tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20471270.post114078958951363600..comments2023-05-13T12:42:00.360+01:00Comments on PamBG's Blog: Fresh Expressions / Changing Church?PamBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11324370506889227234noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20471270.post-1141137366528435042006-02-28T14:36:00.000+00:002006-02-28T14:36:00.000+00:00I think that people sense when we want to do somet...I think that people sense when we want to do something for our own benefit or for theirs. And I think that 'increasing numbers' falls into doing things for our own benefit. That's my personal view, though, and others are free to disagree.PamBGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11324370506889227234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20471270.post-1141128056387421262006-02-28T12:00:00.000+00:002006-02-28T12:00:00.000+00:00" It seems to me that the reason that most Christi..." It seems to me that the reason that most Christians these days want to reach out to the unchurched is so that more people will join our club and we'll be able to fill our buildings."<BR/><BR/>Is this good or bad though?see-through faithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10130170262035064482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20471270.post-1140896671358697552006-02-25T19:44:00.000+00:002006-02-25T19:44:00.000+00:00Sally, thanks for your reflective comment.I think ...Sally, thanks for your reflective comment.<BR/><BR/>I think that what came through to me the other night was the need for the whole church to work together and to value the work of those who have different gifts.<BR/><BR/>If you think about the model that Steve used: 1) Sharing the message with the unchurched; 2) Nurturing, sustaining and equipping those who have come into the church; 3) Co-ordinating communication between all those doing 1 and 2 -- it seems pretty logical that no one person could do that. <BR/><BR/>And, if you think it about the situation in the terms I've used above, you'd probably stand up and say: "Yes! Sounds great!" However, if we put it in terms of: 1) Deacons and 2) Presbyters coming under 3) the discipline of the church, we seem to get defensive and say "Stay off my patch and don't tell me what to do!" Why is that?<BR/><BR/>We - all - really have to see beyond our own little patch. The Circuit has to value the community coffee shop that the Deacon is running even if it isn't bringing in lots of new people so that "Our Neighbourhood Methodist Church" can increase its membership from 10 to 20 and stay open.PamBGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11324370506889227234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20471270.post-1140802927443585812006-02-24T17:42:00.000+00:002006-02-24T17:42:00.000+00:00Some good thoughts here Pam, your thoughts reveale...Some good thoughts here Pam, your thoughts revealed to me that as one of those involved in Fresh Expressions of church my tendancy is to bemoan the fact that traditional church does not understand the new movement...interseting huh...for I find I am being intolerant of those whose faith is being supporetd and nurtured by traditional structures. I need to take a step back and hear myself when I talk about the need for mutual love and support.<BR/>I'd never have put you in the old fogey category by the way!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com