cession|chat

Mom's Overture by Anita Renfroe

2008-03-18T16:27:00.001+13:00

This is so funny - I cried tears of laughter - I hope you do too! :)

Mosaic...

2007-02-01T14:29:00.000+13:00

And here are Mosaic's values (Erwin McManus' church) some of which Christin Taylor shared at the creative writing seminar:

Wind - ENTREPRENEURSHIP - Mission is why the Church exists.
Water - ACTIVISM - Love is the context for all mission.
Wood - INNOVATION - Structure must always submit to Spirit.
Fire - AUTHENTICITY - Relevance to culture is not optional.
Earth - CREATIVITY - Creativity is the natural result of spirituality.

These certainly meet DefSol's criteria for shorter and memorable! I wish I was half as clever as the person who came up with these!

Leadership Values

2007-01-28T14:30:00.000+13:00

What are the values that a Community of Leadership might commit to?

I have been pondering this question for some time, and I found myself drawn back to some lessons I thought I had learned (but clearly haven’t!) from a community in Oxford (UK) called ‘mayBe’ that a friend of mine has been involved with. They have some similar values to us, but they have approached their leadership structure and the expression of those values quite differently. I thought engaging with something a bit different and sharing some of what I have found challenging in their model might be helpful to us as we try and reorient ourselves as a community of leaders.

Lesson One: Leadership as Guardianship

When mayBe set up their leadership team (which is kind of a hybrid of our servant leaders and core team), they decided to use a monastic model of community leadership.

The simplest way to explain this (and as best as I understand it) would be to say that each person who sits in the leadership circle is not there to represent a particular ministry, but to represent/guard a particular community value. The leaders then become guardians of the community’s values, rather than being focussed on a functional role –though they do seem to have these also.

When they gather together they are obligated to allow those values to be both voiced and heard. Any conflict is entered into via the natural tensions encountered by allowing each of the different values to be voiced in concert with one another.

Now I don’t think the model is by any means perfect – every leadership model has its problems when it comes to actually putting it into practice - but it is an interesting way of looking at things.

For Example:

If we are part of a community of leadership, and each of us has a perspective which is reflective of different aspects of our values that others may not have as great an insight into, then choosing not to speak on an issue, or being unwilling to hear someone’s point of view is not only unacceptable – its negligent.

Our greatest failure as leaders becomes not our failure to fulfil a task, but our failure to represent the values to which our community has committed itself. When we fail to do this we are not simply failing ourselves or our ministry team, or Brett as our Pastor- we are failing our community because we are not guarding the values which have been entrusted to us. I’m actually freaking myself out as I write this!

Guarding the vision and values of the community is a much greater responsibility than simply overseeing the functional tasks we do from week to week. But if we truly believe we are called to leadership, then this is at the very heart of our leadership task.

I guess I swing towards this as value number one for us as a community of leaders – to be guardians of the vision and values of our community. I appreciate that we all do this already in many ways. But I think its time for us to do this more actively and consciously than we have in the past.

Imagine what this could look like if we put this into practice.

Lesson two: What is the ‘spirit’ of cession community? And how do we
as a community of leaders represent it?

mayBe describes its values as being the ‘spirit’ of the community – what they are to guard and to embody.

I think we as individuals have a sense of the importance of embodying our values – but do we have a sense of embodying them as a leadership team?

This is an idea which I have found very challenging - what does it mean for us to collectively guard the spirit of cessioncommunity? And what would it look like if we did?

On another tack – mayBe has some very similar values to us – but they express them very differently (click here for full run down). They also include some which are very different and they exclude some which we would probably feel uncomfortable about dropping.

However, for the sake of freshness of perspective, and challenging us to see things differently here are the values they hold and my own reflections on what they might mean for us:

Grace
‘The God-man Jesus of Nazareth was described by the Gospel-writer John as being full of grace and truth. We are seeking to be a community of Christ - and so we know that we need to carry his mark (if we can bear it): grace.’

When I read this, the thing that really struck me was the last part ‘we know we need to carry his mark (if we can bear it): grace.’

When I think of the mark of Christ, I often think of the ‘Stigmata’ the marks left in Jesus hands and feet by the nails that held him on the cross. I have often thought of these as marks of suffering, but what if we understood these not just as the marks of Jesus persecution and death, but of his love for us? The stigmata represent a death that Jesus was willing to experience for us in order that we might be truly free. Ultimately they are not marks of divine suffering, but of divine grace.

What does it mean for us not solely as individuals, but as a community of leaders to be marked with that kind of divine grace? Grace that loves so much it is willing to die in order to bring about the possibility of new life.

If we believed when we were speaking to one another that we were each called to administer God’s grace to one another how would that change our interactions with each other? Would there be less conflict? Or more?

If we saw as foundational to our leadership role not the need to fulfil a task but the call to bear the marks of God’s grace to our community and to one another, how would that change how we approach not only our functional tasks but our leadership task? How would it change the way we approach our time together as a community of leaders?

If we were to measure the level of grace present in the way in which we lead together (not individually) would the light be green? Or red?

Presence
‘Whatever the tune we play, whatever the state of the game, we play believing that Jesus Christ is present. That God is around. That heaven and earth are likely to meet. This changes everything. Every time we are together - in small group or larger gathering - and for whatever purpose - sharing a meal, going to the cinema, meeting for coffee, gathering for prayer - Christ’s presence may gently soak into us. And seep out, possibly even flow. And so the music will be more generous, and the game more adventurous. The scratch orchestra will draw in those who have no idea they can play, and the pub football team will welcome players who haven't kicked a ball in decades. God's just and gentle rule will break in and will break out.’

I’m a bit partial to this particular value so I included it in its entirety. The heart of it for me is in the first sentence: ‘Whatever the tune we play, whatever the state of the game, we play believing that Jesus Christ is present.'

Do we lead like Jesus is present?

Do we meet together as though Jesus is present?

Do we believe that when we gather together that Jesus is sitting with us in the circle? That the Spirit of God is there ready to challenge and inspire us, if we are willing to listen?

I often arrive to meetings feeling tired, and wishing I was somewhere else – ‘cause its Saturday and there are other places I could be. But what if we were all turning up to a meeting not just with each other – but with the creator of the universe.

I don’t know about you guys, but it increases my sense of urgency and commitment to our time together when I remember exactly who it is that is at the centre not just of our purpose for meeting together but of every gathering itself.

Laughter
'We aim to play with a light touch. And mayBe values laughter. Not just tee-hee - though we like that - but also deep, affectionate and joyful belly-laughter. Because laughter is a sign of hope. Of life. Of resurrection. For all shall be made alive with laughter *. And we try to laugh at ourselves - particularly and crucially at the all-too-real gap between what we profess to be and what we actually are.'
(*From David Dark ‘Everyday Apocalypse’)

One of the things that I like about this, is that they actually felt laughter was important enough to value as part of the spirit of their community. It is all too easy to forget the importance of laughter – especially when it happens in the context of our relationships with one another as leaders.

How would our meetings look and feel if laughter was a valued part of our leadership, and part of our role as a community of leaders?

Marva Dawn talks about the picture of the church in Romans 12 as ‘The Hilarity of Community.’ Laughing together should be as much a part of our 'engaging deeply, responding instinctively and supporting freely' as our crying together if we are truly to be in community with one another.

Wonder
‘...mayBe is trying to re-imagine the world that we live in. To see it as God might see it. To look for the beautiful stuff that has been buried in the dirt, and to bring it to the surface. To see the poetic in the everyday. To seek beauty. To wonder.’

What would it look like for us to wonder together?

To seek beauty in the gift of our friendship with one another?

To see both our functional and leadership tasks, on our own, and together with eyes that see as God does? To look on what has been, what is directly in front of us, and what lies ahead, with wonder?

Resistance
‘At the heart of Jesus' message in action and word was his insistence that things were changing. That, despite appearances to the contrary, God's just and gentle rule was breaking in. That those with ears to hear and eyes to see should be listening and looking for signs of life-bringing change. But also that there were other, death-dealing powers at work that will not give up without a fight.
... We want to be characterised by celebration of all that is good in the world. And resistance to all that is dehumanising and destructive.’

‘... We want to be characterised by celebration of all that is good in the world. And resistance to all that is dehumanising and destructive.’

Imagine what that could look like if we were collectively committed to that vision.

I’d like to see us learn both to celebrate together, to stand back and say ‘it is good – God is present in this. And to resist together. Collective resistance is much more powerful than anything we could do as individuals.

Grit
‘Words are (relatively) easy. The tough bit is doing it. Living the vision. Being Christ-community. And becoming more faithful followers of Christ. We know that this will take commitment. Energy. Time. Grit.’

(I think this one speaks for itself)

Space
‘We are excited that the adventure into God-centred living is a continuing journey, not a one-off event. We understand that we do not understand. We recognise that every welcome insight we receive opens up a greater vista to be explored. We like the idea of space to journey together as a Christian community. We love to learn. We are trying to listen. We want to grow and mature.’

I know we are each on journeys of our own, and we are all developing as individuals and in our personal leadership. But how are we developing as a community of leaders?

What is the journey that we are on together?

Which direction is it moving in?

Are we moving at all?

Arohanui

Melissa

Kristen - Community Of Leadership Values

2007-01-24T14:56:00.000+13:00

One way to get into this that I thought of is to do a Red-Yellow-Green assessement of our community values frrom the point of view of our leadership:

Passionate Connection: Green

Others-Focussed: Yellow - we do this well in the financial and material possessions areas, but I'm not so sure about the time - at least from a consistency or time management point of view. I'm seeing "yellow" as room for improvement rather than "bad".

Authentic Community: I lean towards a "red" here - we do a good job of preaching it to the community, but I heard people at the retreat expressing a view of not really wanting to do community within the leadership team! ie take meal times out, make social get togethers "optional" etc. I think we need to have a plan for community-building.

Holistic Expression - Green

Empowering Discipleship - Green

Relevant Creativity - Green, although do we apply creativity as well in our leadership as we do in other areas? Do we use our creativity to solve problems?

Vision-Driven - Yellow - I think we need to learn to listen better to the vision of each other's ministries - a win for you is a win for me. But also to line up with the vision of the church - maybe this is where putting aside our functional hats will help us? I was definitely convicted of that at the retreat.

Servant Influence - Green

In the last couple of weeks I've been learning that in my ministry I have to hold it in an open hand - I can't hold it tightly and clutch it to myself - if I do it is me making it happen rather than waiting on God to do something extraordinary. I believe that God does have something extraordinary for 2007 and we need to be open-handed and open-hearted and whole-hearted to see what that will become.

Juanita - Community of Leadership Values

2007-01-24T11:51:00.000+13:00

I want to take us back to the old skool..... the 5 dysfunctions of a team (which core worked through together a while back) Without overcoming these five things we won't be the best leadership team we can be. Therefore we need to whole heartedly value.....

Trust
Conflict
Committment
Accountability
Attention to Results

One other value that comes to mind is Compassion or maybe Grace. It might come in when conflict is resolved but just wanted to highlight it's importance.

Poured Out

2007-01-24T09:53:00.000+13:00

Philippians 2

1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Shining as Stars

12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. 14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

A Community of Leadership

2007-01-22T13:16:00.000+13:00

Here's my starter for 10 on values of a Community of Leadership:

Community - OK so its basic, but I think the value we already hold as a community (see below) could inform our leadership commitments more fully. How well are we living "life together in authentic community that engages deeply, responds instinctively and supports freely"? Community takes time: I think we should be looking for ways to extend the level of community we offer each other. If we are to be bearers of community to others, we must model it at the heart of who we are as a leadership.

Leadership - Alright so I'm being sort of ironic and obvious. But. We do have to lead. Leadership is costly. There's no escaping that. What I'm keen to see is something which frees us to lead more. If we move on from meeting together as regularly, what leadership activities will be freed up as a result? I have this picture of much more leading of people going on. As a value I guess this looks like making room for the activity of leadership in our individual and collective lives.

That's it from me for the moment. Keen to hear what else is simmering out there!

cession|community Values

2007-01-22T13:14:00.000+13:00

1. Passionate Connection
We thirst for passionate connection with God individually and as a community of worshippers. We strive to draw others into that connection.

2. Others Focused
We believe that one of the great challenges of the human condition is to get past a focus on ourselves. So, we’re learning to put others first in the way we use our time, financial resources and material possessions.

3. Authentic Community
We choose to live life together in authentic community that engages deeply, responds instinctively and supports freely. We long to be a haven for “lost souls” where people of diverse backgrounds and experiences can relate with integrity, authenticity and compassion.

4. Holistic Expression
We believe that learning to follow Jesus Christ is a whole of life activity that expresses itself in a lifestyle of worship. We acknowledge the choice to follow Jesus is often a process of progressive surrender and that this dynamic typifies our ongoing following of Him.

5. Empowering Discipleship
We strive to equip people to live vital, dynamic expressions of their faith in Jesus Christ. We affirm the uniqueness of every Christ-follower and the gifts and passions they bring to the life of the community

6. Biblically Grounded
We hold scripture as God’s revelation of truth and seek to develop individual and community world views that are firmly grounded in scripture. We strive to be faithful reflections of God’s truth and to positively influence the world around us.

7. Relevant Creativity
We seek to encourage creativity and engage culture as a medium for the expression and discovery of truth without being captured ourselves by culture.

8. Vision Driven
We believe God has called us to be a faith community that encourages opportunities for people to encounter truth. We strive to play our part in that by reflecting and offering Jesus Christ to others. We organise our community activity and life in support of this vision.

9. Servant Influence
We desire to be a movement of influence that serves others through resource sharing, leadership development and church planting.

Cession SWOT – Steve Goble

2006-12-13T00:19:00.000+13:00

Strengths:

A more permanent identity at The Depot.

A small close-knit community where "everyone knows each other"

Food before the service – people are at their most happy and relaxed after eating, as well as on time! This is a great tangible thing that, as far as I know, only Cession church has.

Relevant sermons

Sermons that ask questions rather than preaching answers

Short worship time

Sense of fun – easy to invite others

Cake and coffee after the service

Willingness to ask tough questions and listen to different opinions

Recognition of teaching context (destructive extremes avoided)

Friendly people

Service duration

Fresh response opportunities

Flexibility with service format (eg Taize service)

Weaknesses:

Small congregation cannot sustain many people leaving

Sermons still a bit too long

Chairs are hard

Community meal is some weeks more of a snack (eg hotdogs)

Projector screen is almost impossible to see during daylight

Sometimes hard-to-fathom connection between sketches/movie clips and topic

Helpers may feel depended upon and unable to quit

"Cession" is an unfamiliar word, and therefore hard to remember.

The label "Cession / ..." is also confusing. There, I've said it. :))

Opportunities:

Establishing brand-awareness of Cession as "THE LOCAL CHURCH" among local unchurched residents (we’re a creative lot – we can come up with a fun bi-monthly newsletter including service times)

Lloyd-Elsmore is a great location to organise activities (Picnic, sports, games, swimming etc.) It’s a huge advantage that most churches don’t have. Hosting a sports afternoon one Sunday and inviting Christians and non-Christians would give many a positive awareness of both who we are and where we are.

Find some way of serving local residents that they will remember and associate us with, eg (a cheaper example is needed I know) offering them a free smoke alarm

Threats:

Introversion – other local churches do exist and where appropriate we should lead by example and help publicise stuff that they’ve invited the public to, eg a concert

So much creativity for such a small audience will probably burn itself out of ideas and enthusiasm in a couple of years.

Steve.
:)

cession SWOT - Vania

2006-11-24T21:28:00.000+13:00

I know - I was meant to have done this by Wednesday... it becomes a case of prioritising, and Friday is the day - sorry! a few thoughts to follow

Strengths

committed bunch of people willing to put themselves on the line week after week to produce an awesome sunday night gathering and all that that involves
committed, visionary pastors
general high level of committment from our leadership team
a community that reaches out to care for each other

Weaknesses

slow overall numerical growth
tiredness in leaders and volunteer teams due to high output volume
point of life a large group of us are at is parents of under 5's - possibility for church related tasks is diminished as caring for the kids consumes much energy
lack of diverse age range esp. older middle aged+ people
percieved pressure (some) on community members to volunter (when already under high pressure in "life") leading to negative attitudes
young families - many single income means lower amounts of finance available

Opportunities

Lloyd Elsmore Park facilities - playground, pools, netball courts in immediate area. Outreach possibilities?
Incarnational focus of leadership leaving the door open for doing church in new fresh ways that might re-engage the de-churched.

Threats

location that is not highly "visible" or well known - Lloyd Elsmore is known but not the "depot"

I like and am feeling lots of the comments already stated so won't continue by repeating... hope theres something fresh here...

SWOT - Kristen Jones

2006-11-22T19:06:00.000+13:00

Strengths

- Kids Encounter - a kickass programme! Innovative, high quality and committed teachers
- 3-4 people on staff - amazing provision for our size
- Depot a big plus this year with more possibilities for next year - somewhere to call our own and has brought us together as a community
- Young families
- Many servant-hearted people who give their guts

Weaknesses

- Age profile - could do with some depth
- Financial profile our core people - younger, many sin gle income families
- Current stretch of volunteers who are serving (not everyone is)

Opportunities

- Depot as a base for families outreach eg M&M's, Easter Egg hunt at Lloyd Elsmore!
- Young Life partnership 0 big opportunity in '06 - opportunity to reach youth in our area
- Sports clubs nearby - whole Lloyd Elsmore park complex
- Prospective church planters

Threats

- Couldn't think of any specifics

Cession SWOT - Sarah

2006-11-20T19:43:00.000+13:00

Strengths:
- Community Vibe
- People willing to give time and resources
- Relevant teaching series'
- It's a place I feel comfortable inviting others to (service and cell)
- Dinner
- People with lots of ideas
- Creativity
- Vast array of talents within community

Weaknesses:
- Doesn't encompass all age ranges, so could be hard for newcomers who are younger or older.
- People feeling 'burnt out'
- Slow growth in numbers
- Set up and pack down times

Opportunities:
- Relationships in community (at the Depot and surrounding schools/churches)
- A strong foundation built so growth is able to occur
- Own space at the depot to be used however we want

Threats:
- Ideas/opportunities not built upon due to lack of energy/'burnout'

cession SWOT - Melva

2006-11-20T18:39:00.000+13:00

Strengths:

3 Pastors and great leaders/talented congregation.
Can be a weakness also that everyone is doing alot, especially towards Sunday services.
Dinner
Deliver/involved in courses that are fundamentals of life e.g. Money, Marriage, Parenting
Great planning of serieses -creative communication/tech stuff
Giving community

Weaknesses:

Venue reverb/temperature
Cells not expanding - growth may be happening on personal level but not many new people coming through that avenue. Cell co-ordinator (me!) probably needs to be replaced given the above, and new baby taking all available energy!
People becoming members at cession don't seem to be expanding much.
Lots of kids in same age range who are in the toddler learning boundaries stage and can be a handful for 1-2leaders! - especially in the rooms available that have things they're not allowed to touch (perhaps need younger children in creche style format vs sunday school lesson?)Budget stresses

Opportunities:

More relationship with Depot e.g. mentoring in Lifeboyz or something like that - they are our 'neighbour' that we need to love.
Pakuranga College also is a great opportunity for relationship

Threats:

No older people in the church (I miss that - mentoring/Grandparent types)
Burnout of people who are doing lots

2006-11-20T16:05:00.000+13:00

Yo yo yo peoples.

It's my first time blogging. EVER. I vowed to myself to never do this, but just because it's "homework"........

I haven't done long lists as you guys have got so many good ideas already down. So to begin.....ditto!

Strengths
A fantastic Pastor and Ass Pastor who compliment each other and both give so much.
A committed group of leaders.
People within cession working in community facing jobs: Frank (Life FM), Scott & Greg (1914 Media), Juanita and Katie (PSI), Megan (Respite Home).....list not exhaustive!
Impletementing systems to make things work. Depot move went really well because of this.

Weaknesses
Calander awareness as a leadership team.

Opportunities
The depot being available on Friday nights.
Neighbouring Churches. (HCC, Trinity)

Threats
Energy levels, draining or burnout of highly involved community members.
Neighbouring Churches.

Love your work
Juanita

cession|cwot - uj

2006-11-20T13:16:00.000+13:00

Well, here's my effort. Not conclusive by any stretch and pretty light on the OT end, but an effort nonetheless:

Ctrengths
- Great bunch of talented/gifted people in relation to community size.
- Strong, servant hearted leadership, not afraid or dismissive of their humanity. Also, well educated.
- Great culture of community: people looking out for each other, openness is expected and (mostly) given
- Fairly non-authoritarian structure/culture
- High level of involvement from community members
- High level of creativity
- Provide an accessible environment for the 'dechurched'
- Teaching that doesn't insult community's intelligence combined with a culture that encourages questioning, discussion and active engagement.
- Active blogger community that provides another forum for engagement, discussion and discipleship. - Good mentoring/discipleship network base

Weaknesses
- Temptation to focus too much on difference of presentation/style as an end rather than as a tool
- Too much resource (primarily thinking of people/time, but funds too) committed to Sunday night service, which makes it our primary community connection point even if our philosophy/strategy seeks to have as an equal 'one of several'.
- Relatively small community size means that a lot of our people are perhaps (or at least feel) over extended in cession related service, therefore loss of passion & energy.
- Slow growth in overall numbers over the past year- Some measure of community inwardness (which naturally develops if you don't keep consciously engaging outwardly)

Opportunities
- Wider 'depot community' involvement
- Proximity to Pakuranga college and Highland Park
- Development of online social/discipleship networking opportunities

Threats
- The various ministries could become fragmented if we do not see our individual contributions in the light of the bigger picture/overall vision.

Cheers,
Uncle Jakey.

The cessioncollision SWOT Analysis

2006-11-14T22:36:00.000+13:00

Strengths

Rhett & Katie as “called” Youth specialists with 1-2 days (each) “voluntary” ministry time to give in 2007;
Relationships with our small core of youth have been significantly strengthened this year in an environment of informal, trusting communication;
The Depot as a non-church building, positioned adjacent to Highland park and Pakuranga College;
Multi-media elements and rock band format in service have the potential to engage youth – contemplative, kinaesthetic elements also seem to engage;
Youth are able to participate in the life of the church and in particular access service opportunities without distinctions being made
Jeremy Le Comte’s role as a part time student counsellor at Pakuranga College

Weaknesses

Absence of a clear sense of direction – too much week-to-week focus;
The size of the group currently makes momentum more difficult to encourage and limits the unchurched relational circle that we can touch;
Aspects of our service may be less engaging eg. Music tends to be over contemplative;
Mentoring and intentional spiritual formation has not occurred as intentionally as we planned;
Our leadership processes are not adding momentum and consistency to leadership and ministry development;

Opportunities

Young Life partnership offers proximity to unchurched youth and potentially a salaried community youth ministry opportunity;
Highland Park offers an incarnational mission field;
Relationship with the Depot tenants with youth emphasis – Lifeboyz & secondary school programmes

Threats

There are churches in our area who will “pitch” for youth currently attending other churches;
Other lifestyle options in the formative years

The cessioncommunity SWOT analysis:

2006-11-14T22:18:00.000+13:00

SWOT Analysis is a powerful technique for understanding your Strengths and Weaknesses, and for looking at the Opportunities and Threats you face.

Strengths:
What advantages does cessioncommunity have?
What do we do really well?
What unique resources do we have access to?
What do people outside the community see as our strengths?

Consider this from an internal perspective, and from the point of view of people we want to reach. And be realistic.

Weaknesses:
What could we improve?
What should we avoid?
What are people we are trying to reach likely to see as weaknesses?

Again, consider this from an internal and external basis: Do other people seem to perceive weaknesses that we do not see? It is best to be realistic now, and face any unpleasant truths as soon as possible.

Opportunities:
Where are the opportunities for us in our environment and the communities in which we are placed?
What are the interesting trends you are aware of?
Useful opportunities can come from such things as changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes, etc.
Are there local events that are a match for us?
A useful approach to looking at opportunities is to look at strengths and ask yourself whether these open up any opportunities.

Alternatively, look at weaknesses and ask yourself whether you could open up opportunities by eliminating them.

Threats:
What obstacles do we face? Is competition an issue?

Strengths and weaknesses are often internal to an organisation. Opportunities and threats often relate to external factors.

Start a new post with your thoughts on each - feel free to comment on what others post as well. I've also posted a SWOT analysis we completed for cessioncollision to start the process...

Posting #2

2006-10-25T06:54:00.000+13:00

If BJ can do it, so can I...

Posting

2006-10-24T22:52:00.000+13:00

Just because I can...

the body of christ?

2006-08-25T18:00:00.000+12:00

It was our last service at BDSC.

As we packed up the last bits and pieces from the cession cupboard we came across the baby bits that were used as part of the response in week one of our 'art of being ekkleisia' series - 'Body Art'. In an attempt to recapture the night Juanita set about creating her very own expression of body art... Cheers to Warren Skeen for being so quick off the mark with his cell phone, capturing the moment for all eternity...

There Ain't No Justice

2006-07-20T03:18:00.000+12:00

I only have two things to highlight from last Sunday.

The first is the line “whoever receives little forgiveness loves very little.”

(which to me seems to be an observation rather than a cause, otherwise Jesus would not love at all)

The second is a quote from Richard Rohr’s book Everything Belongs:

“Two-thirds of Jesus’ teachings are about forgiveness. A good third of Jesus’ parables are about forgiveness, directly or indirectly. Forgiveness has nothing to do with logic. It is the final breakdown of logic. It is a mystical recognition that human evil is something we are all trapped by, suffering from, and participating in. It calls forth weeping, humility, and healing much more than feverish attempts to root out the evil. The transformation happens through the tears much more than through threats and punishments.”

Speaking purely from the perspective of forgiving rather than being forgiven, I found I had quite a few stones to lay at the foot of the cross afterwards. None of them were because I’m deliberately holding onto unforgiveness, rather that I still suffer the consequences of those people’s mistakes. Sometimes I imagine myself confronting them with the results of their behaviour – it always makes me feel worse. Everytime I catch myself doing this now, I try to replace it with imagining myself forgiving them instead. Perhaps that sounds magnanimous, but it feels much much better. The world is a good place afterwards.

It seems to me that justice can never calculate an exact repayment – there’s always bitterness left afterwards. Only forgiveness seems to meet a debt in full.

I believe in speaking positive things, and putting something on a public blog that the whole world can read seems like a good way of commiting oneself to it, so here goes:

If you're reading this, and you know me (Steve Goble), and you've hurt me, whatever you've done I unconditionally forgive you.

After all, the past actually doesn’t exist.

Steve

Weak is the New Strong - Reflections From Rhett

2006-07-13T09:55:00.000+12:00

If weak is the new strong (I see I'm not the only uber-fan of Rob Bell), does that mean that Jesus could still beat the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a fight?

Or would he fight at all? I think that would depend on whether we were talking about the Gospel Jesus or the Revelation Jesus.

... I hope I am not alone in pondering these things.

I really enjoyed this past Sunday night, even if I completely mis-timed inflicting my droll humour on people in between two completely serious items. (Maybe idiot is the new clever.)

I found the sermon encouraging, as well as challenging.

I felt challenged about the fact that I always like to be right. And when I'm right, that means everyone who doesn't think my way is wrong. A small part of the sermon seemed to hit upon this, and it made a big impact on me.

I've also been thinking about the tension between admitting our weakness and need for God, yet striving towards holiness. We dwell on our weakness, and our need for Christ's strength to help us, but at the same time we strive for purity of motives, better ethics and ultimately, Christ-likeness. It's an interesting juxtaposition.

What does 'weak is the new strong' mean to me?

Well, I don't need to be convinced of my sinfulness... unfortunately the evidence is clear enough. Where I often fall short however is having the humility to completely accept God's (and other people's) grace without excuses and explanations.

My aim is to tattoo that phrase on the walls of my mind, so the next time I'm tempted to rely on my own strength, I'll be reminded of the truth.

Oh, and don't worry, I'm not a heretic...

Jesus would so kick ass.

2006-07-11T14:15:00.000+12:00

The Art of Being Ekkeisia - Reflections From Vania

BODY ART (BODY OF CHRIST
WHAT NOT TO WEAR (BRIDE OF CHRIST
CULTURAL ARCHITECTURE (TEMPLE OF LIVING STONES)
BLOGOS (LETTERS WRITTEN ON HUMAN FLESH)

The thing that I can really remember is from week 1 Body Art. At the end of the message Brett was talking about different parts of the physical body and relating it to the church. As part of the response point dolls body parts were handed around. I sat there trying to work out what part of the body I might be and therefore what doll limb I would choose. After thinking on that for a few minutes a random thought struck me...

This past year has been one of the toughest for me. Whatever part of the body (lets say a toe for arguments sake) I am, I feel that I have been broken and kind of dangling - unable to function normally. The significant thing in this picture is that even though I feel I have been somewhat useless and dangling, I have always remained... connected... and a part of the body. What has held me there has been the ligaments. And the ligaments represent my husband, my dear friends, those from my church family who have cared for me (and our family), given me space when I needed it and kept me hanging on.

The bones of this toe are knitting back together and getting stronger each day. So I am eternally grateful to each ligament for keeping me attached.

2006-07-10T22:30:00.000+12:00

The Art of Being Ekkeisia - Reflections From Brett
BODY ART (BODY OF CHRIST
WHAT NOT TO WEAR (BRIDE OF CHRIST
CULTURAL ARCHITECTURE (TEMPLE OF LIVING STONES)
BLOGOS (LETTERS WRITTEN ON HUMAN FLESH)

The things that hit me personally from this series were:

For me there were 2 massive bombshells:

1. The first was from Melissa's message "What Not to Wear". The idea of the church's collective holiness fashion statement as being "tailor-made" rather than "off the rack" encourages me to push on with the dream of cessioncommunity. "life encountering truth as we reflect and offer Christ" sums up for me what this "made to measure" holiness will look like. I thought Melissa did a stunning job with this message, bringing wonderful originality and insight to the passage.

2. In week 3, I got to preach on Ephesians 2 - Cultural Architecture. The idea that we must build "in Christ" was one that nailed me. We can't build by simply leading the church better, organising the church better, working harder, smarter etc These things are important but if we don't do it "in Christ" we will not become who God designed us to be. Very liberating realisation.

I'm planning on making some commitments to my community as a result:

It reinforced to me the need for me to be "in Christ" as an individual. Simple but essential.

Other Random Thoughts!

I loved the imagery in this series. I think the BodyArt metaphor was my fave. I like the idea of Jesus being tattooed into my character. It will hurt, it doesn't wash off and the impact is impressive...and then I think of a tattooed church...it may still hurt at times but it has a permanence that is for the long haul and an allure that is down to God's presence.

Overall, this series shaped me in a way i didn't expect. Very good timing for me personally and i think for us as a church community looking to relocate our Sunday gathering...

2006-07-06T17:14:00.000+12:00

the art of being ekkleisia - reflections from melissa

One of the things I loved most about this series was the imagery. I'll be honest - I am an image conscious person. Not in an entirely shallow way, though I'm certainly capable of being so! I tend to think in images, when I try to understand something, I usually create pictures in my mind to get my head around the idea. So trying to understand the kinds of images which are used in the New Testament to describe the church was something I found easy to connect with - though the thoughts generated were certainly not without challenge for me.

One of the ways that I got to expore the images was by putting together 3 out of four of the images we used with the scripture readings. For me, putting these together was an exercise in both exegesis and meditation. Here are the images again:

body art (the body of Christ)

what not to wear (the bride of Christ)

blogos (letters written on human flesh)

Arohanui

melissa

The Art of Being Ekkeisia - Reflections From Dione

2006-07-05T11:01:00.000+12:00

The Art of Being Ekkleisia

I missed the middle two sessions on this one, so forgive me if I have missed something, or say too much…

I looked up Dictionary.com, a favourite of mine, to get a feel for the words art & ekkleisia, this is what it came up with…

ART:- “Synonyms: art, craft, expertise, knack, know-how, technique
These nouns denote skill in doing or performing that is attained by study, practice, or observation: the art of rhetoric; pottery that reveals an artist's craft; political expertise; a knack for teaching; mechanical know-how; a precise diving technique.”

ec·cle·si·a Pronunciation Key (-klzh-, -z-)
n. pl. ec·cle·si·ae (-zh-, -z-)
1. The political assembly of citizens of an ancient Greek state.
2. A church or congregation.
[Latin ecclsia, from Greek ekklsi, from ekkalein, to summon forth : ek-, out; see ecto- + kalein, kl-, to call; see kel-2 in Indo-European Roots.]

So from that, I believe the art of ekkleisia means to be called out (chosen?). In practice, that means we need to gain skills in the following of Christ through study, practice (doing) and by observing others in the church and Jesus himself. I liked that Frank used the term progress in his post because when we look at it’s meaning below it fit’s in well with the art of being ekkleisia. We are all work in progress. I liked the mention of blog's in the last session, it's a great way of getting honesty/truth out to the masses, or at least to get your thoughts out into an open forum. :) I have experienced a lot of personal growth through my own blog, and through joining cession where I feel encouraged to think why I believe what I do.

prog·ress Pronunciation Key (prgrs, -rs, prgrs)
n.
1. Movement, as toward a goal; advance.
2. Development or growth: students who show progress.
3. Steady improvement, as of a society or civilization: a believer in human progress.
4. A ceremonial journey made by a sovereign through his or her realm.

I am glad to be part of a community of believers that want to be just that – a community. It takes work to move towards being this. We humans are not, nor could we ever be perfect, but steady progress is being made. Progress, I believe, is the most important part of living.

Continue to grow, learn, live life!

Blessings,

Dione

No title.

2006-07-05T09:35:00.000+12:00

Hhhhhmmmm, posting under my real name rather than the pseudonym that I’ve been using – this could be dangerous!

One of the things that I’ve really enjoyed over the last 4 weeks (other than the food) was being able to take something physical away with me. It does serve as a reminder of what’s been discussed, and if carried around with you can be a focal point for the week.

Having been very busy over the last few weeks though, my though process (as reflected my my blog) has been rather non-existent. But hopefully after reading some posts by everyone else, I’ll be inspired!

2006-07-05T09:31:00.000+12:00

Reinterpreting The Art of Being Ekkeisia template - 'reflections' from old man jakey
Disclaimer: Sorry if you were hoping for something more serious - check out the other great posts!

CHRISTIAN TATTOOS
Personally, I've never really wanted a tattoo, or pierced ears, or coloured hair, or an array of random fashion accessories. I agree, though, that these do suit some people very well. Hopefully cessioncommunity's body art amounts to something a little more thoughtful than a love heart with an arrow through it, or the like...

THE CHURCH IN A WHITE DRESS
Hey, I get into a dress on the odd occasion - though I've not yet been in a white one, except metaphorically - so I have no issue with the Church being in one. Hopefully it will be clean on the day.

RELIGIOUS BLOCKHEADS
I find that is it often difficult to get a good sense of your own cultural architecture without seeing that of some other groups/communities; this can give perspective and illuminate our own situation. Hopefully we'll make a good communal building block that fits into its place in the worldwide temple of the Holy Spirit as the master builder/architect continues in his work.

ONAN ONLINE
Let's continue to sow our virtual seeds of faith into the fertile and fallow soil of cyberspace...

The things that hit me personally from this series were:

[Be thou my vision. For some reason this song brought me to tears on the night, albeit briefly.
The response nail. It helps me to have something solid to rub and twist during meditation and sung worship.
Melissa's cool scripture images - I did wonder what had happened to her hand at first glance.]

Some of the reflections I've had on the church as part of this series are:

[Is there a Greek synonym for cession starting with an ε? If not we could be in trouble.]

I'm planning on being committed into my 'community' as a result:

[I'm not sure if I could have myself institutionalised. I might need some outside help.]

Other Random Thoughts!

[This "a cessionite" profile is coming in handy. Who said I needed to set up my own profile to comment on blogs that don't allow anonymous comments, when the community has set one up for me. Go the church - comprised of even dissenters!]

Ekkleisia as Art in Progress: Frank

2006-07-03T11:11:00.000+12:00

Forgive me father, for I have sinned..... I'm not using the template.... just offering some thoughts.

I loved the idea put forward of the ekkleisia (the church community) being art.

I like the idea of the community being a type of canvas on which not only God paints, but we also paint. A work of art where the things we use to form that art are our relationships and service; the offering of our very selves.

I heard a great saying once "out of pain, art is born". Whilst I like that saying, it only gives half of the story. Life produces art. Life is pain and joy, laughter and tears and sometimes even indifference. These are also the things that make up the experience of the ekkleisia, and if we ignore or try to avoid both the ups and downs then the painting remains incomplete.

I hereby submit myself to the painting, to be used by the Master artist and to contribute to that painting through my lifes ups and downs. Walking and journeying with others within the ekkleisia as we form this piece of art together.

Frank

First Reflection Opportunity

2006-07-03T09:55:00.000+12:00

We're starting this week's reflection by looking back at the series "The Art of Being Ekkleisia". Head for the posting page and you'll find a template ready to go...but feel free to freestyle - the template is really just a "starter for 10" if you find it helpful to focus your thoughts...

Happy blogging...

Hey Everyone

2006-07-02T21:05:00.000+12:00

Woohoo, I am SO the first person to post!

Only thing is, I don't have too much to say. Sarah was really sick so we even missed out on Brett's whole sermon on blogging. I hope I got a plug.

... And also that God spoke to you all, obviously.

Anyways... have a great week everyone.

P.S. it wouldn't let me sign in with my own account. Hmmm.

//Rhett

Prayer

2006-07-02T20:01:00.000+12:00

Our Blog, who art in cyberspace
Blogspot be thy name
Thy keyboard come
Thy mouse be done
on Macs as it is on PCs
Give us this day our daily bandwidth
Forgive us our typos as we forgive those who comment against us
for thine is the Firefox, the Explorer or the Safari
Amen

How To Post

2006-07-02T13:08:00.000+12:00

So here's how you post on this blog thingie! First you hit the link on the right marked "POST HERE". Then you can enter the following details:

User Name: cessionblog
Password: so we took this off...if you're really smart you'll try a word we use meaning "surrender" but otherwise you'll email info@cession.org.nz and I'll let you have it...

This will give you access to a posting template. Once you've posted what you want to say, type your name to close and then hit "Publish Post" followed by "Republish Blog". Before you leave just hit the sign out button at the top right hand corner.

Your post should then show up when you reaccess the site.

You can comment at any time, simply by hitting comment - you do not need a profile to comment.

Because you may be sharing the group profile you may want to create your own profile if yu can't sign on - just hit create blog on the blogger home page and proceed as far as step 1 - course you could go the whole hog and create a blog for yourself!

Let the Blog begin!

2006-07-02T12:54:00.000+12:00

Welcome to the cessioncommunity blogging experiment...