Forming a Cyber Community of Faith:

The great prophet voice of Isaiah once said - "the people who have walked in the darkness have seen a great light ... on them the light has shone ..."

Right now we are in the time of year (in the Northern Hemisphere anyway), when the days start getting longer, and the dark of night begins to ebb away ... Spring for some of us is still a long way off, but it is coming nonetheless ... a sure and certain sign of hope, new life and resurrection.

The other day I noticed over a the Blog "The Laughing Pastor" that he was reading a book entitled "Christianity for the Rest of Us" by Diane Butler Bass ... as I found his reference to the book on the sidebar I thought to myself (aloud) - "I have that book ..." and began to search for it ... I found it in minutes (I remember where I PUT my BOOKS !!! Car keys, gloves, toques, and paperwork ... that's another story - but BOOKS - those I remember).

That night I started reading Butler Bass' words ... and I was blown away ...

But what struck me most was her realization, contention and study of the nomadic church that exists around us in the modern world ... People are no longer fixed by geography and family to a single locale the way we were a generation ago ... Village Churches (the traditional faith community) are withering as Pilgrim Churches are beginning to grow ... BUT over arching ALL of this is the simple realization that people "out there" where ever that may be, are hungry for something more...

They want tradition, but not the tired old tradition that they walked away from a generation ago.

They want answers to life's questions, but they don't want black and white answers in a world filled with vivid technicoloured questions.

They want community, but not a community that is conformist and exclusive to a socio-economic, or class group.

They want somewhere to gather and ask life's tough questions and to find a community to debate, discuss and live out the answers ... Butler Bass explores these things at a grass-roots level examining the many currents that are tossing us about as the Emerging Spirit Church/Generation is making its presence felt. As I read her words I also realized that EVERYTHING she stresses as the future direction of the Church is familiar ground to me personally ...

I love the tradition of the liturgy and worship of the church, but I have categorically rejected the narrow definition of "faith" and "theology" that has been a part of denominational labels.

In the coming days, here and over at Prairie Preacher I am going to explore some of the issues that Butler Bass has raised, and I'm going to offer the humble suggestion that one of the things that is NEEDED is the creation of a Cyber Faith Community where real life can be discussed.

This is NOT unlike the modest proposal put forward sometime ago by my blogger-friend Blake over at The Laughing Pastor, who offered the commitment of wanting to become a pastor to the world. I will join (and actively encourage) him in this endeavour, but more than that - between he and I we will CONTINUE to raise and discuss openly the issues of faith that are relevant and pertinent to this emerging Pilgrim Church that is so evident to those of us with eyes to see.

My words here and over at Prairie Preacher will be directed beyond the narrow confines of the community in which I live ... my words will seek to join the conversation already begun that finds people of every age, every ethnicity, every class, every creed, and every background - a conversation that finds people all over the globe asking a simple and profound question - "IS THERE MORE TO LIFE THAN THIS?????"

It is a conversation that the Institutional Church fails miserably to heed ... but one that numerous voices within the Institution not only heed, but actively encourage ... So, in the coming days, now freed from some of the chains that have bound me, I will actively join that conversation and with reflections on the works of many who are riding this wave of change and transformation, I will set out to plant the seed of a new cyber commuity of faith that welcomes in ALL pilgrims and offers them a place to sit, reflect, discuss, and even argue while we live lives committed to experiencing the transformative power of the Resurrection ...

Being Pastor to the world is a good goal ... but It's just the first step on the road ... the third wave is growing, and I for one want to be part of it rather than be washed away from it ... so tonight, my BLOGS become a place where the theology, practicality, and theology of the Third Wave becomes central ... my hope is that everyone who reads my postings here will in the coming days tell a couple of friends who are seekers, and those two friends will tell a couple more, and in turn they will tell a couple more ... and soon, this tiny little blog will become part of a tsunami of faith that will with the care and guidance of the Spirit, help to bring about a long overdue resurrection of the People of God on this planet ...

It's a grandiose goal ... but my study of Gandhi taught me that every major social change requires a single action to get it started ... and this my friends is mine ... now - go and invite other seekers to come and visit - spread the word - be good EVANGELISTS ... and let's change the world one faithful action at a time ...

I've taken the first step - the next one is up to YOU ...