Vision Team Blog

2007-04-05T16:16:00.000-05:00

Stations of the Cross

Come experience the Stations of the Cross - a contemplative prayer experience - anytime between 6-9pm TONIGHT!

The Stations will be set-up at the church building, 135 E VanEmmon St, Yorkville. See you there!

Not a house church anymore...

2007-01-10T13:46:00.000-06:00

I don't know if anyone ever still checks this blog (I know I haven't been good at keeping it updated), but just in case, I wanted to remind you all that we are meeting this Thursday (Jan 11) at 6:30 at my house for dinner and then heading over to the new space right after that.

And of course don't forget that this Sunday will be our first gathering in the new space. If you show up to my house you'll feel pretty silly.

Oh, and I thought you might enjoy this list:

We've found a space!

2006-12-19T17:51:00.000-06:00

I have great news. We've found and confirmed a space that we can meet in and grow into! I met today with the VP of the Association for Individual Development and they agreed that we could use their building here in Yorkville on Sunday mornings. It is the perfect type of space for us. It already has a "living room" feel and there are several side rooms for children. There is a full kitchen, a foyer, even an outdoor deck! It will give us enough space to grow into without feeling like we're in too big of a room or too institutional of a setting.

Since we talked about this at our last meeting and agreed that we need to move into a new space as soon as possible, I went ahead and confirmed this rental with AID. We will sign a contract after the New Year. We've agreed to pay them $500/month and put down a $1000 security deposit. That is very affordable for us right now, and it also means that we won't lose our funding from Midwest Church Planting immediately. They suggested we sign a 6-month lease and see how it goes. We can renew for another 6-months after that if all goes well and if we still fit the space by that point.

The best part is that, at least right now, the AID people seem very friendly and eager to have us in there. They are very flexible with our needs and were willing to let us use the building at other times during the week when they aren't there if we need to. They said we can have full use of the kitchen if we want to do meals, and we will be able to leave our set-up stuff there so we don't have to cart stuff back and forth.

We really couldn't ask for a better situation right now. This is a huge answer to prayer. Thanks for praying you guys. God really came through! :)

We should be able to begin meeting there as early as January 14. I'd like to suggest that we should make a big deal about this move to the community. We never had an official "launch" for our church (which was supposed to happen in September), and it'd be great to make this our "launch" so-to-speak. I suggest we give ourselves a few weeks to settle in, and then plan a special "launch" service for the first Sunday of February. I'd like to send out postcards again to the whole community announcing our move and the launch service. Let me know if you all think that would be okay.

I think it'd be a good idea to try and get together as a Vision Team sometime in the next few weeks to talk about this and all the implications. If we met on the Thursday evening after Chrismas (Dec 28) would most of you be able to make it? Please let me know. If that doesn't work, we should shoot for Thursday, January 4 at the latest.

This is a cause for celebration! Let's give thanks to God for his timely provision!

-Mike

What not to expect at a missional church

2006-11-10T23:36:00.000-06:00

TEN THINGS ANYONE WHO JOINS IN A TWENTY FIRST CENTURY MISSIONAL CHURCH PLANT SHOULD NOT EXPECT
From my friend, Dave Fitch's blog.

1.) Should not expect to regularly come to church for just one hour, get what you need for your own personal growth and development, and your kid's needs, and then leave till next Sunday. Expect mission to change your life. Expect however a richer life than you could have ever imagined.

2.) Should not expect that Jesus will fit in with every consumerist capitalist assumption, lifestyle, schedule or accoutrement you may have adopted before coming here. Expect to be freed from a lot of crap you will find out you never needed.

3.) Should not expect to be anonymous, unknown or be able to disappear in this church Body. Expect to be known and loved, supported in a glorious journey.

4.) Should not expect production style excellence all the time on Sunday worship gatherings. Expect organic, simple and authentic beauty.

5.) Should not expect a raucous "lights out" youth program that entertains the teenagers, puts on a show that gets the kids "pumped up," all without parental involvement. Instead as the years go by, with our children as part of our life, worship and mission (and when the light shows dim and the cool youth pastor with the spiked hair burns out) expect our youth to have an authentic relationship with God thru Christ that carries them through a lifetime of journey with God.

6.) Should not expect to always "feel good,"or ecstatic on Sunday mornings. Expect that there will ALSO be times of confession, lament, self-examination and just plain silence.

7.) Should not expect a lot of sermons that promise you God will prosper you with "the life you've always wanted" if you'll just believe Him and step out on faith and give some more money for a bigger sanctuary. Expect sustenance for the journey.

8.) Should not expect rapid growth whereby we grow this church from 10 to a thousand in three years. Expect slower organic inefficient growth that engages people's lives where they are at and sees troubled people who would have nothing to do with the gospel marvelously saved.

9.) Should not expect all the meetings to happen in a church building. Expect a lot of the gatherings will be in homes, or sites of mission.

10.) Should not expect arguments over style of music, color of carpet, or even doctrinal outlier issues like dispensationalism. Expect mission to drive the conversation.

AND BY THE WAY, Should not expect that community comes to you. I am sorry but true community in Christ will take some "effort" and a reshuffling of priorities for both you and your kids. Yes I know you want people to come to you and reach out to you and you're hurting and busy. But assuming you are a follower of Christ (this message is not for strangers to the gospel) you must learn that the answer to all those things is to enter into the practices of "being the Body" in Christ, including sitting, eating, sharing and praying together.

Our next Vision Team meeting

2006-09-27T12:51:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

I just wanted to remind you that our next Vision Team meeting is Thursday, October 5th. Since we only just began our study of postmodernism and the emerging church last time, we will continue our discussion of that topic on the 5th. I hope you all got a rough idea of what "postmodernism" and the emerging culture are all about during our conversation last week. This next time we'll focus more specifically on the emerging church as a response to postmodernity. If you'd like to do any additional reading on the EC before next time, I'd highly recommend checking out the recent post over at my blog: What is the Emerging Church? or the following set of posts at professor Scot McKnight's blog (Dr. McKnight is a theology professor at North Park Seminary in downtown Chicago):
What is the Emerging Church?
Protest
Postmodernity
Pro-Aplenty

Also, don't forget to pick up a copy of Brian McLaren's book More Ready Than You Realize as soon as possible and begin reading it for our discussions on October 19th and November 9.

Peace,

-Mike

Article to read for Vision Team

2006-08-23T21:32:00.000-05:00

For our next Vision Team meeting on Thursday, September 7th, please read the article "Dorothy on Leadership" by Brian McLaren. You can find it here.

We'll be discussing metaphors for leadership, and especially what leadership looks like in an emerging church in a postmodern culture.

Weekly Newsletter

2006-08-18T14:11:00.000-05:00

Weekly Worship Gathering

As usual we'll be gathering this Saturday (August 19th) at our home (505 Freemont St, Yorkville) for our Via Christus gathering. The gathering begins at 5pm. We will be discussing Luke 10:1-24 together. There will also be a time for sharing God Things (prayer requests, praises, personal art, poetry or music, etc.) so please be thinking about what you might like to bring to the group. It'll be like a spiritual potluck!

Switching to Sundays!
Don't forget that we'll be making the switch Labor Day weekend, September 3rd and then meeting every Sunday morning at 10am from then on. The gatherings will still be in our living room for the time being.

Music & Movies in the Park
Every Friday night Yorkville sponsors either live music or family movies in one of the city parks. There is just one more night of live music at the Town Square Park (along Rt. 47 just north of the river) on August 25. Movies are monthly on August 18 & September 15 and start at dusk in the Beecher Community Park (on Game Farm Rd - just take Somonauk St across 47 and it curves to become Game Farm). Bring some camp chairs if you want to come and enjoy a movie together with potential new friends from Yorkville. They also let you camp out overnight in the park if you so desire.

Hometown Days in Yorkville
Yorkville's annual Hometown Days Festival will be over Labor Day weekend, September 1-3. We need people to help me set-up and run the booth between 2-8pm on Friday, Sept 1. Please let me know if you're able to help for any stretch of time that Friday.

Vision Team
Our next Vision Team meeting will be in three weeks on Thursday, September 7th. We'll be discussing different metaphors for leadership and talking about what the qualities of a good leader really are. We'll also be doing fondue for dinner.

Backyard Party
We will be having a backyard party for our whole neighborhood and anyone else who wants to come on Saturday, September 16th . Mark your calendars now and start thinking about people to invite.

Food Drive
We will be holding another food drive in mid-October (October 15 & 21). Please continue collecting paper bags for us to use. It saves us money and is good for the environment! :)

That's all for now. Hope to see you on Saturday!

Blessings,

Mike Clawson

Via Christus Community Church
http://viachristus.org

Current Events

2006-08-10T11:39:00.000-05:00

Everything you need to know about what's happening this week at Via Christus Community Church!

Weekly Worship Gathering
As usual we'll be gathering this Saturday (August 12th) at our home (505 Freemont St, Yorkville) for our Via Christus gathering. The gathering begins at 5pm. This week we'll be led by some very special guests, Troy and Heather Cady and their children Megan and Nick. The Cadys are church planters in Madrid, Spain and they'll be sharing with us both about their mission specifically, as well as leading us in some open discussion about the whole process and values of church planting. The churches they've helped start there in Spain (their on their third right now) have in a lot of ways served as a model for what we're doing here with Via Christus, so this will be a great chance to learn and dialogue with someone who has a lot of experience doing exactly the kind of thing that we're trying to do right now here in Yorkville. After the discussion and worship time we'll be staying here at our house for a cookout where there will be even more opportunity to interact with Troy and Heather in a more personal way. I hope you all will be able to come and meet these wonderful friends this Saturday.

Switching to Sundays!
After much deliberation, our Vision Team has decided that the time has come to switch our weekly church gatherings to Sunday mornings. Our hope is that this will make our church more accessible to visitors and newcomers who are more used to the Sunday morning church culture that we live in. We'll be making the switch Labor Day weekend, September 3rd and then meeting every Sunday morning at 10am from then on. The gatherings will still be in our living room for the time being.

Music & Movies in the Park
Every Friday night Yorkville sponsors either live music or family movies in one of the city parks. Live music is at the Town Square Park (along Rt. 47 just north of the river) on August 11 (tomorrow night!) & 25.

Movies are monthly on August 18 & September 15 and start at dusk in the Beecher Community Park (on Game Farm Rd - just take Somonauk St across 47 and it curves to become Game Farm). Bring some camp chairs if you want to come and enjoy a movie together with potential new friends from Yorkville. They also let you camp out overnight in the park if you so desire.

Hometown Days in Yorkville
Yorkville's annual Hometown Days Festival will be over Labor Day weekend, September 1-3. We need people to run the booth between 2-11pm on Friday, Sept 1; between 10am-11:30pm on Saturday, Sept 2; and between 4-11:30pm on Sunday, Sept 3. Please let me know if you're able to help for 3-4 hours (or more) on any of those days.

Backyard Party
We will be having a backyard party for our whole neighborhood and anyone else who wants to come on Saturday, September 16th (not on the 24th as was previously advertised - sorry for the miscommunication). Mark your calendars now.

That's all for now. Hope to see you on Saturday!

Blessings,

Mike Clawson

Via Christus Community Church
http://viachristus.org

Weekly Newsletter

2006-07-27T22:41:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends,

It's been an exciting week around here at Via Christus, what with the food drive and all. Anyhow, here are your weekly reminders:

Weekly Worship Gathering
As usual we'll be gathering this Saturday (July 22) at our home (505 Freemont St, Yorkville) for our Via Christus gathering. We'll be spending time from 5-6:30pm worshipping, sharing and studying scripture. Come join us to be transformed in your life and equipped to in turn transform the world!

Food Drive Pick-Up This Saturday!
Last weekend we distributed paper bags to nearly 2000 homes in the Yorkville area. This Saturday, the 29th, we will be collecting any bags left out. Even if only a fraction of the homes leave bags for us, we will still need all the help we can get to collect all the bags. We will be starting at 9am and working until we're done or until it's time to start our church gathering at 5pm (whichever comes first). We need help from as many people as possible (many hands make light work), so please let me know if you can help if you haven't done so already. Besides, it'll be fun - a chance to work alongside friends and help people in need at the same time! :)

Music & Movies in the Park
Every Friday night Yorkville sponsors either live music or family movies in one of the city parks. Live music is at the Town Square Park (along Rt. 47 just north of the river) on July 28, and August 11 & 25.

Movies are monthly on August 18 & September 15 and start at dusk in the Beecher Community Park (on Game Farm Rd - just take Somonauk St across 47 and it curves to become Game Farm). Bring some camp chairs if you want to come and enjoy a movie together with potential new friends from Yorkville. They also let you camp out overnight in the park if you so desire.

Hometown Days in Yorkville
Yorkville's annual Hometown Days Festival will be over Labor Day weekend, September 1-3. Mark your calendars and let me know if you're willing and able to help run one of our church booths.

Backyard Party
Because of the Food Drive we are postponing our Backyard Party till after Labor Day. We are tentatively looking at either Sunday, September 17th or Sunday, September 24th.

Emerging Women's Gathering
If you are interested in the emerging chuch movement (of which Via Christus is a part) and want to be encouraged as a woman in your leadership and ministry callings, you are invited to attend the Emerging Women's Gathering in Virginia Beach, VA from October 1-3. My wife, Julie, will be attending and leading some of the discussions at the event, so any of you ladies are welcome to go along with her. It should be a great time. Contact her at julieclawson@gmail.com for more info, or go here for details or to register.

That's all for now. Hope to see you on Saturday!

Blessings,

Mike

P.S. I just began training at the South Bridge Cafe in downtown Yorkville. Starting August 21st I'll be working there on Monday mornings. Hopefully it'll be a good way to meet people and make more connections in the community. If any of you are around Yorkville at that day and time you should drop by and say hello.

2006-07-23T23:05:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, the Doable Evangelism blog (connected with Off-the-Map.org and the eBay Atheist guys) recently had a great article about a church planter in Merced, California (in the shadow of Yosemite). Bruce, the church planter, has foregone the usual advertising/marketing techniques of church planting in favor of building relationships one person at a time by getting involved in his community in any way he can. The article is a great example of the kind of approach we're also trying to take here in Yorkville.

It starts:

Near the granite-cliffed splendor of Yosemite National Park lies an ordinary California town called Merced. My family recently drove through this ordinary town, it blurred by as we sped through, it’s taquerias not tempting enough to slow us down for a road break. I kept my eyes open, though, for a Starbucks, not for coffee, but with the ridiculous thought that maybe I would stumble into Pastor Bruce Logue (aka Mercedian) who uses Starbucks as his church-planting headquarters.

I'd encourage you all to read the rest of the article. Just click here.

Our Haiti Missionaries

2006-07-20T14:20:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday our parent church, LifeSpring, was visited by five of our missionaries to (and some from) Haiti. They are the long-term people on the ground that our church along with LifeSpring and several others, will be working with as we try to make life better for the people in the Gatineau region of Haiti. They shared their stories of how they got to Haiti and what they hope to accomplish there together with our help. Please keep all of them in your prayers as we anticipate the upcoming trips and fundraising drives that we'll be doing as part of our partnership together with them.

From the left: Dr. Katie Wolf, Nurse Cerise, Pastor Fran Leeman (of LifeSpring), Dr. Ramon Rene, Joline Moore, Steve Moore.

Switching to Sunday?

2006-07-14T12:46:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the great discussion last night on goals and timeline and all that. I feel like the decisions we made were very important, and we reached some needed clarity on where we are headed in the near future.

I wanted to return to the question we ended with last night about when we should switch to meeting on Sunday mornings. The consensus last night seemed to be that sooner was better, and we tentatively suggested Labor Day weekend as a good time to make the switch. However, I want to make sure that everyone has a chance to voice their opinions and that we've considered all the ramifications and angles of the issue. So let's talk about it here. Does anyone have any additional thoughts about the matter?

Newscast on the Emerging Church

2006-07-11T22:29:00.000-05:00

Hopefully most of you caught CBS 2 Chicago's newscast the other night which featured a segment on the emerging church and included a few brief comments from both myself and Julie. In case you missed it you can find a transcript and a video of it here.

What's Happening Around Via Christus

2006-07-03T12:35:00.000-05:00

Here's your weekly newsletter of what's going on around Via Christus and Yorkville for the week of July 1:

Food Drive
As a service to the Kendall County Food Pantry here in Yorkville we'll be doing a food drive sometime later this summer. We'll be distributing paper bags with notes attached to as many houses as we have bags for and then collecting them again a few days later. That means we need lots and lots of paper bags. Please ask for paper every time you're at the grocery store between now and August and bring them church with you on Saturdays. Thanks!

Renaissance Faire Trip
We'll be taking a trip to the Bristol Renaissance Faire (just over the border in Bristol, WI) on Sunday, July 9. You are all invited to come along. It's too late to get the advance price, but if you still want to come you can get tickets at the door for $18.95. Just let us know so we can make travel plans. If you've never been to the Ren Faire before you can check it out at http://www.renfair.com/bristol/.

Music & Movies in the Park
Every Friday night Yorkville sponsors either live music or family movies in one of the city parks. Live music is at the Town Square Park (along Rt. 47 just north of the river) on July 14 & 28, and August 11 & 25.

Movies are monthly on July 21, August 18 & September 15 and start at dusk in the Beecher Community Park (on Game Farm Rd - just take Somonauk St across 47 and it curves to become Game Farm). Bring some camp chairs if you want to come and enjoy a movie together with potential new friends from Yorkville. They also let you camp out overnight in the park if you so desire.

There will also be fireworks out here in Yorkville on July 4 at the site of the torn down Countryside Center on the NW corner of 34 and 47. Let Julie or I know if you'd like to come out for them.

We're Going to be on the News! (kind of)
CBS 2 in Chicago is doing a piece on the emerging church in a few weeks and have interviewed both Julie and I for it. However, they are no longer planning to come out and film our church service this weekend. Apparently they didn't have a news crew available over the holiday weekend. The piece will air on July 10th at 10pm, so make sure you watch that night.

Hometown Days in Yorkville
Yorkville's annual Hometown Days Festival will be over Labor Day weekend, September 1-3. We'll be sponsoring booths at the Fest and at the con-current Arts and Crafts booth. For our church booth we'll be sellling goods from 10,000 Villages besides handing out church fliers. We'll need everyone's help to run that booth. Also, if you have any handmade arts or crafts to display and sell at the other booth please talk to Julie soon. It will also just be a good chance to come out and rub shoulders with others here in our community. Mark your calendars!

2006-06-22T13:06:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends,

Another week of reminders about what's going on with Via Christus Community Church and around the Yorkville area:

Weekly Worship Gathering
As usual we'll be gathering this Saturday at our home (505 Freemont St) in Yorkville for our Via Christus gathering. We'll be spending time from 5-6:30pm worshipping, sharing and studying scripture, and then will go out for dinner afterwards for all who are interested. This week Julie will be leading us in discussion. I'm really looking forward to it. Hope to see you there!

Food Drive
As a service to the Kendall County Food Pantry here in Yorkville we'll be doing a food drive sometime later this summer. We'll be distributing paper bags with notes attached to as many houses as we have bags for and then collecting them again a few days later. That means we need lots and lots of paper bags. Please ask for paper every time you're at the grocery store between now and August and bring them church with you on Saturdays. Thanks!

Renaissance Faire Trip
We'll be taking a trip to the Bristol Renaissance Faire (just over the border in Bristol, WI) on Sunday, July 9. You are all invited to come along. We can buy advance tickets for much cheaper than the usual entrance price (~$13/adult, $5/child) but we need to know if you're attending before this coming Wednesday, June 28 in order to get that price. Please let us know whether you'll be coming some time this next week. If you've never been to the Ren Faire before you can check it out at http://www.renfair.com/bristol/.

Music & Movies in the Park
Every Friday night Yorkville sponsors either live music or family movies in one of the city parks. Live music is at the Town Square Park (along Rt. 47 just north of the river) on June 23, July 14 & 28, and August 11 & 25. June 23rd's offering will be beach party music with Parrothead Express (I've never heard of them either but it sounds fun!)

Movies are monthly on July 21, August 18 & September 15 and start at dusk in the Beecher Community Park (on Game Farm Rd - just take Somonauk St across 47 and it curves to become Game Farm). Bring some camp chairs if you want to come and enjoy a movie together with potential new friends from Yorkville. They also let you camp out overnight in the park if you so desire.

Yorkville Fine Arts Festival
This Saturday, June 24, from 9am-4pm is the annual Yorkville Fine Arts Festival with photography, glass, jewelry, sculpture, wood, graphic, printmaking, drawing, mixed media, painting, ceramics, performing and literary arts demos - music, theater, dance, puppets and children's arts and activities. The Festival will be held at Riverfront Park along Hydraulic St in downtown Yorkville. Come on out and spend time in our community. It should be a lot of fun and a chance to meet new people!

We're Going to be on the News!
CBS 2 in Chicago is doing a piece on the emerging church in a few weeks and wanted to come out and film part of our worship gathering on July 1st. They'll also be interviewing me and a few others from the group. I hope most of you can make it out for that (even though it is a holiday weekend), and if you're willing to be interviewed briefly please let me know.

That's all for now. Hope to see you on Saturday!

Upcoming Events

2006-06-15T16:32:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, here's some info on upcoming events and opportunities to get more connected with one another and/or with the Yorkville Community. I'd encourage everyone to participate in these as much as you are able.

Renaissance Faire Trip
We'll be taking a trip to the Bristol Renaissance Faire (just over the border in Bristol, WI) on Sunday, July 9. You are all invited to come along. We can buy advance tickets for much cheaper than the usual entrance price (~$13/adult, $5/child) but we need to know if you're attending before June 28 in order to get that price. Please let us know whether you'll be coming some time this next week. If you've never been to the Ren Faire before you can check it out at http://www.renfair.com/bristol/.

Music & Movies in the Park
Every Friday night Yorkville sponsors either live music or family movies in one of the city parks. Live music is at the Town Square Park (along Rt. 47 just north of the river) on June 23, July 14; 28, and August 11 & 25. June 23rd's offering will be beach party music with Parrothead Express (I've never heard of them either but it sounds fun!)

Movies are June 16, July 21, August 18 & September 15 and start at dusk in the Beecher Community Park (on Game Farm Rd - just take Somonauk St across 47 and it curves to become Game Farm). This Friday is either Herbie Fully Loaded or Wallace and Grommit(the city publications conflicted). Bring some camp chairs or a blanket if you want to come and enjoy a movie together with potential new friends from Yorkville.

Yorkville Fine Arts Festival
Next Saturday, June 24, from 9am-4pm is the annual Yorkville Fine Arts Festival with photography, glass, jewelry, sculpture, wood, graphic, printmaking, drawing, mixed media, painting, ceramics, performing and literary arts demos - music, theater, dance, puppets and children's arts and activities. The Festival will be held at Riverfront Park along Hydraulic St in downtown Yorkville. Come on out and spend time in our community. It should be a lot of fun and a chance to meet new people!

Spiritual Disciplines Retreat

2006-05-29T22:57:00.000-05:00

Hey guys. Here's our group picture from the retreat. I had a great time with all of you. Thanks for being there and being open to letting the Lord speak to and through you this weekend.

The Shaping of Things to Come

2006-05-19T15:45:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,

Thanks for the great discussion last night. I appreciate the way you guys were engaged and contributed to my explanation of the differences between an Attractional-Dualistic-Individualistic church and a Missional-Wholistic-Communal (and Food-al!) church. A lot of the ideas came from the book that I mentioned, The Shaping of Things to Come. I'd encourage you guys to pick up your own copy and start reading through it. In fact, it might be a good book for us to discuss together next.

I'll post a summary of my notes and our discussion sometime soon so you all can review and comment more on what we talked about.

See you tomorrow!

-Mike

Vision Team Retreat

2006-05-16T16:03:00.000-05:00

If my followers remain silent even these stones would cry out. ~ Luke 19:40

Dear Vision Team,

I hope you're as excited as I am for our Via Christus Vision Team Retreat. The retreat is Saturday, May 27 through Monday, May 29.

The theme of the weekend is Teaching a Stone to Talk: Finding Your Spiritual Voice. We will be discovering together the unique ways that God has designed each of us to praise and worship him. We will be exploring spiritual disciplines and ancient spiritual practices as helps in finding the specific ways that you personally communicate best with God. There will be times for solitude and silence, sharing, journaling, creative expression, praying, discussing, playing, and yes, even fasting (which we will all be participating in corporately - with the exception of those who have physical conditions that prevent them from doing so... you know who you are). This is a chance to get away from all the distractions of your usual routine and actually have time to simply sit and listen for God... and then speak back to him from the depths of your heart with your unique spiritual voice. Our goal is that this would be a time for spiritual transformation, that you would leave this weekend, refocused and refreshed, and with tools to continue your spiritual growth beyond the retreat. We also hope that this will be a time for us to bond as friends and co-laborers in this church planting adventure, and to gain a more unified sense of vision for the church.

The retreat is at the Stronghold Conference Center in Oregon, Illinois, approximately 1 1/2 hours northwest of Yorkville. (The address is 1922 N Illinois Route 2. You can use mapquest.com for directions.) You should plan to be there no later than 10:30am on Saturday, May 27th. If you would like to carpool or caravan from Yorkville please contact me as soon as possible. Cost for the retreat is $80/adult and is payable at the retreat (make checks to Via Christus Community Church). However, our expense for the retreat is fixed regardless of how many people come, so please don't let a lack of finances prevent you from attending. Your absence won't save us any money and we'd rather have you there even if you can't pay. You will need to bring your own bedding for the retreat and clothes for three days and two nights. Also, don't forget to bring a Bible. We'll be staying until after lunch on Monday, May 29. If you have any further questions please give me a call (630-742-4062).

I hope you will spend these next week leading up to the retreat in prayerful preparation. If we are willing to soften our hearts and be ready to receive from the Lord I think we will all come away from this retreat changed.

Blessings and Love,

-Mike

Service Opportunity

2006-05-08T23:11:00.000-05:00

If anyone is interested in getting involved in service stuff in Yorkville...
The Friends of the Fox River is holding a river cleanup day on Saturday May 20 in the morning. Click here for more information.

Vision Team this Thursday

2006-04-23T23:16:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,

Just a reminder that we're meeting this Thursday at 6:30pm as a Vision Team. It's our first one since the Easter kick-off so I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about.We're reading chapter 5 of Velvet Elvis, so please don't forget to do your homework. Discussions are so much better when we're all, literally, on the same page. :)

Also, the potluck theme is "Breakfast for Dinner", so bring your favority breakfast food. Ideas include: fruit, juice, sweet breads (e.g. coffee cake, danishes, cinnamon rolls, etc), breakfast casseroles, etc. If you want to do something that requires preparation on the premises (e.g. waffles, pancakes, eggs, etc.) feel free to come a little early and make them here. Oh, and please, please communicate with Julie via phone, blog or email prior to Thursday and let her know what you're bringing or if you can't bring anything. Planning these things is so much easier on her if she has some idea of what to expect.

I won't be able to be there this Thursday so Julie will be leading the discussion. Try to not have too much fun without me! ;) I'll miss you guys.

Peace,

-Mike

yum yums :)

2006-04-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

Hey all…
So the food themes for the next two Vision Team meetings have been decided ahead of time… On April 13 we are having Southern Comfort/Soul Food and on April 27 we are doing breakfast for dinner. Hope that suits everyones tastes. The following are some ideas for Southern food. If you want to bring some food to contribute that’s great, if you can’t that’s fine as well. For now I’m operating under the assumption that people are not bringing food unless they tell me otherwise – that way I can make a balanced meal and/or fill in the gaps… So I'll post this here and email it early for those people who actually shop ahead of time and stuff...

My idea is to have southern food like fried chicken (easily bought), mashed potatoes (the butterier the better), buttermilk biscuits (from a can are just fine), fried okra, and white gravy. Other ideas include cream corn (canned is easy), creamed spinach , collard greens , lima beans , blackeyed peas , sweet potatoes , deviled eggs , or fried green tomatos . Traditional desserts include banana pudding , pecan pie , buttermilk pie , peach cobbler , or pralines . Feel free to google for more ideas or odder recipes (like if anyone want to attempt to make or eat chit’lins ) Or Luke (king of odd prepackaged sweets) Moon Pies are the Southern marshmallowy cookie…

So I’m sure mike has some idea of the content of the meeting, I’m just in charge of food :)

Worship

2006-04-01T08:51:00.000-06:00

This is a space for posting worship brainstorms. To continue to get people outside their comfort zone and thinking outside the box we need ideas - new ways people can connect with God.

So far we have done candles/God things, labyrinth, sign language, bowl of fire (notes to God), and christmas songs unplugged and lectio divina. This Sat I'm planning a group music circle.

We need more ideas! If there's something you've experienced before, or something you've always wanted to try...

And I don't have to be the one running all of these...I know I like to talk, but I want to learn from you too!

Theme and homework

2006-03-28T17:26:00.000-06:00

Hey All! I'm a bad student! Can anyone please tell me what the theme for dinner this week as well as what homework we had? Thanks a ton!

The Review

2006-03-27T20:47:00.000-06:00

I just read the review that Hemant wrote about Via Christus and I thought it was really cool. I felt like the whole q&a w/ him on Saturday was very positive. What a concept--a bunch of christians sitting around asking an athiest his opinion of the church. I am imagining the reactions that some people I know might have to some of the statements in the review--like the one about our church being "truly liberal" or even better, "It’s a type of Christianity no Atheist should have a problem with." I considered both of those statements as compliments, but they also make me chuckle a little.

Hemant has posted his review of us

2006-03-27T11:25:00.000-06:00

Hemant (the "eBay Atheist" who visited us at Via Christus this past Saturday) has posted his review of us online. You can read it here. He was remarkably positive and affirming. It was especially interesting to hear how he interpreted a lot of the things we did and said. Of course, I'm sure having time to talk with us openly after the service helped him understand more about us than he may have gotten at other churches where he only sat through a service.

Anyhow, I just thought you'd all be interested in reading his comments. Personally I'm very gratified by what he wrote. Funny though, his one point of critique, that I talked too much, is exactly what my wife said too! :)

Have a great week guys!

Nine Core Practices of Emerging Churches

2006-03-26T17:45:00.000-06:00

I was surfing the web and came across this list of values for the Emerging Church from Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger’s book Emerging Churches: Creating Community in Postmodern Cultures. I was struck by how well the matched with a lot of the things that we have talked about together in relation to our values for Via Christus. Perhaps these might be a good way of summarizing some of our ideas:

Identifying with Jesus (and his way of life)
Transforming secular space (overcoming the secular/sacred split)
Living as community (not strangers in proximity at a church service)
Welcoming the stranger (radical and gentle hospitality that is inclusive)
Serving with generosity (not serving the institution called “church,” but people)
Participating as producers (not widgets in the church program)
Creating as created beings
Leading as a body (beyond control and the CEO model of leadership)
Merging ancient and contemporary spiritualities

“Emerging churches destroy the Christendom idea that church is a place, a meeting or a time. Church is a way of life, a rhythm, a community, a movement.”

now its time for silly songs with larry...

2006-03-23T11:58:00.000-06:00

So I gave into the pressure and we now have our very own Via Christus Quote Blog!!! This is a space (still in process of being setup) where we can post funny stuff - quotes, stories, pictures, links - whatever we want to share as a church. Its a place to enjoy and laugh at the things we say and do (especially the things Mike as pastor does :) ). So I posted some of the limericks fror the other night and will hopefully get some pictures up soon. Anyone can post on it - I just need to send you an invite to respond to - so let me know if you want to be a member of the quote blog so you can post.

Prayer Request

2006-03-19T17:25:00.000-06:00

Could everyone please pray for Michelle's grandmother who suffered a heart attack last night? Michelle and Nathan won't be able to be with us this coming Saturday because they'll be visiting her.

Thanks,

Mike

Nation Building Seminar

2006-03-18T21:57:00.000-06:00

Attended LifeSpring's Nation Building seminar today and came away with a lot of great ideas I wanted to bounce off of y'all. The seminar was conducted by Ross from Glocalnet, an organization developed by Northwoods Baptist Church down in Ft. Worth. Glocalnet encourages churches to focus on ministry both globally and locally.

First, one of the exercises was "envisioning the church of the future." Some of the values that were suggested were: externally focused (vs. hoarding mentality), 24/7 (not about Sunday), interconnected with other churches (one universal church, many parts serving many purposes), diversity without division (vs. clique cultures), passionate, sacrificial, inviting (being people that entice others into asking "who is this Jesus?"), participatory.

Second, they shared some interesting thoughts on the process of ministry development. They use a 4 cornerstone description: 1) if you look at your people's Gifts + Passions and their intersection with the community's Needs, it may be an avenue to connect with God's Plan (Gifts+Passions(intersect)Needs=God's Plan) 2)Laypeople accomplish ministry, pastors take care of laypeople 3)don't be a lone ranger, partner with experts to accomplish your purposes 4)aim for adopting these ministries, not just fostering them (permanent, fewer short term commitments) - long term investments, front door engagement, impact and engage infrastructures.

They had several really cool charts. One was a personality style assessment that I felt was very effective, I'll try to bring it Thurs, it might be a very useful tool for the vision team to use. Another was a bell curve flow chart that dealt with the diffusion of innovation. The graph demonstated levels of participation based on the life cycle in activities. It began with a person or two who innovated the idea. Next a few people who caught the vision (early adopters), mid and late adopters come on board once the kinks are worked out and continue the project. Objectors are those who never can get on board with this particular idea, often God has given them a passion for something else. The last chart to really catch my attention dealt with challenges and skills. Let's see if I can approximate it...
^
C |
H | Anxiety Arousal FLOW
A |
L |
L |
E | Worry Control
N |
E |
S | Apathy Boredom Relaxation
____________________________________>
SKILLS

Well, sort of (wish I had my scanner set up). The idea is that there must be the right balance between your skill in an area and how challenging it is for you to achieve "flow." Otherwise, any of the other descriptions can occur. Theoretically.

Also I heard some great quotes: "ask small things in small ways with the resources we have and there will never be a crisis of belief and an encounter with God", "people should be in the go, not just in the know," "we say what we believe, we do what we value."

And finally, one really great story. Glocalnet is teaming up with bunch of other churches to help people in Afganistan. When this project first got started, Glocalnet was looking for a church to lead the way. Their head missions guy met with a bunch of churches. On one particular visit he met with two pastors, one pastored a church in St. Louis of 500 attendees, the other a church in Rome, GA of 37 people. He was really excited about this St. Louis church because they seemed to be big enough to really take charge. After the meeting, he never heard from the St. Louis church again. However, this church of 37 in Rome, GA was excited about Afganistan and God used them to head up this big network project. Afganistan is one of Glocalnet's biggest projects now and this not as little anymore church is still leading the way.

Don't you think this could be us??

the eBay Atheist is coming...

2006-03-17T10:44:00.000-06:00

Hey all,

Like I told you last night, Hemant Mehta, the eBay Atheist will be visiting us at Via Christus soon. I just got an email today letting us know that he'll be joining us next Saturday, 3/25. I'm really excited as this will be a great opportunity to learn how a total outsider would perceive us as a church. I want encourage us to all be ourselves and try not to act too differently just because he's there. Let's just treat him like we would any other first time visitor.

I'm so stoked! :D

-Mike

Hurray!

2006-03-16T18:12:00.000-06:00

Good News, I finally got added to the official blog contributors list! I actually exist.

Wendy and Steve are bringing swedish pancakes.

2006-03-15T07:49:00.000-06:00

Yo.
We are bringing swedish pancakes so all you suckers are going to have to bring something else.
Peace.
Steve

How're we doing?

2006-03-11T23:51:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!

So we've had several Core Gatherings now, and I'd love to get anyone's feedback on what you think we're doing well, and what we can improve on. What worship elements and discussion techniques have you like? What have you not? What do we need to tweak?

For example, we both enjoyed the Christmas worship tonight, but Julie suggested that we probably needed to explain things better, especially for the sake of visitors and newcomers, to help them feel more comfortable. And maybe I need to be more explicit that the participatory elements are purely optional, so that no one feels obliged to do them if they're new.

What else might you guys say about tonight or past Core Gatherings that we've done so far? Let's have some constructive feedback.

Thanks!

-Mike

March 16 Dinner

2006-03-09T12:06:00.000-06:00

So this realy should be the Vision Team food blog since that gets the most interest here :)

Okay after talking with people I am making an executive decision to be adventurous and go with Swedish food this time around. I’m also going to annoy everyone and claim Swedish meatballs already – since I have a couple bags of the IKEA really yummy ones in my freezer (as well as the cream sauce and ligonberry jam). So what else shall we have?
We need some sort of potatoes. Steamed new potatoes with dill would be really easy for someone to make. Or Swedish pancakes are a common food as well.
Other traditional foods include gravalox which could easily be bought premade at a store. Or if we aren’t into raw cured fish – some sort of baked salmon would work. A bread like limpa/rye bread is traditional and may be bought premade. Some sort of rice pudding would be good (also easily bought premade). There are tons of traditional Swedish desserts – cookies, cakes, sweetbreads. I even found a recipe for non-alcoholic glogg if anyone feels up to it (I know they sell it (and tons of Swedish food) at IKEA, but those are so not nearby).

So have fun with it and let’s be adventurous together as we share this meal and come closer as a group. If you want other ideas google Swedish food or check out cooks.com or fooddownunder.com . I know you can get premade versions of many of these foods at Jewel or Trader Joes. Perhaps the food section of World market has some stuff as well. Don’t stress out though, if this is too complicated whatever you want to bring will be appreciated as part of our meal time. If you know what you are bringing post it so others can plan. I'm really looking forward to our next meeting. we got deep into a lot of stuff last time which was good for the group. so the values discussion
(don't forget to do your homework!) should be good. Peace and good eats.
Julie

What do you want for dinner?

2006-03-05T20:53:00.000-06:00

Hey all,

We forgot to decide what dinner theme we'd do for the next Vision Team meeting on March 16. Does anyone have any ideas?

A few options are:

Southern Comfort Food
Breakfast Food
Indian
Swedish

...or anything else you guys suggest. What would you like?

The Jesus Creed

2006-03-05T14:58:00.000-06:00

Several of you asked for a copy of the Jesus Creed that I read the other night at Vision Team. Here it is. You can also find it at anewkindofchristian.com.

The Jesus Creed

This creed was originally shared at the Emergent Convention, Nashville, May 2004 by Brian McLaren

We have confidence in Jesus
Who healed the sick, the blind, and the paralyzed.
And even raised the dead.

He cast out evil powers and
Confronted corrupt leaders.
He cleansed the temple.
He favored the poor.
He turned water into wine,
Walked on water, calmed storms.

He died for the sins of the world,
Rose from the dead, and ascended to the Father,
Sent the Holy Spirit.

We have confidence in Jesus
Who taught in word and example,
Sign and wonder.
He preached parables of the kingdom of God
On hillsides, from boats, in the temple, in homes,
At banquets and parties, along the road, on beaches, in towns,
By day and by night.

He taught the way of love for God and neighbor,
For stranger and enemy, for outcast and alien.

We have confidence in Jesus,
Who called disciples, led them,
Gave them new names and new purpose
And sent them out to preach good news.
He washed their feet as a servant.
He walked with them, ate with them,
Called them friends,
Rebuked them, encouraged them,
Promised to leave and then return,
And promised to be with them always.

He taught them to pray.
He rose early to pray, stole away to desolate places,
Fasted and faced agonizing temptations,
Wept in a garden,
And prayed, “Not my will but your will be done.”
He rejoiced, he sang, he feasted, he wept.

We have confidence in Jesus,
So we follow him, learn his ways,
Seek to obey his teaching and live by his example.
We walk with him, walk in him, abide in him,
As a branch in a vine.

We have not seen him, but we love him.
His words are to us words of life eternal,
And to know him is to know the true and living God.
We do not see him now, but we have confidence in Jesus.

Amen.

Values Brainstorming Questions

2006-02-27T14:03:00.000-06:00

This coming Thursday we'll be brainstorming together our own values for the church. The following questions will help get us thinking along the right lines beforehand, so that we can save time by coming prepared with some answers. Please think about and jot down answers to the following questions before Thursday:

What can you absolutely not do without in a church?

What lights your fire in ministry?

Describe a time in the past at church when you went, “No way! That sucks! That makes me so mad!”

Describe a time in the past at church when you thought, “Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!”

What is the first thing you look for when looking for a new church?

If you could have it all in a church, what would “it all” look like?

What Appetizer Will You Bring?

2006-02-24T13:51:00.000-06:00

okay so our next Vision Team meeting is Thursday March 2. Mike will send out info about how to prep for our topic, but I want to focus on the food. :) We chose appitizers as our theme which leaves things wide open. Suggestions include simple things like a veggie or fruit plate, shrimp cocktail, crackers and cheese, or hot items that could be made or bought (once again Trader Joe's has a wonderful assortment), or whatever your speciality is - remember we are trying to make a meal out of this. I will have water, and hot drinks as usual but someone could bring other drinks. So post what you want to bring so we can coordinate all this. Last time we were able to get things started by 6:45, but the goal is to start as close to 6:30 as possible so we have time to socialize and get into things. See you then or before!

Are we the light?

2006-02-22T22:58:00.000-06:00

I heard about this news piece on the way home and just thought about how it doesn't show God in a good light.

It then struck me of a better way to protest. What would the Muslim communities and people say if we as Christians went out and protested peacefully about the printing of the caricatures? Maybe that's not right either, but it definitely is the more loving support of our neighbors.

Great discussion!

2006-02-18T15:56:00.000-06:00

Thanks for the great discussion the other night on the Bible. I thought you all had a lot of good things to say about it. I was especially glad to see that we're all pretty much on the same page in regards to approaching the Bible with humility, being willing to question our assumptions, and being open to letting the Bible question and challenge us as well, without trying to tame or explain away all the difficult things in the Bible. As both Matt and Steve pointed out, there are certain things that we hold to as our essentials, those things that define us as Christ followers that we can't always be questioning. On some of those things we come to a point of simply taking that leap of faith and saying, "Even without absolute certainty I choose to believe and live accordingly." However I'm also glad that we were all sensitive to people who will still struggle and question even our essentials, and want to make room for those discussions as well. I especially appreciated what Matt and Josh both said about needing to really listen to people who look at the Bible through completely different lenses than we do - e.g. atheists, agnostics, etc. - and really respecting their opinions, learning from them, and engaging them in constructive dialogue.

So thanks for a good talk. If anyone has further thoughts about what we talked about the other night, feel free to post them here. And remember, next Vision Team Meeting we'll be brainstorming together with Monaca's help all of our values, those top things our ideal church has to have. And then I'll take what we come up with and rework our values statements to incorporate all of our shared ideas.

Oh, and don't forget that at Core Gathering this coming Saturday we'll be having a time of sharing "God Things" which could be testimonies or prayer requests, or it could be a song or poem or reading or scripture that is meaningful to you that you want to share with the group. So please give it some thought and come prepared with something to share.

End of the Church Age?

2006-02-16T23:10:00.000-06:00

I have been hearing a lot lately about the end of the "Church Age". It has gotten me thinking about the word church and what it means. While most of those that are talking about this seem to have a screw or two loose, but may be alright in other areas, I believe there is a nugget of truth somewhere in there. I'm continuing to mull it as it may be worth keeping in mind as we express and define our values.

A few thoughts. One, the building is not the church. Two, shouldn't there be just the one universal church body? Third, aren't we just local congregations of the universal church members. Should we call our "churches" congregations (ie: Via Christus Community Congregation, LifeSpring Community Congregation, St. Joseph's Congregation, Willowcreek Congregation)? How would the culture respond to this change? Does this make the use of community in the name obsolete? Could the end of the church age be the reunification of the universal church and the expression of congregations?

Thoughts?

Thursday Meeting

2006-02-15T11:41:00.000-06:00

hey everyone. Just a reminder we have our next meeting this Thursday (Feb 16) at 6:30. We are discussing values and movement 2 from Velvet Elvis. It would be really great if everyone could get here with their food so we can start on time and stuff. We're having a Mexican themed dinner. I'm doing a mexicanish Chipotle Salmon salad thing and we still have plenty of drinks. If you feel like it post what you want to bring so we can coordinate all that fun stuff. Can't wait to see everyone and spend time together!

We Value the Bible

2006-02-09T14:26:00.000-06:00

Since Matt's last post has already moved us into a discussion of our second Value Statement, I thought I'd post it here so all of us could refer to it:

We value the Bible as (part of) God's story.
We value the Bible as an inspired self-revelation from God that tells the story of His work to redeem and restore the world from the ravages of sin. We recognize that the Bible is a complex document written by many human authors over thousands of years and composed of multiple literary genres, thus we believe it is important to understand the historical, cultural and textual context of scripture in order to rightly understand its relevance for our own lives and cultural context. We approach scripture with an attitude of humility, seeking to let it challenge and question our own lives without assuming that we have ever fully tamed or contained it.

The Living Word

2006-02-06T22:44:00.000-06:00

Wanted to bring up a point that I've heard twice and wanted to open discussion.

There has been mention of The Word changing. My understanding is that God's Word doesn't change, but rather is applicable to all times. I'm kinda assuming that this is what was meant. Is it?

Further points: God doesn't change. Our understanding and relationship does though based on experiences, etc... This is how I understand and apply to The Word as well. That my understanding of it changes as I grow, but it remains the same, faithful and true.

Values Discussion

2006-02-03T17:39:00.000-06:00

Thanks for a great discussion last night everyone! I really appreciate your thoughts on the different values, and I hope that together we'll be able to clarify our statements of what is really important to us as a church and what makes us the kind of church we're trying to be. However, I want to encourage us not to miss the forest for the trees. Let's not get lost in the details. Tweaking the wordings is good, but what's even more important to me is that we each understand and are on board with the "big ideas" behind each statement. As we continue to discuss these values I hope we'll focus on the content, the meaning, and the implications of each value. And I especially hope you'll each be asking yourselves whether the big idea of each value resonates with you personally. Would you say to yourself, "Yes, that's what I value in a church too."?

And once we're in agreement about what we value as a church, I'd like for us to then talk about the practical implications of each value. If we say we value Jesus as the center of our faith, what does that mean for everything else we do as a church? If we say we value a love for God and a love for others, how will that get lived out? I think case studies might be good at this point of the discussion. Let's throw out some examples of situations or questions that might arise in the course of being the church, and then ask ourselves how these values might guide our decisions and actions in each case.

So let's start with the first value; asking ourselves not necessarily "How would I want to tweak the wording?" but more importantly, "Do I agree and resonate with this value?" (and why?) and then "So what will this mean practically for the life and culture of our church?"

The first value is:
We value Jesus as the center of our faith and model for our lives.
We value the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the centerpoint of God's work in human history and in the lives of real people to bring reconciliation and healing to this broken world. We treasure the deep, holistic, heart connection to God that is available to all of us because of Jesus. We are committed to sharing this ongoing story of God*s love through our words and actions as we seek to follow in the same way of living that Christ modeled for us: a way of generosity, joy, peace, kindness, and love.

What does this value mean to you? How would you flesh out this value even further? What will it look like to put this value into practice in the new church?

Let's talk!

-Mike

Other Resources

2006-01-29T22:28:00.000-06:00

Hopefully this posts where and how I expect. Sorry if not!

After attending the Healthy Reproducing Churches Conference, Char's and my discussion went back to a book we've read over the last year. While it is not a Christian book, it does have a picture of leadership that we think will fit the model we believe the new church is trying to match.

The book is "The Servant : A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership" written by James C. Hunter. It is a very easy read as it is more like a story than a non-fiction book covering the topic.

Cookie Push Stories

2006-01-28T23:41:00.000-06:00

So now that a few of us have been out doing Cookie Pushes, I'd love for you to share any good experiences or conversations you had in the process. Who did you talk to? We're they receptive to you? Did they say anything that helps you understand the Yorkville Community and the people we're trying to reach any better? Tell us your stories so we can all share in the experience.

Looking forward to hearing about it,

-Mike

BTW, feel free to keep commenting on any of the previous conversations too. I'd love to see multiple threads of discussions going on this blog.

Dreams for the new church

2006-01-21T12:29:00.000-06:00

I really appreciated the discussion we had the other night about our dreams for the new church. You all had great things to contribute. Here are a few comments from you all (as paraphrased by me):

Karen said that she dreams of a church where people's lives are forced to rub up against each other in a good way. Where we share the substance of life together. Where we can each just bring who we are and what we have to offer without trying to target and market to a particular demographic.

Josh said that he and Karen had talked about a church where people communicate and deal with conflicts openly, and where differences of opinion are welcomed and appreciated.

Monaca said she dreams of an intergenerational church, and Luke added that he dreams of a church where young adults in particular feel welcomed, valued and integrated into the life of the church.

Char said she dreams of a church where we value people for who they are beyond the stereotypes and demographics. (And Wendy clarified that we do still value diversity and differences too.)

Wendy also said that she dreams of a church that is interactive and where people are committed to being engaged and passionate and not just passively receiving.

I wrapped up the discussion saying that I dream of a church that values the voices of those on the margins and those who have traditionally been excluded from being heard in the church, especially women. We also ended up saying that we want to be a church that values messy people.

While we had a good discussion I regret that we ran out of time to get in depth on the Vision that Julie and I have already come up with. I hope you didn't come away from our meeting feeling like all we talked about was what we don't want to be like. We really do have a very detailed positive vision and set of values that describe what we do want to be like. I'd really like for us to think and dialogue more about that here on this blog and at our next few meetings. Specifically check out pages 9,11,15-17, and 21-23 of the Vision Document.

Tell you what, I'll post segments of those statements here on the blog every few days of the next two weeks and I'd like for us to answer a few questions together:

1) What do you think of each statement?
2) What would you add or leave out?
3) What questions for clarification do you have about them?
4) What do you think it will look like to live out each aspect of our vision statements in specific and practical ways?

For our first discussion let's talk about the section on page 11 entitled "Our Vision". We've said:

Our vision is at the heart of who we are and what we are trying to be as a church. These are our dreams for the kind of church we can become. We dream of a church that is...

Mission Driven
...an active community that doesn't just seek to enjoy God's blessings for ourselves, but to also be a blessing to the people, the community and the world around us.

Worship Centered
...a worshiping community that values creativity and diversity in the multitude of ways that we seek to experience the joy of God's presence.

Grace Giving
...a warm, welcoming community that extends the love of Christ to people of all types and at all points on their spiritual journey towards God.

Culturally Engaged
...an open community that interacts with our emerging postmodern culture in humble, relevant and constructive ways, believing that we will often find God outside the walls of the church.

What do you think of these? What questions do they raise in your mind? What do you think it will look like to live them out? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Shalom,

Mike

Church name

2006-01-20T09:13:00.000-06:00

Okay - first topic up for discussion - the name. Here's the list of possibilities:

Ekklesia Christian Community
Emmaus Road Community Church
The Journey
River's Edge Community Church
The River Community Church
Via Christus Community Church

What are your thoughts? What do you like or don't like? What do the names mean to you?...

Thanks!

2006-01-20T07:48:00.000-06:00

Julie, Mike, and Emma,

Thanks for hosting our meeting and feeding us so thoroughly! I'm really excited about the church plant. See you on Saturday!

Wendy

It's alive

2006-01-19T22:55:00.000-06:00

Hey guys. Thanks for your willingness to be a part of this adventure. This blog exists for us to have a forum to share ideas and opinions. At this stage in the game we have a lot to discuss and dream about at our meetings and often there will not be enough time to really delve into issues - hence the blog opportunity to do so. In this space we will post topics related to the church plant in Yorkville - some logistical, some visionary, some just for fun. Feel free to add your thoughts about any of them. If you create a blogspot identity then we can add you as a contributor to the blog so you'll be able to add posts of your own.

We really look forward to casting the vision for the new church with you all. It all seems a bit overwhelming right now, but we must always remember that God is planting this church and we can trust in him.

Blessings and Shalom