Posted on November 3, 2008
Tim Chester offers a great diagnostic list to determine whether our communities are communities of performance or grace:
| Communities of Performance |
Communities of Grace |
| the leaders appear sorted |
the leaders are vulnerable |
| the community appears respectable |
the community is messy |
| meetings must be a polished performance |
meetings are just one part of community life |
| identity is found in ministry |
identity is found in Christ |
| failure is devastating |
failure is disappointing, but not devastating |
| actions are driven by duty |
actions are driven by joy |
| conflict is suppressed or ignored |
conflict is addressed in the open |
| the focus is on orthodoxy and behaviour (allowing people to think they’re sorted) |
the focus is on the affections of the heart (with a strong view of sin and grace) |
Posted on October 31, 2008
Josh points us to some incisive comments and questions by Tim Chester on the topic of busyness.
- Have you ever been irritated because there was a queue at the supermarket till?
- Do you regularly work thirty minutes a day longer than your contracted hours?
- Do you check work emails and phone messages at home?
- Has anyone ever said to you: ‘I didn’t want to trouble you because I know how busy you are’?
- Do your family or friends complain about not getting time with you?
- If tomorrow evening was unexpectedly freed up, would you use it to work or do a household chore?
- Do you often feel tired during the day or do your find your neck and shoulders aching?
- Do you often exceed the speed limit while driving?
Read more here.
Posted on October 15, 2008
Drew Goodmanson has posted the audio files from all of the plenary and breakout sessions from the Total Church Conference. This was a very good conference. Of all the sessions I attended, these talks stood out the most:
Posted on August 29, 2008
Soak it up. Here is the first installment of resources from the Total Church Conference. You won’t agree with all of it, which is exactly why you need it. Timmis’ session on the Community-centered Gospel had a significant effect on me.
