Here’s a prompt from Peter for our thoughts, in preparation for session 3 of The Way Station Meet Up on August 19-20 – (in Leeds, and online).

Community / Church – Some thoughts for The Way Station Meet Up.

What are we learning; what are we looking for; how can we be proactive?

  • We all have our own unique journeys away from ‘traditional’ Christianity whether we still attend church; no longer attend church but still consider ourselves Christians; or perhaps questioning what we mean by ‘God’, and maybe whether ‘God’ even exists.
  • What we understand by ‘traditional’ Christianity will vary considerably.
  • Where we are on our journey will vary enormously – partly on our cultural background – significantly by age. Although somewhat dated Fowler’s Stages of Faith could be a valuable starting point.
  • What is it that we are being drawn away from?
    For many Evangelicals (and Fundamentalists) it might be seen as seeking FREEDOM from the SLAVERY of FEAR, GUILT and SHAME.
    For some it might simply be the freedom to ASK QUESTIONS.
  • What we are all looking for is surely a SAFE HAVEN where we have the FREEDOM to ASK QUESTIONS and share our thoughts OPENLY with others who may be on somewhat similar journeys.
  • To enable us to do that we need to be aware of at least some of the strands of thinking amongst those who have been drawn towards Progressive Christianity.
    It has been suggested that there are four major paradigms:

    • Evolutionary Spirituality (John Shelby Spong and others)
    • Emerging Church (Brian McLaren and others)
    • Radical Theology (Peter Rollins and others)
    • Atheistic Christianity (Greta Vosper and others)
  • What place the OUTSIDERS who force us to see the world differently?
  • What place THE WAY STATION and its relationships to other Safe Havens?
    Some of us blog; most of us probably listen to podcasts; some will be members of more than one Safe Haven. The opportunities for networking between groups are endless.