Mike King

Imagination

We have a sentence in our Youthfront DNA description which says, "We strive to be creative youth workers who engage in theology, ministry, formation, practice, relationships, service and life with a prophetic imagination that cooperates fully with the Mission of God."

I love the word "imagination" in a data-driven and saturated world.   For too many centuries the cognitive science of "knowing" has been hailed as the only way to know.  We need to accumulate more facts, apply logic and we will achieve certainty in all things knowable. 

Albert Einstein who is exalted as one of the most intelligent and logical persons of all time declared, "Imagination is more important than information."

We live in a world where data and information is expanding so rapidly that it is impossible to keep up with it in any manageable manner.  In Friedman's book Failure of Nerve, he states, "It is not advancing technology that is creating the information bind, however; it is societal regression, first by perverting the natural instincts of curiosity and adventure into a dogged quest for certainty, and second by focusing on pathology rather than on strength.  The thinking processes in an age of discovery that is marked by a spirit of wonder are quite different from those that characterize an anxiety-driven dash for 'the truth.'  The latter is more likely to lead to reductionist thinking, the reification of models, and an overbearing seriousness, all of which rigidify rather than free the imaginative capacity."

Utilizing our God given ability to know and learn holistically with not only our minds but also our heart, soul, and guts are what drives imagination.  Imagination is fueled by the awareness that there is so much more to know about God, truth, beauty, etc. than we are able to comprehend.  There is so much more to know about the beauty, the depth and the mystery of God's Kingdom and God's character than we can fathom.  If we think we know Jesus Christ, our imagination fires a passion that fuels a knowing that helps us understand that we are only scratching the surface of the grandeur of our Lord.  This imagination spurs us on to creatively live life to the full while being freely linked to the yoke of Christ. 

I believe this is part of what Jesus is touching on when he declares that unless we become like little children we will miss life in the Kingdom of Heaven.  A child is full of faith, wonder, openness, acceptance, creatively curious about everything, open and passionate about discovering.  Woe unto those who, with their certainty, cause these little ones to stumble or sin...

Jen Wilson's thoughts and highlights from her Pilgrimage

John 21 is my favorite story of Jesus to read in the Bible. I’m not entirely sure why other than it seems really personal. During one of my two summers as a cabin leader at YF Camp South, the speaker for the week read this story aloud and we were supposed to picture it with ourselves and our friends as the characters. It was a beautiful feeling to think about being able to sit down with this friend, who you’d thought you’d lost and to be able to spend just one more meal with them. For some reason I have always been challenged by and found comfort in this story. One of the highlights of my trip to Israel was going to the very spot where this story took place. I stood right by the Sea of Galilee and saw where Jesus would have stood on the shore and called to his disciples. There was a church there that was built around a large rock that may have been right where they sat and ate together. Where Peter had to answer Jesus three times when he asked, "Do you love me?" When I was sitting on a rock by the sea that day I thought to myself "There is no other place in the world that I would rather be."

Another highlight for me came on our last day of the trip. We went to the Garden Tomb- one of the spots thought to be where Jesus was buried and resurrected. A few days before this particular one we visited another possible site of Jesus’s death located within the Church of the Holy Seplicur. It was one of the most disheartening things I’ve ever seen. Here at this place that was supposed to be holy and a place of joy and excitement was actually a picture of tension, anxiety, and hate. Masses of people were standing in line to get in the tomb. They were pushing, arguing, taking pictures, videoing, and fighting for their place in line- fighting to be the first ones to see the tomb of Jesus. Ironic? I thought so. It was not about Jesus. Our visit to the Garden Tomb brought with it a much different experience. We were guided around this beautiful and peaceful garden by a very sweet old british man. He gave us very convincing evidence suggesting that this was the actual place of Jesus’s death and resurrection. Yet despite all of this very convincing information, our tour guide kept stressing that it is not about the place, it is about the person. It is about the man who came here to offer salvation to all the world! It was an amazing place, but more importantly, it was about an amazing man. Following our tour we all shared communion and reminisced as a group. It was a beautiful moment. It was about Jesus.

On Pilgrimage

With another three inches of snow falling in Kansas City it is a good day to depart on a Pilgrimage to the Middle East.  I'm taking a small group of mostly young people who have worked at YouthFront Camp and go to Jacob's Well.  YouthFront staff member Nick Pickrell, who used to be in my Student Life club and church youth group, will be making his first Pilgrimage to the Middle East.  Also, Shayne Wessel, a pastor at Jacob's Well, and his wife Suzanne will be joining us.  Shayne received a grant from Midwestern Theological Seminary to go to Israel because of his academic excellence.  It should be a wonderful group and a great experience.  This will be my 21st trip to the Middle East but I'm really excited to get back to a part of the world I really love.  Hopefully, I will be able to update my blog with our experiences along the way.   

Roundtable on Spiritual Growth

I recently participated in a Roundtable on Spiritual Growth through The YouthWorker Journal.  It turned out well although I always find it interesting what actually gets printed.  It is a privilege to be part of anything with Dallas Willard, who is one of my heroes. Taking Kids Deeper A YouthWorker Journal Roundtable on Spiritual Growth

by David Crim Dallas Willard, Dorothy bass, Michael Carotta, Patricia Hendricks, and Mike King want youth workers to do a better job of helping kids grow their faith. Here's what they told us. Read article.

Jesus and the Sinner's Prayer

Check out this article from Christianity Today entitled Jesus and the Sinner's Prayer.

Bonhoeffer

“Christianity without Discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

More Iona

The island of Iona is one mile wide and three miles long.  I guess if you flattened out the island it would quadruple in size.  Visitors have access to the entire island.  It is a beautiful place with an otherwordly pace of life.  

Here are some more pictures...

Iona

Because of my love of church history and Celtic Spirituality I have wanted to go to Iona for a long time.  Iona is not the easiest place to get to.  We had to take a ferry from Oban to the island of Mull.  The drive across Mull took about an hour.  The island of Mull is beautiful - unspoiled, no telephone wires, signs, etc.  The drive is awesome because the paved road has only one lane for two lane traffic.  To make this possible there is a pull over every couple hundred yards that enables cars to pass each other.  Here is a couple pictures of the trek across the island of Mull.

 

We got to the other side of Mull, parked the car and jumped on another ferry to Iona.  Arriving on Iona made me feel like we had gone back in time.  Instantly, the pace of time seemed to slow way down.  You can see the ancient Abbey and surrounding ruins as you approach Iona.  We stayed at the Argyll Hotel which was a very quaint inn right on the water.  Here is a picture out of our window.                            Every hotel, inn and restaurant on the island boasts of using only organic food in their menu's.  We ate wonderful food and spent a lot of time reading and exploring this amazing place.  The Abbey is extraordinary and the Augustinian Nunnery is a world and church treasure.  We joined the community living at the Abbey for daily prayer.  Being on the island of Iona is like one long big deep deep breath. 

Northumbria

Mike and I spent three days at Hetton Hall at Nether Springs in the Northumbria Community.  The community revolves around the Daily Office of Morning Prayer, Midday Prayer, Evening Prayer and Compline.  The community made us feel quite welcome.  The Tea was great and the food good.  According to the stated intent of the Northumbria Community "We are united in our desire to embrace and express an ongoing exploration into a new way for living Christianly - a way that offers hope in the changed and changing culture of today's world." 

I thoroughly enjoyed the prayer times which are enhanced by the atmosphere and environment of the Northumbria Chapel pictured here...                                                                                         In addition, the grounds around Hetton Hall were filled with small prayer chapels, a rock wall enclosed English Garden, a tree house, giant hammock, and wonderful places that just invited you to be still and know God...

Holy Island

"The renewal of the church will come from a new type of monasticism which only has in common with the old an uncompromising allegiance to the Sermon on the Mount. It is high time men and women banded together to do this."    Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in a letter to his brother

According to The Northumbria Community they exist for those whose hearts are set on pilgrimage and whose lives are constantly being redefined and redirected by living the questions, 'Who is it that you seek?' How then shall we live? How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? They exist to provide companionship on the Christian journey and to outline a way of living centered in our Rule of Life of Availability and Vulnerability. The Rule along with our Daily Office (Celtic Daily Prayer) reflects the influence of the monastic tradition in the development of a community ethos.

The Northumbria Community links itself to the tradition of the Christian Missional heritage of Lindisfarne Island (Holy Island) which is just a few miles away from Northumbria's Hetton Hall at Nether Springs.  Here is some of the historical data concerning Lindisfarne (Holy Island).  "The period of the first monastery is referred to as the "Golden Age" of Lindisfarne. Aidan and his monks came from the Irish monastery of Iona and with the support of King Oswald (based at nearby Bamburgh) worked as missionaries among the pagan English of Northumbria. In their monastery they set up the first known school in this area and introduced the arts of reading and writing, the Latin language and the Bible and other Christian books (all in Latin). They trained boys as practical missionaries who later went out over much of England to spread the Gospel. Aidan also encouraged women to become nuns and girls to receive education but not in this monastery. In time Lindisfarne became known for its skill in Christian art of which the Lindisfarne Gospels are the most beautiful surviving example. 

After the Norman Conquest (1066) the Benedictine monks of Durham possessed the undecayed body of St.Cuthbert and saw themselves as the inheritors of the Lindisfarne tradition. Here on the Island they built the second monastery, a small Benedictine house staffed by Durham monks. This monastery was beset by a number of troubles, especially during the border wars between England and Scotland. It was finally dissolved by Henry VIII in 1536.  The ruins of the second monastery can be seen on the Island today. The first monastery, originally built entirely in wood, has disappeared. But there is evidence that the present parish church of St.Mary the Virgin stands on the site of Aidan's original monastery." 

From Holy Island Aidan and Cuthbert evangelized what is now England.  These early missionaries followed the Celtic Spirituality of living monastically but spending half of their time on missionary journeys outside their monastic centers.

Here are a few pictures