The 501(C)(3) of Christ | Hack the Ministry

A friend tells me he is intrigued by Hack the Ministry and the conversations around it. I reply: 

I’m intrigued too. 

With no disrespect to my friends with jobs provided by some instance of the church, I, and a growing number of friends and acquaintances scattered over the earth, are finding greater success connecting with “Nones” now that we think of ourselves as some version of “Dones”.  

It doesn’t take much sociological or spiritual imagination to see that — in many places — the way we’ve been doing church is ending (or at the very least trending) badly and has been for a long time. I saw it when I still took my paycheck from a church. I think most people do; and this is the drive behind some brilliant innovation and passionate outreach and service generated by church leaders. It’s also what drives programs that looked much better on paper than in practice. 

As outreaching and open as I was — you can ask anyone  = - )  — I had to give up my church business card before I began to grasp this. On reflection, this should be no surprise. As Sinclair Lewis used to say, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it”.  

Years later, when I became available to friends and neighbors on Sunday mornings, I found they became available to me pretty much any time. It’s as if my getting a car and “going to church” was a barrier to entry for engagement with some of the most spiritually open-and-interested people in my community — not to mention some of my most religiously suspicious, damaged, and abused friends and neighbors. The absence any power differential makes every conversation straight across. My surrender of religious authority made way for a sober assessment of spiritual authenticity. The stories I tell about my life, alongside my daily spiritual practices, stand or fall on their own… they ring true, or not… stories and practices reinforce each other, or they don’t. 

Clearly, I’m not alone in this. And without suggesting that anyone should stop going to church, or leave their job in the church, or disavow church; I do mean to be clear that there is a life of engaged Christian practice outside the norms and structures of the 501(C)(3) of Christ. 

All this is wrapped up, for me, in this conversation about hacking the ministry. And I find myself feeling real anticipation about what others bring to the table — to correct, affirm, recalibrate, or help me reimagine what I’ve been thinking and doing.

Wherever you are on the continuum, If you’re intrigued too, I hope you’ll take the day to be with us in Seattle for Hack the Ministry 

— it’s Thursday, October 12, 2017 

— we’ll gather from 10 am to 10 pm at Ballard Homestead 

— tickets are $49 — or you can bring two friends, at a total cost of $99 for the three of you — lunch and dinner are included

— out-of-towners seem to be leaning toward Hampton Inn and Suites, Northgate

Selective Outrage | Selective Grace

I keep wondering what churches would be like if they were as gracious - and patient - with everyone as they are with the greedy.

Peers | Mentors | Sages | Hacking the Ministry

Peers, Mentors + Sages — both inside + outside the orbit of organized churchgoing — people who have decided not to fear each other + not to hold each other in contempt, are gathering for a deep conversation about pioneers + mapmakers who are showing us how to hack the ministry to serve the world as it is + as it is becoming. 

HacktheMinistry.com | October 12 | Seattle | 10am - 10pm

Hack the Ministry | 10.12.17 | Seattle

A one-day gathering for people who identify with Jesus + aren’t so sure about the future of churchgoing.

Dear Mr. President | The message Barack Obama left in the Oval Office for Donald Trump

There’s a tradition of outgoing US presidents leaving handwritten notes to their successors on Inauguration Day. CNN obtained a copy of the letter from Barack Obama to Donald Trump — one imagines a mobile phone pic — from someone to whom Mr. Trump showed it. It is, I think, quite remarkable, compared with notes left by George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

Dear Mr. President - 

Congratulations on a remarkable run. Millions have placed their hopes in you, and allof us, regardless of party, should hope for expanded prosperity and security during your tenure.

This is a unique office, without a clear blueprint for success, so I don't know that any advice from me will be particularly helpful. Still, let me offer a few reflections from the past 8 years.

First, we've both been blessed, in different ways, with great good fortune. Not everyone is so lucky. It's up to us to do everything we can (to) build more ladders of success for every child and family that's willing to work hard.

Second, American leadership in this world really is indispensable. It's up to us, through action and example, to sustain the international order that's expanded steadily since the end of the Cold War, and upon which our own wealth and safety depend.

Third, we are just temporary occupants of this office. That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions -- like rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties -- that our forebears fought and bled for. Regardless of the push and pull of daily politics, it's up to us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them.

And finally, take time, in the rush of events and responsibilities, for friends and family. They'll get you through the inevitable rough patches.

Michelle and I wish you and Melania the very best as you embark on this great adventure, and know that we stand ready to help in any ways which we can.

Good luck and Godspeed,

BO