As per the previous post, we had a tele-conversation (7 of us altogether) on the future of house church. I was very excited about the opportunity to share stories with people who are on the same journey in different parts of the world.
As is typical of “house church,” the conversation took on a life of its own. We essentially, over the course of one hour, ended up forming a short-term, exploratory, participatory, peer-learning group. We spent our time together getting to know one another, hearing about our house/simple church experiences, and then settling on some key issues that we wanted to explore together in future conversations (perhaps three more).
Through our time of sharing we identified the following issues as being most pertinent to us:
- What are the discipleship/teaching pathways for people involved in the simple/organic/house church movement?
- How can we facilitate people’s transition from institutional to organic mindset.
- How do we develop communities that are truly missional.
We decided to “meet” together (by phone) every two weeks in order to explore each of these topics in order. In between our phone conversations we agreed to send each other articles or resources that relate to the upcoming topic.
So, as mentioned, the phone conversation went in a slightly different direction than anticipated (a good thing). Rather than force a specific agenda on everyone, we identified the issues that were truly important to those involved. We are, hopefully, allowing God to lead us into future conversations that will enhance and encourage each one of us through each one of us. It has become somewhat of a peer-learning, peer-coaching experience.
Some of you are going to ask if you can jump in on this and the answer is no and yes. This particular group is large enough that it would not be helpful to add several new participants. However, I am considering offering the same venue again for a second group within a few weeks, so feel free to send me an email if you are interested: [email protected].
I will also be sharing some of the resources that we share with each other and some of the content of our conversations.
“The conversation is the relationship.” Susan Scott
