Lent Keeps sneaking up on me. The past few years I always am surprised by the speed it comes around and never quite as prepared as I want to be. Life is too hectic and I am out of rhythm. I need to ash, and I need to re-root. So pausing on the posts for a while. BACK SOON.
At the meeting with the church yesterday the person introducing the time asked “Is music important to God” Whilst the rest of people answered “yes” I gave a no and mumbled something to L about people and justice. The second time of asking I answered louder but was still a lone voice. So I turned my daughter B who is 8 and asked her the question. She was caught, here was her dad disagreeing with everyone else asking her the question, I could almost see the cogs turning as she thought about the answer. Her answer was so cool, she gestured a level with her hand and said “people at the top, then the world and then music”. Maybe she was trying to be diplomatic, but maybe she was right.
If you haven’t checked out Brian Bunny recently, This may make not sense to you but I love the bunnys worldview
Came across this and it puts together the most commonly used words on the site
Tony and I have been having a bit of a chat (if comments after a blog constitute a chat) based on some his reflections on Zacceus. It started about Jesus inviting himself to the party and making the first move, but for us this is a fearful thing to do. Tony commented on 1 john 4:18 says that perfect love casts out all fear. If God is perfect love, then there is no room or even possibility of fear in him. so, if he loves us perfectly, then why would he be afraid to make the first move?
Got me thinking about the link with detached work and how it’s the cold contact thing that people still find most frightening. I was wondering about some sort of image people based on jn 4.18 that people could hold when the make those first tentative steps towards a bunch of young people. Yet whilst this could help it is the experience of God’s perfect love that can’t be pinned down to an image that will release us from fear. In the training how do I communicate that personal experience, of God meeting with you personally and perfectly that sustains the whole of life not just enables the cold contact. Maybe it about my story being part of the story and people discovering their own part in the story, and not something that can be communicated.
With regards to Richard’s piece on ‘slope‘ and the comments about it:
I was thinking about the time I spend with the youth of our local church. Am I:
1. Running a group with the agenda of communicating Christ to them
OR
2. Running a group with the sole agenda of enabling them to be a group and have their own agenda’s, and just being Christ to them.
Certainly the pressure is on me (from tradition) to do (1) and sure I hope that I do communicate Christ to them, but is that my agenda?
Hmmm, is there a condition that I attach to attendance that they must allow me to control a certain amount of the time we spend together? If so, do they come in spite of that? If so, is that a positive thing?
Would it be better to relinquish any attempt to control and just to be there on their terms?
Whilst I’m tending toward the idea of a lack of control I’m not sure that this is a lack of slope. Surely if I practise ‘being Christ to people’ then I am always a slope, always a way in?
But this is slope without hidden agenda, without control, without events – just me being the new me.
Hmmm…
Words and definition of words shape our meaning and response, and the outworking can corrupt the meaning of words. I am throwing out a challenge for us to rethink how we use certain words to be more authentic to their orginal meaning and stop misusuing them. I am thrinking particularly of the christian words that have been corrupted, so tomorrow I am going to meet with the CHURCH, where we may do some singing, but this will not be a time of WORSHIP any more than eating lunch later that day will be. I wonder if enough of us took more care with our language how quickly peoples perception of these two misinterprited concepts would be reclaimed or redeemed?
Finally moved house. Blogging has been on a low due to the various issues associated with moving, now we just have masses of decorating to do, not to mention the conservatory/office and extension we hope to to build. Anyway a few recent conversations have made me feel uneasy. A few years ago we conciously opted not to be part of established forms of church and to try different things, all of which was great and the process helped me in my understanding of church and mission, and is in many ways where I still am.
Changes meant moving and as such we started going to church, which at the time was a fairly mission shaped event happening at a local school, we went to build some relationships, get to know the area before moving and importantly as a way for the children to build relationships in an area where they are at schoolwise. (life is so complex) The church then regrouped with its parent in another setting and the more traditional approach and culture has swampped the little mission shaped event.
Now we have landed in the area I think the time to reevaluate is fast approaching. I guess we will see how the discussions with the misson group pan out but the people have been great to us and I am not of the mindset to jump ship, but struggling with the growing uneasiness and what questions I need to ask myself and the family regarding church. Maybe four days from moving it is the wrong time to ask any questions anyway! The trouble is if I dont do it soon the process of getting sucked into a way of being church that I can no longer authentically and wholeheartedly agree with will happen weather I like it or not. In the mean time seeing the process as part of the DO -BE – DO approach to church helps, so thanks to those of you who have helped promote the uneasy feelings by questioning my involvement.
Welcome to anyone who has found their way here. The links I mentioned last night are on the right hand side of the page under the emerging church category. You may also like to read the link to sunday papers which explains more about the metaphor we discussed.
If you have any questions or feedback you can type them as a comment below.
Two contrasting recent experiences. Both working with structured organisations, but one willing to use the structure for accountability that does not get in the way of building kingdom and one where the structure got in the way of kingdom and then using the structure as defense. I can live with structures and like accountability and even understand the need for some but find it hard when people cant see beyond the structure to the opportunity. Then I find myself on the precarious on the edge of being judgemental of people whose hands are probably quite tied. The freedom of the kingdom is a spacious place, but the different approaches remind me of the now and not yet.