Putting it All Together

We've been to a lot of conferences in our time, but these four days in Sheffield have pulled it all together. St. Thomas is grounded in such a clear sense of mission and church, a vision that is shared and repeated constantly.

There are a few really key ideas that have stuck with us. They read the whole Bible through the twin themes of Covenant and Kingdom. God desires to enter into relationship with us, and to participate in God's mission in the world.

Covenant and Kingdom are proclaimed as Invitation and Challenge. People are invited to enter into a relationship with the living God -- but, here's the difference from most traditional churches -- they are challenged to follow the mission God has for each individual. Many churches are high on invitation (covenant) but low on challenge (kingdom.) This produces what Mike Breen calls "Cozy Church."

Organizationally, St. Thomas follows the principle of "low control, high accountability." People are always being released into ministry, the result being that there is an explosion of growth in new missional communities with youth, families, the marginalized, and other groups that you don't see very often in churches. Leaders are all in accountability relationships that keep them focused on what they have undertaken.

By contrast, the traditional church is into "high control, low accountability." There are lots of layers of permission-giving and permission-withholding, lots of micromanaging, but no one is really accountable for their actions, except paid staff.

I'm glad I'm not coming straight home and back to work. I think I need to let the Holy Spirit work in me for the next few weeks to digest what I experienced and guide me in how to respond.