Caught in the crosscurrent...together
Our UnderCurrent relaunch this Sunday but we cheated and started ours a week early. Reason being, we are watching Survivor. I know...it's pretty spiritual. Chicken farmers, grave diggers, professional wrestlers, lunch ladies with mullets...it's deep. But I'm stoked. There were 7 of us without any pre-sign up and we had a blast. We're having our own mini competition throughout the season and the winning team will get treated to a movie on Bek or I.
I gotta be really honest here. I'm an awkward person. I KNOW! You're shocked! I try to keep it a secret :) But when it comes to a traditional bible study I just can't hide it. Sitting in a circle. Reading a section of Scripture. Then....the part that makes me want to crawl into a hole and not come out..."Soooooooo Hank....what do you think about that? Nothing? Okay then...next." It's at this point where I just start talking and it moves from a bible study to a mini sermon. I just don't do well with it. On top of that, I've found that the most meaningful conversations have come out of having a coffee with a friend with no pre-set plan.
That's why I love our concept of UnderCurrents. It's not new by any means but it just fits who we are. Some go with cells, small groups, g-12, etc...some make it mandatory that they review the sunday message. We just can't mandate a set structure and be true to the culture of our faith community.
So we've got survivor nights, movie discussion nights, bible study, recreation, youth, singing and looking to add some more. I have some ideas but ultimately, Donovan is the point leader for the UnderCurrents.
We are experimenting with the semester system as well. So the present Undercurrents will go until Christmas and end for a few weeks. Then in January some time we will once again relaunch to give new people the chance to join up, for us to launch new Undercurrents and for regulars to switch if they want to. This is an experiment so we're going to test it out and see how it works. But right now it seems like a better option than having a group of people meet together for the next 20 years and have no way for a new person to break in, even if they wanted to. I think with switching it up every few months helps to keep things fresh. It keeps UnderCurrents on our radar all the time and as we will do a big push every few months. Afterall, these are going to be a very strong undercurrent (lame...I know) in our church.
All in all, I'm stoked. I'm looking forward to connecting with people that I haven't had the chance to connect with yet. I'm looking forward to the community that is going to be formed. We see the strong friendships that have formed among the ladies that meet for recreation on Wednesdays...it's just undeniable that this type of community makes it much easier and more fun to navigate through life and the christian faith.
We aren't meant to walk alone.
I gotta be really honest here. I'm an awkward person. I KNOW! You're shocked! I try to keep it a secret :) But when it comes to a traditional bible study I just can't hide it. Sitting in a circle. Reading a section of Scripture. Then....the part that makes me want to crawl into a hole and not come out..."Soooooooo Hank....what do you think about that? Nothing? Okay then...next." It's at this point where I just start talking and it moves from a bible study to a mini sermon. I just don't do well with it. On top of that, I've found that the most meaningful conversations have come out of having a coffee with a friend with no pre-set plan.
That's why I love our concept of UnderCurrents. It's not new by any means but it just fits who we are. Some go with cells, small groups, g-12, etc...some make it mandatory that they review the sunday message. We just can't mandate a set structure and be true to the culture of our faith community.
So we've got survivor nights, movie discussion nights, bible study, recreation, youth, singing and looking to add some more. I have some ideas but ultimately, Donovan is the point leader for the UnderCurrents.
We are experimenting with the semester system as well. So the present Undercurrents will go until Christmas and end for a few weeks. Then in January some time we will once again relaunch to give new people the chance to join up, for us to launch new Undercurrents and for regulars to switch if they want to. This is an experiment so we're going to test it out and see how it works. But right now it seems like a better option than having a group of people meet together for the next 20 years and have no way for a new person to break in, even if they wanted to. I think with switching it up every few months helps to keep things fresh. It keeps UnderCurrents on our radar all the time and as we will do a big push every few months. Afterall, these are going to be a very strong undercurrent (lame...I know) in our church.
All in all, I'm stoked. I'm looking forward to connecting with people that I haven't had the chance to connect with yet. I'm looking forward to the community that is going to be formed. We see the strong friendships that have formed among the ladies that meet for recreation on Wednesdays...it's just undeniable that this type of community makes it much easier and more fun to navigate through life and the christian faith.
We aren't meant to walk alone.
