Comments on: 7 Lessons Learned from a Church of Millennials

By: worthwheeler

worthwheeler — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 00:41:39 +0000

ChrisMorton82 worthwheeler zachhoag I think we are experiencing the same thing with regard to people feeling shy to come to MCs (house-church) gatherings. And I think you’re on track that most people don’t recognize the format, and close proximity (more intimate space relationally) would benefit from a lighter proxemic level of friendship and interaction in a different type of space. I believe Boise is mostly de-churched as well.
We’re in agreement on structure. When I’ve looked Vox’s website I see a lot of things in place structurally for the public gatherings at Space 12. This I like. I think maybe we 3 would benefit from a short Google Hangout sometime next week to discuss structure, since both Zach and I are looking for resources such as Vox’s liturgy.
Learning with each other and from each other is the best.
Cheers mates!

By: zachhoag

zachhoag — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 21:12:37 +0000

ChrisMorton82 worthwheeler zachhoag chris do you have any documentation/resources on Vox’s liturgy? or posts? really interested re: a project i’m working on in vt. (or just an email with some insights.)

By: ChrisMorton82

ChrisMorton82 — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 20:07:14 +0000

worthwheeler ChrisMorton82 zachhoag Thanks! You guys make me feel better about my coolness
As far as what to do in Boise, I’m not sure what to reccommend. I’m transitioning to help with Austin Mustard Seed. After 4 years of meeting in homes AMS decided to launch a public gathering inspired by Vox’s Liturgy. The reason was that while many friends were excited to come help with service projects (in a public space) they were shy to come to house-church gatherings.
Our hypothesis is that Texas is mostly de-churched, and that people need something that they recognize…sort of. I don’t really mean pews, just something more public thana living room.
As far as finding a space? I’d say that structure is just as, if not more important than space (see #4). Knowing that each week, they can count on things like accessible music, thoughtful prayers, eucharist, etc., is a part of that familiarity.
We are trying to figure this out as well, and are anxious to learn from you!

By: worthwheeler

worthwheeler — Sun, 04 Aug 2013 00:04:52 +0000

ChrisMorton82 worthwheeler zachhoag first, let me reiterate Zach’s sentiment. You are cool! Second, only reason I brought up the question is because I wanted your take on context. Boise is not Austin, so I wanted to see it through your eyes. Short of owning your our space, we have to rent or borrow. We are thinking of renting pub/coffee shop space. I had a hard time seeing how people might think doing something like that would be “trying to hard” or “cultish”. If we don’t have funding to create something of our own space, what are the other options? Your post made me wonder if I knew my context well enough and if I should look around a little more (we’ve been part of the community for 2.5 years, and we’ve looked a lot) for something “that’s just familiar enough to be safe.”

By: ChrisMorton82

ChrisMorton82 — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 00:34:07 +0000

worthwheeler zachhoag As I said to Zach, we may be doing “cool” stuff, but I would argue that it has more to do with our neighborhood. (See the Forbes article above). I mean, on many a Sunday night, I’ve biked to a nearby restaurant that serves Foi Gras corn dogs.
As far as how we meet on Sundays, you have to remember that Austin is still “Texas”, and many of the reidents have a bible belt background. My opinion is that the examples I gave above would sound to many locals like something in between “trying too hard” and “cultish”. That would, of course, be different in different cities. Make sense?