My vision for my life, as of today

From time to time, I write down what is my long-term vision for my life. To own my “plan” in a compact form for reading, thinking about and sharing, and to document it and later find a development from version to version. Here is the version from today (2007-08-21). The driving question behind all these thoughts is: how to live an adequate answer to the world as I find it, that is, how to live a life that is not banal (see also my post “What ain’t banal” for that). So I plan to live an orchestrated combination of the following elements:

• Mobile, international life. So to speak a “permanent world tour”. I simply see no reason why the “random” place where I was born should determine where I am or even stay. To me, freedom includes to be at home on the whole planet. Practically, I plan to use a 4×4 truck with box body as my default home while I am on this planet, and a fine-tuned equipment within it. The equipment is currently in late planning state; it will make it possible to move easily from the truck to a flat, tent or any other shelter, just as possibilities and needs are.
• Community of 4-10 friends. Intentional community fascinates me for years now, though I have to admit that I’ve lost the focus on it during the last months. Community might take multiple styles, and to me what fits is this: a mobile community of 4-10 friends, which allows moderate fluctuation, and which will include people who want to be healed and mature in personality (all of us to some degree, actually …). Yes folks, mobile means all of you will live or at least travel in 4×4 trucks 🙂 Combining this community with working at universities in development countries and helping Christian congregations (see below) means that all of us will support this in some way or another.
• Working as university teacher and researcher, mainly in development countries. I need to earn money to live and do nice things, but what this world really needs is just outside the economic system (i.e. Jesus is not for sale). So I’ll have to take a “serious” job. From all the jobs that fit my profile (nerd, computer geek), me thinks this is one of the less banal. I don’t want to work for the high-level problems of industrial countries, as they lose their meaning and justification in relation to the poverty and injustice in this world. Combining this with a mobile lifestyle means to travel between countries and universities, teaching for one or several semesters at each.
• Missional life style. The idea to reach something “great” is hollow: great things can only be organizations, and organizations are nothing but an cumulation of individual “small” work. Plus the synergy, admitted. I thing there are enough organizations, one for every possible goal, and I’ll not add to this. Instead, a non-banal part of my life will be a missional lifestyle: building and using contacts to convince people of Jesus. Read on: this is not about religion. I’ll have to lay the personal non-religious foundations for this first … I won’t convince people of something where I’m not totally, absolutely and justifiably sure that it is the truth and nothing but the truth. The posts labeled “A Seeker’s Guide to Life” in this blog and a supposed-to-be book “Second Acts” serve this purpose of becoming justifiably sure … .
• Stopping by to visit and help Christian congregations. This will be again a non-banal part of my life. Interesting enough, one could compare this kind of lifestyle with Paul’s who did this “tent-making” job, travelled around, lived a missional life style and visited (and founded) Christian congregations all around. And, when people like Luke travelled with him, he had also a mobile community, just as I long for!! Though my job will probably play a bigger role in my life than Pauls job did in his life, we as community will serve and help the congregations we meet, just as is possible. And when looking to Paul’s sweeping effect, I lose the fear my life might be ineffective this way … there’s the chance to be not, and it depends on God’s blessings.

Date: 2007-08-21

Last meaningful change: 2007-08-21