tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9901815.post9093921346049179970..comments2023-06-04T14:47:02.324+01:00Comments on a sideways glance: Two tribes in stepsimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13470335172330595542noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9901815.post-72773466790463365182007-06-08T08:16:00.000+01:002007-06-08T08:16:00.000+01:00Our conference was a whole day - 9:30-4:30 for eve...Our conference was a whole day - 9:30-4:30 for everyone involved in the church - members and friends. 150 out of 400 or so came for a day that consisted of a mixture of presentations and workshops. There was a good atmosphere through the day and a number of issues were raised that are now setting the agenda for church gatherings of various kinds over the coming months. I recommend it as a way of getting people talking to each other.simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13470335172330595542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9901815.post-38505111893418466292007-06-07T15:32:00.000+01:002007-06-07T15:32:00.000+01:00When you say conference is this a special weekend ...When you say conference is this a special weekend away or special meeting of members / congregants? <BR/><BR/>There are some things that I want to share with our church in the area of how we move forward together and what I feel God is calling us to do togeher as a church - the problem is that to do this at a traditional church members meeting would exclude over 60% of those who gather each week.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9901815.post-39732773988079353342007-06-07T12:38:00.000+01:002007-06-07T12:38:00.000+01:00I got the church to recognise that as humans we te...I got the church to recognise that as humans we tend to be tribal by doing a brief session early on at our conference on our identity in Christ based on the opening of Romans. so I looked at the fact that we are holy, called, apostolic but also drew our attention to the fact that Paul is writing to a tribal church, a collection of communities of Jesus followers that had tribal elements about them - Jews, Gentiles, slave communities, those attached to caesar's household, etc - and that part of Paul's aim in the letter (especially in 12-15) is to help those groups to accept and relate well to one another despite their tribal differences.<BR/>Your question about how we relate to one another is the key one, of course. Listening has to be the start and accepting that we don't have to do everything together but that when we're together, not everything we do will be our cup of tea.simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13470335172330595542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9901815.post-41147903477537245832007-06-07T11:41:00.000+01:002007-06-07T11:41:00.000+01:00I'm interested that you have got your church to ta...I'm interested that you have got your church to talk about how they are divided into two tribes - it seems that all too often we (pastors) try to just hold people together rather than get them to admit that they are different and that perhaps there are diferent ways of doing things that will meet where people are at. <BR/><BR/>My question is how can we own up to the differences and meet those needs without "pampering" to the wants of any one given tribe - surely there has to be some sense of sacrifice to our collective worship and gathering together? I want the "emergent" tribe to learn the values of the "inheritors" and vice versa without necessarily forcing emergents to become inheritors or inheritors to become emergents!<BR/><BR/>It is just encoraging to here what others are doing and indeed that a church has opened up to talk about being two tribes without ending in war.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com