I would be the first to admit that my exit from blogging world last week was rather a snap decision – albeit a right one – and as a result I hadn’t thought thru what to do with this blog… whether to delete it, keep it, hide it etc… all that sort of stuff.

Having chewed on it for a week I have decided to leave it up intact, as I do hope to be back writing again when this break is over.

Many thanks to all who have commented and written. It is really nice to know that what you do is appreciated and valued. I regularly read thru all the blogs listed on the sidebar so I will be able to stay in touch with your life as much as you choose to post and reveal!

Also, after pulling the plug, I remembered that I did agree to write 3 blog book reviews for people who have sent me their latest publications. I will probably post those reviews on here at some stage over the rest of 2007 as I want to honour those commitments.

In the meantime the ‘backyardmissionary test pattern’ is in place and this time I will actually leave you with some words that have been significant to me in the last week as I move into a different place in life for a while:

The Message Col 3:1-4

Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

“The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.”

C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity

Over the last few years I found my morning routine involved waking up and then after getting the kids breakfast and getting my own breakfast I would flick on the laptop to check email and read a few blogs. This year we were offered the ‘West Australian’ newspaper home delivered for $2.00/week until July and I said ‘yes’ to that. So now I had email, blogs and newspaper to read first thing… And then there is everything to do each day…

I found that often by the time I had dealt with email and blogs I wasn’t getting around to time in the scriptures, but was heading off to work. Now with a newspaper to read it only exacerbated the issue.

This year I thought it would be a simple practice to simply rearrange the order of the variables to reflect what I would like download smart people online my life to be shaped by, so part of my personal practices for 2007 involves not turning on the laptop or opening the paper until I have spent some time reflecting on scripture. I have also made Saturday a ‘computer off’ day.

Its so easy for stuff to get out of kilter and for us to not actually live out of the priorities we say we hold. I’m not one for a 30 minute ‘quiet time’. I’m more for spending time with God and sometimes it will be 15 mins and sometimes a couple of hours. I don’t think the time value is the key, but I do think regularly putting yourself in the space to meet God does allow for personal renewal.

Its easy for things to get out of control.

Its also very easy to make choices to re-shape the way we live.

Funnily enough that newspaper doesn’t get read very often!good dvd divx glory

This year Danelle and I will be going back to a traditional church.

No I’m not kidding. I will explain in a moment, but first a digression.

If technorati were working properly then yesterday I would have finally made it to the first page of blogs tagged with ‘Emerging Church’ and I would have been able to bask in my considerable fame… (tongue now coming out of cheek) but for some reason mine doesn’t show up on their lists any longer and I have been denied this much needed ego gratification…

Since then Jamie has clocked another two links and bumped me out anyway! (Then again if TSK didn’t hold 3 of the top 10 spots everybody would have a much fairer shot )

Ok – enough narcissistic frivolity…

I’m pretty sure everywhere I go these days my name gets linked to the ’emerging church’ and that’s fine as far as it goes. I’m guessing it causes people who don’t know me to think of me in certain ways – like this kind hearted blogger who has been criticised by some emerging church guys and writes:

“I just love that-here you have 15-20 people”usually guys, who sit in rooms smoking cigars and drinking beer, debating theology while the world around them goes to hell”and somehow they think they’ve “got it!” In my opinion the only thing that needs to “emerge” from the emerging church is their head out of their rear ends so that they can better listen to God and fulfill the Great Commission.”

What can you say to that?…

Others would perceive us less harshly and still others who know us would see us differently again. Such is the limitations of this online medium.

So chances are when I say that Danelle and I have decided to get involved again with a tradtional church some of you might wonder what the hell is going on. Have we ‘deserted the ship?!’

So here’s the story…

Over the last year or so I have been praying each day that we will have some older Christians 60+’s come and join us at Upstream to add a different dimension to our group and I have been praying that we will know how to diversify the community we are currently creating.

But after a year of praying and seeking some people out, it hasn’t happened.

I believe diversity and variety in a Christian community is incredibly valuable and important and I would like us (Danelle and I) as well as our kids in contact with a wider range of people than we currently see regularly.

On the Sunday morning of Christmas eve we went to mum and dad’s church (Scarborough Baptist

) a smaller community about 40 minutes south of where we live – the church where I grew up and where I served as a youth pastor for 5 years. Over that morning I was deeply aware again that we were missing some of what was happening in this community. And as I sat around the morning tea table with some of the old guys and chatted about fishing I was also aware of how much we are still loved and valued by the people there – and also awae of how much we love them and value them too.

I sensed God speaking again about the need to do something in regard to placing ourselves in more diverse community and I felt like he was saying ‘why not here?’. We have several churches up this way that we could get to quicker and easier, and that also have many more programs for kids as well as the bells and whistles that are supposed to be so vital to church life, but we have made a commitment to be part of the Scarborough Baptist Community once a month for this coming year because of the sense of community we experience there.

We know we aren’t going to be wowed by funky music or extravagant programs – but the further along I go, the less I care for these things. What I do know is that we will be in a community of people where we will be loved and supported (because many still know us from the old days) and where our kids will be able to engage with a much wider range of people than at present. We have also offered to contribute what we can as we are able so that we aren’t spectators in the scheme of things.

Is it a big decision for us to head back to a ‘normal’ church?

Not really.

And I say that because despite pursuing an experimental approach to church and despite seeing the flaws in the traditional system we didn’t ever step out because of that.

It just feels like the ‘right thing’ to do at this juncture.

So on the first Sunday of each month we will make the drive down to Scarborough to join a bunch of people who are in many ways (by contemporary church standards) quite unimpressive – but amongst whom we feel a strong sense of love and connection. My hope is that as we do this we will be stretched and grown in our discipleship and we will also be able to challenge some of the people there with some of what we have been learning up here.

And Perry – if I ever do get my head out of my arse long enough I may just drop in at your church and say hello… might even put some money in your offering…

Then again…