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Man, I thought this stuff was pretty widely accepted - up until about a
year ago! I agree with Duncan's description of what Bandy (who I hadn't heard of until a couple of weeks ago) is supposed to say. I am challenged with two problems.. 1) many UCA (and other) church-goers are scared of intimacy and ecstasy - some say that it is not the place of church. 2) more importantly those who are keen on small discipleship groups hit the wall when we try and connect in with the more institutional church. which I guess raises a couple of questions for me a) - Given the need for some sort of institutional structures (to support ministry resource people, scholars, justice, chaplaincy and other projects) - how do small discipleship groups connect, draw upon and give to other Christians? b) - how can places like the UCA make space - and give permission/support for these groups? (if I had heaps more space I would qualify and expand everything above - but I hope you get my sense of agreement - but also frustration) Niall -------- Original Message --------
I confess to a vested interest in the Bandy visit, being one of the organisers from Brisbane. I've worked my way through Kicking Habits a couple of times, and Christian Chaos. Kicking Habits proposes a paradigm of church that revolves around small discipleship groups rather than committees. Bandy writes that our mainstream church structures are designed around a system in which the maximum number of people have a say in the planning of programs - developing a sense of belonging. What would happen if we focused around changed lives instead, trusting teams to get on with their work? Some examples of the moves Bandy suggests: Surrender commitment to multiple committee, overlapping accountability system, and build enthusiasm for small-group, individual initiative, high-trust system. De-emphasise long-term, all-inclusive large groups,
initiate short-term diverse learning opportunies.
Bandy does get up people's noses with some black and white 'wake up calls'. He deliberately threatens sacred cows. As his colleague wrote, "Sacred cows make great hamburgers!" The conferences will have plenty of opportunity for dialogue, feedback and process. Duncan Macleod [EMAIL PROTECTED] (work)
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