This is not to say the traditional conference will be gone (or should be), but rather that it would step back from its place as our central model of learning gatherings.

Great input. Thanks!

Peace,
Jamie

I think a big practical approach, that can apply across the board in many directions, is trying to do conferences, discussions, formation, tools, etc. in-house as much as possible. This might not result in always the highest quality but it does a couple of things. It naturally keeps the conversation within the bounds of the community’s ability to grasp it. It also builds investment, making the sorts of people who are generally targets into becoming full participants. Then as they engage the questions with their own contributions they will better appreciate, and understand, the answers others have given.

I’ve been through a lot of different church programs and conferences, with large and with small churches. Consistently if you give people a chance to explore their own creativity in producing tools and training for ministry they end up offering surprising contributions.

There’s still a place, I think, for those teaching at the highest levels, but we shouldn’t immediate jump to those as our first, and considered only, option.

E

I can certainly appreciate your perspective and the experiences of those whose stories you have told. I talked with RT because he and his wife are part of my weekly “house church” community. My missional experience is from living among Asian hill tribe groups, Thai and Hawaiian/Polynesians.

It is my earnest prayer that the Holy Spirit will continue to move in and through us to use our feeble attempts to “instigate” this community to build the Kingdom, that we will all continue to approach each other with love and respect and humility, and that the love of Jesus in us will cover a multitude of sins — both of omission and commission — as we make our way on this journey into liminality so that we may come through it to experience the joy and the chaos that is communitas.

Much love to you, brother.

Peggy

Good to hear. I think it will be helpful in the long run. I appreciate the openness here to discuss things like this.

Peace,
Jamie

The term ‘elder’ came up I think almost as a tongue-in-cheek term that stuck around a bit back in our discussions in November, iirc. None of us are particularly invested in it or married to it in any way - it was just a functional way of saying ‘eldest’ in the sense of ’showed up first,’ which is about all we were trying to say. We’re also concerned about the church-related baggage that the term has, having invested it with positional authority that isn’t always there in some cultural uses where elders are respected simply for being elder.

It’s something we should perhaps have dispensed with before the site launch. As I say, since nobody is invested in it for positional or any other reasons, we’ll probably be moving away from it very soon and replace it with the term ‘instigators’ or something similar, which for us was near-synonymous at the time.