Study of And:
The Gathered and Scattered Church
Week 3: Chapter 4
Reading
assignments for March 16
In Chapter 4, read pp 93-96; p. 101 – 108; p. 114; bottom of
p. 115 – middle of p. 118. Specifically
“The New Opportunity of Spiritual Formation” - from bottom
of pg 93 to the top of pg 96.
The sections Spiritual
Formation Framework – middle of pg 101 to p. 108
Creating a Nonconsumer
Process of Apprenticeship
Observance
Jesus
on Observance
Hearing
your Story
Hearing
Their Story
Page 114 (starting with “Whereas a time of observance purifies motives…”).
Bottom of Page 115 to middle of pg 118, Section on Participation
Skip Chapter 5.
Chapter 4: Spiritual Formation for Missional Churches
The authors assert that the
way to change people from a ‘consumer’ mentality to a ‘disciple’ mentality is
through spiritual formation. The goal of
spiritual formation is for people to become like Jesus.
Quote
“By studying how Jesus formed
his friends, spiritual formation can become more than an isolated, extractional
drudgery that someone is forced to add to an already overburdened life.” p. 95
The Authors’ process for Spiritual Formation
The authors present a
four-part process for spiritual formation, modeled on how Jesus developed his
disciples to be committed to his cause.
These steps are
1. Observance (Telling our
story, Hearing their story)
2. Preparation (active
spiritual formation)
3. Participation (real life
practice)
4. Partnership (leadership
and ownership)
Quote about ‘observance’
“Any volunteer-led movement – whether it’s the
military, a local initiative, a school board, a missions project, a monastic
community, or a church – works best when people are given time to be inspired
by what they see and then have the opportunity to participate when asked to be
involved…. This is what observance is
all about.” p. 103
Quote about telling your story
“[The first key aspect of any
observance experience is that] there must be a time for them to hear your story
and the story of the church…. Every story, if told honestly, reveals values,
dreams, plans, and prejudices and gives people a more realistic idea of what
life would be like if they were to jump into our mission. Hearing your story is critical because it
moves a nebulous, general church expectation to a narrative that they can find
themselves in…. Be yourself, tell your story, and passionately say what your
heart feels; and if people are sniffing the same air, you will find some fellow
kingdom sojourners.” p. 106 – 107
Question 1. What are your church’s values, dreams, plans, and
prejudices?
Quote about Hearing their story
“[The second key aspect of
any observance experience is] to hear their story. As mentioned above, every person is a unique
context of values, dreams, plans, hang-ups, hurts, and expectations. Every person has some incredible gifts that
must be used and resources that must be shared, but also great brokenness and
pain that, if not understood, will eventually hurt others and paralyze
missional community.” p. 108
Question 2. What
conditions need to exist in order to make a person who is new in a group feel
safe in sharing his/her values, dreams, plans, hurts, gifts, and pain?
Quote about Preparation
“Whereas
a time of observance purifies
motives, surfaces personal issues, clarifies values, and calls people to
something bigger, preparation pushes
people into an active posture that will connect them with real needs and real
people so that their hearts can be reformed after the heart of God.”
“In
[the authors’ church] we’ve worked hard to find ways to give people the time to
try God’s ways, [combining] spiritual formation practices of Scripture
meditation, thoughtful reflection, and prayer with missional habits. Each day they have to dive in with God, but
each week provides some experiences that flesh out what they are
processing. One week we have them simply
throw a party. Another week, they all
find things they don’t need in their home, sell them on Craigslist, pool the
money, and give to people in need.
Another week, we simply have them cross the road to connect with a
neighbor they’ve always seen but not related with, walking around the block to
meet someone whose head they’ve only seen while mowing the yard on the other
side of the fence. Yet another week, we
have them go to a public place where they can watch people, and we ask them to
imagine the struggles people may be living with. Then we just ask them to pray for the faces
they’re looking at.” P. 114
Question 3. List some activities that would make you
connect with “real needs and real people.”
