Categories: uncategorized
Date: 10 February 2005 04:11:40
I've been to Liquid, and now I'm feeling totally overwhelmed and inadequate. There were lots of exciting stories. There was like minded people. There were little diagrams with three circles.
I'm sitting in a neighbour's kitchen, struggling a bit for conversation, and I'm thinking, there's nothing exciting about this. This church planting stuff has some boring, everyday, life stuff attached to it.
Hello to Liquid bloggers. There's a whole list of bloggers who were there, whom I'm sure will have some very interesting things to say about the gathering and about church. And can I say how exciting to meet real live bloggers in the flesh.
TheHeresy is worth mentioning as this Canadian has some very complimentary things to say about us here in Melbourne.
Five workshops were developed from the questions people present asked. I went to one about initiation rites. How to move from neighbourhood BBQ's to planting a church. Everyone told their story of how they are trying to develop a community with the people they live and work with. We came up with a bunch more questions. Not many answers. We all thought eating together was important, as was communion, in whatever was the most appropriate form for the people we were with, and prayer together. It would seem the answer is, 'it just happens, don't force it, wait and see'.
Some people were asking about kids in small church plant communities too. We didn't get to that one. I've got experience with that one, but no diagrams. Maybe I should try to develop one;-)
The big question of the day, asked in a few workshops was, "What is church?"
Another topic, 'How to be for something, not just against something' really got me thinking too. I didn't go to the workshop, but it's a very big question that can be applied to so many situations in life. I guess I'm especially interested in this question at the moment, attending our new and depressing (established denominational) church. As it turns out I have some pretty strong ideas about what I am for when it comes to church, and a minister who is very willing to listen.