Photos from the Dreaming…

Here are a number of photos from the Days:

Please go to our Facebook page for more…

- Thanks to Jarrod Risson for the photos

A Call to Prayer

Churches of Christ in Vic/Tas has had many seasons: Seasons of growth, seasons of exploring, seasons of uncertainty, seasons of maintenance, seasons of mission, seasons of church planting and seasons of healing, to name some of them. We have only made it thus far because of the faithful prayer of, at times, many and, at other times, a few. We thank God for these prayerful partners and supporters.

It is my sense that we are now moving into a season of refreshment and renewal. This season needs to backed by sacrificial, regular, corporate, Holy Spirit-inspired and -empowered prayer.

In this time of refreshment and renewal we are engaging questions of identity and purpose. This is a glance back at our past as well as a glimpse of our future, all at the same time. Without regurgitating history just for the sake of it, knowing where we started helps discover the future. Much of the deeper story of Churches of Christ—including holding firmly to the place of Jesus as Lord and Saviour of the world, a simple and uncluttered Christianity, unity in diversity, minimalist structures, flexibility of worship, and a willingness to engage frontiers with imagination and to welcome everybody who is working out what it means to follow Jesus in the 21^st Century—engages the spirit of these times. The Affinity and Covenant conversation is part of a wider dialogue of re-discovering our roots, and at the same time allowing God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to be imagining and shaping Churches of Christ for the future through us.

Can I invite all churches and every minister and elder to be praying for Dreaming Day:2. You may be present in the room on Friday or Saturday in person or not, but you can be present through your prayers of faith and hope and imagination.

Please pray for:

• John Bailey (Doncaster) and John Sharpe (Ringwood) as they facilitate.
• All who participate: for safe travel, open hearts, open ears and, where appropriate, open mouths…
• For clarity around the identity and purpose questions; for understanding of the covenant proposal; and for every person in every church to honestly seek God and be open to the ways he wants to use us all to announce the Kingdom.
• Lynette Leach (Williamstown) and Brian Macallan (Connection) as they provide theological reflections.
• Craig Brown (Federal Coordinator and Ringwood) who will stimulate our thinking in a creative way.
• Francine Riches (Footscray Indigenous) who will provide a ‘welcome to country’.
• The ministers who will gather on Friday. Along with other leaders (often called elders) ministers are keys to the spiritual health and cultivation of a congregation, and of a movement.
• All those who will gather on Saturday—ministers, leaders and friends.
• Those who can’t be there because of distance.
• The church at Doncaster who will be the hosts of Dreaming Day:2.
• Claire Egan and the admin team at Fairfield. 

Never More Movement, Never More Questions

An article from ‘The Christian Standard’, by Mark A. Taylor, www.christianstandard.com

“I don’t remember the author of the essay or the year it appeared in CHRISTIAN STANDARD. I know it was decades ago, probably in the late ’60s or early ’70s. And I remember the question the writer raised:

“When will the Restoration Movement start moving again?”

The essay was a plea for our churches and leaders and institutions to step out of their lethargy and isolation and to actually make something happen in our world for Christ’s sake.

Maybe someone listened, because no one in Christian churches and churches of Christ today is pleading for something to move. Instead, we’re just trying to keep up with what’s happening all around us! We point to our gains in church planting and missions and multisite churches and know there’s more progress than any one of us can quantify. We’re pleased to see our leaders leading leaders from Christian groups besides our own and writing books for major evangelical publishers. We’re proud of our megachurches and hear that we have more of them per capita than any other church group in America.

There’s a vitality among us today that many could not have imagined when that article appeared so much earlier in our lifetimes.

But movements by their very nature are impossible to control, and their futures are difficult to predict. Roy Lawson points that out in his article this week. And writer Dick Alexander (while noting all the energy he sees in our group) claims that our movement to restore the New Testament church is dead. He says we need a new vision to challenge a new generation.

So here’s the irony: Today our fellowship of churches is showing more vigor than we’ve seen in at least a generation. But at the same time many influencers among us demonstrate confusion about who we are and where we’re going. Their opinion of “us” ranges from ambivalence to apathy, and a few express downright hostility.

But Roy and Dick were not negative at our contributing editors and publishing committee retreat this January. Although they expressed some incisive concerns, you’ll discover their affection and hope for our fellowship when you read their presentations in this issue.

CHRISTIAN STANDARD is committed to helping keep Christian churches connected. One of the ways we do this is by inviting dialogue about issues we’re facing. Perhaps none of those is more central than considering who “we” are and what God may be calling us to do in today’s generation.”

~

“Who we are and what God may be calling us to do in today’s generation” is what Dreaming Day:2 ‘Affinity’ is all about!  Have you registered yet?  Email Claire at cegan[a]churchesofchrist.org.au today!

So how do we participate?

That’s a good question!  Glad you asked…  There are a number of ways, the first being here at this blog.  We’re really looking forward to generating useful contributions to these ongoing conversations through this medium.  Which means we need you to weigh-in, to comment and discuss and input. 

Another way to participate is through the Dreaming Day:2 event ‘Affinity’.  To be part of this day you need to be recommended by your local church using the Dreaming Day:2 Participants form.  We want churches to take ownership of their contribution to these conversations and to do so by selecting a broad range of participants that will represent men and women, different ages and ethnic groups and viewpoints, and perhaps also differing levels of previous engagement with church.

We are the Churches of Christ in Tasmania and Victoria and the goal is to be working together towards a diversity of healthy and growing churches.

Join us.  Contribute.  Participate.  Be part of creating the future with us!

-

What are you hoping will be discussed on this blog and at the Dreaming Day:2 event?  Tell us below in the comments…

Welcome

Welcome to the Dreaming Day:2 ‘Affinity’ blog, another opportunity to continue the Covenant/Belonging conversations happening in Churches of Christ Vic/Tas.  The event happens on October 1-2, 2010, but the conversations are ongoing.  New material will continue to be published here until the event.

Click on any blog topic that you are interested in and then feel free to add your comments.

Affinity means a feeling of identification; a close relationship; a similarity or connection between people; relationship or resemblance in structure between species that suggests a common origin; attraction or force between particles that causes them to combine.

THE FOCUS OF DREAMING DAY:2

Engaging the questions below (a goal of Dreaming Day 2) will help churches to evaluate and re-state their affinity with Churches of Christ, and to reconsider their ongoing commitment to belong to Churches of Christ.

1. What is a Church of Christ?
   Including questions of affinity like, What is our Common Mission, What our Shared Practices and What is our Unifying Dream?
2. What does it mean to belong to Churches of Christ?
   Including consideration of the question, What are the benefits and responsibilities of belonging to Churches of Christ?

Listening to the voices (another goal of Dreaming Day:2) will help Council construct a new Mission and Purpose Statement for Vic/Tas, create an appropriate Covenant document, and discover the fairest and most equitable percentage basis for Affiliation Fees/Ministry contribution. As noted at May’s All Churches Summit, it is important for us to locate the Ministry Contribution conversation within the broader Covenant/Belonging one.

COMMENTS POLICY
We want all to feel welcome on this site.  That means we will adhere strictly to a comments policy that, while valuing honesty and controversy, will not tolerate personal attacks or innuendo.  The blog administrators will edit any offensive language, slander or libel, and will delete any insulting or bullying comments.

Thank you for the time and consideration you put into participating in these discussions.