RE: Re The Church that gives up their life for my sake...

[Amelia Koh-Butler]

Hey guys,   I guess I would want to say something that Tom may have implied but that I would like to make explicit. At Tom's place last Saturday there were over 70 people engaging in the question put by Bandy - what is it about my experience of Jesus Christ that this community cannot live without?   They were excited and energised as they engaged in this question - and they were not "self-focussed" - they are people who are engaged with the community and planning on getting more effectively engaged with the community. There was a sense of faith and urgency that I rarely come across amongst the younger people that I work with.   While I am not yet 40 (for Cath), I have experienced a sense of rising urgency amongst the older people and more of a sense of "we'll get around to it - eventually" amongst some of the younger ones. Has anyone else experienced this?   I am not really into "giving up the life" as much as "embracing it".  I'd like to see a little more emphasis on the creative and birthing nature of Christian mission and ministry and less concern about what we need to kill off. As some things are birthed, I don't feel ashamed of mourning some of the things that die and will be missed, but I do want also to celebrate.   At the moment, God seems to be birthing amazing new changes... the number of older lay people who are suddenly hearing a Call into new ministries is astounding. Wow! - AKB   Amelia Koh-Butler   Education in passion, in the bible, is nurture into a distinct community that knows itself to be at odds with dominant assumptions. - Walter Brueggemann