Each of us has a story. This story, or narra-tive, is comprised of our memories, beliefs,experiences, and is seen through the lens ofa worldview. Our individual perspective isunique, and yet we share commonalities withthose in our families, communities, and cul-

tures. As we attempt to discern truth, weneed to humbly recognize that we do notsimply impose our view on the world; real-ity speaks back to us and informs us, as well.When we enter into a dialogue with reality,this dialogue can begin to help us form amore consistent and accurate narrative.There are several informers we need to payattention to and Scripture is one of the mainone’s for Christians. Recognizing the signifi-cance of the grand story that Scripture por-trays will enable us to ascertain our role inits narrative.

As readers of the scriptural story

today, we are foreigners to the text

and its ancient Near Eastern and

Greco-Roman context, yet we are

not excluded from its time, narra-

tion, drama, and spherical refraction.

The possibility remains for us to be

grafted into the revelatory story of

T H E I N T E R N A T I O N A L N E W S L E T T E R O F L´ A B R I F E L L O W S H I P

June 2010

the real narrativeselections from Living Spiritual Rhythms for Today

L’AbriINTERNATIONAL

Greg Laughery

LETTER TO THE

L’ABRI FAMILY page 5

God’s creation and redemptive

outpouring of love in Christ, which

offers us a place on the stage of the

cosmic drama of life. Renewing

people and the earth is part of

God’s majestic story. Fortunately,

we’re invited to participate.

How do we make the storyour own?

Dear reader:

The following readings are

a collection of separately

arranged Rhythms.

Take a moment to ponder

one Rhythm at a time,

before moving on to

the next ...

Dear Friends,

In this issue of the InternationalNewsletter we bring you selectionsfrom the latest publication of GregLaughery, Living Spiritual Rhythmsfor Today (2009). This unique bookis a collection of meditative reflec-tions on various aspects of thefulness of life we can discover in aliving relationship with the Creator,Sustainer and Redeemer we meetin Scripture.In this section, entitled “the real nar-rative”, Greg explores the intersec-tion of our personal story, ourculture’s story, and the biblical sto-ries of what leads to real life andwhat leads to death. These reflec-tions focus on a call to let these sto-ries be woven together in a livingand active testimony to the truth ofthe gospel.If you would like to read more, in-formation on where to find Greg’sbook is here on the opposite page(page 3).

Some of you will have already heardthe sad news that Per StaffanJohansson, longtime L’Abri memberand Director of the Swedish L’Abripassed away recently as the resultof a sudden illness. It came so sud-denly and was a shock to us all. Onpage 5 you will find the latest Fam-ily Letter from Stefan and LoisLindholm, who hope next year tocontinue developing the work inSweden.

As always, if you have any ques-tions, comments or tips for us con-cerning our website or this newslet-ter, please feel free to contact us atlabri@labri.nl.

Hope to hear from you!

Blessings,The L’Abri Workers

There are two stories in conflict through-out the Christian journey. The first is thestory of the truth, creation, promise, redemp-tion and hope, which results in life. The sec-ond is the story of the lie, uncreation, de-ception, fear, and hopelessness, which bringsdeath. These two stories battle for a primaryauthority, control, and for ultimate direction.Recounting itself over and over, the secondstory just doesn’t disappear, and may grip usdeeply. Things in this world sometimes seempointless and without meaning. A recurringthought is—is it worth it? Yet, the first storyis still more potent and dominant, because itis true. The world is full of meaning—even asurplus of meaning. It is worth it.

Have you read a good story recently?What’s so compelling about good stories?

Exodus remains a central and

remarkable phase in the self-

revelation of God and the life of

God’s people. Living spirituality is

never far from the double focus of

this founding event: Release and

justice. Live in memory of the

Exodus, and apply its outcome to

oneself and all of life.

Cycles and patterns of defeat can all too of-ten be prominent in the life of a Christian.Transformation and renewal will not takeplace by an attempt to simply modify thesepowerful self identity symptoms, as they usu-ally are a result or manifestation of some-thing much deeper. That is, for sustainablechange to arise it is essential to explore thecore of who we are. God wants to get tothis core; to our hearts, and the picture wehave of him as God and ourselves as his chil-dren. Growing freedom from perpetual de-feat comes about through Christ being atthe center of our lives, which radically givesus a new picture and releases us to chooseand live life.

Surfacing into the Divine drama from underthe weight of careless formulations and

clinical apologetics should produceimprovised stage performances that shock

a dreadfully impoverished audience intoaction for the sake of Christ. There may be

those who take offence at such high levelcommitment. So be it. Woe to the disinter-

ested and self-righteous. God is nothonored by superficiality and trite jargonthat has no impact on a watching world.

Better performances of the script—livingthe truth in word and deed, will give a

greater credibility to our testimony for thesake of Christ.

Scripture is a script to be enacted, not merelysome foundation for knowledge or a depositof ancient words. God is the greatdramaturge who sets out the drama of re-demption as a communicative action. This isnot a secret buried in the recesses of tombs,but a testimony to light and life. We are notleft out of the play, but in Christ invited tobe part of the action, cultivating wisdomthrough Word and Spirit so that we mightact in faithful and fitting ways.

The drama of redemption is not merely“Jesus saves me,” but it includes God’s mis-sion to the natural, cultural, social, economic,racial and political dimensions—the wholestage of reality. God is out to redeem and

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3

Living Spiritual Rhythms For Today is a challengingblend of anecdotes, stories, poems, and prayersthat call us to serious reflection and redemptiveaction. This book is a spiritual odyssey; a journeyof daily readings invoking a wide constellation ofthoughts and emotions. With critical care, piercinggrace and keen insight, it sketches a picture of atransformed and transforming life lived incommunity with God and others.

(Destinee S.A., 2009)

ISBN-10: 0975908243

ISBN-13: 978-0975908242

renew the world. This theodrama begins atcreation, follows through to redemption, andculminates in renewal. Let’s find our partson the stage and in humility and grace actthem out skillfully with flair and passion.

Scripture, God’s story, is founded ontemporality, but flourishes on excess,

because God is a God of excess; we’llnever come to the end of who he is.

Informed by the script of Scripture and a

new reality brought by Christ, we’re

called to live imaginatively engaged lives.

Rather than having media and contem-

porary culture imagine for us what life is

to be like, let’s imagine being an other

and walking in their shoes, so that we

might serve them better. Acting with com-

passion, interest, and love should be

trademarks that identify Christians, as we

imaginatively seek to follow in the foot-

steps of Christ. Serving God and others

requires a living and an empowered imagi-

nation.

It’s all too easy, and in spite of

best intentions, to control and

dominate Scripture to the degree

that it loses its voice for us. In

reading Scripture, let’s be open

to transformation, new ways of

seeing. Demanding monologues

change nothing. Dialogue takes

risks and requires courage. Be

risky and courageous. Hear the

text well, perform it in a fitting

manner, and live.

The target or goal of the words of Scriptureis to reveal God. The words don’t refer tothemselves, but to God and to what Godhas done, is doing, and will do to renew andredeem us and the world. They recount, re-port, jive, jump, skid, symbolize, and want usto have an ever deepening experience of thereality of being in community with Father,Son, Spirit, and each other.

Recently on a hike through the Swiss Alps nearby

our chalet, I was struck again not only by thebeauty, but also by the problematic of percep-tion. Winding my way up the mountain side Ikept reflecting on how at different points in thejourney perceptions change, yet the goal to getto the top of the mountain remains the same.Being in community with God, I believe, has someinviting similarities. When we are in one place,life appears to be a certain way, but then adifferent vista opens up as we go on and gainelevation, we see more than we did previously.In community with God and the journey towardsour destiny of being transformed into the imageof Christ, there will be some steeper bits thatrequire effort and commitment leading to in-Spirited new perceptions, while at other timeswhat we perceive will be like walking in the sameplace for a time.

The powerful and enticing character of deathsometimes sweeps over us like pelting sheetsof freezing rain. In the fast paced narrativeof destruction, I find myself on the edge ofthe garden, relentlessly attempting to re-en-ter, but to no avail. The direction is forwardto life, and God is there. Thankfully, I’m notlost in the circle of the same that brings imagi-nation and creativity to the graveyard of folly.I am free.

God is not out to turn us into

zeroes or zombies. He addresses

and calls us through grace to

respond to his offer of salvation

and to being in community with

him. This means we have to show

up, to be accounted for, to be

responsible, and to use what we

have, in order to appreciate and

enjoy the freedom that

God gives.

A traumatic encounter with the

living God leaves us shaken with

awe and wonder.

Come, oh Lord, and awaken us

from our slumber. Create in us clean

hearts, engraved with love and a

peace that passes all understanding.

What is an experience of God and is it

different than other experiences?

In our culture today, the issue of economicsis front page news. Never before has therebeen such a proliferation of information onworld markets. The markets and all that isconnected to them are becoming god-likeand our fate and destiny are supposedly tiedto their very survival. But in watching thisdevelopment carefully, we are seeing moreglobal unification in the attempt to salvagelife as we once knew it. Too late.

As trillions of dollars, euro, pounds, yen, andso forth disappear into the deep dark holeof government spending, I wonder if theworld of recovery is not more of an illusion,than a reality. There are so many subterfuges,

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Greg Laughery is Director of the Swiss branchof L’Abri in Huemoz. In addition to numerousscholarly publications on hermeneutics, he

is the author of Living Spiritual Rhythms ForToday (2009), Living Apocalypse: A RevelationReader (2008), and Living Spirituality:

Illuminating the Path (2006).

“Grand Muveran” by Ferdinand Hodler (1912)

dishonesties, and covert activities, we maybe coerced into believing that this is justthe way that it is, and we have no choice butto get used to it. We are increasingly livingin a world of image without referent, signwithout signifier, and language without mean-ing. Economics and politics reign in today’sworld as never before in history, and whenthat happens, recovery in any true sense willprove to be unachievable.

The plight of much of the Western churchis that it has been highly influenced by itsculture’s politics, economics, and society. In-stead of always following current trends,Christians need to take the lead and findbiblical, creative, and spiritual ways to bringthe truth and love of the gospel into theworld. Redeeming our political, economic,and social relations is a crucial—even pri-mordial—task that requires our serious at-tention and our devoted time and energy.As far as I see it, this redemption can beginon a local scale and grow from there.

Mark’s gospel is full of role reversals.Those who think they see and hear areblind and deaf, and those who are blindand deaf, see and hear. A in-spirited and

storied life of following Jesus is not aboutpossessing people and things but about

dispossession; being willing to let go, takerisks, to be courageous, and to not to fear.To be great, you have to be least; the first

Philippians is a wonderful letter. Have

a read. It’s only four chapters. What-

ever our present circumstances, we

are to see our lives in a larger con-

text. Present circumstances are impor-

tant, but they shouldn’t control us

because our lives are directed to a

greater destiny—to image Christ. As

humans, we tend to be so integrated

in the present, so overwhelmed by it,

that we see the present as all that

matters. But the epistle to the

Philippians encourages us to recognize

that present circumstances are not

our final reality—whether joy or suf-

fering. We should be careful not to be

lured too deeply into either good or

bad present circumstances as if they

are all that count for the Christian life.will be last, and the last first. Those whowant to save their lives will have to lose

them for the sake of Jesus and the gospel.And in perhaps one of the most striking

reversals of all in Mark’s narrative it is thedemons and unclean spirits who know who

Jesus is, while the disciples don’t -go figure.

Jesus’ parables aim to subvert andshatter, while reconstructing in thewake of the debris. What happens in thesepowerful stories is bursting with meaningthat dangerously engages the imagination.The attacking and overturning character ofparables is not to be missed. Parables alsodisorient, shock, and surprise, bringingabout reversal and re-orientation in thedisclosing of a new understanding concern-ing the person of Jesus, the world, theKingdom of God, and the hearer.

The long waited arriving of the Kingdom ofGod in Jesus’ day and its dynamic and

ongoing presence in our own should beunderstood as something radical, which

overturns and shatters the status quo. Godwas and is doing something new in Christ,including extending an invitation to those

considered outsiders, beyond the realm ofGod’s healing and forgiveness. While

welcoming outsiders, the mission andmessage of the Kingdom of God critiquesthe religious elite, who tend to see them-

selves as insiders and keepers— at allcosts—of the status quo.

In the theater of life let’s aim for a

focus on mission, living spirituality,

truth, honesty, community with God

and each other, concern for the

poor, the environment, culture, the

arts, and the authenticity of

redemption. A fitting performance

counts, and we all have an

important role to play.

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As you may have heard, we have gone through a heavy year in the Swedish L’Abri. In April 2009 the L’Abri Members agreed that Stefanand Lois Lindholm would go from English L’Abri to Sweden to assist Per Staffan Johansson and his wife Pernilla in the Swedish work. Littledid we know that within months of those meetings that Per Staffan would become suddenly terminally ill. It was a terrible shock to allof us and especially his own family. Now a year further, we recently held a special memorial service for Per Staffan at the Membersmeetings in Huemoz, Switerland. Pernilla and their daughter Rebecca had planned to come, but sadly they were prevented from travelingby the ash cloud from Iceland. It was a sad moment. We are, however, glad to tell you now that the Lindholms continue in their desire towork in Sweden for L’Abri. The L’Abri Trustees and the Swedish Board have enthusiastically encouraged them in this move, and we arepraying that the Lord may make their path smooth. Pernilla will continue the bookkeeping during this next year as she looks for a newplace to live. Pray for her in this time of mourning and transition, and for the children of Per Staffan who have lost both their parents atsuch a young age. We would like the Lindholms to introduce themselves more widely to you now through a personal letter:

Dear all,We have been working and living at English L’Abri for aboutfive years. Since a few years before that we entertained awish and prayer to be able to do the same kind of work inSweden. We will here briefly introduce ourselves and thensome of our thoughts for the future of the work.Lois: I grew up in a pastors family in the Lutheran church.After leaving home I started to doubt the faith I had known.Through reading a book about doubt by Torgny Wiren Iheard about L’Abri and the Schaeffers work, and I went toMölle and met Lisa and Per Staffan. It was a life changingweek. I was given good reason to trust that Christianity istrue, and it was a huge relief to find Christians who werenot stressed out by my own doubt. I remember sitting bythe sea in Mölle thinking, “If you really are there, God, I wantto do some kind of work like they do here”. I never thoughtit would actually be L’Abri, but after meeting Stefan and dis-

covering our shared vision, we found ourselves moving towards this work. During our years at English L’Abri I’ve learned somuch about my faith. It’s not only true, but it is livable! We’ve learned a lot about the human heart, both in ourselves and others,for that time I’m deeply greatful. What we’ve learned from God through L’Abri we want to pass on. We want to be a shelterfor doubters and seekers in Scandinavia.Stefan: I was brought up in Småland and became a Christian during confirmation classes in the Lutheran chruch. I joined a localbaptist- charismatic church where I took my first steps in faith. Subsequently I served as a youth leader in a pentecostal chruch(Oskarshamn) for a year before studying theology and philosophy at Lund University. During my studies I entered a time ofserious doubt in the truth of Christianity. This was the start of a new interest in ideas. It was though the Swedish L’Abri inspiredauthor Swen Reichmans book The Culture without God (Cultured utan Gud) that I was convinced that there are good reasons tobe a Christian, and that one can be a Christian without having to live in seclusion from society and culture. In the book thework of the Schaeffers was mentioned, and I became more and more interested. During this time I met Lois and we marriedthe following year. She had already been to L’Abri, and together we later spent some time at Swedish L’Abri, two terms atEnglish L’Abri and one at Swiss L’Abri. In 2005 we moved to England to work full time with L’Abri and have been enjoying itever since. The many things I have learned and seen modeled at English L’Abri will stay with me for life, and I am very excitedabout the prospect of doing in Sweden.Our tentative plan is to move back to restart the work sometime at the beginning of next year, 2011. We will try to keep opena weekend a month to begin with. People can then come and spend time with us, study, listen to lectures (live and recorded),and discuss over the lunch table. If you would like to come outside of these weekends please contact us and we will tell you ifwe are able to take you in. Hopefully there will be a longer term next summer (1-2 months). We will also be trying to organiseconferences and participate in other events as we have time. Our long term hope is to have an all year around L’Abri work inScandinavia one day. Please join us in praying for this.If you would like to have further information please do not hesitate to contact us at the Manor House in Greatham or at theSwedish L’Abri email address: sweden@labri.org. Also, Swedish L’Abri is in a difficult financial situation, and we need to pray thatthe Lord keeps providing if things are going to move forward. We are excited by this prospect but it is not without someanxiety. But we trust that if the Lord wants to build up this shelter, he will!

Stefan en Lois Lindholm

To the Praying Family ...