Initial Thoughts

Here's the first of many posts about this journey we've begun:

in which the people at the Crossroads first considered whether they were being called to join their ministry with that of the people in Kirk's Wood known for their Grace, and to have many adventures together in the Land of Little Olives.

Ok, no more cheap Tolkeinesque homages. This blog will be no epic, but it should quickly become a central place for news, information about events, background, and discussion as we work through the decision process over the next few months.

There will soon be actual content, but indulge me for a moment: I just want to express how excited I am, at this moment, about the prospect of Crossroads and Grace moving forward together. The Peck house has practically the same GPS coordinates as the Crossroads building, so I don't expect we'll be part of a future Olivette site, but I am thrilled to be part of establishing a multi-cultural gospel ministry in Olivette, and hoping to learn how we can bring that kind of ministry to bear more and more in Maplewood.

That does not mean that I am absolutely persuaded God has called us to do this. We will be very careful to listen, to discuss, to think through the challenges that await us, and we want everyone to feel at the end like they were a part of the decision process, not just passengers on a train with the destination pre-determined. To help you take part, we are thinking about several initiatives, namely:

• More town hall meetings
• Fellowship events such as dinners or (weather permitting) picnics
• Joint worship services
• Kingdom Group discussions
  
• Teams focused on particular issues, such as children's ministry, or staffing, or figuring out how we will actually experience unity between two sites. If you have a particular passion, we will welcome your participation in figuring out the details.
  

And please don't hesitate to talk to any member of the feasibility team (myself, Audrey, Josh, Andrew and Mark), or a deacon, or an elder at any time. We don't want to give the false impression that we have all the answers or that we aren't aware of the challenges.

So keep an eye out for Orcs.