May 05, 2006
A local group for local people?
Last night at Fuzzy we began a really interesting and challenging discussion provoked by watching some examples from the Fresh Expressions DVD at Jake and Gillian's. Jake and Gillian faced us with the scenario of wanting to bring someone new to Fuzzy and in so doing they pushed us to talk about just how we thought we were as a group in relation to the Church and / or as the Church.
I thought it would be worthwhile to capture some of that here so that we can all engage with the discussion. I won't get it all but I'll try and group it under some headings. I'll just make a very basic start in the hope that others will fill the gaps and add to this so we can build a more complete picture.
Shared history – cliquey-ness
We do Fuzzy for ourselves. We have built up very strong and deep, shared bonds. We operate on the surface of that shared-ness. Others coming to the group would find it very difficult to feel at home and might well consider us a clique.
Tentativeness
We find it difficult to be confident or certain enough about anything to name it and invite someone to it. Or even to explain it once they're there.
Pastoral responsibility
Having done stuff more publicly in the past we were overwrought with the pastoral responsibility that necessarily brings. Part of the reason for stopping meeting publicly at St Luke's was to avoid that responsibility.
Apologetics
We're not a great group for providing newcomers with the basics. We do apologetics – sometimes. But in the main we assume a great deal of Christian knowledge and understanding. A great deal.
Not 'missional' in the traditional sense
Fuzzy is not deliberately set up to attract others to it or to win others to its ways. Neither does it engage in a communal sense with more traditional acts of service to the community. In both these senses it is different from most, if not all, Churches.
Sustainability
Another reason for gradually relinquishing the weekly Freehouse and more public Fuzzy was the time and effort required to make them worthwhile. It is probably worth saying that I (and I’m sure others, too) would probably need to be much more conscious in preparation and thinking about Fuzzy if we were to genuinely open ourselves to others coming. We are very forgiving with one another because, by and large, we are happy to spend time with each other. Newcomers would have different needs which we would need to ensure were met – beyond our just spending time together.
Posted by Paul Northup at 09:10 AM | Comments (0)