts to God)
Noticing God-movements and shifts during the meeting
Reflecting on where God seemed to be active
Prayer
Posted 14 days ago
June Seed Sampler: Emergency Preparedness
In this Seed Sampler, we want to explore ways we can follow Jesus by being prepared to serve those in need in uncertain times. We will seek to awaken readers to the new reality that we seem to be living in an increasingly volatile world that will require all of us to imagine and create new ways to prepare for life in these difficult times. This is an invitation to be God's compassionate response, not only in disasters, but in possible economic downturns, too. We will explore ways that you, your family, your church and community can prepare for life in an increasingly uncertain future.
Following Jesus in Uncertain Times by Tom Sine
Preparing the Middle Class for Life in Uncertain Times by Penny Carothers and Tom Sine
Preparing the Global Poor For Uncertain Times by Penny Carothers and Tom Sine
Hope Force International: One Person Can Make a Difference by Jack and Cherie Minton
Emergency Preparedness Resources
Download a pdf of the entire issue
Add your comment or view comments » 1 people have responded
Posted 17 days ago
Joining the Anabaptist Conspirators by Tom Sine
Joining the Anabaptist conspirators – The Mennonite
By Tom Sine
God is doing something new through a new generation that has a distinctly Anabaptist accent in these uncertain times. These young initiators are creating new ways to make a difference in both the world and the church. In The New Conspirators, I explained these activists and innovators as being found in at least four streams: emerging, missional, mosaic and monastic.
Posted 22 days ago
Open space for those seriously seeking community
Peter and Anneke Geel will be leaving the Mustard Seed House in August. Peter has been accepted into the doctoral program at Georgetown University and for some reason they aren’t very keen on commuting to Washington DC each week. We are looking for a couple who are interested in joining our small community here in Seattle and moving into our 1 bedroom basement apartment. We are looking for people who can make at least a two year commitment.
The Mustard Seed House is an intentional, intergenerational Christian community with 3 families, 2 dogs, numerous bird feeders and a worm bin. We are little like a large extended family – kids and dogs are full participants in all our activities. We are keen organic gardeners, and are particularly concerned about creation care, sustainable lifestyles and spiritual rhythms for life. Our present shared practices include a 1+ weekly dinner and check in time, weekly prayer, and a 1+ monthly garden day. As a community we offer generous hospitality to people from around the world and provide an opportunity for visitors to explore a regular rhythm of prayer and worship as well as other aspects of kingdom living being modelled by the community.
The Mustard Seed House is part of Mustard Seed Associates though not everyone in the community works for MSA. The community often hosts MSA gatherings and provides a central place to gather to discuss issues facing us now and in the future and to develop creative models that reflect something of God’s kingdom values. We are in the process of developing a rule of life that will provide guidelines for shared practices not just for those in the Mustard Seed House but for others associated with MSA as well.
If this doesn’t sound too scary and you are still interested we would love to hear from you.
For more info contact mustardseedhouse@gmail.com
Posted 29 days ago
Thin Space: CANCELLED
"Thin Space: Learning From the Celtic Saints," a workshop on the ancient tradition of Celtic Christianity, has been unfortunately cancelled. We are considering offering it at a later time, but nothing is definite. To all those who expressed interest in recordings of the workshop, please email us if you would like to receive information on other Celtic Christianity resources.
Another announcement:
THE CELTIC RETREAT IS STILL ON!!
Sign up today to experience God in the wilds of Camano Island.
~ Restore the Rhythm ~
~ Rebuild the Soul ~
~ Renew the Call ~
There are times when we need space...space to breathe, hear and respond, space for transformation and renewed clarity in our lives. Join us for all or part of our weekend Celtic Prayer Retreat on a wild piece of land on south Camano Island. On this spacious and undeveloped piece of land, we will set aside the busy clutter in our lives and greet a quiet space for prayer and renewal.
Following the Celtic Christian tradition, this retreat will incorporate the rhythms of work and rest, community and solitude, prayer and biblical study. It includes a potluck lunch, BBQ dinner, Eucharist service, prayer trails, a labyrinth and lots of fun!
To see picture of read about last year's event, visit Christine's blog.
When | August 8-10th, 2008
Where | Camano Island, directions with registration
Register | here
Posted 36 days ago
MSA Discernment Meeting
by Christine Sine
You might have noticed that the entries on my blog are rather few and far between at the moment. Part of the reason for that is that MSA is in the midst of reinventing who we are as an organization. We are moving from being a project oriented to a community oriented organization. We have been working on a rule of life, morning and evening prayer booklet, and a total restructuring of the way we operate.
Yesterday as part of that process we met with our good friend and Quaker pastor Stan Thornburg who helped us to understand the Quaker process of group discernment and consensus decision making in which decisions are made not by a leader who tells people what to do but by the whole group who are responsible together to listen to the voice of God, and search actively and openly with other group members for clarity before making decisions.
Group discernment is experiential and mystical not rational. At the centre is our commitment to put Christ as leader not just in theory but in practice. The main skill we need to accomplish this is listening which of course sounds simple but isn’t. This process strongly affirms the fact that God speaks through all individuals and that all people has the potential to be Christ’s message bearer. However it also recognizes that some people are better at discerning the voice of God than others are (What the Quakers caller weighty messengers) and that these people need to recognized and given voice. However it also affirms that it is only in community together that we are able to discern what the Spirit is saying and how to act on this voice.
We are in an exciting and somewhat scary place. We say that we want community to touch the fibre of all we are and do but this is where the rubber meets the road. Group discernment and consensus decision making mean we need to bring our rational thoughts and ways of doing things into the mystical chamber so that they can be touched by the light of Christ and in that light they may be anointed but they might also be discarded. The exciting thing is that this process opens us up to a broader array of possibilities – possibilities that we may not be aware of when we allow our rational minds to guide and direct us. And that of course opens us up to be transformed by the abiding spirit of Christ.
For those of us with very rational brains it seems a very slow, messy and inefficient process. Quaker business meetings might take hours and if there is no consensus then a decision is not make. However I am becoming more and more aware of the fact that our so called “efficiency” which is often a rationalization for letting some guy who loves to have his own way make all the decisions, is not always the Christlike way to do things.
Jesus constantly gave up power he did not grasp for it. In fact he refused to allow his followers to make him into the kind of leaders the Jews and Romans specialized in where authority was used to control and often to subjugate others. Jesus leadership model was that of true servanthood. Through word and example he embodied a different model of leadership. He rarely told his followers how to do something he asked questions that enabled his disciples to find the answers that God had already placed within their hearts.
