On building right.
I’m the furthest thing from your classic rough and gruff construction guy who loves to put on their toolbelt each day. But I do know a thing or two about building magnet tile castles with my kids and I’m pretty sure that’s a comparable skill. In both cases, the foundation you build on determines the shape of the finished product.
In this email I want to highlight four key “building blocks” or informing values for Garden Church as we follow Jesus together for the flourishing of the city. If the vision is a delicious salad, these building blocks are like the four key ingredients. If the vision is a flourishing garden, these building blocks are like the makeup of the soil. Okay, no more metaphors. They are: Encounter, Formation, Community and Mission. A quick word on each.
ENCOUNTER
Meeting Jesus on Sundays and midweek, in worship and in word.
One of the more radical ideas of the Christian faith is that God has made himself knowable. In fact, God longs for us to know him, not at arms length or one person removed. He wants us to know him personally. To commune with him. Which may look like gathering around a stage in a dimly light room as we worship on Sunday, but it may also look like pausing midday to rest in our identity as his kids, or getting up early to meditate on a Psalm. There are many ways to meet God and we want to prioritize this as we plant.
FORMATION
Integrating the rhythms of Jesus into our everyday lives.
We want to hold out a vision of discipleship and formation, of becoming more like Jesus in the midst of our everyday, ordinary lives. Which means integrating practices and rhythms into our schedules and families. It means slowing down, and giving generously, and serving the city, and gathering around the table. It also means holding a sacred curiosity that’s always pondering, “God, what are you up to in my life right now? And how can I join in and yield to your work in my life?”
COMMUNITY
Sharing our lives and our faith together in large and small groups.
Dinner tables, living rooms and homes is where we often grow the most, both in spiritual formation and in our relationships. And yet, living in community is an easy ideal and much harder to practice. Community is both a deep longing, and something we avoid. It’s where we often get hurt, but also where we’re healed. It’s where we experience the deepest joy, and share our deepest pain. And it’s an absolutely essential piece we’re building our church on as we gather around a stage on Sunday and tables midweek.
MISSION
Joining Jesus in his mission of bringing flourishing to the world.
Scripture begins with a flourishing world. Scripture ends with a renewed, flourishing world. And we find ourselves somewhere in-between. The arc of human history bends toward a flourishing, and we’re invited to join Jesus as he moves us toward that end. Which means it matters how we interact with our friends and neighbours, and how we embody the life of Jesus with our deeds and words, and how we serve the city and those in need. The overflow of good discipleship will always be the flourishing of others.
These four ideas make up the core building blocks of our church, the key ingredients for the salad, the makeup of the soil. These building blocks will inform how we follow Jesus together for the flourishing of the city.
