New Beginnings

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

A short synopsis:

I grew up in Healesville and for about 13 years I attended a local church called Liberty Family Church. This is a community orientated, pentecostal church that specialised in grass roots Christian living. It was a fantastic church to grow up in and when employment and the hot blonde came along and I moved to Werribee, I felt that I had a faith that was practical with considered theological underpinnings.

In Werribee, we immediately connected in with an even smaller, pentecostal church called New Generation City Church. This church was extremely friendly and had a great understanding of fellowship. Over the 5 years that we attended, the church grew significantly and with the addition of new members, the church had to move locations three times. The church featured a wide demographic (culturally and chronologically) and we met some great people.

However, that season has just concluded.

For various reasons, my wife and I felt it was time for a move, so we packed our life into a moving truck and rented a renovated, NY-loft-style apartment in Southbank. While the new residence is within commutable distance from New Gen, it was mutually felt that a spiritual move was required as well. This opinion was sparked by: a long-held predilection for local, community churches that within an immediacy of one's abode; a desire for a less pentecostal flavour; and the opportunity to reignite a sometimes stagnant faith that is seemingly endemic to the late twenty-something, university educated crowd.

Therefore:

Having been a Christian for approximately 18 years and only experienced a limited number of churches, I would like to make the most of this new season and gain a broader understanding of the wider spectrum of Christian thought and expression. I believe a well-balanced faith would take account of the 2000 years of Christianity that has managed to thrive despite conflict, persecution and corruption. This narrative is found in the various denominations and expressions that at some point in time were an off-shoot from mainstream Christendom, in response to new and exciting theological differences.

I want to explore these differences and discover God's wider purpose for the church, ecumenically speaking.

This blog will serve as a reflection point for this journey.