Living Local: Joining God

Practices

LISTENING

We listen to God by dwelling in God’s Word, and in stories of God in our lives and in our neighborhoods

DISCERNING

As we hear from God and one another, we ponder how God might be calling us to take action in the world

TRYING ON

We experiment with new ways of joining in God’s mission, trusting that God uses our failures as well as our successes

REFLECTING

We wonder together about what God is up to in our lives and in the world

DECIDING

We adopt new ways of being the Body of Christ as we listen, discern, try on, and reflect

Assumptions

• Things are changing and we need to reimagine how to be a church in this new world
• God is already ahead of us, up to something in our neighborhoods and communities, and we should join God there
• A lay-led, grassroots effort to discover God’s mission for us in our neighborhoods and communities is better than a top-down vision
• Our neighbor is anyone we encounter in our daily life – where we live, where we work, where we play, and where we pray
• God’s mission for us is different in each of our contexts – location and time
• Our re-imagination of how we are called to be church in our specific context potentially includes new ways of using our resources – time, talents, money, structures, and clergy – but not necessarily
• We learn best through experiences and action learning
• Sharing in communities broadens and deepens our learning
• Anything worth doing is worthy of practice and development over time
• We don’t know what the end game looks like, but we look forward to transformation of individuals, congregations, neighborhoods and communities