The Fellowship Forum

Abba Poimen said: “A man may seem silent, but if in his heart he condemns others, he is talking ceaselessly. Yet there may be someone else who talks from morning until night, who, because he says nothing unprofitable, is truly silent.”

We reflected together on this and several other writings from the early church group called the desert fathers and mothers.  If you are unfamilar with who these people were (and are interested) check out this wiki description:  http://orthodoxwiki.org/Desert_Fathers.

It is said of Abba Agathon that he lived for three years with a stone in his mouth, until he learned silence.

Click on the link below to hear the entire Forum on the CCDA philosophy:

http://www.ourmedia.org/ia/details/DavidWarrenOpenDoorFellowshipForumonCCDA101

For the documentation on the eight core values of the CCDA, look at this article:

http://www.ccda.org/philosophy

Don’t let the time investment deter you from listening to the discussion or from reading the CCDA philosophy.  Remember, working with sharp tool makes your efforts go further.

ODM’s Three Guiding Principles

- Mercy – Living out God’s special concern for the poor

- Community – Developing vibrant community among diverse groups

- Discipleship – Practicing holistic discipleship

The Three principles with sub-points

Mercy – Living out God’s special concern for the poor

- Reaching the least of these (children, the disabled, the oppressed, the poor, the hungry)

- Showing mercy

- Seeking justice

- Loving people to Jesus

Community – Developing vibrant community among diverse groups

- Leading people into significant relationships which are vital for health

- Building healthy churches, families, homes, support groups, and teams

- Reconciling across racial, cultural, and economic lines

Discipleship – Practicing holistic discipleship

- Having high expectations for everyone, valuing personal responsibility

- Basing success on God’s truth

- Concentrating on all aspects of life (spiritual, social, financial, educational, emotional, and physical)

- Patiently raising up indigenous leaders, walking with them through the process

DRAFT ———— DRAFT ———– DRAFT —————— DRAFT

When we say “worship” we mean the corporate expression of and experience of glorifying the one true God in a gathering of other worhsipers.  We believe worship opportunities should be available weekly and should communicate ritual, liturgy, and mystery in an accessible way to the populations that make up our neighborhood and city.  We expect that worshipers will engage in weekly (between 36 and 52 weeks per year) ceremonies and services that reflect their allegence to God and commitment to a local fellowship.  We desire worshipers to participate increasingly in the provision of the ceremonies through financial contribution, personal involvement and of course, through attendance and constructive feedback. At minimum, we would expect a worshiper to participate in more than 36 worship services per year.

—-DRAFT——DRAFT———-DRAFT———-DRAFT———- 

DRAFT————DRAFT————–DRAFT————-DRAFT

We define Serving Broken People (?? poor and oppressed ??? or eachother ??)  as a regular, planned action or set of actions that provide an service to another person that meets one or more of their felt needs in a way that does not (intentionally) damage people’s individual capability to thrive in spirit, emotions, economics, health, and in every aspect.  Our commitments to service should be regular.  If the actions can be defined as events, then they occur at least quarterly or ideally, monthly or more frequently.   If the actions are continuous or build toward a large event, then they would be described as a process with energy expended every week toward achieving a larger goal or event.  The service might be directed toward other’s physical needs, emotional needs, spiritual needs, or psychological needs.

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We define community as a regular gathering of people that connect at least monthly that intentionally includes the development of friendships that encourage  and challenge our faith and walk with Christ. Whatever the primary gathering purpose of the group, the group leader(s) [called "Community Leaders"] establish a planned method of member entrance, exit, and a defined expectation for the commitment of the members.  It is our intention that church member be involved with a community group at all times in their Christian experience, and expect that while transitions between groups will occur, we would expect individuals would establish a connection with a group that would last for long periods of time (a year or more). 

—–DRAFT——DRAFT——-DRAFT—————-

Discipleship: A First Attempt

DRAFT —- DRAFT —-

• Discipleship at Open Door Fellowship is an intentional commitment to a relationship with one or two other people.
• This relationship is overtly agreed upon by all involved parties and preferably is established by an appropriate written contract.
• The relationship’s purpose is to provide customized training and accountability that emphasize behavioral and expressive exercises and evaluations without ignoring the importance of knowledge transfer.
• The group leader or discipler will take responsibility for applying the truth of God’s word to any and every situation the group is working through in their life with Christ. 
• The groups are expected to meet frequently (weekly or biweekly) for long periods of commitment (a year or more).
• In the process of taking on Christ likeness, the disciple will practice discipleship and then be commissioned into discipling others.
• [Process for newbee entry]
• [Process for initiation by displiper]

DRAFT —- DRAFT —-

Dillon Group

            A group of skilled volunteers from Dillon Community Church will be working on the north side of the church from 8am on Monday, June 9^th through Wednesday, June 11^th.  They will be redoing the ramp and putting in stairs.  The ramp will not be able to be used those days, and the proper ministries and people have been alerted.

Theft

            A bike was stolen within the past couple of weeks, from inside the church building.  Other items have disappeared from the safe and the childcare center kitchen.  Instead of throwing out blame and getting to a point of where everything needs to be locked all of the time, there needs to be a “campaign” of sorts to have everyone keep an eye out for this type of suspicious behavior.  Don’t take things or allow others to take things if you don’t know who it belongs to or if it should be taken.  Someone will speak to Pastor Bob at JCOC about this.  Jessica will alert her E.A.T. groups to not hand things out from the safe unless specifically told that there are things to give away.

Parking Lot

            There was concern about a car that was leaking oil in the parking lot.  The owner of the car has given an acceptable time frame in which to have the car fixed and/or moved.

Carpet Cleaning

            Micah is cleaning the carpet in the sanctuary, conference room, and preschool.  There is also a plan to roll out linoleum from Friday night to Monday morning in order that the traffic from JCOC and EAT will not harm the carpet downstairs. 

Nursery

            New shelves and countertops have been installed in the nursery and the painting should be done next week.

To-Do List

            Because there is not an ongoing to-do list for “the block”, we’re going to develop one!  Jessica will keep the list maintained, and it will be posted monthly on the forum blog.  She will receive suggestions from ODM/ODF staff.  This list will be used, in part, by Urban Missions groups and other work groups.

Sign

            There is a dream of acquiring new signage for the church, sometime in the future.  Perhaps when we “roll out” the new vision statement. 

Additional ideas that were discussed…

§         There is a need for a bike rack, but no decision yet on where the rack should be installed.  That discussion is still on-going.  Probably won’t be decided until we get the bike rack, which is hopefully going to be one of the “squiggly” ones.

§         Ida Mae asked if there is a policy on what to do when there are people sitting on the benches during the week, asking for money or food.  Chris suggested that she (and all staff) direct them to places that do serve food (Jesus Saves, 1520 Lincoln), and also direct them to the offices if they have additional questions or need to use the phone or bathroom. 

§         What about an “incentive program” for the staff of ODF/ODM/Prov?  How can we positively encourage one another on a peer level, rather than a top-down model?  There are pros and cons to this idea, some of which were discussed.  It was suggested by Todd that we spend more time on this idea next week, when it is more suited to the Forum topic.