We had great time together on Thursday night. Twelve people were able to brave the elements and gather in our living room to dream together. We talked about some of our best memories from Church and then had a discussion about what could be and what should be. What "could be" were our dreams and hopes for the church, what we are passionate about and where we are being led to in ministry. Our "should be" list is what we believe and find in scripture to be, and I hesitate to use this phrase, but "non-negotiable" for the Church. (see lists below) For those of you who could not be with us, know that we spent time in prayer for you and are committed to praying for each other till we come together again. We also had some news, updates and assignments:
- For homework we all agreed to think of at least one person/family that we would have a conversation with that we believed would be excited about joining our community and that we would pray for those people throughout the week.
- There is the possibility of having some oversight from a larger congregation. Having a larger support network and access to resources would be a great way to get started and so we are praying about the possibilities.
- We don't yet have a name for our church…. So if any of you creative types have any brilliant suggestions or ideas, bring 'em on!
- If you have any "coulds" or "shoulds" that you believe are important and weren't able to be here Thursday or just thought of it on the drive home, either add them as a comment here on the blog or send me an email.
As of right now we are tentatively planning on meeting again Saturday Evening, November 7, 2009 @ 6:00 p.m. at Craig and Brandy's home again. Look for an invitation to this early this week as well as other news and updates that we will post here and send you through email.
If you need any clarification on these below, either leave a comment or send an email.
What Could be:
Spend less $$$ and time on ourselves
Not so "Churchy"
Relational
Help parents teach their children and have a good relationship
"Mentoring"
Comforting the Afflicted & Afflicting the Comforted
Doers of Scripture
Focus for our vision and resources
A focus on culture and the arts
Financially Responsible
How do we reach 18-35 year olds? Cause we see them all around, just not in our communities of faith…
Ancient Future (e.g. liturgy and sacrament)
Soup Kitchen – had to be there but an idea to raise money for sustenance ministries as well as engaging our community
Should be:
Missional (fo-real)
Community/Discipleship/Exhortation- involved in each other's lives
Comforting the Afflicted & Afflicting the Comforted
Social Justice (Js 1:27)
Evangelism: near and far
Doers of Scripture
Holy Spirit (see short paragraph from Sarah W. about this below, thought it was more helpful than just throwing the Holy Spirit's name out there J)
Empower people
No "boxes"
Financially Responsible
Freedom in worship
Discipline with real Mercy
Holy Spirit: The disciples only understand Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, and starting in acts 2 it is the driving force of the church - everything the disciples did was through the Holy Spirit; I'm not sure what this means in practice for us right now, but maybe it starts with knowledge of the law, viewed through the gospel, and is something Living-the kingdom of heaven on earth? How: prayer, humility, openness, study and discernment... see "kingdom of heaven" parables ;)
1 comment:
i've had some ideas about "could be"
craig mentioned the soup kitchen idea, and i was thinking along those lines of our church/building being a service to our community. i've just recently started teaching art lessons at a community center here in huntsville, and i was thinking, what if we gave art and music lessons for free or at a materials/supplies cost to kids in our community? and then, along the lines of art and culture, i was thinking what if we had a shop where we sold art and goods made by artists and such in our congregation and all the proceeds could go to benefit our church's service/mission endeavors? it might also be a way to bring in artists who may not be believers, but are interested in the idea of using their art to support a good cause - one where they can see that the people involved are whole-heartedly devoting their time, money, and creative energy toward. i think that this kind of service is one of the most powerful testimonies to the grace of God, because it's only through His love and faithfulness toward humanity that we also are given strength to be loving and faithful toward our fellow humans. also, i was reminded of an artist that one of my professors told me about that started a non-profit for kids. he teaches low-income community kids bookmaking and other art techniques, and each location has a store front which sells the items the kids make, with all the profits going to sustain the program. i mean, we could have a facility as simple and low-budget as music and drawing/painting or as elaborate as ceramics, forging and welding, and wood-working. if we wanted to do that, it's the sort of start-up thing that granting foundations are interested in supporting, and we could have them cover the cost of the equipment, although liability insurance costs could be considerable... i don't know, it's just a thought.
hooray for God! i'm praying that He grants us humility and openness and wisdom and obedience. i'm so grateful that He has pursued us, and that He sees fit to use us to pursue others. hooray for all that is pleasing to God! (even to crush his Son for our transgressions - let us keep this in mind when we pray for His will)
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