What would work to engage spiritually with a generation of boomers who are still spiritual but disillusioned with church? I hope to start a project fairly soon to try and do this. Starting point for developing vision will be the three components outlined below.
1. Rhythm of life
Small group 2-3 people meeting weekly for accountability.
Use the framework below to help one another to be accountable for missional discipleship. Honesty deepens as the group get to know and trust one another. If a fourth person joins the group, in a short time the group should multiply into two. This enables natural growth. This rhythm is developed from Mike frost’s rhythm of life (not sure where it’s published I got it at a seminar he led) and Neil Cole’s Life Transformation Groups
Sharing Blessing – people & planet
Bless 3 people every week by word of affirmation or practical help (one from church, one from wider community, third can be either)
Bless planet by doing something to make the world a better place (locally or globally)
Eat with 3 people a week
God – head and heart
Commit together to read set number of chapters of the Bible a day (Bible in a year plan?) – if one person doesn’t do it, everyone starts week again!
What have I learnt from the Bible this week, or what has puzzled me because I didn’t get it (but couldn’t ignore it)
How have I experienced God this week – where have I been blessed, how have I been ‘prompted’ by the Holy Spirit to get involved
Living like Jesus
Spouse & family – have I been a good parent/partner?
Anger – what has irritated me, how did I deal with it?
Money – have I been a faithful steward of the resources God has entrusted to me?
Sex – what temptations have I experienced? How did I deal with them?
Pray
What one thing would I like the group to pray for me?
2. Spirit of Rock
An evening that will appeal to lovers of 60s/70s rock, with a spiritual flavour.
It’s a multimedia evening with great, loud music. The music blurs the distinction between performance and worship. It all has a spiritual theme and the musicians are definitely worshipping (honouring God by the way they play). It’s not sing-along like ‘worship’ music. It has God-centred vocals, but it’s real rock music too.
Woven into the music is a multimedia presentation.
- It starts with nostalgia for the 60s and 70s – recreates the dawning of the age of aquarius and the adolescence of a generation who knew they could and would change the world.
- It moves on to where are we now? What have we done? Did we get side-tracked from aspiration to affluence – make money but not make a difference.
- Who are we becoming – how can we make sense of the rest of our lives! How can we make the most of the rest of our lives?
- Involvement in the world – making it a better place – local and international dimension.
- Spiritual discipline – adopting a rhythm of life that makes sense
- Spiritual experience – the transforming power of God the Holy Spirit
The aim of the evening is that people will enjoy the music, meet God and hear a low-key challenge to re-think their lives.
The whole evening will last ~ 2 hours. Once we’ve put it together, we can find invitations to repeat it in lots of places!
Follow-up evenings (monthly?) can look at specific aspects of the challenge above in more detail. Possibly meeting in a neutral café venue (Retro in North Camp?).
3. Discipleship programme
Begin by brainstorming in the group –what should a new Christian know, experience, live out at the end of their first two years of Christian discipleship?
Once components are agreed, work out how to deliver them in a ‘modular’ form.
Each component will be a short-term, closed commitment, individuals can decide whether to sign up for a particular component or not.
All of the components may be ‘plugged in’ to the life of existing congregations too
