What a fun time of interaction and thought provoking conversation we experienced tonight! That's what i call "Church." (smile)
We jumped on a number of things tonight... As Tony said, we probably kicked up a ton more questions than we did answers... but doesn't the deepest and most intense learning transpire that way? When questions lead to other questions that lead to other questions....and we begin to embody the answer, often without even knowing (cognitively) the answer...
I'd love to dialogue more, so feel free to jump in at any point we left off...
If you want to read some thoughts on the part of the conversation we had about "church services" check out this blog entry "Cultural Byproduct or Biblical Prerequisite."
The elements we mused over tonight are topics I've been thinking quite a bit about lately... How do we effectively engage people as God did throughout Scripture, using every means possible as He did? What are the implications of that on our corporate gatherings? How does that influence what we do in the area of spiritual formation?
This has lead me to spend quite some time praying and brainstorming... I have some exciting ideas that I'm looking forward to experimenting with this fall at Calvary Temple. One has to do with men... And, the other has to do with creating an environment that is (prayerfully charged with God's Spirit), as well as crafted to engage every sense, faculty, and learning style.
I'm still looking for people to jump onto this creative crafting ban-wagon... So, if you're looking for a place to exercise your creativity-muscles... Let me know...