ReImagine

The Jesus Dojo

If we want to believe Jesus' message and become the kind of followers his early disciples were, we may have to shift our expectations of what spiritual education looks like-- leaving the metaphor of a lecture hall to enter "The Jesus Dojo." A "dojo" is a Japanese word meaning "the place where you learn the way." Jesus once declared, "I am the way, the truth and the life," implying that he is both a savior AND a teacher for life-- he provided the way to God and teaches us how to live in the way of God. We enter the dojo through new experiences and by moving from ideas to action.

We believe transformation spiritual formation happen through:

• time, space and intetionality. 
• New vision and understandings
• Rigorous self examination
• intentional group encounters
• new decisions, behaviors and patterns
• guidance and mentoring
• pain and suffering
• surrender to work of the Spirit

We have found that collaborative projects are one of the best ways to integrate the message and teachings of Jesus into our every day lives. Projects put us in a posture of taking action first and and then reflecting on our experiences in light of scripture and history. By taking action together a greater sense of community is often achieved. On a quarterly basis we initiate group projects that explore spiritual formation and missional living.

OUR CURRENT PROJECTS:

We're in the middle of planning our fall and winter projects -- check back in a couple weeks.

PAST PROJECTS:

HAVE2GIVE1: Fall of 2005. In this project a group of thirty people wrestled with the radical nature of what Jesus taught about money and material possessions. Inspired by sayings like: "Sell your possessions and give to the poor" and "if you have two coats give one of them away" we decided to take action by embarking on a project to divest of half of what we owned to give the money to address issues of global poverty. We took inventory of our possessions and made an attempt to give away or sell half of our belongings (cd's, books, clothes, bicycles, cars and other household items and collectibles). As a provocative statement we distributed "spare change" and postcards at the Union Square shopping district of San Francisco on the day after thanksgiving. (put picture of the card here).  This HAVE2GIVE1 project helped us to more deeply embrace values of the kingdom: contentment, gratitude, simplicity, abundance, frugality, generosity and trust.

BARRIO LIBRE: Fall of 2006. This was a project in advocacy inspired by the example of the life of Jesus. Jesus modeled the ancient command and practice of advocacy: “Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." He recognized that human suffering is related to systems of power and inequity and thus advocated on behalf of the weak. He confronted the dominance of civil and religious authorities and their oppressive control over the poor and simple. And he taught his followers to live subversively under foreign occupation—paying taxes and carrying the packs of Roman soldiers, but honoring another kingdom and king. And Jesus warned adults that they would be held responsible if their choices lead children into sin. The struggle for justice ultimately led to his persecution and death. Through his example Jesus invites us to be healers through the practice of advocacy.

The summer of 2006 marked a dramatic return of violence to the Mission District and Portrero Hill neighborhoods with night time gunfire, thefts & assaults and frequent homicides. New immigrants and poor people struggle to make ends meet and often don’t have the language, skills or confidence to advocate for themselves.
We recognized that many of our neighbors needed us to speak for them so their voice could be heard.

Barrio was an experiment in neighborhood safety and advocacy emphasizing small acts of care to address conditions of blight and apathy that precipitate violence. Over the course of two months we met weekly to walk the neighbohood picking up trash, removing graffiti, meeting neighbors and praying for peace for our streets. We also developed the propaganda campaign "Barrio Libre!" (neighborhood freedom!) to encourage and empower our neighbors to have a greater sense of community pride, ownership and efficacy. This project continues on a seasonal basis with available volunteers.  (picture of posters and trash pick up)   

MURALS: On a yearly basis we create a community mural to be displayed in our neighborhood. Murals have important cultural significance in the Mission District and convey a message of beauty, hope and community pride.

THE BOON PROJECT: 2001-2004 A three year exploration into the intersection of Christian spirituality, community building, creativity and the arts. The BOON PROJECT included a series of juried gallery shows, film discussions, art happenings and a weekly open studio workshop with a wide variety of participants including at-risk youth and working artists.