Church as Aspen Grove

This past month the session (council) met on a Saturday morning at the Environmental Learning Center for a morning retreat. Part of our discussion centered around 4 different models for church (outlined by C. Kirk Hadaway in his book "Behold I Do a New Thing: Transforming Communities of Faith" 2001).

The 4 visual images for the different models are: Factory, Recliner, Guided Missile and Aspen Grove. According to Hadaway, the goal for every church is to be the Aspen Grove. The Aspen Grove is ideal because it has its purpose in place. It understands the church is here to change people. The Aspen Grove is also ideal because its goals are "diffuse and intangible," which means that the church culture is open-ended and permission-giving rather than goal-directed and outcome-oriented (people are not widgets). With both the right purpose and the right approach, the model church is a culture of transformation, where lives are changed and people are nurtured in their faith. While the Recliner defaults to satisfy its members, the Aspen Grove transforms one another, constantly evolving.

The Aspen Grove is a beautiful image for church, because it maintains a strong sense of community--that we are all connected. Also, the Aspen Grove is beautiful because it realizes that the church leaders provide direction without controlling the results. It is more fluid in character than a Factory. The true church realizes that we are not in control, but that Christ is the head and the Spirit is working among us.

These past few weeks, I have felt the inter-connectedness (roots of the trees) of our church at work. More than a handful of you have experienced losses of loved ones--mothers, aunts, grandmothers. More than a handful of you are experiencing major life transitions with job changes, moves, and illnesses. You have cared for one another. You have reminded yourselves and the world that God is working among us, doing a new thing, and that we help each other along the way. For that I am grateful.