Joe Manafo

chapter one continues…

This past Saturday night, we held our second official church plant meeting at Lambton College. Unsure of who or how many would show up (I decided not to send an email notice out this time because we needed to weed out those who weren’t hardcore – nothing against the fringe people, I just don’t think you can build a solid core with those who are on the fence, so we figured that if people really wanted to be there, they would make the effort to find out when and where through the appropriate channels) we planned for 20-40 and about 35 showed up. Of the 35, some were friends who lived out of town that came to show their support as well as a handful of people who weren’t around for round one in January. From the group that showed up, I think that we’re going to begin our core group meetings in September with a solid 20 people. From what I understand and have read in regards to church planting, this is a large group to start with. I’m not sure who’s writing the rule book on church planting (or how to get my paws on that particular book!) but I guess they’re right – 20 brains and mouths putting contributing to the ethos of a new community does seem like the upper end of what’s acceptable at this time. But hey, I guess we’ll figure it out along the way, won’t we…

What surprised (and pleased!) me most about the meeting is that as we fleshed out some thoughts and ideas around this new community, many answers and thoughts began to overlap and it really seemed that people were very close to being on the same page. Beyond that, over 80% of what came from those in attendance appeared in my notes, meaning that their contributions matched my own conclusions and meditations. Wow! A total random grouping of people, from different walks of life and Christian experience naturally finishing each other’s sentences and genuinely agreeing and resonating with each other. This is good news! Think of all the deprogramming I’ve just avoided :). I’m really glad we structured the meeting the way we did. I suppose we could’ve walked in and dictated ideas for people to download, but that just didn’t feel right – people’s voices and collective stories needed to be heard. So we were really careful not to sway or coerce the flow of the conversation, but rather set up perimeters and allow people to fill in the empty spaces. In creative fashion, we distributed 3 coloured pieces of paper where people could write their responses then post them on the wall to contribute to the discussion (btw, look closely at the papers, they’re in the shape of our new logo. I’ll cover that in the next post.)

Anyway here’s what we discovered and uncovered:

Calling
(Moving away from the business language of ‘mission’ & ‘vision’, and to also re-affirm that Jesus already left us that info [Love God, Love others; Go out and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit] we thought it was important to begin by establishing the untouchables, the moorings that we’re tethered to that will never change, regardless of circumstance. Rising to the surface was…)

Faithfulness to the Godhead (Father, Son & Holy Spirit)
Faithfulness to the Scriptures (loyal to its essence and intent)
Faithful to Each Other (through grace, accountability and love)

Values
(Asking the question “What will define us?” we took a first stab at figuring out what the earmarks of this new community would be, realizing that in the future, all our efforts and practices would first need to be filtered through these values before we take any action. In no particular order, the standouts included…)

Justice: hope for the hopeless
Hospitality: whoever, whatever, whenever.
Regeneration: of lives, city and planet
Stewardship: of all that’s been entrusted to us
Grace: a Jesus inspired acceptance
Journey: ‘church’ happens where life happens; long term commitment to each other

Experience
(Opening the potential can of worms labeled “How will this new community express itself?”, again, I was pleasantly surprised. The conversation revolved around ideas that were community minded, meaning, that there wasn’t a self-serving vibe in the room like there usually is when you entertain this topic. Some of my favourites were…)

Being able to question without penalty

Engaging of the senses

Women actively involved in leadership

Involved in the community

Dangerous (opposite of being safe)

So…

All in all, the night went as well as expected. I’m a little frustrated with the time and distance between each meeting, but that will all be over in about ten weeks. Otherwise, I have this weird mix of feelings right now: pumped yet freaked out. Further, I need to give mad props to both Nate and Darryl for both their preparation and presentation. These guys are all-stars and I’m so glad we can do this plant as a team.

Finally…

Aside from all the planning, meetings, cool ideas, connections and blah blah blah, I had two separate conversations the day after the meeting that really put things into perspective, and in a pastoral sense, it’s where the rubber really hits the road. A gentle reminder from God, if you will, as to why we’re doing this in the first place.

Pray for us…

Filed by Joe at April 18th, 2006 under Church Planting