Boris the spider

I've chosen the title to be a Who song. Why? Well, because it's stuck in my head.

I feel alive this week. I just got back from YS in Sacramento and it wasn't too bad. I got to read, relax, and work a little. I have some issues with it and here goes:

There is a lot of money spent by Christians on things. In the exhibition hall, there were over 150 booths where merchants peddled their crap (MO included). I wonder how much of it glorifies God and how much of it props up a sub-culture's economy. I really don't know the answer, but I continue to pray that money will be a struggle for me. Likewise, my struggle can only be mine, and unless I hear otherwise, I am not to judge other people's treatment of money.

So here is my response to YS: I don't think I can keep my current job. I would rather run away from another YS than have to change it from the inside. And I also realized that I'm just surrounded by Christians. Here's my map of that:
56 hrs/week spent sleeping (with a Christian, but it doesn't really count)
40 hrs/week at work with Christians
15 hrs/week in seminary with Christians
15 hrs/week alone
3 hrs/week hanging out with Christians after work or school
1 hr/week interacting with the public (primarily shopping)

The point is, the only interaction I get with non-Christians is when I am purchasing things with them or from them. It's very odd and I'm not too sure what it means for me, but how the hell am I seeking first God's kingdom when I'm surrounded by people who look just the same as me? It's frustrating, apparently.

In other news, I really enjoyed going to Revolution two Sundays ago. It was rad. I can't remember if I blogged on that or not, but I felt a lot of hope while there. There were about 10 people there and we talked about God's love. We didn't sing any songs or have any confession time or anything like that. It was like a big church (but without the singing) and great discussion instead. It wasn't forced intimacy or anything like that, just comfortable discussion and growth. Right now in class I'm learning about small groups, and it's interesting to see what elements fit into Revolution.

It seems like a great introduction to church for Danielle and I and I have a lot of excitement about it. I actually felt bad that I missed it on Sunday night and I haven't felt that in a long time. Danielle hasn't gone yet and I really want her to like it. I really want her to like it, but I'm having a hard time not pressuring her to like it. I know it's not about "liking" a faith community, but I want her to want to go. It might not happen soon, but I hope that her heart is full of desire for community.

It excites me to think about church being a group of small people meeting and trying to grow closer to God. And Revolution is a church plant of the SoCal Free Methodist Church, and something about that is encouraging, like someone big is endorsing it. That's nice.

Anyway, life is good. I really want my desires about money and small groups and intergenerational community to be consistent with my actions but I guess that's the goal of life. Someday. Someday.

God may my life be congruous.