On Monday I visited a local sports centre which was an interesting experience.
People who I have known for years were struck by the dog collar and were not sure how to react in front of me.

After using the gym and chatting with some blokes in the steam room I got changed and there was a little hush as I was putting the dog collar back on. I made some joke about ‘fancy dress’ which lightened the mood and produced a couple of questions around where I was and whether the cathedral was a (Roman) Catholic cathedral.

I have been struck again by the different reactions that wearing a dog collar has. I was expecting this but I guess i have been surprised by a few things.

I’m glad to say that my closest friends treat me no differently, which was a fear of mine. They know me, they know I am the same person and so they are able to relate to me in an identical way.

Others who have known my face when collecting the children from clubs or school have suddenly started smiling at me or talking to me. I have had one serious conversation with a guy about spirituality and how he does not feel comfortable in traditional church as he does not think his views fit with mainstream Christianity. It was not the time or place (tired children for both of us needing to go home) to discuss this further but I think actually the guys views just don’t sit with the tradition of the church that he has attended … his views are mainstream Christianity, just not mainstream evangelical Christianty which happens to be the ‘flavour’ of the churches he has visited.

This experience has re-emphasised to me that any new Christian community I become involved in needs to place relationship, discussion and respect above a set of beliefs that we all agree. There is a need to develop open community which is inviting and welcoming based on common humanity and a commitment to journey rather than common belief.

That may be a risky way of existing but, for me, it fits better with the journey image that we often use of Christian faith. If we are on a journey then it is not really possible for all of us to believe identical stuff all of the time. Our experience of humanity and of God will be different, we will all be at different stages of the journey and some may not even have started the journey yet at all. If we can accept that and live that out authentically I believe we will learn what it means to live the life as God intended in John 10:10 which is life as God experiences it – a trinitarian (ie in relationship) existence.

If this is truly the case a joint belief system, a statement of faith to subscribe to, cannot be the thing we base new Christian community around. Rather it will need to be some form of a rule of life which would enable a commitment to support and journey together.