2 Shifts

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1st Shift: Upside Down
This means bringing the key emphasis of church life to the small gathering rather than to the big. If you like, not commuting to church but bringing the church “home”. At the same time we are bringing church to the people: back into our neighbourhoods, back into our lives. It is easy to have church as a thing we go to. But in trying to keep our faith a “way of life”, our expression of church needs to work more into our lives. Church is meant to be community and true community can’t be expressed based purely on standard ‘meetings’ or on bigger and better programmes. The core of community is “shared lives”. The desire is to stay away an insipid and clinical church life to a greater depth.

This shift is a very significant one for us to get hold of: church is most fundamentally expressed by a group of people living out life together under God in the context of normal life.

2nd Shift: Inside Out
This change reflects the ‘inner’ life of the community revealed and open to those around to the point where they can experience it at some level. If church is brought “home”, it is also brought to our friends and neighbours. Open and inclusive community can have an expression where it is perfectly natural for others to be drawn in. This is the true way of inclusivity, not into events or meetings but into our lives and into our corporate life together. This reflects a little of the mystery of the incarnation – Jesus incarnated into each geographical area and relationship network.

The western world is dominated by increasing level of loneliness and isolation due to increased mobility, the breakdown of the family and the increasing pressures of life. In the survey conducted in Western Favell shopping centre, the key things people would look for in a church was ‘community feel’, ‘relaxed lively and fun’ and ‘welcoming and friendly’. So, not only are we community but we can be agents of community, creators of community where we are. That is one way of bringing the reality of the kingdom, a kingdom atmosphere if you like, to our friendships and neighbourhoods. People experience the reality of the kingdom and gospel in the life of the community. That is how we keep ‘the coin’ together.

Practically this means:

• Look to share life together
• Meet in a way that expresses ‘life together’, not a ‘meeting’
• Commit yourself to the people in the group, and take responsibility for the group and own it.
• Meet in such a way as to naturally and routinely include others.
• Meet in such a way that allows each one to participate.
• For example:


• Meet after work (people gathering as available). Play with the kids. Eat together. Play with the kids outside with other kids and neighbours. Talk about the bible, or predetermined issue, or ‘matters arising’ together, while those too young play or watch a video. Pray and worship together.
• Meet on a Saturday afternoon. Take a walk together or play football together, with other friends and neighbours. Have tea together (with other friends and neighbours maybe). Worship together with the kids either singing or some other ‘devotional’. Let someone lead a bible study or discussion, or just talk around Life issues arising.
• Have an ‘adults’ meeting based around a meal.