here are some of my scribble notes from last Saturday's "Cultivate Gathering" hosted by Resonate and The Freeway Cafe:
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M I S S I O N A L I M A G I N A T I O N
Joe Manafo – Missional Imagination & Creativity
- our experiences are a fusion of images, sound, music, lights, structures
- forming a ministry is like pulling together various images to fashion/decipher a story
- mind-mapping is a process that allows messages to emerge
Krista Jefferson
- reflect on one of the core values of Frwy – beauty – and took a tour of the Beasley neighbourhood to look at the poverty but still identify places and images of beauty
- “I don’t want to photograph someone’s wedding more than once”
Katherine Siebert
- “conviction” may be just that intuitive sense that something isn’t quite right
- “experimentation” – acting on conviction, even if it means stepping out into uncertainty
– started edeva, a blog for artists and artisans to discover (being the beautiful gift and unwrapping yourself to the world)
- “taking the leap” – moved to Dominican Republic … maybe for a time, maybe forever
- “confirmation”
- “evolution”
M I S S I O N A L T H E O L O G Y
Tim Bailey
- there is a difference between our new images and the process of reimagining - how do we help people reimagine?
reimagine :: the concept of ‘fellowship’
- how do we facilitate authenticity? Scripture talks about ‘putting off’ (e.g. falsehood) … you don’t become authentic, you are already authentic – you can only choose to mess that up
>> we give up and dump off things – e.g. my privacy, my protection/protectiveness
>> we try to become the kind of person that doesn’t require you to exercise grace, which is counter to the message of the Gospel
reimagine :: ‘freedom’
- it’s getting rid of my own bondage – getting away from my selfishness, not moving towards more of what I want
- love will drive you to the people that you think least deserve it … love is inherently missional
- grace = being addicted to forgiving
reimagine :: ‘worship’
- if worship is about sacrifice, it leads us to give up my whole being for His creation
- if it’s about being filled as opposed to being emptied (Phil 2), then we have missed the point
reimagine :: ‘truth’
- if it’s seen as downloading information through to conclusion, it finalizes and resides with us
- truth is a person – and we are growing into the truth (there are things even 15-20 years ago that we believed to be incontrovertible truths which today we laugh at and can’t believe we ever held them so firmly)
David Fitch
- ‘missional orders’ – much of church planting has been based on the premise of Christendom … there used to be an established structure/church organization, and someone was paid to extend the franchise
>> missional order is about surviving – knowing we’ll get banged up, and finding ways to make ends meet
>> not about repackaging church for disgruntled Christians
>> we’ll have to take on disciplines of resistance … we’re told that a venture is not worthwhile if it’s not making money
>> old order of Christianity is about having power – now it’s decentralized, governed by mutual submission
>> not about organizing a system at an excellent level, but living a way of life together
M I S S I O N A L P R A C T I C E
Dan Sheffield
- missio Dei – the restoration of shalom throught the expanding influence of the Kingdom of God on earth
- church’s ministry is incarnational, not attractional
- what does shalom look like in a culturally-diverse community?
> the meeting of different cultures can bring a richness of values to all, including the dominant culture
> multicultural accepts a duality of interaction: positive adjustment is necessary for all (not ghettoism – segregation of cultures)
> cultural self-assurance empowers minorities to interact with other cultures
- as Christians we are all moving from loyalty to our own cultural values, to an adjusted worldview
- we have loyalty to Christ and are seeking to incarnate him as “counter-“ in our own cultural contexts, but we also seek to interact with, be enriched by, and adjust to believers of other cultures
- the multicultural congregation empowers all cultural voices to participate in setting goals and making decisions
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aj and i had a grand ol' time at the cafe. i think that between free coffees, multiple trips to the bathroom, and exploring half of the one-way streets in hamilton, we felt God's call to missional ministry really amplified through the reflections and networking that took place.
and call it rebelliousness, unbelievable self-assurance or all-out stupidity ... for all that i heard people say "but don't do" or "you shouldn't try", i felt even more compelled to try to navigate those avenues that seemed to frustrate everyone else.
dream big or go home, i guess.
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