A Good Night

Even though our normal campy office was out of commission, being repainted, we had a great time meeting in the reading room with all the dead people on the walls. They're old.
A few new faces were out (Welcome, Naomi and Jonathan!) and we heard some interesting stories from Jared, who talks a lot. What's becoming clear in our discussions is that there really is a desire to see change and transformation happen here in Toronto.

While things seem a bit nebulous at times - while God's plans and visions seem unclear, it's those glimpses of certainty, and those times in which we're convinced that God is doing a brand nu thang in our midst. To our relief (or is that dismay?) he's using some pretty ordinary folks to accomplish these things.

Why not people with the dollars, the power, the influence? The people who have time to be interrupted, who have time to sit on their asses, and could instead be doing something for the life of the world? Why is it so often a struggling person or people that comes to the aid of others in their struggles?

In short, why does it have to be us?

And yet God is speaking. He's revealing new things in our hearts, putting us in brand new situations daily that challenge us, and teach us new things about Him. My prayer over the coming days, weeks and months, is that we give the Holy Spirit room to breathe into our lives, to accept the crazy visions of transformation and renewal He's given us, and to do something about it.

Next meeting will be September 18th, Wycliffe College, 7pm.

Next Meeting

The Resonate Greenhouse for Toronto is meeting again next week. Here are the details:

We'll meet again next Wednesday August 23 for those who are interested. Same deal as last time - Wycliffe College basement, near the Crux Bookstore (7pm). I'll be flying in from Ottawa that afternoon, so please pray my flight's not terribly delayed.

We'll take some time to share more of our stories with one another. We'll update each other on the progress and challenges of our projects. Most importantly, I think, we'll spend time in prayer for the city and for one another, as we seek to be agents of God's shalom here and now.

Any questions? Hit me back with a comment, or join our listserv (look at the bottom of the right-hand column)

thanks!
andrew

Community (or something like it)

I've been thinking about this for a little while lately, and usually when I start thinking about something, I have to start writing about it. It's the way my head works. I think on paper a whole lot better than I think out loud. My real-time interface needs some fine tuning.

But since this blog thing involves writing, I should be okay.

One of the things that the modern (post-modern, whatever) church stresses these days is community. But in what ways do we actually mean "community" when we use that word? What constitutes a community? What are its characteristics?

Do communities regulate particpation, or are they open to all others? My question, I think, has a lot to do with the way in which sub-culture Christian communities interact (or don't) with neighbourhood communities.

We place a great deal of emphasis on supporting one another within the church (as, I would like to affirm, we should), but how much time do we spend doing the same things in our neighbourhoods? Aren't these the places to which we are called to minister? Aren't these the types of places Jeremiah 29 alludes to, speaking to God's children in Babylonian exile?

Our church communites are hosted by larger communities, communities we are called to serve. But how do we serve if we rarely have interaction with the outside world? Why are we not constantly seeking new ways to live our Christ-focused lives in the midst of our exile?

What would the world look like if we engaged more deeply our neighbourhood associations, our community housing organisations, our peace and security committees, parents' associations, and the rest? Are these viable ways to live out our faith in this world? Are we called to invest here?

They don't look like Christian communities, but I wonder how they can be transformed if God's hands and feet are unwilling to be the change wherever they are - to enter into these communities and groups, humbly and boldly to bring God's kingdom closer to us poor and destitute of this modern empire.