The Second Chapter
Most of you do not know, but this is a long awaited post. For some time now I have had a mostly unspoken dream. Most of the time i have simply described it as "my walk". For those of you who are familiar with what I have been wanted to do you should know that I am planning on leaving on Monday. For those of you who need a little more information that that let me outline this walk of mine and why I am wanting to set out on it.
The idea for this walk just kind of came to me three or four years ago. I was reading in the gospels where Jesus sent out his disciples in pairs with no money and told them to go to a town, stay there in one place and eat was was fed them. If they were not received then they were to walk to the edge of the town, beat the dust from their shoes and keep walking. As I was reading this I remember thinking, "Man, that is really cool going out and having the faith that the community, the church, will take care of you. Why can't we still do that?" This thought was a pretty depressing one to me. As I have grown in my faith in God, my faith in the church that is supposed to be his bride has not grown at the same, or even a fraction of the same rate. This was when the idea for the walk was born. Perhaps the reason that we cannot still go out and rely solely on the church for our support and sustenance in the day to day journey is because we do not ever try. Perhaps this journey would teach me to see that the church is more than a dying cultural and religious structure devoid of the faith and life that Christ calls her to. Perhaps just by my going and rattling preconceptions and routines I can play some infinitesimal part in keeping her vibrant and alive. Perhaps all of my disillusionment with the American corporate church structure is grossly unfounded. I do not know but starting Monday I guess we will try and see.
Mind You, I do not pretend to think that I am some sort of apostle , but I am a follower of Christ who happens to have quite a few big questions. I also grew up reading lots, one of my favorite books last year was Under the Overpass and one of my favorites in middle school was Peter Jenkins Walk Across America. This get out there and experience life mentality has always appealed to me. Add to that an undergraduate degree in Sociology, a discipline that does lots of in depth field study, and a love of camping. Now you might begin to see where I cam coming from, and why I plan on going this direction for a while.
If you would like to follow along, first of all know that my spelling will be terrible, if you need any proof just go read some of the entries in this blog from my 2006 trip to Thailand. Secondly you should know that this blog will be my main source of communication as I go. I plan on walking for half of the week and stopping at churches along my path for the other half. So if all goes to plan (insert copious laughter) i will be updating this blog once a week from my host churches, wherever that happens to be that week.
The idea for this walk just kind of came to me three or four years ago. I was reading in the gospels where Jesus sent out his disciples in pairs with no money and told them to go to a town, stay there in one place and eat was was fed them. If they were not received then they were to walk to the edge of the town, beat the dust from their shoes and keep walking. As I was reading this I remember thinking, "Man, that is really cool going out and having the faith that the community, the church, will take care of you. Why can't we still do that?" This thought was a pretty depressing one to me. As I have grown in my faith in God, my faith in the church that is supposed to be his bride has not grown at the same, or even a fraction of the same rate. This was when the idea for the walk was born. Perhaps the reason that we cannot still go out and rely solely on the church for our support and sustenance in the day to day journey is because we do not ever try. Perhaps this journey would teach me to see that the church is more than a dying cultural and religious structure devoid of the faith and life that Christ calls her to. Perhaps just by my going and rattling preconceptions and routines I can play some infinitesimal part in keeping her vibrant and alive. Perhaps all of my disillusionment with the American corporate church structure is grossly unfounded. I do not know but starting Monday I guess we will try and see.
Mind You, I do not pretend to think that I am some sort of apostle , but I am a follower of Christ who happens to have quite a few big questions. I also grew up reading lots, one of my favorite books last year was Under the Overpass and one of my favorites in middle school was Peter Jenkins Walk Across America. This get out there and experience life mentality has always appealed to me. Add to that an undergraduate degree in Sociology, a discipline that does lots of in depth field study, and a love of camping. Now you might begin to see where I cam coming from, and why I plan on going this direction for a while.
If you would like to follow along, first of all know that my spelling will be terrible, if you need any proof just go read some of the entries in this blog from my 2006 trip to Thailand. Secondly you should know that this blog will be my main source of communication as I go. I plan on walking for half of the week and stopping at churches along my path for the other half. So if all goes to plan (insert copious laughter) i will be updating this blog once a week from my host churches, wherever that happens to be that week.
posted by jmpingspyder at 1:08 PM
1 Comments:
Congrats, Will! What you're doing takes great courage (and shoes :-). As John Quincy Adams said, "Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." May your committment, patience and perserverance as the miles pass have the same effect. We're praying for you! Can't wait to learn from your journey! --Bob
Post a Comment
<< Home