Starting to groove to the rythm of our life in Essex. Tuesday and Thursday are the l...o...n...g... days. Door-to-door and visitation in the morning/afternoon, plus any odd jobs that need done around the center. Preparation for the evening's activities in the late afternoon, followed by the Hub on Tues and kids club at Ley Street on Thurs. The weekend feels like it starts on Thursday night, though, because Friday is a nice short day, with Moms & Tots in the morning at Bethel, and then the weekend officially starts. Monday is a nice "ease into the week" day, with visitation and general service to people in the community.
I say "our life in Essex" because I'm figuring out that while we are officially part of London, the area we're in has its own ethos. I had one guy tell me I needed to get myself a running suit, a few large gold chains, and a Ford Escort with ground effects that I could drive around in while thumping to the base from my overly large sound system and hanging my elbow out the window. Hmm...
Here are a few thoughts rummaging in my head:
What is the church? - I know, it's vague. But one thing I'm learning about LCM is that it's very self-consciously NOT the local church. The mission seem to have a strong definition of what the church is, but I'm not sure how things I've been thinking in the past fit in with that.
How does handing out newspapers door-to-door bless the community, and how can I get excited about it?
How do I get on board w/ LCM's vision w/o coopting it for myself? Does "getting on board" mean just doing everything I'm asked to do? Somehow I don't think so...but maybe.
your thoughts?
3 comments:
dan, i wonder if it might help to try to get your head around the heart of their vision. i really don't think 'getting on board with their vision' looks like just doing everything you're asked to do. i feel kind of like those are two different things. you could do everything they ask but not have a heart for it, which would hardly be truly supportive of their vision. while i think you could be totally behind their purpose and vision of what they would like to see happen in london as a result of their presence there, and not actually do anything they ask. obviously, that would pose a problem since you're being employed by them. but then i think it becomes more a matter of submission than of being behind their vision. does that make sense?
i'm not sure how all of this ties in with what the church is...
-mm
mm,
thanks. i think what's hardest for me is to get to the heart of their vision. what i mean is, their heart is to see people in London growing in(to) relationship with Jesus. They use different words than I'd use to describe it, probably different mental constructs to formulate their thoughts, but in the end, that's their heart, and it's mine too. had a good chat w/ julian later in the week. i'll post a separate entry in a bit about it.
Dan,
this reminds me of what happened to us a generation ago when we first went out to France, at about your age, and the older generation of mssonaries took us around to the low income housing to do "door-to-door"-- it struck us as completely culturally inappropriate and also, demonstrably, of little value from a practical standpoint. But I wouldn't say it really embodied any "vision" per se-- it was just that they didn't have any good strategies to do anything differently (they were older, tireder-- and generationally removed in addition to the cultural differences). I suppose it was also something that could be done by people who didn't yet have a social network established, since that takes time to develop, so it was something one could assign to young workers.
I.e. the activites undoubtedly reflect the culture of LCM- of probably 1-2 generations ago-- but I strongly suspect that fundamentally, there is little real attachment to the old wineskins, if better alternatives start to present themselves.
so I think as you pay your dues-- and develop relationships which start to visibly embody other styles of ministry-- you will find a lot of freedom and encouragement to move in directions that feel more natural to you.
Kurt
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