Website - Community
We welcome your comments regarding the Community section of The Core Website. That includes discussion about Team Membership, Family Membership, Gatherings, The Front Porch, and Happenings.
Monday, September 11, 2006
The Core Team
- Ryan Wiksell - Pastor
- Christina Wiksell - Administrative Coordinator
- Josh Wilmoth - Discipleship Director
- Kris Wilmoth - Financial Coordinator
- Michael "Mik" Mikulan - Front Porch Project Manager
- Phillip Scoggins - Outreach Director
- Amy Scoggins - Arts Coordinator
- Read Bios
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7 Comments:
You said that home churches were the foundation of The Core, citing intimacy and life sharing as the primary reasons. You also stated that with this in place, there would be no limit to the form this community can take. So what would you say if a home church outgrew any "home", or at least outgrew what would be considered a "small group"? In other words, what if it became 20 people group (which, according any small group expert, is far beyond the scope of "small group", thus negating the reason for house church)? Then it would obviously cease to be a house church unless it decided to split into two groups. And splitting might not be such a bad option if it weren't for two things: 1) that a true intimate journey together requires length, and 2) lack of vision and direction.
So how do you plan to compensate for these issues? Will each house church have some sort of leader? Many house-churchers are anti-leadership, which goes against the biblical prescription for pastors and deacons. If you still favor leadership, what will that look like and how do you plan on training them and holding them spiritually and doctrinally accountable?
12:56 PM
Regarding the Front Porch, how do you think the downtown public will view it? Will they liken it to Nu-Brew, which over time evolved into a teeny bopper hangout? Or what about a Victory Mission type outreach center? With all of the other surrounding venues being retail or business outlets who are trying to sell something at a fair market price, how do you think this will affect the perception of the Front Porch, since you will be serving free stuff? Who do you think will be attracted by the free stuff? Only people who can't afford to buy drinks or snacks or are too cheap to support local businesses? Do you feel that this will isolate the large majority of downtownees who come downtown expecting to spend a little money for a quality beverage? What if all you end up with are Core cronies, beggars and kids? Is that what you're shooting for?
I've seen others give away free stuff (such as the Belmonte) without that result, but they charge a cover fee for their events. They also have premium coffee and homemade baked goods, so it's not cheap stuff. Does this sound like what you have in mind?
1:11 PM
Regarding Home Churches:
You are right on target with your concern about the growth of Home Churches. To tackle number 2 first, we hope to keep each Home Church member and leader infused with vision and direction from the beginning, by flooding them with opportunities to grow together in, and actively participate in, the overall vision and direction of The Core. Beyond that, Home Churches will be free to establish their own sub-visions and sub-directions. Also, new leaders should be constantly raised up, in anticipation of growth and splitting, in order to keep the vision and direction strong.
As to number 1, I think there are two answers to that, and the first one is that any growing body will have to experience the evolution of relationships. If we were all going to pick out 15 people to share life with and that's it, then growth would be impossible. We have to be willing to keep track of some people, while simultaneously opening ourselves up for new relationships to develop. Secondly, we plan to have a Core-wide Celebration Gathering at least once a month for all the Home Churches to come together. Hopefully this will make it a tad easier for growing HCs to split, knowing that they won't lose each other completely.
Regarding the Front Porch, we're basically just praying and guessing right now. I imagine our ideas about what the Porch is supposed to be will change drastically over the first year, and that's ok. For example, we might shift rather quickly from giving everything away, to charging a small amount, yet waiving that charge in the face of need. We want to plan as carefully as possible, but I really just hope God does whatever he wants there.
And by the way, the Belmonte often charges no cover, and even when they do, it's usually optional.
3:49 PM
So, in other words, as leaders throughout the home church network (i.e. The Core at large) serve, fellowship, and worship together on a larger scale, they will sort of "catch" the vision as you (and the Core Team) lead those endeavors? Or will each home church leader be PART of the Core Team? If the latter is the case, how integrally (i.e. frequently) will the Core Team work together (via planning, accountability, theological discussion, sharpening one another, etc.)?
To make things easier, in more concrete terms, how often do you envision new home churches being formed? One a month? Two a year? As I'm sure you're well aware, your anticipated estimate is absolutely crucial to any sort of planning when it comes to developing any sort of tangible ecclesiology for The Core. You've gotta have a goal, and you've gotta know how you're going to manage things once that goal is reached (or surpassed!).
Anticipation is everything. But just because you plan for something and faithfully expect it, doesn't mean you're "tied down" to it (which is obviously important for The Core). However, to not be prepared for the future, especially the near future, would go against Jesus' admonition in Luke 14:28-29 to "count the cost". Tom Sine also belabors this point in Mustard Seed vs. McWorld, as you'll recall. He is urging all churches to come up with several alternative plans according to all potential scenarios that could likely take place in the future of that church. I would second that call.
So I guess my question is, What's your plan for the home church concept on the macro level? You've done an excellent job of convincing us of the principles underlying it. But what's your prediction, and how do you see that playing out in the context of The Core? (I'm really asking this curiously, not antithetically.)
1:57 PM
CALLING ALL ABLE HANDS TO THE FRONT PORCH: We need 3 more able volunteers to help carry the wood flooring materials from the parking lot into the Front Porch building. (Delivery scheduled that morning).
We expect 1-2 hours work max.
START TIME 7:30AM,WEDNESDAY,13th December. If your interested please call MIK @ 417-833-6805.
Thanks. If YOU don't show, that means more doughnuts for me.
8:44 PM
January 24, 2007, speaking of Home Churches…
I realize that this does not directly apply to the CORE or the United States, but with the world becoming so very small with global economy and technology, it may not be a bad idea to think about the HOME Christian Churches in Mainland China that are regularly destroyed by the Communist Government. Their government literally knocks down these Christian buildings with bulldozers. (the only Christian Churches allowed there are controlled by the government)
It is also important to keep in mind that we should never take for granted our freedom to worship freely in the United States. I think it is a good idea to regularly thank God for our Freedom of Religion in America.
Additionally, because my organization is NOT a "Not-For-Profit" I can be as political as I choose to be. Therefore, I would like to remind fellow Believers in Christ to (privately) Pray hard about 'Big Brother' in America; and how terribly intrusive the United States government has become as they can so easily take advantage of technology to spy on innocent Americans.
Because technology is incredibly advanced today, as we Pray, we need to keep in mind that only God can solve this ‘Big Brother’ problem.
Important Note:
Usually nothing changes unless there is a catastrophic event. Therefore, as we pray, we need to ask God to keep at bay, Big Brother, without the USA having to suffer some terrible event.
In other words, we need to ask God Almighty to change the intrusive behavior of our government without the USA having to suffer some kind of traumatic or terrible or catastrophic event…
…that God change things as we easily continue to go about our daily lives here in the USA.
6:56 AM
CALLING VOLUNTEERS FOR
SATURDAY MARCH 10TH:
Thanks to a handful of dedicated volunteers we have been at work on The Front Porch for the last 4 Saturdays in a row. Much has been done. Soon we will start the dry walling.
BUT FOR NOW: We need all kinds of help, even for a few hours. We start at 8am. Please come on down, bring your tape measure and gloves and help us finish the framing.
Mik
3:49 AM
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