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Eating Together
Please refer to the conversation cards sheet above.
Dwelling Together
Luke 10:1-12, 17-20 (NRSV)
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” 6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” 12 I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town’… … 17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ 18 He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’
Are there any details that stick out to you?
Do they highlight anything to you that you haven’t noticed before?
Wbat do you think it would have felt like to be one of the seventy going out?
How would you have felt different when coming back to Jesus?
Learning Together
In evangelism, why is it so important to know your local community?
Making Sense
If the gospel is to be understood, if it is to be received as something that communicates truth about the real human situation, if it is, as we say, to “make sense,” it has to be communicated in the language of those to whom it is addressed and has to be clothed in symbols which are meaningful to them.
Those to whom it is addressed must be able to say, “Yes, I see. This is true for me, for my situation.”
Lesslie Newbigin, 1989, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, London, SPCK, p.141.
- How do I ensure the gospel makes sense?
- Thinking about the people below, or perhaps other people who you might come across in your ministry, what is good news to them? How does that relate to the Gospel?
- An older person who has recently lost their life partner.
- A parent with two children under 3.
- A couple with multiple part-time jobs and 0-hour contracts.
- A wealthy family whose children go to private school.
- A young person who is a full-time carer for their disabled parents.
The Transformational Parish
… ‘Parish’ means, or could mean, a good deal more than… defensive foolishness. ‘Parish’ speaks, or could speak, of God’s love for the world. The traditional understanding of the Church of England is that we are placed where we are by God for the sake of the world, not of our own brand of church. In such an understanding, ‘parish’ means all the life of a given place, of a given culture… Mission-shaped Church is calling the Christian community to be immersed in the ‘parish’ and to watch and work with God for transformation there.
Paul Bayes, 2004, Mission-Shaped Church: Building Missionary Values, Cambridge, Grove Books, p.18.
- What does the word ‘parish’ mean to me? What feelings does the word produce in me?
- Can I see my parish as transformational?”
Missional Imagination
Rather than the primary question being, ‘How do we attract people to what we are doing?’ it becomes ‘What is God up to in this neighborhood?’
Alan Roxburgh & Scott Boren, 2009, Introducing the Missional Church, Grand Rapids, Baker, p.20.
- What is God up to in my neighborhood?
Group Discussion of Mission Contexts
In pairs, discuss:
- What is my ‘mission context’?
- Is my mission to a particular group within my parish or wider community?
- Who are the important people in this mission context?
- These might be people within the church, people on the fringes of the church, local community leaders…
- What do I know about the people in my local community?
- Are they mainly young or old?
- Are they mostly British- or foreign-born?
- What is their economic situation?
- What attitudes and beliefs do they possess, e.g. about politics?
- What questions do they ask?
- What is important to them?
As a group, discuss:
- What kind of soil do you have?
- In terms of the parable of the sower, does the soil in your mission context feel rocky, scorched, full of weeds, or rich?
Group Activities
Optional Material for Further Discussion (if time allows):
- Insights from Listening to Mission (2006):
- In shaping a mission vision, it’s crucial to form a team and collectively discern:
- The group or community you feel called to work with.
- What you believe God is already doing within this community.
- Where are the needs, pains, points of darkness, and difficulty within the community?
- What gifts and resources can we offer or bring to address these needs?
- Who are potential partners or collaborators in this mission?
- What specific outcomes would make us exclaim ‘Hallelujah!’ in one year’s time? What about in five years?
- How can we gather more information or knowledge about the community we believe we might be called to serve?
- In shaping a mission vision, it’s crucial to form a team and collectively discern:
Unpacking and Discussing These Key Ideas Using Glossary Cards
See worksheet
Reflecting Together Practical Tips for Reading a Mission Context and Joining God in the Neighbourhood
Suggested content from Milne, The DNA of Pioneer Ministry (2016):
- Milne presents two approaches regarding the duration of observing a context before taking action:
- The “PhD” approach suggests spending 6-12 months researching a mission context before starting work.
- The “get started” approach recommends initiating pioneering work right away and adjusting strategies while in action as needed (Milne, 2016: 60).
For Discussion: What is your initial preference between these two options?
- Milne emphasizes six tools for redirecting strategies when initial plans don’t yield desired results:
- Observation – studying the beliefs, behaviors, responses, etc., of the target audience.
- Conversation – sparking new ideas within the mission team.
- Experimentation – learning from failures.
- Participation – engaging actively with the people targeted for outreach.
- Investigation – taking calculated risks and building relationships.
- Imagination – gathering collective wisdom through communication (Milne, 2016: 76-80).
Discussion Topics:
- Do any o the above ideas jump out to you more than others?
- How fixed are your plans?
- How open are you to changing them?
Praying Together
As we end in prayer, we take time to stop, to settle, to gather, to become conscious again of God’s presence…
We ask the Lord to direct our thoughts…
I remember one person or situation that I have discussed or thought about during this session… I light a tealight – to symbolise my holding this person or situation in prayer…
I bring to mind:
- What is God up to in my neighbourhood?
- What will my response be?
As we feel able, we share our responses and intentions aloud and we pray for each other, for God’s blessing and guidance…