I am always amazed at the depth of the questions coming from our confirmands. After a discussion about the Holy Spirit, Becca H. wrote the following questions:
*Is the Holy Spirit love or when we feel love is it from the Holy Spirit?
*Does everything happen for for a reason?
*Can sailboats on a river represent our path in life?
These are good, serious, thoughtful questions. Connecting God's Spirit to love-- pure love is an insightful observation. I believe that while we experience God's love, the Spirit opens us up even more to when love is expressed.
A sailboat offers a good metaphor of the Spirit. If we look at our life as a sailboat, then we have to decide whether we are sailing or simply watching other sailboats from shore. I believe God placed within each of us that desire to sail-- to respond to the Lord. As we created our own versions of origami sailboats in confirmation, it was quickly apparent the boats with more sail available caught the most wind. Nicholas M.'s boat shot across the water because of the clever design to capture the wind. When we open up our hearts, souls and minds to the Spirit, we can go places we never dreamed of with our lives.
On the journey,
Alecia
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
An Invitation
I was asked to participate in a new group called Healthy Church Initiative (HCI). Over the next year I will be reading a series a books and participate in a discussion group. At each meeting I will be asked to offer an action plan on one key learning I discovered in the reading. My initial response was to not take part simply because of time. However, I changed my mind when I discovered that the books I will be reading will aid us in becoming the missional church God has called us to be.
The book I will be reading is, "Recreating the Church" by Richard Hamm. I would love to have others read it as well and share what they learned. Here is a description of the book:
"At the center of this manifesto is Hamm's concern for preserving the core values of the Mainline churches in the face of challenges from secularism and fundamentalism. The problem, as he sees it, is that the structures that developed over the years have become obsolete and they prevent the church from adapting to the cultural context in which it lives. By embracing the "missional church" idea Hamm is less interested in quick fixes, but rather calls for long term reinvention of the church so that the Mainline values can be preserved and can influence not just the religious context but the world context."
Check it out. See what you think. I'll post my thoughts after I have read the book.
On the journey,
Alecia
The book I will be reading is, "Recreating the Church" by Richard Hamm. I would love to have others read it as well and share what they learned. Here is a description of the book:
"At the center of this manifesto is Hamm's concern for preserving the core values of the Mainline churches in the face of challenges from secularism and fundamentalism. The problem, as he sees it, is that the structures that developed over the years have become obsolete and they prevent the church from adapting to the cultural context in which it lives. By embracing the "missional church" idea Hamm is less interested in quick fixes, but rather calls for long term reinvention of the church so that the Mainline values can be preserved and can influence not just the religious context but the world context."
Check it out. See what you think. I'll post my thoughts after I have read the book.
On the journey,
Alecia
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Confirming Your Faith
One of my favorite aspects of my job is Confirmation which I work with 7th and 8th grade students. It is a fun age because they tend to not censor what comes out of their mouth as to whether or not its particularly religious. Because I have a policy to answer any question thrown at me in the class, I have fielded questions on a number of topics. Sometimes the questions are more serious in nature. Take for instance the thoughts of one of the students:
*When talking about sins, it depends what you consider a sin.
*Can a person ever be entirely forgiven for sins?
*Just because God died on the cross, does that mean our sins are forgiven?
*Why do sins matter if we are not perfect?
This student is doing a great job in thinking theologically. She might not think about in those terms, but it is precisely what she is doing. I wonder how our church would change if we all took time to think theologically now and again.
On the journey,
Alecia
*When talking about sins, it depends what you consider a sin.
*Can a person ever be entirely forgiven for sins?
*Just because God died on the cross, does that mean our sins are forgiven?
*Why do sins matter if we are not perfect?
This student is doing a great job in thinking theologically. She might not think about in those terms, but it is precisely what she is doing. I wonder how our church would change if we all took time to think theologically now and again.
On the journey,
Alecia
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