Joining the Dance

Joining the Dance:
The Active Presence of the Holy Spirit, Week 5

How, then, shall we live?

For me this is the central question of all theology. If we spend ten breaths talking about what the Spirit of God is, we should spend ten hundred talking about how that understanding should shape our behavior and ten thousand walking, along with Christ, doing whatever it is that our theology calls forth from us.

Truly, how, then, shall we live?

The Holy Spirit is like the breath.

The Holy Spirit is like the womb.

The Holy Spirit is in the swirl of the Trinity's dance.

The WaySide Community

The WaySide Community
by Diane Rheos, current Launch & Lead student

The WaySide Community came about when pastor Linda Quanstrom had two unconnected conversations with church members. Diane Rheos is a Launch and Lead participant and had been sharing with her about Missional Wisdom and her search for intentional community. Soon after, Nathan and Laurel Howard mentioned to her that they had been researching intentional community. "Miraculously" at the same time, the lease on the Fremont United Methodist Church parsonage came up.

A new community carried by the flow of generosity.

It's amazing how fast our first four months have gone by! We began The WaySide, our intentional community, last November. Our house is located in the parsonage of Fremont United Methodist Church, in Portland, Oregon.

The Womb

The Womb
The Active Presence of the Holy Spirit, Week 4
by Andrea Lingle

When I was a kid, I could beat seminarians in Bible trivia. It depended on the version, but most of the time, I could win against a team. This was not the social boon you might imagine. I read through the entire Bible, including the genealogies, before I was twelve. I memorized piles of Bible verses. Incidentally, many of them focused on obedience and kindness; well played, Mom, well played. I had the answers. I could recite creeds, prayers, and doctrines, and I knew they would keep me safe.

Friendship House

Friendship House
by Matthew Floding, Director of Ministerial Formation, Duke Divinity School

Friendship House is a residential ministerial formation opportunity at Duke Divinity School, Vanderbilt Divinity School and Western Theological Seminary (MI). In each of these, divinity or seminary students live in intentional community with persons with an intellectual or developmental disability. Our life is ordered around the community building blocks Jean Vanier articulated (founder of L'Arche communities), Eat Together, Pray Together, Celebrate Together!

The Breath

The Breath
The Active Presence of the Holy Spirit, Week 3

By Andrea Lingle

Do you know what I find frustrating? When people tell me to try something without a great deal of explanation. I want to know what I should be looking for. I want to know what I am in for. I want to know.

But that is not how we learn to breathe is it? When you emerged into the world, covered in the paraphernalia of birth, you had one task: to breathe. You coughed, snorted, and wolfed down lungs full of the one thing your body cannot go an hour without. Air.

Natural Playground

Haw Creek Commons Natural Playground
by Katey Rudd

The natural playground that we spotlighted as just a dream a few months ago has now become a reality!

The playground includes a trail system, outdoor kids’ chapel and education space, three tiered platform, a slide embedded in the hill on the trail, a log bordered sandbox, a log balance beam system, four tunnels to grow hops for a local brewery, and two nature tables to inspire children to use nature to make temporary creations.

The Dance

The Dance
The Active Presence of the Holy Spirit, Week 2
By Andrea Lingle

You know those moments in life that expose you for the faker you are?

I have no clear understanding of the Trinity.

There. I said it.

I have an understanding of God as an unknowable entity to whose operations we apply different names.

God is...

Missional Imagination in Action

Missional Imagination in Action

by Rachel Wells

Missional Imagination is one of the most popular, most talked about courses in Missional Wisdom Foundation's online learning program, Launch & Lead. In this course, students are encouraged to actively look for places in which God is already breaking into the world, and ways in which they can join in and continue that work. It is my privilege to be married to the instructor of the course, the ever-eloquent Dr. Bret Wells, so I hear about Missional Imagination often. Bret and I also talk with our children daily about finding ways to see Jesus at work and in others.

A Life and Death Matter...

A Life and Death Matter of the Holy Spirit

The Active Presence of the Holy Spirit, Week 1

By Adam White

“Theology is truly a matter of life and death.”

This is what my then-professor, Dr. Joerg Rieger, said to all of us students on the first day of our Systematic Theology class at Perkins School of Theology in the fall of 2012. My immediate reaction was thinking – “I don’t think I signed up for the right course…I wonder if there is enough time to still swap classes. I hear Prayer and Spirituality is being offered this semester.”

Reports from the Spiritual Frontier

Reports from the Spiritual Frontier
by Benjamin Yosua-Davis

Reports from the Spiritual Frontier is a podcast series dedicated to telling the stories of people who live and work on the spiritual margins of our culture. Benjamin Yosua-Davis strongly believes that our religious pioneers may currently possess the greatest insight into what it means to follow Jesus and be the church in the 21st century. His goal is to provide a place for those pioneers to share their wisdom and experiences with the wider church, as we all figure out how to be faithful in our changing religious landscape.

Journey

Journey
by Robert Bishop

We at the Missional Wisdom Foundation have struggled with our elevator pitch almost since the beginning.

How does one describe all of Missional Wisdom’s various projects?

Our work touches a lot of people in a lot of ways and in a lot of places, and it can be hard to connect all of the pieces without a whole lot of explanation. We tried various metaphors to describe our mission in general terms, but never quite hit on a summative image.

Recently, we settled on a single, simple sentence:

Devotional, Wisdom for the WayMissional Wisdom FoundationFebruary 22, 2017journey, experiment, learning, Launch & Lead, Robert BishopComment

A Practice of Photography

A Practice of Photography
by Ryan Klinck

As we prepare to begin a new series of devotional thoughts in a couple of weeks, we are taking this time to spotlight some new work of several Missional Wisdom Foundation staff members.

This past semester at Perkins School of Theology, I led groups of students through a spiritual practice that I designed for a final project in my Spiritual Practices and Pathways class. This spiritual practice interwove aspects of lectio divina, silence, iconography, and film photography into prayer space. Many students were moved by the experience, especially during a time when they were overwhelmed with finals.

Why Do I Witness?

Why Do I Witness?
by Ryan Klinck

The Witness section of the Missional Wisdom Rule of Life calls for us to practice racial and gender reconciliation, to resist evil and injustice, and to pursue peace with justice. This story describes the efforts of one of our employees to live into that commitment…

Saturday, January 28th, a couple thousand strangers spontaneously gathered together at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport to protest the detainment of nine human beings as a result of President Trump's executive order. While eating dinner that night, some friends and I received an invitation. We knew we had to go, what choice did we have?

Spotlight, Wisdom for the WayMissional Wisdom FoundationFebruary 10, 2017Rule of Life, Ryan Klinck, justice, witnessComment

Retrospective

Retrospective
The Rule of Life, Week 16
By Andrea Lingle

I commit to this rule of life and to the well-being of this community, out of gratitude to God who forgives, heals, and makes all things new. May my life be a blessing within and beyond God’s church, for the transformation of the world.
-From the MWF Rule of Life

So, we did it. We talked about a Rule of Life for sixteen consecutive weeks.

And I think it has changed my life.

Devotional, Wisdom for the WayAndrea LingleFebruary 8, 2017Rule of Life, Theme III, Andrea Lingle, spiritual practiceComment

Cade's 3 Pepper Salsa

Cade's 3 Pepper Salsa
by Justin Hancock, Denise Crane, and Rachel Wells

We have now attended two Julian Way dinners with this young man, Cade Ford, and his parents, Lance and Kim. As of this writing, Cade is a 17 year old high school student. He is connecting with Justin, Lisa, and the Julian Way because his family is beginning to see that thought should be given now to what a more independent life beyond high school might look like for Cade.

The Importance of Witness

The Importance of Witness
The Rule of Life, Week 15
by Adam White

We will share the redeeming, healing, creative love of God in word, deed and presence as an invitation to others to experience the transforming love of God
-From the MWF Rule of Life

You are a witness.

Really, you are! For instance, you are currently giving witness by way of reading a weekly devotional, for which we are very appreciative.

Devotional, Wisdom for the WayAdam WhiteFebruary 1, 2017Adam White, Theme III, Rule of Life, witness, Simple HarmonyComment

When Brunch Becomes a Feast

The Mix Coworking - When Brunch Becomes a Feast
by Rhonda Sweet

I had the pleasure of catering a wedding sendoff brunch for a wonderful couple here in The Mix. As their guests trickled in, each curious about this unique space, some began to ask me questions and were even interested in a tour. My client of course approved, and what I witnessed on this tour was a feast for the eyes and hearts.

Spotlight, Wisdom for the WayMissional Wisdom FoundationJanuary 27, 2017The Mix, Rhonda Sweet, community, hospitalityComment

Pursuing Justice

Pursuing Justice
The Rule of Life, Week 14
By Adam White

We will pursue peace with justice
-From the MWF Rule of Life

If you could live at anytime in history, when and where would it be? Who would you want to see? What would you do? Why?

As a once-student-of-history, these are the questions I still find time to dream about. Me? What period of time and location in history would I want to visit? Be careful asking that--this newsletter is supposed to be short!

Devotional, Wisdom for the WayAdam WhiteJanuary 25, 2017Adam White, justice, Rule of Life, Theme III, peace, Simple Harmony, WesleyComment

Stories from Bonhoeffer House

Stories from Bonhoeffer House
by Ryan Klinck, Bonhoeffer House Steward

When I first met Mike, he was a fellow from our group of homeless friends who frequented the Bonhoeffer House, that kept mostly to himself. He did not engage conversation much, came for the food, and was fine sitting quietly in the corner, doing his own thing.

Reflecting the Light Inside

Reflecting the Light Inside
The Rule of Life, Week 13
By Adam White

We will practice racial, gender, and other forms of reconciliation wherever we find sinful and destructive walls of division between people
-From the MWF Rule of Life

The first toy I ever remember playing with as a child was a glass triangular prism. I used to lie on the ground by the window on sunny days and play with the prism, refracting the light that was coming through the sun onto different surfaces. Sometimes, I’ll admit, I would shine the light into the eyes of my older siblings and parents. What captivated me most about this tiny, seemingly insignificant glass object was how the light could be refracted and present an array of colors that could change shape.

Devotional, Wisdom for the WayAdam WhiteJanuary 18, 2017Adam White, Rule of Life, Theme III, reconciliationComment