The Final SessionToday started with another amazing breakfast. This morning I had yogurt with strawberries and granola. It was simply amazing, much like all the other breakfasts that my host has offered us. I really have a new found desire to watch what I eat and maybe even eat more organic food (if the budget allows for it).
We got to the final session and we talked about ideas on how to develop missional communities. The leaders at Soma pointed us to the seven pillars of their culture (Business Education, Social Services/Religion, Media, Politics, Healthcare, Marginalized People) and how these can and should intersect with the four identities of their church (family, missionaries, learners, and servants) as they are played out in their six rhythms (storyformed, listen, celebrate, bless, eat, recreate). If you are still with me at this point and my math is correct that would open 168 possibilities of bringing the Gospel to interact with the culture. I’m sure that not all of these will apply to your/my context, but out of all those possibilities there should at least be a handful that would work.
Lunch for old times’ sakeToday I had lunch with three good friends. It brought back great memories from the days we were all at Moody. We ate well, laughed at and with each other and made great plans for when we will all reconvene in Romania in about a month. I continue to be excited and anticipate what God will do through the relationships that we built while we were students at Moody. In our best years downtown Chicago we had 12 Romanians studying there.
Q&AThe afternoon was a great opportunity to ask questions and add finishing touches to the conference. In light of the discussion on the 4Gs from the other day I wanted to get their opinion on how they (the pastors and as a church) see repentance. I wasn’t looking for a definition that I had never heard of, but I wanted to have a picture of what it looks like for them. And I got just that. The pastor shared a very personal illustration of an interaction he had with his wife, where he had to go back an ask for forgiveness for his treatment to her in private and to the community that witnessed the event. He referred to repentance as largely a gift from God. In His graciousness He taps us on the shoulder to draw our attention to our idolatry and to the foolishness of our ways.
DinnerMy final evening with my host was excellent. We had stir-fry turkey. It was meant to be chicken, but the turkey was undercover when it got caught and slaughtered. Regardless of the meat, the meal was wonderful and so was the fellowship. As I usually do on my last evening at a host, I shared with them why I did not get married at Moody and my house mate (also a Moody alumni) shared our concerns about marriages that are birth inside the bubble of a Bible School. As you can see from our singleness, we are both experts in this area.
As a follow up to our dinner from a few days ago, where I shared my love for the infamous show LOST, the two daughters of the family shared with me that they watched the pilot episode of the show. One of them even admitted that she is hooked on the show. I am not sure if the parents were all that pleased with my influence here, but it might not be as bad in comparison to another “good” influence I had on two of my friends back in Chicago (I convinced their parents to let them open Facebook accounts). Oh well, hopefully some good will come from facebook and LOST.
The End!The conference ended more like a summer camp rather than a conference. We each went around and shared insights gleaned from the week long conference. One by one we commented on the amazing generosity of the hosts and the way in which we saw them embody the values and vision of the church. We shared our gratefulness for them letting us use their cars, even though some did not have driver’s licenses (he was kidding), or others got a ticket, and others wrecked their car. Guess who topped that one off? All in all, it was a great experience. We walked away not just with a renewed hope and vision for ministry but also with a few friendships and connections for the future.
Romanian group from the conference.
The mountain top experience is almost over. As I shared with the group tonight, the descend to reality can be brutal. I hope and pray that we would be the salt and the light that we have been called to be out there in the world. I have two days to rest, think, talk, and then I will fly back home, where many great blessings, ministry opportunities and challenges await.
Final Day at Soma last year!
Romanian group from the conference.
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