Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Day Five: The Way of the Servant

You know how there are those experiences in life that are so great you wish they would last forever? The Jesus Dojo is not one of them. Here on day five we are tired. Physically tired bu

t also emotionally and psychologically full. This week has been full of so many new experiences and challenging encounters that most of us are ready for a break.

To me this is a really a good thing. Too often these unusual experiences in Christian formation can be mistaken for the “real thing.” By this I mean that our time in San Francisco is not a sustainable way of life. We are living in a restored Victorian Mansion. We are having all our food purchased and cooked for us. We are spending our entire day with more than a dozen of the same people, most of whom we are not related to.

 This is a city where none of us has a legal residence.  To hold this experience up as “the way to is suppose to be all the time” would be silly. The Jesus Dojo is an intensified time of spiritual formation meant to change our regular life, not take the place of it.

To make that mistake (and so many do) can lead to all sorts of “crash diet” type spiritual practices, hopelessness and despair. This is why it seems so good to me that we’re ready to leave. We know it’s time to go. Our time in the Dojo is complete and it’s time to look for how we’ve been changed for our whole life lived.

But now you’ve got me preaching…;)

Our day began with silence and solitude in Alamo Square - which is where the “Full House” Victorians are located. (See pics). Needless to say, there was excitement. Following that we 

walked back to Page St. Center where we spent the day working to improve the facility. Following the path of Jesus as servant, we were pleased to be contributors to the Center one la

st time repainting tagged walls, re-framing broken doorjambs, and cleaning almost everything.




After spending the day at Page St. we came back home, cleaned up and took off for Baker Beach where we planned to build a bon-fire and close our week out with a beach party cook out. However, forces beyond our control (and lack of supplies) forced us to abandon that plan and come back to our place instead.

The results were awesome!

We re-framed the while night as a Victorian era dinner party with the whole group dressing in

 their finest available clothes. After “cocktails” in the front hall and supper in the dining room we retried to the parlor to share some of the poetry we’ve been writing all week and have dessert. It was a total blast and I hope to publish a few of the kid’s poems in the Branch. They were exceptional. You should ask someone you know from the trip to share theirs with you.

Tomorrow we will pack to leave, clean up the house and hopefully have some time for solitude before we head to the airport. Keep us in your prayers tomorrow and thanks for reading.

Peace and love,

Dixon

2 comments:

ali said...

miss you guys, love you guys.
can't wait to hear even more of the stories.
love, ali

Natasha said...

Thanks be to God for this trip of mission and spiritual formation and for this vibrant San Fransisco community! May the Lord go ahead of this traveling community now as you begin your journey home, and make your way safe. May you each return to peaceful environs in Nashville where you can rest, reflecting on all that you have seen, heard and grown while together. May we here in Nashville be open to grow in our own spiritual lives as a result of the lessons that you bring with you.