When I was 8 years old I went away to summer camp at Camp Good News. On the second day we took a bus trip into town to the local swimming pool. There I saw for the first time a contraption mounted at the deep end of the pool that would allow swimmers to bounce up and down and then propel themselves into the water at great speed. It looked exciting so I mounted the board and dove into to the water head first. It was an incredible experience until I sunk to the bottom and had to be fished out by a lifeguard. In some ways I feel like I have relived that childhood experience recently. After countless late-night talks, much soul-searching, many prayers and about as many tears my wife and I resigned from our full-time staff positions at a local church this past August in order to pursue new dreams and visions of “being” the church and becoming a new kind of Christ follower for our community in Metro-Detroit. We walked away from everything secure, everything comfortable, walked away from jobs that we had been educated and trained to do. Talk about diving into deep water! And at first, it sure felt like we were drowning.

Why make a radical leap like that? Well, God began to burn into our heats this desire to really embody, announce, and demonstrate the Good News of God’s Kingdom 24-7.  We latched onto a phrase that God spoke to me “living life the way God intended” as sort of a mantra that was the dream that spurred us on. Did God really intend for us to live somewhat phony, compartmentalized lives, running ourselves ragged trying to staff the “machine” to keep everyone happy and comfortable all while our neighbors and friends were lost and alone, clueless that God was missing them and wanting them home?  We felt there had to be more. Could we really begin to live our lives in a way that centered on a life of passion (coming fully alive), community (relationships having power), and mission (letting our lives speak)? Real people, real life, a real relationship with Christ?

One of the hardest things for us was the feeling that we had lost our minds and that there was no one else feeling like this. Along the way we discovered (via web sites and blog’s) other likeminded people who were about to “make the dive” or had already dove in and were on similar journeys themselves. There was a sense of kinship and community that was established over the miles that had a buoying effect on our lives much like the ring they used to pull me out of the deep end so many years ago at camp. Through this new “virtual community” we began to find new friends who in a real way became “the friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair and confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not-knowing, not curing, not-healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.” (Henri Nouwen)

This was the dream of Mayhem ~ Not Alone. To connect and mutually encourage many who are seeking to live the reality of the Kingdom in tangible and practical ways. From my experience and in talking with others, I think one of Satan’s biggest strategies is to make us think we are lost and confused and alone. But the Mayhem gathering at Vineyard Central was a bold defiance of this scheme. There were 250+ gathered in the beautiful, albeit chilly surroundings of St. Elizabeth’s. People came from all over the mid-west and and as far away as Washington and Connecticut to share in this time together.

The format for the weekend was a cross between a huge party at a pub/coffee house and times of lively interactive discussion. Those setting up the event tried very hard to make sure that the time was just not another content dump. Discussion leaders like Brian McLaren, were given 20 minutes to present an idea, then we had 10 minutes to find a new face to discuss and interact with, and then another 15 minutes or so to solicit feedback on what we discovered. There were some interesting roundtable discussions with topics like “Sleeping Single in the Simple Church” and “Ministering From Our Brokenness or Our Wounded-ness”. All of this was good, but by far the best thing for me was to meet some of my “blogging friends” face to face. It was also great to deepen existing relationships with friends as well as connecting with new fellow sojourners.

While there was much that I took away from Mayhem, I felt that God really spoke to me about the importance of finding a balance between work and pleasure ~ learning to nourish my soul, body, heart, and mind. In fact McLaren put it to us this way. “What legitimate pleasure do you engage in that keeps you from illegitimate pleasure?” Growing up in a strong Christian home I learned a good “work ethic” but I had no clue how to have leisure or “re-creating” ethic. McLaren said, “One of the best things you can do for your community and the people you lead and minister to is give them a whole, healthy you.”

I have seen comments posted and discussions are underway on how things could have been done differently or better the next time around, but I think overall the dream and objective of Mayhem was accomplished. I came back refreshed and recharged to storm the gates of Satan’s kingdom and let him know that I am not going down without a fight. I am excited to know that there is a growing cadre of like minded people who want to be and establish communities of Christ-followers who embody, announce, and demonstrate the Good News of the Kingdom of God for the sake of the world.

Wish I could have been there!
--Ryan Hale ( ryan dot hale at levistable dot com ) on 2/5/2004; 9:33:10 PM