Hello –
I have an important teaching I’m finally ready to share with you. I plan three times to share this teaching- the next two Sunday Spiritual Forums, which are 9:00 to 9:40 in Duncan Hall and a special session on Wednesday, April 27th, from 5:30 to 6:30.
As you may know, my life was changed by the long weekend visit I made to Church of the Saviour in Washington DC in October of 2002. I didn’t know churches of such spiritual depth and beauty were possible. It was a rigorous church, a community of people doing the work Jesus invites us all to do.
Two of the things that the founder, Gordon Cosby, taught stayed with me. One is that you must have structure in order to grow in faith. The other is that you cannot be a rigorous Christian community unless you have six dimensions, and you must have all six. If it’s just four or five out of the six, it won’t work.
The next year, in 2003, when I began looking for a church where I might be rector, one of the things that drew me to St. Paul’s was that I felt many of these six dimensions were already here and there was an openness to growing in depth.
In the 12 years that I have been here at St. Paul’s, I haven’t been disappointed. But I couldn’t find my own voice for sharing Gordon Cosby’s wisdom about the six necessary dimensions of a rigorous church. In the last few months I believe I’ve finally found my voice and now I am anxious to share this teaching with you.
I don’t think any of these six dimensions will come as a surprise. But I want you to join me in reflecting on how these six dimensions mutually reinforce each other here at St. Paul’s.
I also want you to understand that they are like the foundation of a building. On the surface, what I hope people experience is that we are a community intent on following the seven core Christian practices of prayer, worship, service, generosity, learning, listening for call and joining a Discipleship Group. But underneath these practices is a beautifully integrated understanding of how a rigorous Christian community, capable of pursuing these core practices, comes into being.
I anticipate that, like the seven core Christian practices, these six dimensions will become an essential part of our self understanding. I hope you come to at least one of these three sessions, on the next two Sundays or a week from this Wednesday, so that you can join this exploration.
Blessings,
Christopher
p: (415) 456-4842