Identity, Purpose and Belonging

 In mid-2005 then Mission and Ministry Executive Director John Gilmore and I travelled to the US. Our plan was to observe how several different Christian ‘tribes’ were engaging a transition towards being mission-shaped. We met with two Presbyterian Synods and two Mennonite Conferences, as well as a number of church leaders from a Capella Churches of Christ that coalesce around Abilene Christian University. It was a formative time in the reimagination of Churches of Christ in Vic/Tas as a tribe aligned around mission. That process was ignited by a range of voices, including FORGE, the International Missional Team, and an ongoing conversation with Alan Roxburgh.

One of the key things we noticed in the US was each group’s willingness to seek clarity around identity and purpose.

In 2006 Dean Phelan as Conference President took up this conversation. He wrote often on themes of identity and purpose. In late 2006 the Conference Council, in its first year of operation, had a Dreaming Day from which emerged 4 Challenges for Churches of Christ in Vic/Tas. The 4 Challenges are: Leadership, Growth and Health, Spirituality, and Identity and Purpose. The Growth and Health Challenge included the notion of “strengthening the connectedness between Partner Departments, churches and communities”.  The Identity and Purpose Challenge included issues related to “who we are and what we’re doing here”.

These 4 Challenges have set the agenda for Council and the Departments since then, with a particular focus in this period on identity, purpose and belonging.

In October 2007 the first Vic/Tas Dreaming Day was held, facilitated by Dean. Background papers engaging the challenges were released. Churches were invited to dwell on the themes of the Challenges around biblical texts and contemporary writings. Ideas shared and questions raised were opened up for further dialogue via an ongoing blog.

At the AGMs of 2008 and 2009 four Affiliation discussion papers were released and responses sought and received. The two 2009 papers included extensive background to the notions of a covenant for affiliated churches (including a list of benefits and responsibilities) and a percentage basis for Affiliation Fees. In late 2009 Regional Conversations were held in city and country, and feedback was collected. A second Dreaming Day was held in October 2010, followed by further Regional Conversations in early 2011. All this was supported by other papers and an ongoing blog conversation.

Throughout this period there have been many conversations, formal and informal, planned and unplanned. We are committed to listening each other into free speech. Whatever some may say, you can never have enough conversations! Of course as ever, it is impossible to get everybody in the room (or on the same theme) all at once. We accept that not everybody has been present in the conversation. We have therefore always worked on the principle of “the people there are those who want to be there, those who need to be there, and we will work with whoever is there”. Every conversation, including the tense ones that looked to some people a bit like disunity, added (and still adds) something helpful and unique to the process. 

Notwithstanding all this, we understand that some churches and church leaders require more time to better (or further) consider who we are, what we’re here for, and what it means to belong to Churches of Christ in Vic/Tas. That’s why we are seeking ‘in principle’ support for the Affirmation document as the basis for an agreement at the AGM on May 14, and why we are proposing to hold a Special General Meeting on a suitable date in October to decide its final shape.

Thanks for being part of the conversation.

Paul Cameron—Executive Officer

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And have you seen the items in our last blog post?

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