Categories: uncategorized
Date: 20 July 2004 13:40:55
i recently received an email as a follow-up from someone researching creativity/innovation in forms and expressions of church; he's near to completion and wanted to ask a couple of clarification questions about how I'd got to where I had churchwise.
Hadn't been able to give it any time for a while and last night I just got on with it and wrote... and wrote. It was so interesting for me to delve so much into the history of my faith expressions; I hadn't realised there was so much to say and think about. Summed it up as follows:
'I'd developed a constructively critical approcch to expressions of the faith through my church history [ie my experiences of church, not my knowledge of Church History!], and then found myself in a context where I was around others who were also willing to see this thinking through into experimenting with new forms and ideas of church (drawn from our existing understandings I think, of the church being a community of faith). I do enjoy innovation and change although people bonds are very important to me, so all the experimentation is best in that context, I think'.
There was a lot more than that... it ran to almost 3000 words. Note to everyone: never ask me searching questions! I was most shocked to realise the timescales... the alt worship stuff done among us in the early days, meeting in a pub, throwing the huge parties, was probably about '96. There are sad bits in the story, but I'm glad that other people had the wisdom to let us do it all and support us whether we did it or not. I was also inspired by the sense of progression and journey in it, and that that all continues. When you are just getting on with stuff and doing what you do, you can forget it's a story with a form and a shape and that you get to choose the story you'll be telling in 5 years about the time from now.
Deep thoughts for a Tuesday.