How Extravagant a Welcome?
Within our church, how might we help "guests" to act like "hosts"? Indeed, we talked at length about who fits in these categories and the need to blur the roles. This is the responsibility of every member, not any single committee or group, and these behaviors need not be limited to one hour on Sunday mornings. We all could benefit from paying more attention to newcomers and guests and making them more comfortable by taking specific steps to familiarize them with our traditions and norms.
Of course, there is risk in opening ourselves to guests and extending a truly warm welcome - every time we do so, we take a chance that we will be rejected. Will we take that risk in Christ's name and cease being hesitant or timid?
Discernment (Chapter 6) came next, and it was evident that many in the group struggle with just what the title word means. One offered definition: "Exploring unknown territories within us in an attempt to know God." We discussed discernment as integral to any faith community as we together seek the will of God as a guiding force, rather than rolling along in a default mode.
Do we understand the need to intentionally create time and space for listening to God, discussing what we hear, and listening to and learning from each other? Would it make sense to offer Quaker-style prayer services that include significant portions of silence with prayer?
Even though "discernment" has holier-than-thou connotations, isn't it really as simple as trying to figure out what God wants for us, who God is calling us to become? If we can foster regular, intentional ways to engage Scripture both individually and in groups, and if we do so grounded in prayer, discernment is under way.
The author lifts up the need for Christians to ask fewer "I questions" and more "God questions" (P. 94). While this sounds ideal, many struggle with feeling unqualified to know just what questions God would ask. Once we begin getting answers and making plans based on God's design, it is healthiest to share this entire process openly - so that others might feel welcomed into a shared vision. This might be as straightforward as engaging in the practice of urging every committee and group within the church to regularly ask, "Where is God in my ministry?"
Chapter 7 focuses on healing, and begins with the example of one Pennsylvania church that practices healing prayer, Reiki, a labyrinth, and prayer shawls - all part of the church's sense of itself as a "hospital for sinners." Our ministry of bringing and sending prayer shawls was lifted up along with our weekly tradition of sharing and praying for each other's concerns, but it was noted that such sharing is seen by some as excessive, even "gossip."
Additionally, while some crisis situations and other urgent needs are regularly addressed, this often happens through close friends rather than in an organized fashion that empowers more of the congregation as part of a healing outreach. We also noted the potential for deliberate, specific worship services of healing.
Our final chapter for this gathering, Chapter 8: Contemplation, prompted us to consider together the power of silence as a mode of worship, both for individuals (rosary and Tibetan prayer beads...) and groups (structured silence in current and/or new worship). Can we and will we recover what the author describes as the contemplative arts of thinking, meditating, ruminating?
Of course, there is risk in opening ourselves to guests and extending a truly warm welcome - every time we do so, we take a chance that we will be rejected. Will we take that risk in Christ's name and cease being hesitant or timid?
Discernment (Chapter 6) came next, and it was evident that many in the group struggle with just what the title word means. One offered definition: "Exploring unknown territories within us in an attempt to know God." We discussed discernment as integral to any faith community as we together seek the will of God as a guiding force, rather than rolling along in a default mode.
Do we understand the need to intentionally create time and space for listening to God, discussing what we hear, and listening to and learning from each other? Would it make sense to offer Quaker-style prayer services that include significant portions of silence with prayer?
Even though "discernment" has holier-than-thou connotations, isn't it really as simple as trying to figure out what God wants for us, who God is calling us to become? If we can foster regular, intentional ways to engage Scripture both individually and in groups, and if we do so grounded in prayer, discernment is under way.
The author lifts up the need for Christians to ask fewer "I questions" and more "God questions" (P. 94). While this sounds ideal, many struggle with feeling unqualified to know just what questions God would ask. Once we begin getting answers and making plans based on God's design, it is healthiest to share this entire process openly - so that others might feel welcomed into a shared vision. This might be as straightforward as engaging in the practice of urging every committee and group within the church to regularly ask, "Where is God in my ministry?"
Chapter 7 focuses on healing, and begins with the example of one Pennsylvania church that practices healing prayer, Reiki, a labyrinth, and prayer shawls - all part of the church's sense of itself as a "hospital for sinners." Our ministry of bringing and sending prayer shawls was lifted up along with our weekly tradition of sharing and praying for each other's concerns, but it was noted that such sharing is seen by some as excessive, even "gossip."
Additionally, while some crisis situations and other urgent needs are regularly addressed, this often happens through close friends rather than in an organized fashion that empowers more of the congregation as part of a healing outreach. We also noted the potential for deliberate, specific worship services of healing.
Our final chapter for this gathering, Chapter 8: Contemplation, prompted us to consider together the power of silence as a mode of worship, both for individuals (rosary and Tibetan prayer beads...) and groups (structured silence in current and/or new worship). Can we and will we recover what the author describes as the contemplative arts of thinking, meditating, ruminating?
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