I've been thinking a lot about the Ring lately. Most of my time has been directed toward community groups and praying for ways to strengthen the community that is the Ring, but some of it has been broader in scope, asking even what it means to be "The Ring". What does the very name mean? How does it form and inform what we do as a community and how we define ourselves? I think for a long time we defined it as the thing we would put people into, if that makes sense. We were certainly not alone, as this is the generally accepted method for churches around the world.
As we've been giving it more thought, though, it seems that there are some different components to this name and what it might mean for us as a community. One of these new components we've discussed before and I'll post it again tomorrow night. For now, though, I'd like to talk about the Ring not so much as a "thing" or a "place" but as an aural reminder of a different reality.
Just as we're called to be salt and light, and even a pleasant aroma, I think the Ring is representative of our community simply sounding like good news to Baton Rouge. The picture I got while thinking about this was of the phones in
The Matrix. When it begins, the phone ringing opens up a world of mystery for Neo and for us as the audience as well. There's a new reality lurking on the other side of that ring and Neo has to answer it and trust the message.
It takes a couple of times for the message to sink in, which is kind of important, too, but we'll talk about that stuff later ;) Towards the end of the movie, though, that ringing becomes more and more important. It's life or death, and when the people hear it, it brings simultaneously a sense of relief and urgency.
Can we be that sort of community? One that proclaims the Kingdom as good news and the truth of reality, even when it is unseen? When people are around us, do they feel drawn to the sense of relief we offer, or are we the type of "ring" that just annoys people. Do we sound off at the most
inappropriate moments? Are we offering our world grace and hope? More importantly at the moment, are we the type of community that gives them freely to each other?
I think the choice is ours, we can be The Ring for Baton Rouge, a community being affected daily by the Kingdom. All we have to do is point to it, to how we see God moving to heal and redeem BR and the world, and to trust in His Kingdom when it seems more invisible than ever.
Been around the world...
Ok, so in the past three months I have gone from California to Louisiana to Mississippi to Louisiana to California to Louisiana to Mississippi to Louisiana to Tennessee to Ohio to Louisiana.
I am a bit tired. Coming back from Ohio, I was going to stay the night in Memphis on New Year's Eve, but when it came down to it, I just wanted to be in my own bed and act like I actually LIVE somewhere for at least a few days. I am weary and a bit worn down, but I am here in Baton Rouge and here I will stay (until I feel God calling me somewhere else).
So, now that I have a home (I've even paid rent already), there are a few things that will need to be accomplished:
1. Find a job. I have a few potential leads, but as of now I am unemployed. To give you an idea of the Baton Rouge job market, Lebraix put my resume in at his office for a Coordinator position and they already had about 60 applicants, including a couple of PhD's.
2. Help start a church. I moved here mainly because the Ring, the ministry I worked with before I left for California, is (finally) becoming a church. Since my degree has been in basically forming Christian communities in North America, I think this might be a good fit ;) As long as I was in CA, anything of worth that I learned would be immediately applied to the Ring and how we can respond to God's work in Baton Rouge. It's a little easier said than done, though, when you live a few states away. Now that I'm here, I'm excited and ready to see how God is moving in each person here.
3. Connect/Reconnect. This is one of the harder things to do and one of the easier things at the same time. My friends here in Baton Rouge have been so gracious and loving to me, even when I've been a bit flaky. In Sierra Madre, pop. 10,000, I basically hung out with my neighbors, my roommate(s), Brooke and Jillian. Although this may seem boring, it was awesome. In Baton Rouge, pop. 350,000, I feel a bit overwhelmed by all the people I get to hang out with here. It will be very easy to hide away in cave, but I guess I'll have to get over the introvert thing and meet new people as well as fit back into the lives of everyone I knew before. This is where the whole weariness thing really shows up, though.
That's basically life right now, I think I'm going to start throwing out more discussion-based posts in the next couple of weeks, especially as I'll want to start bouncing ideas off of as many people as possible. I'm also starting to work on my own little website, but I think it will be a while still before I get to finish anything with that. I don't know if you know this, but it helps with web stuff if you actually know what you're doing. Crazy but true!
