toe hold [stand alone]
hey gang - i'm in vancouver right now getting ready to speak at my old church tomorrow morning so randy is going to be teaching you all in fusion [p.s. don't forget the new fusion times!].
so - with my absence [and inherent ignorance of his talk] in mind, let's keep our questions simple:
#1 what was the talk about? to what does "toe hold" refer? [i actually do know this much, but i think randy will like seeing your varying interpretations]
#2 in what ways did this connect with you personally? was this a timely teaching? in what areas of your life does this find immediate application?
#3 if westwinds was to truly live a community life based upon promise/covenant, how different would we look from the way we look now?
ok - knock yourselves out and pray hard for randy! i'll be back in jackson on tuesday and look forwards to your responses!
so - with my absence [and inherent ignorance of his talk] in mind, let's keep our questions simple:
#1 what was the talk about? to what does "toe hold" refer? [i actually do know this much, but i think randy will like seeing your varying interpretations]
#2 in what ways did this connect with you personally? was this a timely teaching? in what areas of your life does this find immediate application?
#3 if westwinds was to truly live a community life based upon promise/covenant, how different would we look from the way we look now?
ok - knock yourselves out and pray hard for randy! i'll be back in jackson on tuesday and look forwards to your responses!
posted by david mcdonald at 11:59 PM
6 Comments:
#1 I really liked the fusion and though Randy did a great job in your absence. Toe hold was about being stuck in a place and looking for the next step. Something to hold on to, to help you take the next step.
#2 I loved the talk and thought it was very timely in my present state. I’m not super happy with my job and looking to God to help answer some questions. I took the job because I thought that it was a door that God was opening to a new opportunity. But I’m so board with what I’m doing, I’m not sure why God pointed me in this direction. So, I have been looking for a “toe hold”. I believe God gave me this opportunity for a reason, now I just need Him to tell me what that reason is. I just keep praying that he’ll give me my next toe hold to help me stop feeling so suck with what I’m currently doing.
I was recently at JCPenny’s and found their slogan interesting. “It’s all inside!” What’s “all inside?” The answer to all my problems? Like, man I need to loose ten pounds… “it’s all inside.” I should really talk to so and so about that problem… “it’s all inside.” Why can’t I seem to get this part of my life together… “it’s all inside.” Why do I feel this way… “it’s all inside”. I feel like the entire would around me is giving me answers like “it’s all inside” What’s “all inside?” Avoidance of my problems? False idols? Temporary happiness?
But then again, we are talking about toe holds. Just as I’m thinking about how the whole world seems to go against God sometimes, the stupid little “it’s all inside!” slogan rang loud and true for me. It all had to do with the word “it’s”. At first, I thought of “it’s” as only items that could be bought at JCPenny’s. But, as a Christ follower, “it’s” can have a whole different meaning. “It’s” is GOD! “It’s all inside!” God is inside of me. He lives within me. With God, I have everything that I could ever need.
#3 I often find myself looking around the world, usually as I drive through Jackson, and wonder what the world would look like if everyone believed in God. Would we have as many stores? More trees? Would the billboards announce the start of a new Bible study instead of where to get liposuction?
For Westwinds to live in true community, I think we would need to change a few things. Like, only getting together on Sunday. To be a community, we need to know each other. You can’t just do that by walking in, saying “hi” to someone new and leaving after the service. In a community, people know one another. You help one another. Like, say I really don’t know how to do my own taxes, but there is someone at Westwinds who knows all the in’s and out’s. I could really use their help if they were willing to give a little of their time. But how would either of us know that there are needs and means to help out there? I think the community board on the Westwinds website is a great first step. Now we just need to find a way to get people really invested in it.
toe hold- gripping into the next thing
#1- I really enjoyed this weekend. We talked about communicating with God in different ways. Toe hold refers to taking the next step, finding something to grap on to.
#2- I really related to the stories told. I have been learning that communicating and listening to God is not what I thought it was. We can't put God in a small box. We have learned that He can talk to us in multiple ways AND we can listen or hear God in different ways also. This is something I have been thinking a lot about lately. Growing up in the church I really felt like I had to sit in a room and listen to God's voice and this is how I would hear him; though this is a way God can talk, there are so many more ways for him to reveal himself to us.
#3- I agree with Angela that community is not just a sunday thing. It's being in other's lives. Its where people connect with each other and live life together. I think westwinds is going towards the right direction but I dont think that it happens in big groups like fusion. It's hanging at other's houses or going to a movie, or sitting around and having coffee. I think one aspect of fusion that has brought community in is when there is question answer time. When everyone is interacting. It's a sense of "hey we're all in this life together", "we're learning these things side by side". Community is meeting people where they are at.
1. The perspective each of us uniquely encounters, of God, sometimes when least expected across the life span.
2. I am energized listening to people's stories along my journey. Even among non-christians, I can hear grace from God echo faintly as some search for hope and meaning. HE turns us away from our heads and into our hearts, we can segue or collide into a new perspective. For me, I need to keep growing, changing, moving. I get to a place of balance and want to stay there. My (our) awesome God nudges me and I hesiatate...sometimes content with my last toehold.
3. Perhaps not much different. Red Cross Am Can. Soc., etc. I know many others from other churches who know about "us". I wonder if I glimpse an opportunity for more publisized aspects of our already arm-linking projects with fellow churches. Essentially, I wonder if Jacksonites increasingly heard "these 2 or 3 churches are sponsoring" - people who see our brotherly love more readily. Again, I believe Westwinds DOES a good job with community.
As someone who has several years experience with climbing, I quite enjoyed the idea of a "toe hold" as spiritual imagery.
I saw the toe hold in this context to be an interaction or reminder of God's Grace that helps us along our spiritual walk. Something that can help us keep our balance as we strive to climb higher
But what I realized just recently (keeping with the metaphor), is that not all toe holds are the same. You can have toe holds that are so large and obvious that you might consider them a ledge, and you can have toe holds that are no more than a slight bump. While not all toe holds are equal, there are ways to use them all - if you know the proper techniques.
Obviously, a beginner "climber" doesn't know all the techniques that an experienced "climber" does. So it's up to those who have the experience to help teach those who do not.
So to come to the point of my ramble, I think the different speakers this past weekend is a way of teaching those in our church community who are beginner "climbers". Where someone once saw coincidence, they may now see God trying to speak to them. Where someone once might have been annoyed by distractions, them might now see God in a child's face.
well done, all - i'll make sure randy gets a chance to peruse your comments so we can all benefit from the conversation here.
community is a slippery concept to nail down - randy's foray into "the search to belong" has been very formative on this topic and i highly recommend you all grab a copy from soundwords if you can in order to further our understanding.
be at peace!
I didn't contribute to the discussion this week because I was "under the weather" last weekend and did not attend fusion. I will be there tomorrow looking forward to the new series!
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