Nomad started out with a group of people wanting to explore new forms of church, so after six years we thought it was about time to explore this idea again.
Kelly Bean grew up in traditional church and never questioned its practices or structure. But over time she began to realise that the house group she led felt a lot more like church than what happened on a Sunday. So when her Church closed down, her house group became her church. So we asked Kelly what she’s learnt along the way.
Image provided by Kelly Bean. Used with permission.
BOOKS
QUOTES
“So often it’s a small percentage of people who lead a traditional church congregation and then the others are more passive observers. And that also serves a point to maybe carry the institution forward, but maybe not necessarily draw people into deeper maturity and into authentic practice of mission and spiritual formation.”
“If you’re in a place where you’ve been wounded and you’re living out of pain or discontentment or you’re deconstructing a lot, don’t be too fast to start something. Find a process and a way and time to be able to heal so that when there’s a new beginning, you’re doing that out of a sense of being called into something beautiful as opposed to reacting to something that was difficult.”
Hello and thanks for so many great podcasts. They don’t put me to sleep. I’m usually exercising or mowing the lawn. Love the sincere exploration coupled with some good wit.
I could really relate to Kellys story. I have t attended as man church groups but I know that feeling of being consumed by the local meeting. Multiple meetings each week (if you are committed) and then volunteering, etc. Who has time for our neighbor or an unbeliever?
A metaphor I’ve found helpful as I’ve been traveling along is wells rather than churches. For a bit I was pretty anti church meetings. I finally got to the place where I realized that God is working in a wide range of experiences and I should encourage the finding of life not the exit of a meeting. My friend and I call them wells.
If you have found a place where your thirst is being quenched, enjoy. Jump in, participate, and help. Just don’t confuse it with the Church. Because Jesis is building his bride and she won’t be contained. A well can be a short or long term place to camp. The key is whether it quenches your thirst.
Thanks fellas.
Hi Dwight,
Thanks for posting. Really like the idea of wells. It reminded me of the ‘bounded set’, ‘centred set’ models of Church. Bounded set is where a church has a clear boundary that determines whether you’re in or out (it could be membership, baptism, statement of belief, etc). So it’s like a fence round a farm that keeps the animals in. Whereas a centred set is where you gather around something, there’s no in or out. So it’s more like an Australian farm which is too big to fence, so they sink a well and the animals never stray too far from it. For church, Jesus is the well that we gather around. There’s no in or out, its more a question of which direction are you moving in, towards Jesus or away from him. I really like that more open view of Church! Tim
Tim – appreciate the reply. I thought I would provide a link to an article I wrote on ‘Wells’ if interested. My comment above was a bit rambling.
I just find that this shift in perspective allowed me to a more inclusive view.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/dwight-pond/pond-ering-my-faith-stay-thirsty-my-friends-or-a-word-about-wells/10153107772243473
I have been listening to your podcasts for close to two years. Love the banter. Love the hearts behind the banter.