A Productive Cough

Dear Neighbor,

This is not another quick and easy way to figure life out, yours or someone else’s.  Hopefully, you will not find a list of steps to achieve something or little clusters of tips and tricks in the margins.  If you do find them… beware – they are tricks (not mine).  I have no magical formula to offer and no quick fix. 

This is an invitation.  It is a challenge.  I am passing it on.  It was extended to us a couple thousand years ago by a man named Jesus who claimed to be The Savior of the World.  I believe his claim.  If you don’t already, I invite you to investigate.  Follow him a while; listen to him with your heart.  Watch what he does and how it affects people.  Work shoulder to shoulder with him.  See who he leads you to and what they ask of you and offer to you.  Experience his generosity, his restfulness, his mirth, mystery and his miraculous ability to live in exactly the right sized moments.   I promise, if you are willing, you will be amazed.  If you do believe his claim – do the same thing.  You’ll be amazed more and more again. 

I make no apology and I offer no judgment.  I claim to know nothing though I may speak with confidence.  I know Jesus.  I am dirt shaped by his hands, a sheep in his flock, a servant in his household, a child in his family, a warrior in his army, a close friend at his party.  I am his brother, his body and his bride.  I am in him and he is in me.  I do not understand how I am all these things, but he says so and he has invited me and challenged me in all of them. 

If you answer or have answered his invitation then your identity is describable in the same ways and you will or do know the wonder of a mysterious relationship that answers the most important questions about why and what you are and what it all means.  The questions and answers will not resolve any time soon.  Give up on that, but do not be dismayed.  This is not an endless problem, it is an eternal condition.  One of discovery.  Imagine each new uncovering delighting and inspiring - opening new possibilities to explore and new creations that demonstrate God’s mysterious, surprising gifts to us.

This book is only an invitation and a challenge for you to engage with your story.  It is extended to you as the person described above.  You, that person with such a inexplicable identity, are a character in a great story.  Truly, there is one.  It is part of a much larger one.  Words are being written this very moment.  Pages are being turned. 

I challenge you to set aside anything that may hinder you.  There is more time, more room in your life (for life) than you are now making.  Find it.  Make it.  I promise you – if you sacrifice all that you have for the greatest treasure you will ever be offered, you will be very, very glad, for all the rest of your Life.  For the more temporal that you release, the more eternal you can hold.

Please hear me on this.  I am not telling you to add another thing into your busy schedule.  I am not inviting you to be more productive.  I do not have the inclination or authority for either suggestion.  Nothing in this book should produce guilt or anxiety or regret.  If you hear from the heart of Jesus, you may feel compelled, but that is part of the invitation and it comes with the necessary tools to respond.  If you must take satisfaction from productivity, I propose a more medical definition.  Rather than productivity relating to the production of commodities or services that can be measured monetarily, I suggest a productive cough that clears mucus from your lungs and allows a better assimilation of oxygen into your blood.  When you are done coughing you will not only be more energetic – you will also be able to rest better.  It’s truly amazing how much better you will feel with less snot - literally and metaphorically.

So, believe Jesus about who he says he is and who he says you are.  It’s true.  Cough up a little phlegm.  Carry out your trash.  Take a nap.   Walk around the block or down your driveway and back (I’m trying to include rural folks – If you have a 30’ driveway, take the around-the-block option).  Breathe.  This little book is not another heavy burden; it is a light one, not meant to be carried alone.

Sincerely,

Your Neighbor

Explanation...

I've been working on a book.  I didn't know I was when I started.  I thought it was a little devotional sort of thing.  It is that - but it's turning into much more.  


I am entertaining suspicions on the road of discovery I'm sharing with the people I've met and joined.  It's adventurous, dangerous, scary, debilitating, thrilling and impossible to resist.  I'm certain I'm being led by someone much smarter, wilder and more prepared than me.  This is what I've been waiting for, what I wanted to do when I grew up and what is growing me up.  It is definable but unexplainable, clear but only where the light shines on this really narrow, windy path.  I know - so mystical.  Oh well.  I'm having such a good time...


Since January, David Bilby and I - otherwise known currently as "Go Connect" have been working fairly intently on developing the software and training material for Neighbor LinkUp.  Neighbor LinkUp is a Neighborhood Missionary tool on the internet.  Part of the tool is an interactive book that goes with a fairly radical group training gathering.  We'll be working with quite a few churches over the next few months - and longer (unless we suck), exploring the missional lifestyle from both an individual and a community perspective.


Some of you who have read my blog in the past are probably not surprised that this is happening.  Some of you predicted such things.  Hopefully, some have been looking for something like this.  I'd love to share it with you.  I'll be posting the entire book as it develops on my website, Darby Porch so it doesn't have to be broken up into small pieces (it's too big to email).  It will be regularly added to, so if you get interested check back here and there and see what's new.  Hopefully, it will be inspiring stories, daunting but irresistible challenges, enlightening research and invitations for deeper participation in the Kingdom of Heaven.


This letter is part of the intro for the book.  So far, I'm calling it, "Second Is Like It."  I'll be posting small chunks as it develops.  Looking forward to your input.