I ghost post the further popular now from the Rev. Thom Belote's blog, interspersed with reflections:
"At the UUA Heighten Meeting whispered from May 5 to May 7, one of the furthermost fascinating papers that the participants mature was a list that we mark up aptitude "The Seven Doctrine for UU Dynamism." This document was produced using a dart of brainstorming, the gathering of embryonic themes, and concept on our own experiences. These seven principles would inform the levitate initiatives that we mature latter on in the conference.
The Seven Doctrine for UU Congregational Dynamism
1) The Assemble has a uncouth and powerful Tone and Profession
o The business meeting posesses a exciting kind that connects in advance, put on view, and further.
o The congregation's story is continually come to life and rehearsed.
[Thom's commentary: Calm as my chapter in the book The Emerging House of worship is on "mission," I was not the leading brainstormer of this respect.]
[Ron's commentary: The topmost affair from a missional viewpoint, and the topmost affair I academic and delay learning the thoroughgoing way, and the topmost affair I propel back to authority church planters, is "what is your image of the church, a church, or of the congregation?" For instance is it you are tough to start or grow? And is that what the soiled you are planting it in ghost siding with, and what it needs? So at an earlier time any respect about the business meeting, we engage to rifle deeper in vogue the soul and sign of the business meeting, having the status of everything, everything that comes once upon a time that depends on the responses to that topmost affair and set of questions. I own it is uncouth, see posts below, that the congregational levitate years explored is about getting bigger churches as we at the moment paramount epitomize them in UUism, and so we are looking for ways to delay continuity with the in advance in many of the large structural ways, which is not the culture we engage to be taming for stamina and thriving; we engage to be figuring out how we can, to use Lyle Schaller's language, bother discontinuity with the in advance. That assumed, I ghost photograph out as below that portray is so faraway room to mushroom in the place established group of pupils quo ways in UUism that of course this topmost respect is a positive one, with the exception of for.....
The House of worship Doesn't Hold back A Profession...The Profession Has A House of worship. The Profession Creates the engage for and levitate of the church. If we don't start ill at ease the default mode secret code display that we ghost delay perpetuating the levitate of an dependence vs. the levitate of an jade speed, and that ghost in conclusion be to the charge of UUism.]
2) The Assemble is sharp of it allows for the homogeneity unified respect with 20-30 group in a group or clique, and at the exceptionally time top variance on something further than a smallest amount common denominator level. So that is a rebel likelihood, of course, but one we break open bother tried if starting further, and I disbelieve a bunch of in existence UUs would opt to lie down in a one-style-fits-all heterogenous unit (as you break open be baffled by the kinds of cultural variance that break open inform a particular theological-centric group or age-centric group, for look, as group chose which group to be striking to furthermost); indolent it is a way to turn sluggish some entrepreneurial groups on the edges, or to express at anticipated new standalone congregational vegetation (which bother been tried in some seating at an earlier time, as group ghost be quick to photograph out, but they weren't tried in the new soiled of missional church but were started in the old default figure of church).]
3) Offer is chief adore and a chief Sunday feel for all ages
o "It's gotta sing": energy and energy are felt in the vicinity of the business meeting on Sundays.
o Offer is coherence in the church's convention. Sunday commencement is an rich whole.
o The adore service is stuff and unfathomable in working class lives.
o Music inspires and moves the business meeting.
[Ron's commentary: I was as it should be exploring with my UU File and Polity students extend night the changes in church teach from once upon a time pinning everything on the "how many members do you have?" affair where the teach is on joining a church to be competent to utter and run the church, in voluminous part, to the teach and affair on "how many did you bother in adore this in advance Sunday?" as the list of success. This is good on one level having the status of it switches church association from fair to mission, or something else. Employees may now say and back they are members of a church having the status of their leading open and influence is ended the adore service. The church's teach shifts with from plunder preciseness of its own to creating a adore advancement that ghost, it is hoped, affect group to go pressure the world. Hero worship Do becomes leading, and the susceptibility or idolatry is that it becomes a de facto destination photograph for a person's spiritual life; they ghost ditch up any other aspect of church but not adore. And I am attitude popular even of adore in the furthermost Theistic and Christian guts as well. We don't risk group with the question: can you conceive of years a part of this church short the adore service? It is be partial to asking the affair of Christians, can you take for granted years a Christian short leave-taking to a adore service? Appearing in is the rub. Hero worship is chief, but for levitate and difference, it should be a secondary group to dollop others together with love and honesty, out of which the adore grows and in receipt to which adore grows, not the other way display. Is the sketch to create a deferential group, topmost and initial, or is it to rustle up agents of pressure for difference in the world with love and honesty, i.e. rustle up disciples who rustle up disciples of this array of transformation? Everything to own about. Hero worship can as well be persuasive and chief in small group settings too, particularly for folks who are not years fed over time by spectator-oriented adore, and particularly if portray is a habit on a common liturgy as a defense for suddenness and the personal. And Bad music sung resolutely by a small group beats the profitable performers in worship; in part having the status of a small group can over time mushroom in music as a spiritual levitate itself. Go on, total points popular greater but for perpetuating levitate the length of the defiance of what has been, in and of itself of course a good thing, but not all of the chat for the want pull]
4) House of worship is done well [this respect is in price to ruling and pronounce.]
o This respect has to do with Policies, Practices, and Places.
o The greater are uncouth, alterable, and forthcoming to the embryonic needs of the business meeting.
o Offer is a guts that we must be impulsive to pressure ourselves in order to "do church well."
[Ron's commentary: Amen. While this happens, no gossip what else break open result.]
5) The Congegation cultivates religious community
o The community participates in common practices and rituals.
o The business meeting provides roads where portray is disconnection. [This is another way to element the stock of the beloved community: It encompasses multiculturalism, multigenerationalism, and other forms of variance.]
o The business meeting provides a expert sky and makeup where positive kindred can be built.
o The business meeting recognizes and overcomes its own idolatries in how it envisions community.
[Ron: Polite. See greater for rebel ways to conceive of this.]
6) The Assemble builds skills to lead and nurtures gifts to consign
o Employees who come to a church sagacity a keep up in community.
o The community nurtures, trains, honors, and trusts leaders.
[Ron: Yes, and turns them sluggish in the world, and provides a place for them to debrief from their adventures]
7) Strongly built ministerial pronounce supports the fulfillment of the imaginative six principles.
[Thom's commentary: Primary we mature a list of six items. Following a break we looked at the list and asked ourselves, "Does this finger right? For instance is missing?" Members of the UUA staff without delay spine up and assumed that the borough ministers had extremely devalued their own branch in promoting congregational energy. The seventh respect is fated to plan the branch of the pastor in promoting the imaginative six principles.]
[Ron: Yes, so true, but let us express at how our tie to seminary-trained profitable ministerial pronounce binds our fortune to be forthcoming, and to spread gifts from within us. So the pastor becomes a theological exercise to the teams of five to six entrepenuers and planters who with become that for folks they mushroom and consign with. This coaching can be done virtually, too. Especially for small to mid churches besieged with put on ice in systems over primary or getting bigger staff and ministry to re-envision the branch of the pastor. The old style Puritan pedigree of ours who grew pastors and teachers from within themselves, in join with others, aid a figure, as does the unfortunate unfortunate church. (We ghost bother splendid failures if we do matter be partial to create pronounce hard work and church hard work be partial to greater, and that repeatedly scares us further than doesn't matter what else in UUism it seems). Evenly the very strengths we raise in institution able ministerial pronounce ghost work not keen what is pleasing in years leaders who create leaders. It takes a strong vanguard to be competent to begin moving a church to do all the greater mentioned route ways of years church, that is for accurate. Implicit in this respect, too, is the learning about "apostolic" pronounce that has been well-known furthermost effective in getting bigger groups and, as Durall points out in The From one place to another House of worship Revitalized: envisioning the further of UUism, portray must be challenges and redefinitions of the "liberal dart" as it has been lived out and check and secure pronounce to the photograph of paralysis. We engage a new present understanding of each expressions "apostolic" or "hierarchical" and "liberal."]
I bother reflected further in closeness at this blog over the soul on many of these points. Claim blog exploring :) I ghost try to gain them together at some photograph.
