How Good are Your Answers? (Questions to grapple with re LGBTQ)

Posted on March 1, 2018March 1, 2018 by Andy Wood

In the spirit of graciousness, understanding and respect, we have been posturing ourselves to hear multiple perspectives on the issues surrounding human sexuality and gender. We’ve learned that “listening is love” and that we don’t have to agree with someone in order to listen to them. We’ve also said that “every voice matters” but also, “not every voice has equal weight.” In other words, we are attempting to be a community under the direction of the Holy Spirit, that listens and loves deeply while not always agreeing with each other. We have genuine differences but we’re still part of one body. Unity is not uniformity.

At times we are able to hold a simple position on an issue because we have not faced the tough questions that other perspectives ask. This applies to both sides in this dialogue! The only credible positions, postures, or biblical interpretations are ones that have heard and answered the most powerful critiques from the other side.

We’ve compiled a list of questions that the two primary perspectives we’ve been dialoguing with regarding LGBTQ must deal with. These hard questions are intended to help you deal with scripture faithfully and others kindly. In other words, they’re both theological and practical. We know the greatest commandment is love (God and each other). However, the test comes in how we treat those with whom we disagree. These questions will foster a “love your adversary” mentality as well as drive you deeper in understanding other people’s perspectives as well as your own. If you find that you are able to answer these quickly, it may be that you have oversimplified these issues. May God give us grace to take the time and care we need to wrestle with ourselves, each other, and the scriptures to find good and beautiful answers to our questions.

>>If you’d like to access these questions, please contact the office or pick one up from the Info Wall.

Listening In & Speaking Up

Posted on January 25, 2018January 31, 2018 by Andy Wood

Speaking Up

Thank you for all your participation in our series thus far. Many of you have voiced appreciation, apprehension, curiosity, concern and a whole host of other feelings and related thoughts. We deeply appreciate this. These are all signs of engagement. We also deeply appreciate your prayers. They are critical. However, we’re also aware that we haven’t heard everybody. We know that there may be some who are waiting silently in the wings – waiting to see what we’ll say, how we’ll act, waiting for courage…

We know that there may be some who are waiting silently in the wings

There is a small piece of graffiti on the wall in the church sanctuary. It’s on stage left and is obviously from another era. Well before our time in the building. It reads “Don’t go away mad. Just go away.” Can I encourage us all not to do that! Part of our vision statement is to “build a safe community”. Can we try to be that for everyone in these conversations? Can I encourage you, if you’re one of those waiting in the wings, who haven’t voiced your thoughts or feelings to anyone in leadership – when you’re ready, we’re ready. For real. Even if you’re not in the wings, so to speak, if you need to chat with someone in leadership, please know that we’re all ready for that – we welcome it. The pastoral and lay elders are here to hear.

Listening In

Also, we are keenly aware that we’re being watched. Not in a creepy way, but there haven’t been too many churches in our circles who have attempted to do what we’re doing. There are some and we’ve learned from their mistakes and successes. However, this also means that we want to be careful about the audio we post – especially the audio from our Hot Button evenings. For the first Hot Button evening we posted a recording of the two people doing GYVE together as well as the commentary by the facilitator. However, we did not post any of the discussion afterwards. If you came you’ll know that the discussion was rich. If you missed it, you can request a link to the audio, but we will not be sharing it with anyone outside of WCV.

For the 2nd Hot Button evening on Feb 11, we will not be posting any of the audio. However, if you’re part of WCV, you can certainly request a link to the audio.

Thanks for understanding!

>>Here is the audio from our first Hot Button evening.

>>If you want to request the conversation afterwards, email Vanessa at the office.

Join the Conversation – Hot Button Evenings

Posted on January 18, 2018January 18, 2018 by Andy Wood

We’d like to remind you – and invite you – to join the conversations around the Hot Button topics. We know that many of you are having conversations among yourselves. This is great! Please keep having them.

Also, please make sure you participate in our two Hot Button evenings. We’ve intentionally tried to keep the next two months free of any major community events in the evenings (postponed the Outer Circle for example) in order to make it as easy as possible for as many people as possible to participate in these. It would be best if you came to both. One of the primary purposes of these evenings is to model how to do GYVE well. You’ll recall that GYVE is a tool for how to love well in diversity – it’s about listening deeply to someone from another position and uncovering some of the underlying values and stories that formed their values, which has led to their position. It’s a wonderful model, and often amazing things happen as people submit to the Holy Spirit in this process.

>>Jan 21, 7pm – Creationism & Evolution (Our origins)

>>Feb 11, 7pm – Affirming & Traditional (Human sexuality & gender)

P.S. We may schedule more Hot Button evenings at a later date. Let us know what you think!

>>Listen to the sermons here.

>>Read the articles here.

>>Read about GYVE here (or download it as a booklet).

Here’s the complete schedule our our series:

January 14: Introduction & Call to Prayer
January 21: Creationism & Evolution
January 21 Evening: Doing GYVE with Creationism & Evolution.
January 28: Nailed it, Failed it
February 4: Affirming & Traditional
February 11: Nailed it, Failed it
February 11 Evening: Doing GYVE with Affirming & Traditional
February 18: Celebration Service
February 25: Poverty & Prosperity

Getting Ready for Part 3 – Hot Buttons

Posted on January 4, 2018February 14, 2018 by Andy Wood

Now that we’re in the New Year we’re going to be entering the third part of our series “Fixed on Jesus: how to hold the centre in an age of diversity”. Having rooted ourselves firmly in the centre (part 1), and having explored a model for how to love well, GYVE (part 2), we are now going to practice what we’ve been talking about. In order to do that, we invited your input. As you might imagine, we gathered a whole list of “Hot Button” issues of diversity that you felt the church needs to address. For those of you who participated in this survey, thanks! We had a lot of thoughtful responses! We have done some categorizing and have come up with what we feel will be good issues for us to explore in the next two months. We did exercise some editorial control (for example, “unkempt hipster beards” will not be discussed! – thanks for that – you know who you are even if nobody else does!).

For each of the Hot Button topics we will have one Sunday morning in which we will explore the various perspectives on the subject. These will not be times to take a position as a church – that’s not the point. Rather, the point is to learn.

Then we have scheduled a few Sunday evenings to demonstrate what doing GYVE looks like with each of these Hot Button topics. We will have a few brave people model the process for us. Again, the point isn’t to argue positions. Rather, we are attempting to create a safe place to hear each other, and hear the stories, values and experiences underneath the various perspectives. This is a sacred and holy event.

If you haven’t already gotten a handle on GYVE, we highly encourage you to do so. Also, please continue to pray for the church in this season. It will bring up many emotions. God will meet us – the Holy Spirit has been guiding us and will continue to do so. Still we say, “Lord have mercy!”

>>Listen to the sermons here.

>>Read the articles here.

>>Download the GYVE booklet here.

Hot Button Topics Survey (we need your input)

Posted on December 7, 2017December 19, 2017 by Andy Wood

We are going to explore our top three “Hot Button Topics” during Part 3 of our Fixed on Jesus series. Together we’ll explore the “in non-essentials, liberty” part of our series. Having determined that Jesus (his Kingdom and activity as described in the Creed) is our centre – “in essentials, unity” – and having explored how to do “in all things charity”, we’re going to step forward bravely and with great amounts of humility and tenderness, into whatever topics YOU choose! We will model GYVE (how to love each other in diversity) with each of those topics in a combination of Sunday mornings and a few special Sunday evening gatherings.

We invite you to pray. The Pastoral and Lay Elders have been praying for some time about this. We’ve sensed God’s guidance, received some significant prophetic nudges and encouragement from other churches. However, we must love well in the process. Hot Buttons are by nature feisty. Emotions can run high and disagreements can run deep. We’ve been holding the centre for 20+ years. We’ve done this already – we’ve just not been so explicit about it. Even so, let’s move forward with prayer and love.

And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)
…love your neighbors as you love yourself. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18)
Above everything, love one another earnestly, because love covers over many sins. (1 Peter 4:8)
…the only obligation you have is to love one another. (Romans 13:8)
My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action. (1 John 3:18)
No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in union with us, and his love is made perfect in us. (1 John 4:12)
Do all your work in love. (1 Corinthians 16:14)
Be always humble, gentle, and patient. Show your love by being tolerant with one another. Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together. (Ephesians 4:2-3)