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Disciple Making 2015 FRIDAY SESSION TWO Faith Driver #1- Vibrant Community

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COMMUNITY Vibrant Help and Emotional Healing in Times of Hardship Adults of Christ-like Maturity Working as a Body Making a Difference in Community Stagnant Lacking in Community, Mission and Maturity Contaminated with Toxins - hypocrisy - judgment - exclusivity - inability to handle failure - unappreciated talents

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I have experienced emotional healing through help received from a church

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SIDWHY DO YOU STILL HAVE FAITH? I think the biggestongoing thing was sort of just the other people in our church, like observing how real it was for them, was sort of like a real affirming thing for me growing up(this) a guy named B in our church, paralyzed from the waist down. And just had like so many medical issues, but was just so strong in his faith through all of that. So that was sort of an example where its like, man thats crazy. I mean that guy had every sort of reason to be ticked with God, but hes not. Instances like that where man, that is real!You cant just pretend youre not upset.

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I have been given the opportunity to lead in church.

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Church makes a difference

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FIVE COMMUNITY TOXINS Hypocrisy I really struggle with how people can have a firm belief in God but treat people so horribly at the same time. (Anna) The game is almost who can go the longest without publicly screwing up. (Tyson) Judgment Exclusivity I just felt like I had no place there, really. (Lois) If God does exist I am not going to disobey him, so Im just going to choose for him not to exist. (Sylvia) Failure No Opportunity I put myself out there. I became a youth leader but, but I wasnt allowed to put in my creativity or my experience. (Sydney) James Penner & Associates www.jpandassociates.com 403.315.3357

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It's no secret that young people are exiting the church in droves. But it's also no secret that God is in total control and has a beautiful dream for His Bride. We all can be part of this hope filled future. Younger generations are searching for a new and life-giving way of doing church. They reject institutions and embrace movements. They long to be part of something different. What if the things that our nation's children are searching for are the very things that God craves as well? What if it's not actually about doing something new, but returning with our youth to something old? What if the church young adults most deeply desire has been on God's mind since before the beginning of time? What does it look like to build that church...together?

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Young adults care more about the ESSENCE of a church than they do about anything else. You can have the best preacher and the best sermons and stuff, but if the people dont feel welcome, I mean, its not a very good church. Cross generational: there were several older members of the congregation . They had this genuine interest in me. Ned Authentic: They actually practise their faith . They are pretty real. You feel welcomed by those people. Merlynn Inclusive: We were able to be ourselves 100% without being judged in ay way. Renita

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Research Window #1 RETHINKING COMMUNITY Essence of the four types of churches

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REFLECTION Which of these churches is cross generational, authentic and inclusive? What needs to change so we experience church this way?

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Twelve points you might consider to improve the essence of your faith community

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1. Embrace Trinitarian DNA our roots are in the Trinity, which is all about relationship. Be relational -- (think family, body, bride)

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Community Personal Reflection Are you valued by you church leadership? How do you know? Reflecting on the life of Jesus in the gospel of John. What is the purpose of authority? How do you best use your authority to serve the rising generation? Church Reflection How can we help local churches eliminate toxins and be places where wounded are welcome and receive healing? What are some practical ways we can give young people the opportunity to serve in meaningful ways? To lead? To have a voice? To be trained in gifts and talents? How can we better facilitate meaningful interactions between generations?

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2. Focus more on elder brother ministries (high support/high expectations of the older christians, so that they can disciple the younger).

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3. The medium is the message How is it possible that the gospel should be credible, that people should come to believe that the power which has the last word in human affairs is represented by a man hanging on a cross? I am suggesting that the only answer, the only hermeneutic of the gospel, is a congregation of men and women who believe it and live by it. .in love Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989), 227.

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4. Address structural constructs that inhibit community. Not homogenous, not hierarchacal, not theatre style. Church cannot be bottle-necking at the pastor level. It cannot be age-stratefied. It must not be once a week.

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Look again at the triune God. Notice whats absent. Theres an absence of command- style leadership. Theres an absence of hierarchical structures. Theres an absence of passive spectatorship. Theres an absence of one-upmanship. And theres an absence of religious rituals and programs. Frank Viola

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5. Think ESSENCE. The places we inhabit have to be human places. We cannot commodify church or people. Churches are highly personal places. Names not numbers. Authentic, inclusive, intergenerational

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6. Create a culture in which no one is aborted.

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7. Create a culture of emotionally healthy spirituality-it starts with YOU. When you do the hard work of becoming an emotionally healthy and spiritually mature disciple of Jesus Christ, the impact will be felt all around you. Peter Scazzero, The Emotionally Healthy Church

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Questions to ask.... Are we afraid of what others will think? Are we being truthful about our feelings? Are we over-functioning? Do we accept emotional expression? Are people living beyond their means? Are we living with past unresolved issues?

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8. Think cross generational whenever programming.

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Aspen grove communities are unhurried they have lots of time with each other Only in the ambiance of leisure do people know they are listened to with absolute seriousness, treated with dignity and importance. Someone who is listened to knows that at least one person in the world has an inkling of what theyre feeling and thinking. Eugene Peterson

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9. Trust millennials with big stuff our ceiling is their floor. For this to happen we must treat them as our own kids and let things get messy. Millennials need to know that their creative involvement and initiative are genuinely welcome. Millennials thrive in congregations which encourage their lay leadership

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What is wrong with this picture?

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expectation supportsupport forwith notto

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10. Be open to new congregations, new growth and new ways God is now doing things. New paradigms come not from the centre but from the edges. Today, as the memory of almost two millennia of Christian ascendancy appears to be fading in the West, the predictable question, What is the future of the Church? ought to be changed to, what varieties of the kingdom will grow in this new soil and climate? Connie DenBok in John Bowens Green Shoots

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11. Friendship is huge. Young adults have grown up with friendship as their top value. They desire intimacy in their friendships. If the community of faith falls short, it is proof that the church is not for them. Transfusing Life, p. 24

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12. Therefore commit wholeheartedly to your local congregation that shows millennials the gospel at work. Create a culture of devotion to one another covenant with this particular nasty group of local people. Challenge each other and millennials to love a broken church. No congregational pornograph y.

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We are in a desperate situation, and in it together. The grass is not greener in the next committee, or parish, or province. All that matters is worshipping God, dealing with evil, and developing faithfulness. There is a sense of urgency, but it quenches shortcuts and hurry, for the times are in Gods hands. Eugene Peterson

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Vibrant Community Reflections What structural constraints inhibit the community of our church? Which of the toxins are present in my community? Do we agree with millennials that toxins in church are like hairball in the soup? Do we truly know the deepest sorrows and joys of the people in our faith community?

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IMAGINE WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED SO FAR ABOUT MAKING DISCIPLES AMONG RISING GENERATIONS TOGETHER

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Books Reimagining Church: by Frank Viola Called to Stay, Caleb Breakey The Relationship Cure, Gottman Behold I Do a New Thing, Hadaway