Over this coming week, I plan to make a number of entries on the Wind Farm as a way of providing my reasons and "resonances" for our Book Reading. You can read the relevant chapters of the antique book I gained permission to reprint here.
As you’re probably aware, for well over a year, I have been reading and researching the wisdom, principles and values of Christian monastics. Interestingly, I have discovered that many who ask to hear what I’ve been up to lately, are extremely interested in the subject and the material … until I make the "fateful" mistake of mentioning the word monastic in the course of sharing. The moment that happens, it seems as though their eyes glaze over and suddenly I have lost them.
I’ve been asking myself, is it because I’m on a wrong search? Could it be that the whole idea of monasticism sounds just too Roman Catholic for the Protestants I relate to and am a part of? Or is it that in our post-modern Western culture, we have forgotten that the key to finding the way forward is more often than not, to look back?
I think we’ve grown so enamoured with the concepts of "bigger and better", "brighter and shinier", "smaller and faster" that we’ve subliminally chosen to discount almost anything historical in favour of "all things new". Now, while God is most certainly the God who is able to make all things new, He is also the Ancient of Days. He is the alpha and omega. He indeed is our end, but we must remember that He has also been there since before the beginning! Let’s face it, He Himself is the the greatest writer of history the world has ever known! I mean, have you read your Bible lately??
I believe, in our desire to "have everything", we’ve chewed it all up, spat it all out and been left with nothing of any real value .. and, in recent years, the mass exodus from church as we’ve known it is a dead giveaway that people are realising they’re dying from a diet of "processed" Christianity.
My wife, Jo, and I sometimes watch a lifestyle show on TV about property development called The Property Ladder. While it may seem a strange subject, there are remarkable parellels with why I’m sharing this. In the program, a highly experienced and successful property developer helps first-timers with their new developments. Invariably we see the same thing again and again. Sarah, the experienced developer, is brought in by these first-timers so they can glean and learn from her advice .. and when she makes suggestions, they almost always counter her advice with an "I know better" attitude. It annoys me so much, I even end up talking to the TV!!