SIMPLE, QUIET, BEAUTY.

Image courtesy of "xura" at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Last year I started reading a book by Paula Munier titled "Writing with Quiet Hands"

More than anything else, it started me thinking about how we all write these days. We don't write with quiet hands, we write with noisy hurried hands, even now I sit here tapping away at a keyboard, my fingers furiously attempting to keep pace with my flow of thoughts. If I'm writing with a pen my hand is about twenty words behind my brain, struggling to keep up in case the thought vanishes,  and it all becomes illegible. That's how it almost always is.

This sparked me off onto doing Calligraphy for a bit of a hobby. It forces me to slow down, to think about each letter and word, to make each shape correctly, adhering to line and form. The results are pleasing, both to the eye and to the soul.

But this book also got me thinking about other matters. I started thinking about other words and how they reflect and react in our daily lives. I started thinking about; Simple, Quiet, Beauty. So I'm going to briefly examine each word, and then I'll stick it all together at the end.

SIMPLE.  Unadorned, Uncomplicated, Uncluttered, Without Commotion, Direct, Obvious, Clarity, Purity.

To write with simplicity, is to express much, while saying little. To follow simple rules of grammar. To use simple words. To achieve purity of expression. Simple words are easily remembered, and are long lasting.

QUIET. Stillness, Silence, Absence of Noise, Humble, Simple, Calm, Unannounced, Peaceful.

To write quietly, is to write with a humble pen. The words formed need no announcement, they speak for themselves. They do not need to be trumpeted forth. They draw the eye and do not assault the ear. Their echoes linger in soul and spirit.

BEAUTY. Attractive, Pleasing, Vibrant, Adds Adornment, Light, Enhancing.

To write with Beauty, every stroke of the pen has line and form. Like Japanese Calligraphy, every word is a picture, it has shape and meaning. The paper that bears the word is itself a piece of that art. Words that carry beauty are often found on their own. They need no sentence to give them meaning.

When words are written in simple, quiet, beauty, they need no fanfare. They rest on the page and draw the eye, not to themselves, but to their truths.

They do not declare their value, but invite us to draw from them.

They do not demand our attention, they offer us direction.

They do not ask a question, but invite us to stop and ponder.

They are trustworthy, filling us with confidence and hope. Truth is made evident.

They cannot lie, because that would make them ugly, noisy, ambiguous.

Here then, are three words of quiet, simple, beauty.


GOD IS LOVE.

What Isaiah said about Miley

Isaiah 2 vs 22 reads. "Stop trusting in mere humans who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem." NIV 2011.
Some years ago I heard a story about Frank Herbert, author of the "Dune" series. He posited the idea that, of the many U.S. presidents, Nixon was one of the best, and JFK one of the worst. His reasoning was this. Through Nixon, the American people learned, that the highest authority in the land could be challenged, be exposed in their corruption, held accountable and removed from office. In John F Kennedy, the people exalted him to god like status, and when he was assassinated the people fell with him. This was the original premise of the "Dune" trilogy. What happens, when a man becomes a god, and then fails?
The problem lies in this, man is not created to recieve worship. We are not intended to worship anything other than our creator God. The things we place before us in veneration, are the things that shape us. We take on their characteristics. If we exalt money as our ideal, that is what we become, it takes the place of highest importance, and our day to day life is therefore ruled by the rising and falling value of the dollar, and how much of it we own. Our self image and sense of worth therefore, is attached to what we have. Not to who we are.
Which brings us to Miley Cyrus. While I'm not about to defend what happened at the VMA. I am going to query our reaction to it. Why was there such outcry?
Let's start with Will Smith, or more specifically the Smith family. We all saw the picture of their cringing reaction. Well first off, who made the Smith family the guardians of our moral compass. Oh yes the kids are young, but given some past performances at previous VMA's, what were you expecting? Oh that's right, Hannah Montana. But she's all grown up now, I'll get to that in a minute. Will Smith, lets look at his career. First a hit single called "Get jiggy with it" whatever the heck that means. Isn't that loaded verbally, with as much sexual inuendo as a bit of "twerking" whatever the heck that is? What about Will's movies, an early role was in "Six degrees" in which he plays a gay/bisexual scam artist, playing upon peoples attachment to racial sensitivities and personality cult status. Now I'm not getting down on Will, far from it. I like a lot of the stuff he's done. Just not that movie. No doubt Will might say it was just a role, he was acting out a character. Well that's fine, we are generally smart enough to know, that the character is not you.
Now we get to the part where it all gets twisted. Miley Cyrus, is NOT Hannah Montana. Shocked? Apparently half of America was. What about the performance? Micheal Jackson made a career of crotch grabbing, and everybody still loves him right? Is she trying to be the new Madonna? Well do we need another? What about Kylie Minogue? That sweet lovable girl from neighbours, didn't she go this same route with her stage shows and lingerie adds? Nikki Webster, the sweet girl from the 2000 Olympics, who at 18 started posing for mens magazines? Lets add two more to the mix. Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. Now we see the problem right? They came through Disney, Lindsay, Britney and now Miley. So we've been sold this image of sweet wholesomeness, a manufactured facade that these girls obviously want to break out from, and be themselves, except the pendulum swing is so violent.
But it's not confined to Disney, I'm not blaming them either. This happened in the world of Contemporary Christian Music as well. Amy Grant. A sweet wholesome girl that sang "El Shaddai" "Fathers Eyes" and more, then she grew up and got married. Then she changed, and I knew she was going to. Because she became a woman. She became a sexual being. Out went the conservative Amy and out came harder rock numbers and leopard print pants. For some this was just too much, she obviously was no longer a christian. For me this was when her music got better, much better. It had a real life edge to it. I loved it.
Back to Miley, wasn't her VMA performance just that? A persona, an act, it's what she's been doing for years. Wasn't it choreographed for her and rehearsed? None of her fellow performers were surprised by it. It wasn't a random brain explosion stage invasion. The real problem is this. It wasn't Hannah Montana.
Now, this is what Isaiah says to us. Why was our trust put in a fake persona? HANNAH MONTANA DOESN'T EXIST? Just the ideal that you worshipped. Well your idols have feet of clay. They are all too easily toppled. And when your idols topple. Or more accurately, when their true self and nature is revealed, so is ours. We don't like what we see. Someone once said. "Evil men do what good men dream about." Well on some levels that is true.
We don't like the truth when it is exposed in us. It's not Miley Cyrus that offends us, it is ourselves.

The Temporal Illusion

When did bling become everything?

Have we developed an imbalanced approach to things that don't last?
The newest fad in a celebrity mag. Are they useful tools or toys that distract?
The latest consumer must haves, the need that misleads.
Like Bowerbirds and Jackdaws, littering our nests with the pretty and glittery.
They never satisfy because someone's always got a newer one, bigger one, better one.
Our unhealthy obsession with wood hay and stubble, It'll all stay behind, buried in the rubble.
Identity is lost in the last thing while we scrabble to buy the new.
To maintain our fleeting grasp on currency. Lost in the need to individualise, to stand out, we drown in the crowd.
Buying in to this corrupted, consumerist reimaging, we sell ourselves.

Celebrity status is a delusion of fame, no person more important than any other name.
Should never demand special exclusive treatment.
But still they do because we say it's so.
We build the pedestal lofty and high, pulling them down when they fail to fly.
They're human after all, did we really think they couldn't fall?
The sad side effect of the popularity drug, they cloak themselves in security.
Fanatical obsession pushes them into fearful sad isolation.
As the limelight fades, trying to fan the flame that burned bright.
But it's too late, we've moved on.
They once looked new.
Stay the same or change, it's a losing game.

And the church is not immune to this roundabout ride.
It's our broken nature a fault we can't hide.
Copy the world and play the game.
Put all your stock in the one's with fame.
We hurt the one that gave us His name.
It's not about me, are the words that set free.
Jesus told us "what to expect if you follow me"
It won' t be easy, it can get kind of rough.
Don't waste your time on all sorts of stuff.
Set someone else before yourself.
Not to lift them high, but to help them up.

Life's not about the things we collect, the things that don't last.
Their importance is fleeting, it happens so fast.
Eternity measures the things that add up.
Are they lasting and precious or just about us?
What did we count as important and real?
Mere riches on earth?
Well that's not the deal.

A Secular Misapprehension of Church Growth.

There is deep rooted misunderstanding, call it fear or mistrust even, when it comes to the secular worlds view of the christian church, and church growth. This especially prevalent in the media and how it reports on the church.

I am going to attempt to disect this a little, try to shed a bit of light on it. I have no hard data for what I am about to write, just my own thoughts and observations. I may be wrong about a few things but possibly not. you may perceive them as wrong, maybe until you take the time to give it some serious thought. So I am going to start with the secular view, draw some analogies and then bring my conclusion.

So let's begin. I think the problem, or a large part of it, is found in language. The language that is written and spoken. What do I mean by that? Well not english or french obviously. I mean the secular terminology, where growth is expressed or thought of in terms of equity and assets. Some of the language used, is in words like; cap, limit, ceiling. Anything that is built by way of a facility, is according to space, population density and projected or prescribed need.
Think about building a Golf Course. How many members do you need? Well as many as can tee off in winter (because of the shorter days). Plus maybe 20% to allow for absences. Then there are weekday members, same limit rules apply. Now it is a matter of economy, what does it cost to administrate that number of members. So you can see, there is a limit, yet there will never be a shortage of people wanting to play. However, there is still a limit of how many people, in groups of four, can tee off and play 18 holes of golf, if they all play well and quickly.
Now think about the movies. The Cinema complex does this a bit better. Again they are limited by; size, space, available parking etc. They know, in times of high demand, how many sessions they can run, on multiple screens in one day. The movie could be running on 4 screens, with staggered start times to accomodate demand, and they can start earlier and finsh later if they need to. It all just depends on the season and length of the film.
Speaking of films, the secular approach is perhaps best described in the phrase "If you build it they will come". This approach is born out of creating a need, rather than responding to one.

Now we come to the church. Everything is now different, some of the rules will still apply, but some are the opposite. We are still restricted somewhat by space and logistics, but like the cinema, we can run to multiple sessions. When they no longer suffice, it's time to look for a new or extra facility.
The language of the church is shaped by an eternal mindset, numbers without limit. There is no membership cap. The approach is not if we build, but we have to build, because they are already coming.
So when the secular mind sees the church growing and expanding, they see the new buildings as assets and equity. Therefor they respond with, wait for it...."It's all about the money"
The truth is it's not. It's about people, (which the secular mind views as a customer base). It's about eternal principles, a soul that is either rescued or lost for eternity. We can't say come back next week, or session full. There is only the now, because who knows if they will ever have another now. The movie will run tomorrow, or wait for the DVD. the golf Course will be open all week for public play. But eternity may start after the next heartbeat.
When demand exceeds capacity, you have no choice, you have to build.

OK I will concede one point here. Yes, there are some, especially in America, who set themselves up in ministry as an income stream, and they teach (hammer) the prosperity doctrine for their own ends. And this is where a lot of the criticism is aimed. But that is not the true doctrine of the christian church.The story of Babel is a poignant reminder of what happens when humanity builds to promote and exalt itself. The true doctrine puts others ahead of self, even to the point of our own personal loss. It builds to serve the needs of humanity, not the needs of a few elite humans. And certainly not for personal monetary gain.