Several factors conspired to keep me away from the everything must change tour, but I'm glad I made it - at least for today.
- the topics Brian covered, reinforced what I have thinking and feeling about Jesus & church
- the music & worship provided ideas for incorporating justice themes into liturgy
- I was challenged to think about ways we can become a green church
- I was encouraged to continue working with IMPACT, possibly with a little more joy ;)
- I was inspired by folks from The Church of The Saviour that are living the change through spiritual support groups: a new form of church.
They wanted "to explore new forms for church which would bring people together with their societal opposites - and embody the diversity and mutuality of the Kingdom. Out of this desire, the Spiritual Support Groups were born." Each group meets for an hour each week in an AA-like structure. They read a litany which admits addiction to culture, recognizes the need for a Saviour and a community of support, and commits to steps of recovery. A member of the group then provides a reflection on Scripture and poses a question related to recovery from dominant culture. The members that talked about the process were absolutely transformed and the 2 members I talked to during lunch were practically glowing. This has obviously been an amazing experience for them. It's not only providing a safe place to share their life experiences and connection to a diverse population, it's also encouraging groups to see the needs of group members as their own and one way they do this is through economic sharing.
The Church of The Saviour @ http://www.inwardoutward.org
(excerpts from becoming the authentic church booklet available @ http://www.pottershousedc.org)
becoming the authentic church
the "givens" of being authentic church
- the authentic church is an outward expression of God, who is love
- the authentic church follows the authentic Jesus
- the authentic church is a place of extreme diversity
- the authentic church is serious about the work of reconciliation
- the authentic church shares its life with others outside its circle
- the authentic church seeks justice
what's stopping us?
- we are cultural addicts and we cannot break this addiction alone
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Be careful less the "authentic church" become the self-righteous Church . Thinking itself better than any other. We have enough of those.
Agreed. It's always a challenge to take highlights and excerpts out of life experiences because you can't share the whole thing. I did not get a self-righteous attitude from these folks.
Post a Comment