Something to think about

I came across this article recently. It is thought provoking and, in many ways, describes where I am spiritually.




The People formerly known as The Congregation

Jay Rosen created the meme of The People Formerly Known as the Audience - those of us who are no longer content to be content consumers - but have become content creators ourselves.

The people formerly known as the audience wish to inform media people of our existence, and of a shift in power that goes with the platform shift you’ve all heard about.

Think of passengers on your ship who got a boat of their own. The writing readers. The viewers who picked up a camera. The formerly atomized listeners who with modest effort can connect with each other and gain the means to speak— to the world, as it were.

Now we understand that met with ringing statements like these many media people want to cry out in the name of reason herself: If all would speak who shall be left to listen? Can you at least tell us that?

The people formerly known as the audience do not believe this problem—too many speakers!—is our problem. Now for anyone in your circle still wondering who we are, a formal definition might go like this:

The people formerly known as the audience are those who were on the receiving end of a media system that ran one way, in a broadcasting pattern, with high entry fees and a few firms competing to speak very loudly while the rest of the population listened in isolation from one another— and who today are not in a situation like that at all.

Let me introduce you to The People formerly known as The Congregation. There are millions of us.

We are people - flesh and blood - image bearers of the Creator - eikons, if you will. We are not numbers.

We are the eikons who once sat in the uncomfortable pews or plush theatre seating of your preaching venues. We sat passively while you proof-texted your way through 3, 4, 5 or no point sermons - attempting to tell us how you and your reading of The Bible had a plan for our lives. Perhaps God does have a plan for us - it just doesn't seem to jive with yours.

Money was a great concern. And, for a moment, we believed you when you told us God would reward us for our tithes - or curse us if we didn't. The Law is just so much easier to preach than Grace. My goodness, if you told us that the 1st century church held everything in common - you might be accused of being a socialist - and of course, capitalism is a direct gift from God. Please further note: Malachi 3 is speaking to the priests of Israel. They weren't the cheerful givers God speaks of loving.

We grew weary from your Edifice Complex pathologies - building projects more important than the people in your neighbourhood...or in your pews. It wasn't God telling you to "enlarge the place of your tent" - it was your ego. And, by the way, a multi-million dollar, state of the art building is hardly a tent.
We no longer buy your call to be "fastest growing" church in wherever. That is your need. You want a bigger audience. We won't be part of one.

Our ears are still ringing from the volume, but...Jesus is not our boyfriend - and we will no longer sing your silly love songs that suggest He is. Happy clappy tunes bear no witness to the reality of the world we live in, the powers and principalities we confront, or are worthy of the one we proclaim King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

You offered us a myriad of programs to join - volunteer positions to assuage our desire to be connected. We could be greeters, parking lot attendants, coffee baristas, book store helpers, children's ministry workers, media ministry drones - whatever you needed to fulfill your dreams of corporate glory. Perhaps you've noticed, we aren't there anymore.

We are The People formerly known as The Congregation. We have not stopped loving the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Nor do we avoid "the assembling of the saints." We just don't assemble under your supposed leadership. We meet in coffee shops, around dinner tables, in the parks and on the streets. We connect virtually across space and time - engaged in generative conversations - teaching and being taught.
We live amongst our neighbours, in their homes and they in ours. We laugh and cry and really live - without the need to have you teach us how - by reading your ridiculous books or listening to your supercilious CDs or podcasts.

We don't deny Paul's description of APEPT leadership - Ephesians 4:11. We just see it in the light of Jesus' teaching in Mark 10 and Matthew 20 - servant leadership. We truly long for the release of servant leading men and women into our gifts as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. We believe in Peter's words that describe us all as priests. Not just some, not just one gender.

We are The People formerly known as The Congregation. We do not hate you. Though some of us bear the wounds you have inflicted. Many of you are our brothers and our sisters, misguided by the systems you inhabit, intoxicated by the power - yet still members of our family. (Though some are truly wolves in sheep's clothing.)

And, as The People formerly known as The Congregation, we invite you to join us on this great adventure. To boldly go where the Spirit leads us. To marvel at what the Father is doing in the communities where He has placed us. To live the love that Jesus shows us.

Alternating Addictions

I've been a little addicted to Facebook lately. It appears Facebook has finally drifted to the East a little. My friends from Chattanooga are finally catching on to it and I have been catching up with them. I didn't get to have my 10 year reunion, so this will have to do. A friend of mine asked me recently if I was ever going to blog again. So, now I'm back. My friend Julie is having her birthday this weekend and a group of girls are going to the Ocoee River. I can't wait!!! I never get tired of rafting that river. This will be my second time this Summer! I am really going to miss Brad and the girls, though. I kind of wish they were going with me. Right now, Brad is fervently studying Spanish to finish up his last semester in school. Whew, I don't wish that on my worst enemy. He has a lot of tenacity to stick with this. Needless to say, I'm proud. Law school applications are going well. We are just in limbo right now and won't know anything more certain until after the first of the year. More on that later.

Great Day

Brad and I have come a long way in 10 years. We celebrated our 10th Anniversary yesterday. We had a very low key day of cards and dinner with the kids. But I think the highlight of my day was when Brad suggested we go hiking today (Saturday) with the girls!!!!! Shocker of all shockers!!!! Brad Shumpert suggesting we do something involving nature, and no air conditioning!!!! We have come a long way! I have finally rubbed off on him. So, we loaded up the Jeep today. Took the top off (of the Jeep that is). And headed for Village Creek State Park. We packed a few snacks and I was in Heaven. I love this stuff. I was so relaxed and it was so peaceful. Brad and Kiley fell victim to the mosquitoes at one short part, but otherwise everyone did great. Brad had the honor of carrying Robyn on his back and she was perfect the whole time. A girl after my own heart! Kiley was such a trooper. She was great at spotting the trail markers on the trees and was a fantastic leader. She walked the whole 2 miles all by herself (and very little whining!). We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. It was great to feel the wind as we drove and it was such a blessing to have a mild day in the middle of August. That never happens here. I'm so thankful to Brad for recognizing how important times like that are to me. I think it is important to get our girls outside and exploring. I hope we can do a lot more of this as they grow up, which is happening way too fast by the way!

Parenthood

You remember that kid in the movie "Parenthood" who ran around the house with a bucket on his head all the time? I used to think that was staged. And then I had Robyn. At present, I am watching her try to navigate our bedroom with a paper bag on her head and I'm thankful that at least she has found something to entertain herself that is fairly safe. Never let it be said that this child can't find her way out of a paper bag! Not only can she find her way in and out of it, she can find her way all the way around the perimeter of our room. She is really into discovering grown up stuff right now. For instance, before the bag on the head trick, she wanted to make sure her hair looked just right. So, she went to my drawer in my bathroom, where I in fact keep my brushes. Only, she pulled out the lint roller instead and proceeded to use it on her head. Yeah, that didn't go so well. So, she moved on to the paper bag. And they say enjoy them while their young!? How do you keep up with a child who moves faster than lightning and has a curiosity to rival Curious George!!?? Oi, parenthood.

New Look

Thought I would try out a new look for my blog. What do you think? Let me know!

Vacation

We had a great trip. I took lots of pictures but only have limited time and space to share them here. We loaded down the car last Saturday and headed out. We made a last minute decision to take a babysitter and, let me tell you, it was the best decision of our lives! This is the first relaxing beach vacation we have had since Kiley was born. For the first time in four years, I wasn't having to go back and forth between the condo, the beach, and the pool to change a diaper, do nap time, eat, etc. It was wonderful. I actually think I spent more time with my children because I could devote some much needed one on one time to each of them!!! What a blessing. We took two days to travel down staying over in Jackson, MS on Saturday night. We arrived late afternoon on Sunday and immediately headed for the pool. Kiley and her dad had a great time playing in the water the whole week. I think Brad got his workout in swimming Kiley around the pool on his back all week. She barely let go of him. Although she is getting so much better at swimming. She doesn't use her floaties anymore which is a big step up from just a few weeks ago. Brad really worked with her a lot this week but may need some muscle relaxers just to recover from vacation!



Robyn, on the other hand, was absolutely fearless. Again, let me plug the babysitter here. The pool had another level about a foot below the surface with a ledge that ran the entire distance around the pool. Great for toddlers to walk on! Only Robyn didn't want to walk on it. She wanted to jump over it...with her eyes closed as you see her doing here. She doesn't know she is only 19 months old. It took all four of us (me, Brad, mom, and babysitter) just to keep Robyn alive this week. She was all over the place. She would try this jumping in maneuver at all different levels of the pool (at the stairs, in the hot tub, in the 5 foot section, around the rock waterfall feature). Whew!! What energy.



I didn't get any pictures of our day at Big Kahunas but that day was a blast. We left Robyn with Mom in the condo and took Kiley to the waterpark. I think I had more fun than she did. Brad stayed with her in the kiddy pool area and let me ride the water slides. I love that stuff!!! While there, we ran into Jenny Adcox, an old friend of ours from Jonesboro. What are the odds!? Well, I guess pretty good considering everybody vacactions in Destin during the summer. But it was great to see Jenny and catch up with her. We wished each other Happy Birthday (we share the same birthday). It was good to see her beautiful girls too!

The highlight of the trip for Kiley was our first annual Shumpert Family Treasure Hunt. "The Pirates" left Kiley a treasure map outside her door one day during nap time. She followed the map down the elevator, to the wood stairs, out the boardwalk to the beach, and to the "X" where she found some buried treasure! You have never seen a more excited four year old. I think this will be a staple in future family vacations.



Speaking of pirates...my girls made some friends on our trip who happened to have a raft. The young girl (Kate) was more than happy to share her raft with Kiley and Robyn:



Then Robyn pirated the ship and reveled in the booty!



Robyn seemed to calm down when we made it out to the beach. Getting her to go down every day was a chore. Of course, she and Kiley wanted to be at the pool most of the day. But we finally got them down to ocean for some good pictures. Here are just a couple:






Eventually, everyone gets tired. You never have to wonder with Robyn what she wants. She will always let you know. One day, I turned around and in her own little way she let me know it was time for a rest:



I have been vacationing in Florida for my whole life. I think family vacation is more meaningful to us than perhaps many holidays throughout the year. It is our time to do what we like to do and form our own traditions. I would not trade any of the time we have spent together. I definitely missed Dad this week. I tried hard not to cry this week and was mostly successful. I allowed myself a few tears the morning of my birthday but other than that tried to stay pretty positive. It was good to go back and remember all the times I have been here with my parents and move forward with my children. What a blessing.

Moving Forward

It's been a crazy week. I have anticipated this week with bitter sweetness. I have been able to keep busy and am thankful for the commotion. We leave for vacation tomorrow. There will be one very evident absence in the condo this year. Every year we could count on one thing, Dad would be in the condo reading his paper. This was his favorite thing to do on vacation. It will feel very strange not having him there to talk to and harass about not going to the beach. This is how Dad spent vacation for as long as I can remember. He would visit the beach briefly each day and retreat back to the condo to read one of about five papers he bought daily. Then, we all got ready and went to dinner for some great conversation. He loved to debate and I, as a by-product, picked up the art and loved relating to him in this way. There are few people on this Earth that I will ever be able to talk to like that. To say I will miss him this week is an understatement. I will miss his straw hat. I will miss that he never wore sunscreen. I will miss that he will not be able to teach my girls to swim as he taught me. I will miss the conversation about current events. I will miss his poor taste in clothing. I will miss his many rounds of Come Monday. I will miss his smile. I will miss his Hush Puppy shoes. I will miss his hugs with me and my girls. Last year was such a blessing, I now know. I wish I had soaked it up more but we thought he was cured and we celebrated. I am very thankful it has been a crazy week or I would have thought about all of this more. I think this will be harder than Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Fathers Day. I'll be thinking about him a lot this week. After all, he was there 31 years ago this week when I was born.