The current plan is to start weekly worship in October.
August 29, 2009
becoming more real
We are negotiating a rental price and trying to make sure the rental space is up to fire code.
May 25, 2009
Its been a while...
Well it has been a while....... so I thought I would provide an update for the interested. We have been seeking the Spirit and looking for a place for a gathering place. We have discovered what we think would be a good place and we are talking to the appropriate people (city codes and owner). If things work out we would love to start gathering in August. We are also working towards a web site. We'll keep you posted. If you are seeking a faith community of the progressive sort, who seeks to practice the way of Jesus in Winston Salem, stay tuned.
March 2, 2009
Bound together in a distinctive bond
I will never forget the spiritual formation class that was a part of my divinity school experience. Each day our professor had us sit with each other and share our personal stories. We shared stories of people and events from our past. We told about our journeys towards God and how we came to divinity school. There was seemingly nothing spectacular about telling our stories or listening to other's stories, but our professor knew of the transforming power.
On the day I shared my story, one of the persons who listened intently, came to me after class. He explained how up to that point he did not believe God would call a woman to be a minister; however, he said my story made him realize that he needed to examine his belief system.
Alan Hirsch says a covenanted community is formed people not by people just hanging out together but ones bound together in a distinctive bond. The distinctive bond that brings Via people together is Jesus. Can a group of people covenant together to share their stories in such a way that helps them to see Jesus, the one who binds them together? I believe so.
On the day I shared my story, one of the persons who listened intently, came to me after class. He explained how up to that point he did not believe God would call a woman to be a minister; however, he said my story made him realize that he needed to examine his belief system.
Alan Hirsch says a covenanted community is formed people not by people just hanging out together but ones bound together in a distinctive bond. The distinctive bond that brings Via people together is Jesus. Can a group of people covenant together to share their stories in such a way that helps them to see Jesus, the one who binds them together? I believe so.
February 27, 2009
how can you do it?
how can you start a new community.
It does not come ex-nihilo.
anyone who comes brings their own story of community or lack of community and their own story.
In china, the church grew from 2 million to 60 million without clergy, bibles, money, or property. what did they have? well, they had community for sure, anyone can see that. But theo-locally the community of chinese believers grew because they sought to commune with the Spirit of Jesus.
To become an authentic community of Jesus, a radical indwelling of the spirit must occur. most people in the modern world are either functionally agnostic or merely superstitious. some of us have been both and sometimes we have been both at the same time!
"there was no THERE there." someone told me that about a community they visited.
I have been teaching the book of Acts to my youth at church. It is like teaching people how to swim who never saw a body of water. I asked the youth how the church at acts formed such a radical community. "they had peter and james!" was the answer. but peter and james were no prizes. they were uneducated, they lacked faith when Jesus was alive and dead, and they were cowering in the upper room when Jesus appeared.
What changed?
An invasion of the spirit so intense it was said to be like tongues of fire.
Kyrie Eleison is a song from the 80s by Mr. Mister.
the man who wrote it said he was awoken from his sleep with the words of the song and wrote it all at once.
kyrie eleison means Lord have mercy.
listen to how the song evokes the movement of the holy spirit:
"The wind blows hard against this mountainside
Across the sea into my soul
It reaches into where I cannot hide
Setting my feet upon the road
My heart is old it holds my memories
My body burns a jetlike flame
Somewhere between the soul and soft machine
Is where I find myself again"
We hide and we don't have our feet set on the journey so often.
We cry out to God that in Her mercy God will come like a wind that reaches in where we hide and sets our feet on the road again.
it seems like my life has often been a series of offramps. perhaps it is because I am often on a highway and in God's mercy he is trying to get my off that easier, softer way to the right road.
Via the spirit, community can come. The spirit will show us the way. I believe that.
It does not come ex-nihilo.
anyone who comes brings their own story of community or lack of community and their own story.
In china, the church grew from 2 million to 60 million without clergy, bibles, money, or property. what did they have? well, they had community for sure, anyone can see that. But theo-locally the community of chinese believers grew because they sought to commune with the Spirit of Jesus.
To become an authentic community of Jesus, a radical indwelling of the spirit must occur. most people in the modern world are either functionally agnostic or merely superstitious. some of us have been both and sometimes we have been both at the same time!
"there was no THERE there." someone told me that about a community they visited.
I have been teaching the book of Acts to my youth at church. It is like teaching people how to swim who never saw a body of water. I asked the youth how the church at acts formed such a radical community. "they had peter and james!" was the answer. but peter and james were no prizes. they were uneducated, they lacked faith when Jesus was alive and dead, and they were cowering in the upper room when Jesus appeared.
What changed?
An invasion of the spirit so intense it was said to be like tongues of fire.
Kyrie Eleison is a song from the 80s by Mr. Mister.
the man who wrote it said he was awoken from his sleep with the words of the song and wrote it all at once.
kyrie eleison means Lord have mercy.
listen to how the song evokes the movement of the holy spirit:
"The wind blows hard against this mountainside
Across the sea into my soul
It reaches into where I cannot hide
Setting my feet upon the road
My heart is old it holds my memories
My body burns a jetlike flame
Somewhere between the soul and soft machine
Is where I find myself again"
We hide and we don't have our feet set on the journey so often.
We cry out to God that in Her mercy God will come like a wind that reaches in where we hide and sets our feet on the road again.
it seems like my life has often been a series of offramps. perhaps it is because I am often on a highway and in God's mercy he is trying to get my off that easier, softer way to the right road.
Via the spirit, community can come. The spirit will show us the way. I believe that.
January 29, 2009
From Ric Durham
Individuals who are trying to follow Christ need a community that emphasizes freedom, acceptance, compassion, encouragement, forgiveness, honesty. A community of real grace outside of a 12 Step Group, which is probably the most likely place anybody can experience grace now. Thank God for them, but not everyone has one. Winston-Salem seems a likely place to plant a beginning community because of the divinity school and the CPE center at the medical center.
January 27, 2009
Why a new faith community
Recently, I wrote something on my Facebook profile that describes where I feel I am on my spiritual journey: you are never too far on the journey of life to be on the journey. You may think that because I am fifty-five years old, an ordained minister, and have completed my doctorate in pastoral studies I surely have arrived by now. NOT! As a matter of fact, none of these things seem as relevant to my life journey as my relationships and my capacity to open up and learn from others. I desire a new faith community in Winston because of the unmet spiritual needs of myself and others. Repeatedly, I hear of people who are on a quest similar to mine who have chosen not to be in an existing faith community.
My desire is for a people and a place where I can learn from others, not people who feel they have issues of faith all nailed down but people who feel they are travelers as well. I want an open space where I can explore the hard questions of faith with people who will not judge my questions or give me pat answers, which do not seem to be true for my journey. I don't necessarily want to worship and live out my faith with people who are just like me but I would rather stretch and grow in the richness of a diverse environment. In other words, I long for a faith community who respects differences in others. I am too unhappy with the status quo to join with it and too excited about people I see attempting to practice the way of Jesus. I want a new faith community in Winston where I can join with others who are on a similar quest.
--Bev
My desire is for a people and a place where I can learn from others, not people who feel they have issues of faith all nailed down but people who feel they are travelers as well. I want an open space where I can explore the hard questions of faith with people who will not judge my questions or give me pat answers, which do not seem to be true for my journey. I don't necessarily want to worship and live out my faith with people who are just like me but I would rather stretch and grow in the richness of a diverse environment. In other words, I long for a faith community who respects differences in others. I am too unhappy with the status quo to join with it and too excited about people I see attempting to practice the way of Jesus. I want a new faith community in Winston where I can join with others who are on a similar quest.
--Bev
January 26, 2009
Why a new faith community
I was asked, as part of an article, why I thought Winston-Salem needed a new faith community. My short answer was that 20% of North Carolina attends church regularly while over 80% consider themselves Christians. That is a huge disconnect.
John Wimber said, "People don't goto church because they have already been."
I think that from 1995-2006 I went to about 10 worship services total, at about 4 differenc churches. It may have been a few more, I was semi-active in a UCC church for awhile.
But while I was working in social work I came to realize that the immense and staggering problems of the world would never be solved by politicians and social workers. For real change, we need the average person to be involved in transforming the status quo. That may sound like a wierd thing for a church to do, because many churches focus on heaven. But Jesus did not spend much time talking about what life in heaven would be like. He spent more time talking about how to live here on earth.
In the next few weeks we will be having different people blog about why they want a new faith community in Winston-Salem. Maybe you want to be one of the people blogging. Just drop an email.
John Wimber said, "People don't goto church because they have already been."
I think that from 1995-2006 I went to about 10 worship services total, at about 4 differenc churches. It may have been a few more, I was semi-active in a UCC church for awhile.
But while I was working in social work I came to realize that the immense and staggering problems of the world would never be solved by politicians and social workers. For real change, we need the average person to be involved in transforming the status quo. That may sound like a wierd thing for a church to do, because many churches focus on heaven. But Jesus did not spend much time talking about what life in heaven would be like. He spent more time talking about how to live here on earth.
In the next few weeks we will be having different people blog about why they want a new faith community in Winston-Salem. Maybe you want to be one of the people blogging. Just drop an email.
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