being more barbarian

I spent the weekend across the line at Cedar Springs Resort. It was our church leadership retreat and I got to party it up with all the grown ups while my hubby hunkered over the books at home. I stayed up waaaayyy too late on Friday night talking with Colleen, one of the wisest women I know, we griped about the school system and the absurdity of hiring people based on seniority.
We had an awesome session where we watched a bit of Bill Hybels and shared our own passions. It was cool to see people share things that they were so on fire about that it made you want to get up and say "I'd like to be a part of that" even though I can't be a part of Boy's Brigade.
Saturday we watched this GREAT video of Erwin McManus speaking at Willow Creek. Let me just start off by saying - this guys is soooo great! He talked about moving from being civilized Christians to barbarians, moving to a faith that expects miracles and is actually beleiving that God could speak to us. It was brilliant! It was like watching someone put words to the discontent stirring in me for months. He said this one thing that has stuck in my head ever since... "Sometimes the church's biggest obstacle is coming from within". The comment was a little cynical (he even admitted that) and I really do think the church is pretty great, but his point was that sometimes the biggest thing getting in our way is our own self... our ego, our fear, our cynicism. I am starting to realize that I am what most often keeps me from being a 'barbarian'. It's shaping up to be an interesting journey...
We also spent a lot of time discussing this whole concept of a church that is centered around its vibrant, thriving, small groups. That we get people plugged in that way. That out of these small group communities flows an intimacy between us, that we throw off our inauthenticity and embrace something that is, yes, harder to do but more honest and more human. There was this quote there that said "Today's revolution of love is called the church" I think it was Earl Crepps - he seems like a pretty smart cookie to me!
However, above all, my favorite part of the weekend was the paddle boating with my good friends Darren, Wendy & Janice. Yes, I almost came to fatal blows with the swan (really, really BIG swan) but the laughs and smack talk flowed freely and I thanked Jesus for these wonderful additions to my life in the past year!