First Meeting (a little business business, and then, let's continue the conversation) (3/6/11)

First, a little business. If you were there and don't need a recap, but want to converse some more, feel free to skip down.

Here's a quick view of the business section:
Name
Kids
Finances
Parking/Carpooling

Why the name Immerge? back to top
Check out our first blog that explains it a bit more in depth. But what we like about this name is that it resonates with what we hope for and has good application principles.

What about the kids? back to top
Bob and Jane are working with the kids and hope to incorporate good conversation that aligns with what the adults talk about each week. We will also provide time for families to process conversations and ideas together. We need help! If you're at all interested in working with the kids, please talk to Bob or Jane.

How can you contribute financially? back to top
Great question. We're hoping to sustain Karl on at least a part-time basis. When we can, we'll make him full-time. And when we can, we'll start renting a space that will accommodate our group. In the meantime, we're at the Duell's. And in the meantime, the Blacks need our help! To give, please make checks out to Epic Church with a memo line of Immerge. Epic is acting as a launch pad for the church we're planting and is graciously helping us keep track of finances for a while.

Whoa, parking. back to top
We know; it's a little rough out there, since we're meeting at someone's house. Get to know some people, find out if you live close enough, and carpool if at all possible! We'd greatly appreciate it. Also, please get to know Ed; he's the guy that will be directing traffic.


Let the conversation begin! back to top

We talked about a lot of heavy stuff on the first day... go figure (Karl...). Here's a recap of the intro.

Underlying Goal... aka, why are we here?

• We recognize a need for spiritual growth.
• We think community has a lot to do with this.
• We feel like the good of community has been lost and we want to get it back.
• We want to break down preconceptions of what church is for the purpose of facilitating true and authentic community.

Speaking of community, let's get to know each other a bit.
We know right now that Heather is recovering from surgery, Jolene and Darrin are traveling to Ethiopia to adopt two new kids, and Steve and Lara are getting married Saturday. Please keep these friends in your prayers and get to know them. They're pretty awesome folks.

As a community, we're entering a formation stage. What is that and why? Good questions.

• Our mission and purpose are broad and we want a chance to form a better picture together.
• We want to wrestle together with some questions like:
  
  • What is church?
  • What are our priorities?
  • What are our core values?
• We think this will be best accomplished with a larger group than the planning teams, but a small enough group that serious conversation and community are still possible.

Karl reassured us that he's not perfect and doesn't expect our community to be perfect. He's coming from a perspective of "I know that I don't know." We're all learning this together and the shared search for truth is more important than knowing all of the final answers. The Holy Spirit is capable of guiding us and we should listen to Him as we figure things out together. Not any one person is going to get it all right, but as we listen to God and to each other, hopefully we'll get close as we form our opinions.

And this is where it got fun...

We took a look at some images and had some conversations in groups about how those images hit us and how we related to the ideas they expressed. This was a great opportunity to get to know some people in the group and not feel the need to be right, nor the fear of being wrong, as we were just relating our own experiences.

What do you see in these images that represents different seasons in your life?

Image #1

Image #2

Image #3

Image #4

Image #5

Image #6

• Which image do you relate to most?
• Which seems the best expression of the most recent trek of your journey?
• Does one of the images scare you?
• Does one comfort you?
• What other thoughts come to mind?

Feel free to comment below, and include the image number in your comments.



We ended the morning by launching some more questions to think about over the next week. Here's a taste of where we're heading.

• What's the point of God?
• What's the point of church?
• How do I interpret God?
  

  Do I view God through the lens of life?

  Does my success in life determine how happy God is with me? For instance, if things are going badly, is it because God is punishing me for my bad behavior?








Or, do I view life through the lens of God?

What I need is a framework that allows life to happen and an understanding of God that transcends life's circumstances.

We want to explore the idea of Shalom, which here means: Peace, Harmony with God and Others, Wholeness.

A note from Karl:

And a note from our kids...
Bob and Jane asked some of the older kids, "What is church?" Though most of us were probably expecting a kind-hearted chuckle, the answers were actually quite profound:

• Worshiping God
• Don't hurt other people's feelings
• Listen to other people
• Make friends
• Help people in need

Please enjoy reading and participating in the conversation below.