Grace, Gratitude and Growth - Three important sessions in the life of St Paul's Church, Oadby.We don't always need to think, decide or or explain our way towards a future with God. We live in a world which loves to predict and plan but the Bible shows the ways of God with his people are often not neat and tidy. Only by pausing, listening, re-discovering and re-telling the ways God has shaped us can we learn where he's taking us.
Taking stock of where we are and where we are going is essential for every church. Without active reflection, it's possible for church life to stagnate, to become inward-looking or for the range of our vision to fall. The Bible speaks of God who transforms, renews, heals and empowers. Every Spirit-led and Spirit-filled community of Christians should expect to be growing and on the move.
Why Grace, Gratitude and Growth is different
Conventional ways of reflecting can be too negative, leading to a kind of shared depression about what feels impossible, what hasn't been achieved and what is regretted. They can be superficial, leading to hasty conclusions or impractical goals.
Grace, Gratitude and Growth is the name that I've given to a different process. With a basis in scriptures and using rediscovered approaches to growth and change, I'm excited about a way of renewing our vision, getting in touch with the will and mind of God, learning from our stories and the story we all share, and laying plans for the future of St Paul's.
Grace, Gratitude and Growth is a process and an approach, rather than a course. You don't need to be clever or good with words. You don't need to have been a member of St Paul's for a long time. You don't need to be an expert. You just need to come along!
I'd love the whole church community to get involved.
The three sessions
There are three sessions altogether. To enable the greatest participation, we're repeating sessions 1 and 2 at different times.
You can come along to session 1 at either:
- Wednesday 15 October, from 2.00pm to 4.00pm, or
- Wednesday 15 October, from 7.15pm to 9.15pm, or
- Thursday 16 October, from 7.15pm to 9.15pm
- Wednesday 29 October, from 2.00pm to 4.00pm, or
- Wednesday 29 October, from 7.15pm to 9.15pm, or
- Thursday 30 October, from 7.15pm to 9.15pm
Sessions 1 and 2 will be in the Barnabas Centre, session 3 in church. Please try to get to all three sessions if you can.
Where will it lead?
St Paul's doesn't exist in isolation. We have crucial partnerships and shared commitments with St Peter's, with local ecumenical partners, with the Gartree Mission Partnership and with the Diocese of Leicester. One of the outcomes that I'm expecting from Grace, Gratitude and Growth is a greater confidence about who we are, where we are heading and what God hopes for from us. Confidence generates a sense of security in which we can give and receive in our relationships more easily and more effectively.
The title, Grace, Gratitude and Growth gives some clues. I chose this title because:
The initiative must always rest with God. Only through his grace and in his strength can we enjoy the freedom and take responsibility to see dreams take shape in reality.
The emphasis on gratitude because thanksgiving should flood the lives of Christians and the church. Without thankfulness to God, we become self-important, delusional about our strengths or hopeless about our weaknesses.
Growth is the normal in the Kingdom of God. Whether in personal transformation, change in society or church attendance, growth means things changing for the better. I believe we shouldn't by shy about our ambition for the gospel and that we should expect God to grow us spiritually and numerically.
You'll find tools and ideas in Grace, Gratitude and Growth that will be helpful outside St Paul's, perhaps in your work and family.
What will it look like?
At the heart of GGG will be participation. So apart from some outlining and initial presentation, the process will involve discussion and contributions from the widest possible range of people.
GGG sessions will include worship and praise, re-telling and hearing true stories, celebration of God's goodness, study of his word, recording and recognising, prayerful discernment and commitment. I'm hoping that we might make some imaginative graphics to record our progress.
What difference will it make to us?
There's no script that ensures that we will get to a particular place. But I am looking forward to outcomes that mean that St Paul's has greater confidence about its future direction, greater involvement and willingness to participate among our members, a deeper cherishing of the Word of God, a clear sense of how to deepen our engagement with our neighbourhood's needs, and a deeper trust in God.
