tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26950959.post114977124675640448..comments2023-12-19T21:40:09.707-08:00Comments on The Welcome Table: A Dozen Plant (and Growth in general) KillersRonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02961769817864428015noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26950959.post-1151529802571981482006-06-28T14:23:00.000-07:002006-06-28T14:23:00.000-07:00An addendum to the post after hearing from people ...An addendum to the post after hearing from people who thought maybe I have been too hard on myself in this post.<BR/><BR/>This is of course only half of the picture, a part of the self-examination. The other half is the glorious freeing waters of church planting and of the great work that was going on in lives and communities even at the same time as these mistakes were made. In some ways it is only through the lens of the success that we are still going, that as a planter I am still going, after three years, and I think in a great position now for the next tipping point and incarnation, only through living in the success that I have been able to understand the failures. <BR/><BR/>But of course it might just be that I wrote the long-thought out post right before vacation time....thanks to all.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02961769817864428015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26950959.post-1149795374729166912006-06-08T12:36:00.000-07:002006-06-08T12:36:00.000-07:00Thanks L. This is because of the shift from "belie...Thanks L. <BR/><BR/>This is because of the shift from "believing then belonging" to "belonging then believing." <BR/><BR/>One of my personal stories: When I went to my first UU church in the mid-70s, as a young adult, I already knew I believed in Unitarian Universalism. I came to it through the head and it echoed in my heart. I read about Unitarianism in college English classes while reading Emerson, et al. Then went to the library to learn more. Came out of the library convinced I had found a theoretical home for my beliefs and went to the phone book to find the physical home for them. There was nothing there, in this small college town in Oklahoma. I thought maybe Unitarianism had gone the way of the other 19th century groups I was studying, the Whigs and Know Nothings, et al. I found out different, fortunately.<BR/><BR/>But then years later when I was in that same small college town in Oklahoma and there was no UU church, I started one. Here is what I found: Almost no one outside of the core team, including adults but particularly young adults, almost none of the people who came to the church after it was started came to it the same way I had gone to my first UU church. They had found out about us by encountering what we were doing in the community, or reading about us in the local paper and wanted to check us out, or came with a friend who had invited them to some event perhaps not on Sunday morning. For six years I spoke with everyone who came at least twice on Sunday morning, and sometimes with those who only came once, and very rarely did I encounter someone who "believed" first and sought us out. They had inklings about our values and beliefs, enough not to be turned off from checking us out, but it was the non sunday morning activities that connected with them first. <BR/><BR/>This was pretty much on the edge and beginning of the internet, though, and I wonder how the availability of the web will affect this dynamic.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02961769817864428015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26950959.post-1149784792824685232006-06-08T09:39:00.000-07:002006-06-08T09:39:00.000-07:00I love what you say about not bringing newbies in,...I love what you say about not bringing newbies in, but going out and being *with* the newbies.<BR/><BR/>So many of the youth and young adults who are involved in church and or young adult activities are part of the church because of a friend they had. Their friends brought them to church. I don't recall any adult UUs who came into UUism as adults telling me that this was how they came into UUism.LaReinaCobrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13554970165949410961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26950959.post-1149774923354627852006-06-08T06:55:00.000-07:002006-06-08T06:55:00.000-07:00Thanks Rachel. The kingdom is the thing. Probably ...Thanks Rachel. The kingdom is the thing. Probably am a slow learner here when I think about even the name of this blog; progressive Christian churches, and free churches in general, are important, but only as they imitate, as much as humanly possible, and help initiate, two steps forward one step back, the kingdom. And the "kingdom" is about that radical abundant everlasting life in and for all of us and Creation which Jesus embodied and seeded wherever he went.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02961769817864428015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26950959.post-1149773982792814822006-06-08T06:39:00.000-07:002006-06-08T06:39:00.000-07:00Hi Ron,This is a very good list. Interesting, ins...Hi Ron,<BR/><BR/>This is a very good list. Interesting, insightful, and I think valuable, not just for planters, but for any of us who are looking to grow the Kingdom.<BR/><BR/>Blessings and prayers for the success of the Living Room.<BR/><BR/>Love+<BR/>RachelRachel Nguyenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01534890739695708419noreply@blogger.com