koinonia 21c beach retreat conversations

Koinonia 21c
Beach retreat February 6-8, 2009.
Conversations (PLEASE READ AS A GROUP)

Spend some time together. Enjoy the gift of rest and friendship.
And be spiritually formed as followers of Jesus and lovers of GOD and one another. Spend some time thinking about these things. Because you are here. And this is a Sabbath time for holy conversations among friends. The following is a way for you to go. You may do this as a large group, in small groups, in your rooms with snacks at 2 am. You may do something else. Decide together. Everyone will retreat in their own way. There’s more here than you’ll need for the weekend. What you begin, we will continue…and so…
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge---that you may be filled to the measure of the fullness of GOD.” Ephesians 3:14-19.

GOD
· Read Psalm 148.
In the BIBLE GOD is known for creating all things, choosing a people/tribe/nation (Abraham), delivering a people from slavery and political oppression (Moses), the torah (law), the prophets (interpreting the law through the spirit of divine grace, mercy, love), priests and kings. The biblical GOD is intimately involved in human community-from families to nations, the poor to the wealthy, the weak to the powerful. This GOD is before and beyond space and time, yet is available and somehow near. GOD’s transcendence inspires awe and worship. GOD’s proximity inspires devotion and desire to be where God is.
A. GOD creates with intention for humanity. What is it? How are we part of God’s ongoing creative work? What is your role in that creativity? What do you make? What would you like to see this community (koinonia 21c) create? Share an experience that you would describe as beautiful.

B. What enslaves you? Who are the slaves in our world? What does deliverance look like and how do we announce it?
C. There are over 600 laws in the Old testament. Jesus summed them all up with two. What were those two laws? How did Jesus enact those laws? How can we?
D. Prophets remind us that being religious is not enough. God wants our hearts to be changed. God desires mercy, not sacrifice. God calls us to justice, to set right what is wrong in human community. God wants us to be holy. What does it mean to be holy and be human? What is divine justice? Read Matthew 18:23-35 to hear a story from Jesus.





US
· Read Psalm 51.
a. Humans are screwed up. Genesis 3 describes the fall or the emergence of sin. Is sin an act of disobedience or an act of freedom? How might you describe sin?
Name a way in which you are vulnerable. Name a weakness. Name a failure. What is tragic about “the human story?” What, in history, must we not repeat? How have you/ we/ all of us contributed to the destruction of creation? What needs healing, reconciliation, and forgiveness in your world?

b. Humans are made in GOD’s image. What do you love about yourself? What is the most amazing thing about humans? What is the best thing humans have invented, done, thought up? What is divine about you and the person next to you? What is beautiful about people? What relationships do you cherish?

JESUS
· Read Mark 16:1-8.
Why did Jesus die? What did he teach? What was the coolest thing Jesus did? Why did he rise from the dead? Where is JESUS? How does Jesus feed us, save us, love us? What does it mean to be fully God and fully human? What does JESUS hope for this world? Baptism and the Lord’s supper are the places/experiences through which we get connected to Jesus and His way of love/life. How can bread and water become a way we share Jesus with others? .

CHURCH?
· Read John 17:20-26.
Koinonia 21c is a way we live Jesus’ prayer. What is difficult about unity? As a social networking community that may include people from various locations, backgrounds, and generations how do we embody unity? (In the NT, The Acts community did not become “Christian” until after they were scattered to various parts of the empire.) What does it mean for koinonia 21c to be church? If you could dream together: How might we become a living, active church? What might the local cluster groups be like? What might large group worship be like? Who is connecting? What is our mission as church? How can we be spiritually formed for this mission? Will regular clusters be the place for formation and mission?

NEXT?
As I said this is part of an ongoing conversation that happens on line, in congregations, at events, among friends over coffee or tea or pepsi or beer. And we are part of it. It is a larger movement in our culture and in the church that has emerged in recent years which is changing the way in which we understand and embody the message of Jesus. It is exciting, especially when conversations lead to generous service and inspiring worship.
May we be faithful, even as GOD is faithful to us in the Spirit of His Risen Son, Jesus the LORD of life. AMEN.

emerging vs. emergent

Click on the above title to read an excellent interview/article with Brian McLaren that comes from the emergingchurch.info website. Also a good resource for ongoing thought inspiration and conversation about where we are as church, where we're going, and what is emerging among us.
One thing is certain, when the culture shifts the church does too. Phyllis Tickle's book, "The Great Emergence", identifies the seismic cultural shift of our time and connects them to previous eras in history. Every half millenium there is such a shift and the result is a sifting of theology and ecclesiology to respond to the changes. The Great Reformation in the 16th century was the last of these shifts. And we are experiencing another one. Think of the difference: Printing press--computer. Mass mail---email. Neighborhood---internet. Television---YouTube. Telephone---Iphone. 90 years is rather short to experience the kind of incredible shift that we have in communication and community. Tickle expertly identifies the shift and begins to answer the question, so where are we now and where are we headed? Since this is the time in which we are sifting out these answers, we live in ambiguity and some tension between what was and what will be. Some us us on the emergent front are pressing for a new sense of center, authority, identity and praxis. McLaren seems to point toward clarity. So, read the article and the book. And ask yourself, "Where are we as a church? Are we able to engage and address the situation we are in or are we still disassociated from the context that surrounds us Where am I in the midst of that question? What are we coming to believe about the church, Jesus, GOD, the world, religion, politics, money, etc..."