Have you wondered what someone took away from learning events?  On these pages, we share your responses to the presentations, discussions and books we are working through.

 

Stephanie Spellers' book  - Church Tomorrow? - Discussion series with Fr. Tom (May - June)

#1   When the idea was first proposed by Father Tom that we read "Church Tomorrow" for our Sunday morning Bible Study discussion, my first thought was "where is the emphasis in saying the title?".  Is "Church Tomorrow" suggesting we are going to church tomorrow, or is there going to be any church in the future?  Wrapping my head around her calling folks Nones and Dones...what does that mean?  What the author did by interviewing so many folks was challenge us to think about how we got to the place we are at with so many main stream churches dwindling in attendance, so much skepticism about God and belief in Him.  But, some remain connected.  At the end of it all, a message I take away is that authenticity is crucial, taking our beliefs and energy beyond the gathered church into our community so that people look at us and say "I want what she's got".

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#2  Stephanie Spellers does a good job of bringing to our attention the possible plight of the church as we know it today. Although we are able to keep our doors open and able to serve the parishioners who regularly show up, these numbers are
dwindling and not being replaced by the next generation. This is not unique to any specific denomination. Church attendance in general is declining. A common thread of reasoning for this decline is the loss of respect for the institution that the church represents. There is a large population of people who still have a strong faith but feel they do not need the institution of the church to follow their faith. Many of these people feel the church has let them down and the institution is not in touch with the real needs of society today. There is encouragement in Stephanie’s words though and some exciting suggestions to encourage us to stay faithful. As quoted in her book, “Jesus did not establish an institution, though institutions can serve his cause.” The idea of inviting Christians to live as examples of the Jesus Movement will hopefully spark a positive shift in the overall narrative. 'Church Tomorrow?' Is a very easy read and is very thought provoking.