'Culturemaking' Sunday #4

Sunday was similarly time pressured as everyone moved slowly and embraced the 'getaway' part of the weekend... the 3am Scrabblers were a bit dusty!!

I introduced the ABC Radio high rotation response song in the wake of the events of 9/11 as words could not be found to describe much of that time... but were well directed in Jewel's "Life Uncommon"...

Today was about our part and how culturemaking will change us and not just those we engage in God's mission with...

'The Blind Side' was a great story about this...

But we also talked about the uncertainty and what we might need as 'tools' to be culturemakers... where I borrowed [from Dave Male] the image of Wallis and Grommit where they lay down spare railway track one length at a time to catch their protagonist... what wil be our track and how will we proceed one length at a time???

We went off to groups with scarcely enough time to decorate and write on our 'speakerdogs' by way of response... the japanese inspired folded paper creatures you cut and paste with your creativity all over it...

'Culturemaking' Saturday #3

This was our 2-3.30pm time after lunch and after the kids had been swimming... I was too descriptive in talking about the 'graveyard shift' where previously attenders had fedback that a full afternoon off was too long and so this session had been timetabled.... I was not complaining or suggesting we change it...

I was just making sure people knew that I knew it was a tough time to be focused and 'working'!!

We started with a bit of my own story and the stunning U2 360 dvd live at LA's Rose Bowl choosing 'Where the Streets Have No Name' on the big screen and loud!! to get into a communal and shared story vibe, exploring the meaning behind the song [or the two oft quoted alternative stories]

We asked what we would do if 'we ruled the world?' we reflected on 'communities' of culture-makers' using a movie show clip about the film 'As It Is In Heaven' and we went off to groups to create 'junk sculptures depicting a world lived according to the values of God!!

U2 was a little like this... and I talked about th struggle with them as culturemakers between the tremendous work for 'Make Poverty History' and their own lifestyles and choices around tax, th french riviera etc... an ongoing bettle for us all too

'Culturemaking' Saturday #2

Coming back to the whole group we needed a fun start so we watched someone who takes their 'culturemaking' seriously in the Cadbury scientist...

Next we played the well known dramatised performance 'Woman at the Well' without that intro as I asked 'who is this woman?' and the group responded with a range of insightful and important characterisations while also 'getting' the context...

There were other plans but we reflected on the story of this and other people whom Jesus met and how we are invited to be 'counter culture - makers'...

I introduced Rob Bell's NOOMA DVD 'Rythm' 11 mins about the metaphor of God as a tune/orchestra/song and all that image allows us to reflect on in joining it... journey motif!!

We 'wondered' and I encouraged groups to wonder about some of those biblical characters Jesus met and themselves with a contemporary photo and a blank page... then to work as groups...

'Culturemaking' Saturday Last Week

At Adamstown Camp we spent a number of sessions on Saturday and I knew we'd need to be tactile, creative, succinct and engaging [try to anyhow] While I now know where I'd add stuff to engage kids as well as young people I didn't quite nail that... but close!!

- Kicked off with the clip of "Burn Your Name" Powderfinger

- As per previous posts I introduced this as a 'missional' clip and a stunning song of what worship could be and must be...

- I shared about my encounters and the story of Juan Mann and his example to us as 'culturemakers'

- I invited the group to understand culture using Andy Crouch' definition of 'what we make of the world' and juxtasposed that with Kester Brewin's writing about the 'greatest commandment' as an urging to 'love self, God and neighbour' and to think about those as "Other" the title of Brewin's book being "Other: Loving Self, God and Neighbour in a World of Fractures"

i.e. what do we make of the world when we focus on concern and action for the 'Other'?

I ran out of time to show 'Missional Church Simple' as we were sent off to groups to make a COLLAGE around how we might make 'culture' by loving self, God and neighbour...

Collage [basically French for glue]!!

"Culturemaking" at Adamstown UC Weekend Away

This last weekend I spent a challenging but fun and rewarding weekend with some of the core group families and individuals from my 'home' evening congregation! I was asked months ago to provide input and 'facilitate' the weekend and felt the reading and thinking I'd been doing about 'Culturemaking' would be a good direction... I'd been thinking mostly in terms of change, context and missional congregations so I spent some weeks thinking about how the topic might connect with our stories and connect us with 'the story'!

The plan was for a relaxed/laidback weekend with 'something to take away' and of course it needed to engage a wide age range...

Here's some of what we did [I may add more posts]:

Friday Night

Group Building Time

-Share [1] thing about yourself for every M&M you took, was pretty funny

I introduced the topic of 'culturemaking' based on the book by Andy Crouch and shared about culture as "what we make of the world" and Alan Hirsch' definitiona of what it means to be missional as 'a community of God's people that defines itself, and organises it's life around, it's real purpose of being an agent of God's mission to the world' which is close to as simple and clear as I'd like... I'd use 'in' or 'within' instead of 'to' and take may chances in talking about Paul's writing

We watched a scene from 'Cars' as a reminder of the context in which contemporary communities of faith find themselves...

Saturday and Sunday to follow...

First Effort at a Promo Video for Our Summer/Winter Camps

Unreliable Idea # 34 "Minute by Minute" Grinspoon CLIP

OK caught the released clip for this Grinspoon song on 'Video Hits' this morning!! The clip adds a dimension to the story of Phil's live performance and interview on Denton's 'Enough Rope'!!

A great Camp Small Group activity would be to take a chart song that relates to the theme and invite each group to write/design/storyboard and then film a clip interpreting the song or the song in relation to the Camp theme and then of course play these clips!!

You need:
A props and costume box
Video camera/s
Capture/edit software
CDs and lyrics of the song
Maybe the original clip
A brief precis of the connections between the theme and the song [use only if groups are stuck]