It’s been a significant day today - February 13, the day Australia’s Prime Minister issued an apology to the stolen generations on behalf of the Australian Federal Parliament and Government.
I heard Kevin Rudd’s apology and speech on the radio on the way to work, along with the response of the Leader of the Opposition, Brendan Nelson. I spent the morning in Goodna and Inala, working with members of multicultural communities, reflecting on what it means to develop an authentic and sustainable community. The apology formed a poignant reminder that we can be blind to the impact of our actions. We need to listen to one another, treat each other with respect.
I believe today’s apology was a significant step in reconciliation. The commitment to closing the gap in housing, infant mortality and education is going to require the commitment of an emerging generation of Australians and the support of national and State governments. We’re going to need to hear more of the stories like those told by Brendan Nelson today. Too many Australians appear to have little idea of what Sorry Day is all about.
Today’s Q Weekend magazine, an insert in Brisbane’s Courier Mail, features a story on house churches by Will Storr.
Will introduces readers to the house church movement through the eyes of Sarah Williams at Jahworks in Doveton, Melbourne (ex Salvation Army), Bessie Pereira, Oikos House Church Network, Dave Andrews at Waiters Union, members of Pacific Parks Uniting on the Gold Coast, Pathway in Brisbane, and a group meeting in Cloncurry. There’s a photograph from one of the Coomera Baptist house churches on the Gold Coast.
Will sums up the house church movement with the common hallmarks of being decentralised, self-funded and unadvertised, meeting on a Sunday or Thursday, sitting in a circle, being leaderless, having a prickly dislike of preaching, a loose conversational program of worship usually involving a meal, considering their entire lives to be an act of “church”, and acts of charity and social justice to be an essential element of their Christianity. He says they’re often the subject of persecution from the inhabitants of what they like to call “pointy buildings”.
It’s a risky thing talking to a reporter knowing that only small parts of your conversation will end up in the article, sandwiched by fashion advertisements linked with the new David Jones store in Brisbane. The section of the article that focuses on our house group shows us as a group who focus on conversation, risking hints of heresy and intimate enough to reveal deep hurts and differences. Suggesting that I started the group as part of my Vision for Mission investigation into new forms of worship doesn’t quite do justice to the team with whom Ennis and I are working. For some of us, we are able to express our membership of the Uniting Church in the house church setting. It’s not an either/or situation.
The Waiters Union is described as Dave Andrews’ house church - which again over simplifies a network of people who wouldn’t fit into the house church framework.
‘Houses of the holy’ is a colourful article, with vivid stories, a critique of institutional Christianity since Constantine, showing awareness of the diversity found in the house church movement. Will, a freelance writer from the UK, is known for his book, Will Storr versus The Supernatural, a John Safran-style exploration of the ghost busting industry. Photography is by Russell Shakespeare, on the Gold Coast.
I’m taking a workshop on online social networking and youth ministry for the New Beginnings Youth Ministry Intensive at Trinity College in Brisbane, next week. We’ll have 90 minutes to explore ways in which youth ministry can happen online.
We’ll identify some of the relational modes we’ve seen already:
And then we’ll take a look at the social networking side - Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Bebo, Friendster…
Rhett Smith, college director of The Quest, at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, has his outline for a workshop online, exploring our own online journey, the issue of online identities, the challenge of leading within an online structure where there is no official leadership, the ambiguity found in positive and negatives, and the call to be involved in transforming communities.
Here’s a few of my issues…
1. Development of identity.
Young people need to develop their own sense of who they are in relationship to their community. Online communities provide opportunities for experimentation.
2. Development of intimacy
I’ve seen socially awkward teenagers develop the capacity for in depth conversations once the tongue-tied blushing body had become irrelevant. There’s potential here but also the danger of imbalance. There’s a tension between knowing and being known by many and knowing and being known well. The more ‘friends’ we add to our profiles the more difficult it is to foster relationships of integrity.
Freedom and Addiction
The house church I belong to is currently working through a series of studies relating to Lent, focusing on ‘Letting Go For Life”. Youth leaders have the opportunity to reflect with young people about the cravings (some very healthy) that can end up as addictions. Winning at that game. Being affirmed by others and added to their lists of friends.
Proximity
I don’t expect youth leaders to spend all their time with young people. There’s a need for healthy boundaries. However it is important to be accessible. For that reason I’ve accepted teenagers from church youth groups etc as ‘friends’ in MySpace and Facebook but have not gone pursuing them.
