It’s been a couple of very busy weeks since I attended the Forge Church Planting weekend organised by Forge Victoria and renowned church planter and thinker, Peter Roennfeldt, at Revive Church in Croydon. I did post briefly after the first night but wanted to comment a little on the weekend as a whole and mention some of the highlights and themes discussed. You may know that I am in the process of forming an organic church here in Mooroolbark, and I have found that my thoughts and passions are the same as many of the folk at Revive Church. So, it was great that the weekend was held with their team and in the place they are using to worship, and organise many of the community oriented outreaches.
I must admit, that many of the topics and themes discussed were not entirely new to me. Having been through the Forge internship and then being an avid reader of theological books and websites, many of the concepts of what is Church, discipleship etc were ingrained into my thoughts and passions. However, what was new to me, was some of the more practical things and processes that were put forward to help in discerning about church planting and the subsequent planning and team building and encouraging. It was some of this more practical discussion and provision of material that was for me both new and harder to accept. The material was presented as tools and and not a necessity but rather guides to help in the church planting process.
During the whole weekend, Peter peppered the conversation with examples of church planting from all over the world — particularly with places and people he has met and is in contact with. All of these stories were encouraging, and inspiring to say the least! From elderly couples reaching the youth with horse-riding, to a group of friends organising parties to reach their friends, and folk meeting in cafes to discuss issues of faith over coffee and inviting folk to join them — all of them wonderful stories of the breaking in of the Kingdom into the world! It was these stories and the juxtaposition of processes that was the grating point for me and a couple of others. It was even mentioned by a member of my group that I was a member of for the weekend, that it is often the issue with these processes put into place by denominations etc to “measure” the success of the church plants that kills them for lack of “success” or growth in a defined period. It was also commented by our group, that we did not think many of the people and groups Peter highlighted from around the world, had been though these processes.
When this issue was brought up, it was discussed and agreed that the processes are a mere guide and not as a step-by-step solution to church planting — or church planting 101!
The highlight for me of the whole weekend was the Agape Love Feast held after the Revive worship on Saturday (Revive have come from the Adventist tradition, but do not subscribe to those traditions apart from having their service on Saturday afternoon. They call themselves followers of Jesus only, and not Seventh Day Adventists — which has caused them quite a bit of grief and complication within the Adventist denomination, which many of them still are associated with). The feast, of fruits, cold meats and nuts etc, was placed on tables laid out like a cross, with candles dotting the table and surrounding area. Peter lead the very serene and peaceful moment with prayer, some small worship, and after the meal, foot or hand washing. It was very encouraging to see some of the guests from the community meals — The Dining Room and Vive Cafe — attend worship and stay on for the Agape Feast — and even more encouraging to see the kids participating in the feast, particular with the foot washing.
I was also quite proud of my eldest daughter, who took the offer to wash peoples feet and proceeded to wash the feet of a couple of the folk attending the weekend, as well as washing each other’s feet with the little girl of the aforementioned guest. After the foot washing, we anointed one another with oil and prayed for each other. It was wonderful to be anointed by, and also anoint, my wife and kids. We prayed for each other and for the people we are meeting and sharing lives with, asking God to help our lives shine for him. My kids loved the mystery, the sense of awe and stillness that was conveyed by the feast.
The other highlight of the weekend was by far the opportunity to meet, hang out with, and share stories, ideas and inspiration with other folk from all over the country (ok — Melbourne and Sydney). I look forward to hearing how these people have taken the passion and information expressed over the course back to their groups and plants. In addition, I enjoyed hanging out with Peter and sharing in his passion and enthusiasm for building the church and sharing the gospel, and heralding the Kingdom of God into lives desperate for hope.
If you get the chance to attend a session with Peter or the opportunity comes up to be part of a similar weekend, I do recommend getting involved. I hope that I can post some more reflections and stories from those who attended and also my family’s and my own efforts to herald in the Kingdom in our neighbourhood. If anyone who was at the weekend wants to add their own comments below — I would welcome the feedback and additional comments and thoughts!
{ 1 comment }
nice post, thanks for sharing
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