The time we spend as community, doing nothing particularly purposeful, is very important. The BBQs, trips, parties and movie nights, are often the times when really significant conversations happen. Sometimes these are the events people bring their friends to. Other times they just get to know each other more deeply. Such times may not help your group achieve your vision, but your community will certainly be better and closer for it.
When I look back at our missional community of 4 1/2 years, it's often the rest time that I remember most fondly, like the times it'd be getting close to 10pm and we still hadn't got properly started because everyone was chatting. Or the picnics at a local stately home we took in the summer. Or the long conversations as relationships were formed over amazing puddings. Our community was better because we rested and had fun together.
I know this is simple, but we often miss the obvious things. My advice would be to make sure there's some rest or fun time in every thing you do as a community (don't meet unless you eat used to be one of our community's mottoes) and then every now and again make sure you devote a good chunk of time to doing nothing in particular, together.
How do you make time to rest as a community?
The picture is by downthewaterfall on flickr
Some interesting ideas, but I'm not sure of the Biblical basis of some of what is said here. For example - "We all know that we are created to work from rest, rather than rest from work". Do we?? How does that square with Gen 2:2 - "so on the 7th day He (God) rested from all the work of creating that he had done"?
ReplyDeleteAlso, whilst I agree that it's good to have less of an individualistic emphasis to our faith and a more community based one I'm not sure about the emphasis on 'fun' which it strikes me is a very 21st Century worldly value rather than a Biblical value. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying fun is bad, but in Acts 2:42ff we see the believing community devoted to the apostles teaching, to prayer, breaking of bread, each other specifically in terms of sharing goods and selling property and praising God. They ate together too - but it was in that context that bread was broken and they worshiped God. This side of things can sometimes be lost in favour of movie nights, parties and trips, which are done in the name of building community.
I guess I'm saying are we committed to building church - God's community of people - or are we building community based on more worldly values?
I like this post on rest!
ReplyDeleteAdam and Eve were created on the sixth day, and so their first full day in creation seems to have been a day of rest-
And then Mark you are right, they worked - and we are made for work; but the first day was a day of rest. I think that's what this blog is trying to stress as a balance.
Otherwise we fall into the trap of this world's thining that we can only rest once we have done something- after all we are human 'beings'- not human 'doings'. We are crreated to be. And as we work from rest in God and His people's fellowship THEN we see Acts 2 42 becoming even more likely in our day and our lives more furitful as a result.
As a church leader I see far too many Christians worked into the ground and burnt out from being over busy.
Rest is more than fun too, its a command. I ofte find it harder to rest than to work, so its a good discipline.
I think we are both committed to the Kingdom advancing, but I can see how helpful it is to be working from rest rather than towards rest.
I agree with much of what you say there Ian and I definitely agree that rest is important and indeed commanded. That does seem to have been lost with many Christians I know.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's not all about doing and God is more interested in who we are than in what we do. However, I still don't agree with the reasoning about 'work from rest' being justified. God didn't rest on the first day in order to start the work of creation he rested on the 7th day. The Jewish Sabbath wasn't the first day of the week, it was the 7th. Christians began to worship on a Sunday because Jesus' resurrection was on a Sunday - but it was still a work day when they began to do so.
To say that Adam and Eve's first day was a day of rest and then to extrapolate teaching from that which is never found in the Bible and which isn't in line with other Biblical teaching is an example of very poor theology - and we need to be very careful about using the Bible in such a way.
oh...sorry for the mis-spelling of your name Iain!
ReplyDeleteHi Mark and Iain, thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteWhat I wrote here wasn't really a biblical exploration of rest and work - others have done that far better elsewhere. Rather it was a bit of practical advice for those of us who are leaidng missional communities; a reminder to stop with your group every now and again and, yes, to have fun together while you pursue your God given vision.
Having said that I appreciate the challenge to base values on the bible and not what the world says.
As for fun; yes its not synonymous with rest but it helps keep a community healthy. I really hope it is part of God's kingdom and his good creation rather than a worldly value we've made up for ourselves.