July 15, 2007
ekklesia project
Here are the points the Gathering will focus upon. I will be there Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
1) We desire that people leave the gathering with both a renewed sense of the centrality of formation to everything the church is/does, and a clear sense that God's Spirit is the primary actor in all of this.2) We desire that people leave the gathering encouraged and inspired by hearing stories of congregations that are being formed into communities of more faithful disciples.
3) We desire that people leave the gathering with a sense of both the joys and messiness of formation--and with a clear sense that formation is always a process and never looks just one way.
4) We desire that the gathering not only talk about formation, but also be in some sense formative. For this reason, our times of gathered worship will be central and everything else will flow from them.
5) We desire that there be ample time provided for conversation and connection and that a special effort be made to break down the dividing walls between newer and older comers.
6) We desire to introduce those who attend to resources that EP is developing to help congregations nurture and sustain faithful formation. We are also interested in introducing people to those who have been "doing" formation for decades and who can offer wisdom about this without offering blueprints.
7) We desire that nothing said at the gathering leaves the impression that any of us have formation figured out. Every congregation is God's work in progress and there is much that we can learn from one another.
I'll try to participate in as much as I can. There's a lot going on at Community Church this week...pastoral concerns, you know. So, we'll see what I can do. I am hopeful. This is the kind of "growth" I am looking at...not so much measurable by standard means, but revealed in relationships and action. Doctrine will play a part in the conversations. It just does. The first point suggests theology. Discipleship is impossible without theology. So, I am interested in the theological underpinnings. The longer I serve as a pastor, the more I am convinced that all aspects of the life of a church are undergirded with theology. Administration, pastoral care, worship, play...are all undergirded with the theological life of the congregation. Understand the theology of a congregation, understand the life of a congregation.
Posted by tripp at July 15, 2007 08:37 PM