Category Archives: fresh expressions

it’s what I do!

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Its been a while since I have spoken about my travels and my pioneering stuff. I am conscious, too, that a few people have joined me on this journey via the blog over the last few months and read from a distance but join while not fully knowing or grasping what I think is going on or what we are trying to achieve.

The under girding philosophy of what I am feeling called to do may be found in a short article that I have called ‘the dream’. This can be accessed in the right hand bar of the blog or by clicking here. The dream is then added to in an article I wrote here for Fresh Expressions. A little while ago I wrote a prayer letter (too long ago and so I will be writing a new one soon) which shows some of the reality of what I am involved in. If you are interested in that as well you can read that here.

Essentially those articles talk a lot about the exciting things and the privilege I genuinely feel of the stuff that I am fortunate to experience and be part of. I have a tendency, however, to play down the tough side of the role that accompanies those who have a task of ‘creating church’ with nothing and no one to start ‘creating’ even to the extent of not knowing where to create either. Some have suggested I put those thoughts and what I think I may have learned into a book – maybe one day I shall think about that.

There are a number of ways of attempting to build church and a number involve church planting. While that is a model that produces church it is not a model that I am trying to use or follow in my ministry. I rate the model (please don’t think I don’t!) but it is not a model I feel called to use. Church planting, per se, produces plants which are very similar to what we have already. They may be new hybrids, but the agricultural terminology gives the clue that what grows in a plant will be similar to the place from where the seed has come from.

I guess I am attempting to create a different expression, something that does not exist here in the area already and so there is not really anything to draw seed from. Rather than planting and growing in the way of a church plant I have the words of Bono more in mind in the U2 song ‘Walk On’, particularly the words:

You’re packing a suitcase for a place
None of us has been
A place that has to be believed
To be seen

And love
It’s not the easy thing
The only baggage
That you can bring
Not the easy thing

I’m on a journey, with others, to a new place, where none of us have ever been and a place that has to be believed to be seen! So, when I am out and about I am searching with my suitcase for people who might want to join me on this journey. I’m not out to coerce, to convert or to force people in to a model of something that already exists. I am searching for fellow travelers who search for that new place. What I am finding is that God is starting to bring me into contact with these people because God, it seems, is working in the lives of these people and its clear that church, as it currently exists, just ain’t gonna work for them. Is this fresh expression of church, is it emerging church, is it neither or both … I don’t know and actually not sure I care at this point in time.

I do find it interesting, though, that some people I have come into contact with have been reconnected to church in the cathedral expression and while I did not expect people I met ‘out there’ to start attending the cathedral regularly just shows that God is working in may different ways and at many different levels in peoples lives. I guess that’s why I search and observe rather than seek to convert – if I just go out and ‘do what I do’ it’s up to God to organise the rest.

temporary communication loss!

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I don’t like dentists!
I think lots of people may agree with me.
Why would anyone want to do that job?
It seems quite bizarre to me!

For the last two Mondays, and next Monday, I have been to the dentist, not something I enjoy. Actually that is an understatement! A filling fell out in the summer and the dentist wanted to clean and do other things and so is stretching out 2 hours of work into four visits which I guess makes sense.

Why is it that so many dislike the dentist? In my case I thought it was the pain – but actually there is no pain. I’ve often come to the conclusion at the end that I made a lot of fuss and worry beforehand over nothing. The techniques they use today do seem to limit, if not totally eliminate, pain.

If it is not the pain then what else makes me uncomfortable? I wonder, ctually, if it is the loss of my ability to communicate? I wondered about the intrusivity of the dentist, but doctor visits are just as intrusive but I do not experience fear when I go to the doctor. I also wondered about the loss of control over what happens to me, but again with a doctor I am not in control of what happens.

The loss of communication, however, seems to be quite scarey to many people. The knowledge that I can’t communicate with the dentist when he his working inside my mouth and the inability to have a normal conversation when so close to another human being, is quite alien. I think the lack of interaction causes me to feel uncomfortable to a point that is is a worry. Today the room was silent as the dentist worked and that was very very odd.

As the drill drilled today and I could do nothing but stare at the ceiling I was surprised to find myself reflecting on the fear that many I chat with actually have of the church. This seems to essentially boil down to a real fear (which many have actually experienced) that their voice will not be heard, that things will be done ‘to them’ without any way of them communicating, giving feedback or making their views known. A fear that stuff will be delivered to them and that they have to accept it without question. This fear is a fear that no matter what I will be squeezed this way and assimilated that way rather than listened to and be part of and included in making a difference.

It’s really difficult, and I think we are seeing this as a community, but to be genuine and honest and accepting to and of each other means not only listening to each other and ensuring that each other has a voice, but it is also about being willing to change and act differently as a response to that voice. A commitment to journey together has implicit within it a commitment to change.

gathering pt 6 … more exploration

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Yesterday afternoon, our fledgling christian missional community gathered again in our house.

We are still working out who we are and what we should do together. Yesterday we shared where we were and prayed for each other, we wrote psalms, chatted more about our values and rhythm of life together and broke bread together. So far we have come to think together that our values are partly about worship, hospitality, balance and seeing faith as a journey.

These values are not complete yet, and they will need a mass of unpacking when we agree on something that encompasses the whole community, but it is a start and I’m excited because the process is quite organic and real. This is the start of a process which I hope ill just naturally continue as we start to realise what God has called us together for and as.

a never ending cycle

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Some more reflections on my loitering times as I realise I have been fairly quiet on this front for a couple of weeks. This is, in the main, because things seem to happen very very slowly at an almost unnoticeable rate until you have a chance to sit back and reflect. When I do this it becomes quite clear that things have moved significantly in some ways.

Its seems to me that my experience goes in cycles. There are bouts of walking into places, being welcomed enthusiastically, and joining in with conversations and general life. This is balanced by other times when I can see the tumbleweed blow through the place as people turn to look the other way and pretend that I am not there. I’ve noticed the phases seem to go about 3 weeks of conversation followed by 10 days or so of tumbleweed. I wonder if these phases will change as relationships get stronger and real friendships start to form.

I wonder if that is a pretty normal cycle for this kind of ministry – I’m not sure as there are not that many people to ask! I also wonder whether there is nothing going on here at all and that it is all just my personal perception. I wonder if it is like when you walk into a room and it goes quiet, and you immediately start to think everyone was talking about you when nothing is further from the truth.

It seems that I have just come through a tumbleweed phase and are moving back into a phase of conversation. I wonder if people naturally chat to a certain level and then retreat a little to see what will happen, observe to see whether I can be trusted with the stuff they have shared. I guess that is quite a natural thing to do. I wonder if building relationships in this way is a series of tests – I say I am not out to bible bash people or drag them into church or tell them what to think – and so people naturally want to test that in their own way to see if that is the truth.

I am kind of looking forward to this week. I am wondering what God will bring across my path as, if I look, there always seems to be something that quite often surprises me.

any common themes?

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I have been having further thoughts today on the rhythm of life stuff. I’m currently looking at the words that everyone has written to see if I can identify any common themes that see to be coming out. I am sensitive about doing this because I don’t wish my slant to influence how we go and I intend to ship out ll the words to the community to see what common themes they see – it’s just I wanted to see that there were some before doing so. There’s nothing like setting an impossible task to to wreck something that seems to be starting to develop quite well.

I’m sending these out in an email to people connected with the community – but I’d be interested in hearing what common themes readers of this blog see in the words and ideas written below i response to ‘what should church /christian community include?’:

common sense
authentic
questions
freedom to express thoughts/feeling
mission
sharing
family
music
prayer
accountability
people
reflection
quiet
songs of praise
light
fun stuff
incense
mystery
knowing to be on a journey is ok
relationships
social action
worship
eucharist/communion
bible
sensory/stimulation
godly play
craft/creativity
acceptance
listen
understanding own limits
food
social things

it’s a long list!
what, if any, common themes do you see?

new fresh expressions website.

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The new Fresh Expressions website was launched today.

Sadly all the stories older than 3 months old (including pioneer ministry in Rochester) seem not to been transferred which is quite sad … I was hoping if people went to the website they would learn of our fledgling community and look out for us. I’m written asking if those stories will reappear.

The site did need an overhaul though as was quite a nightmare to steer through – and this site seems easier to navigate (and not just because it has a lot less on it!)

gathering pt 5 : the start of our rhythm …

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Yesterday our fledgling community gathered again for the fifth time.

We caught up with each other and shared a little about our summers. We welcomed a new person who had heard about us. We shared communion together and prayed together using incense as a symbol of our prayers rising to God. The children seemed to really enjoy the way we shared communion and the incense prayers. I think the adults did as well.

We then shared with each other what we think church/Christian community should contain. This is the first stage to us as a group developing our rhythm, or rule. of life. WE have already stated that we do not wish to develop a statement of belief as this gives an impression of exclusivity, which is something we are definitely not about. I was intrigued to hear someone suggest that maybe we should have a statement of disbelief … there could be something in that worth exploring!

The stuff we spoke about today was quite key as we tussled with what things meant and how we could do things. For example, one of our values is ‘acceptance’. As we thought about this it became clear this is will mean different things to different people, and is quite a massive concept. How can we, as a community, live authentically to a value of acceptance – is it as simple as saying we accept all. Is that even possible for a group of people to do? Do we need to put boundaries on acceptance – if we do, then is acceptance on our terms really acceptance or are we fooling ourselves to thinking we are inclusive when really we are not? Is there a limit to what we can accept? Was there a limit to what Jesus accepted or did he cross the cultural boundaries of acceptance. If so, what does that mean for us living in 21st century Kent?

Today was exciting, key and amazing. I think we all went away feeling we are further along the journey of this discovery that we have embarked upon – but it’s clear from today that we have a lot more thinking, mulling over, praying, tussling, talking and exploring to do.

That scares me quite a lot but it’s pretty exciting too! I’m not entirely sure where I go with all this next though ….

the 4th gathering

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This weekend saw the the 4th gathering of our community. I guess we will need to come up with a name for ourselves at some time – but at the moment we simply talk in terms of gathering together.

We gathered on Saturday afternoon at our home to consider what Jesus was on about when he called himself the bread of life, particularly in John 6. I wrote a meditation to help our thinking which you can see here if you are interested (be helpful to have comments as well!)

It was stunned again by how things simply seem to work. The atmosphere is relaxed, children dip in and out, both adults and children relating what we hear to our lives and asking that ever important question ‘so … how does that effect my life in the real world today?’

As part of this gathering we looked back and chatted a little about how things were going and where we are heading too. We were able to make a decision about when we meet, which will be during the afternoon of the second Sunday of the month. We shared that we like the discussion format we have, the permission there is to ask questions and how it is ok to not have all the answers. This is particularly healthy for children to see.

One issue very soon will be space as we grow. We like meeting at homes as it helps to include the children, and this will be a greater challenge if we move anywhere bigger which is not a home.

Other issues revolve around what we do. We are trying to develop church here and yet there are things that we do not do which we feel makes up church; such as worship in any form and sharing the Eucharist. I guess I am nervous about the latter too as I believe there is scope to be creative within the CofE rules but to keep integrity I believe I need to chat with the bishop first for his guidance.

So … I think we are at an exciting stage as we look forward and we welcome your prayers and any comments you may have.

3rd gathering: The Vine

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Today we had our third gathering of people who are investigating together a new way of being church. Again, I believe it was a special time as children and adults inter-mixed and discussed and thought about the theme for the gathering, which was Jesus as the Vine from John 15.

We started with some liturgy that I have adapted and added to which I originally found from Mucky Paws years ago. When each verse of liturgy was read some of the children brought stuff forward: a candle which was then lit, bread which was then broken, a bowl of fruit and a cross.

Following a short time of reflection we made bead branches which we hung from the vine in the picture. This was a great activity because it allowed the children and adults to sit together and discuss and chat over what we felt Jesus was getting at in John chapter 15. This was a great way to get deeper with the ideas and i think we ended up with more questions then we had answers – but that is quite exciting.

Sarah than asked a vital question – ‘so what … what difference does this make to us as Christians in our everyday lives?’ which sent the discussion along a different route again.

Following this we prayed and ate together and chatted a lot more.

This was quite a special time. I think we possibly need to think more still on whether we need to structure our time together better and how we end. At the moment we seem to slide from prayer and worship into eating, which might be the right thing to do, but I do wonder whether we should be doing something more tangible to mark the change? But, on the other hand, if our lives are worship then maybe we should slide from pray to eating as we do at the moment.

As I said …. lots of questions develop. At this point in time, though, I am encouraged. I’m encouraged and excited because of the way community is developing just through interest in each other being real. I am excited because the children engage and feel free to come in and out, to contribute or not, as they see fit.

Today felt more like a Sunday afternoon family gathering than anything else – and that in itself is quite exciting!

2nd gathering

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Saturday was a pretty special and amazing day.

WE had our second gathering of people at our house. We worshipped together, thought about and discussed some of the names given to Jesus in the gospel of John and prayed together. We then ate together and generally caught up with how each other was.

On reflection the remit was too wide and we should have focused on one or two names. In the end we did and thought more about Jesus as light and Jesus as word. We will concentrate on Jesus as the vine at our next gathering which will be roughly a month away.

These gatherings excite me. It’s a privilege to journey together and see people of all ages interacting and learning from each other as well as enjoying just being with each other.

I still find it amazing that we have come so far in a relatively short space of time – it’s exciting to be part of this, if a little scarey as none of us know where it is that we are actually going!