When there are no words for what you are experiencing. Genesis Community.

When there are no words to describe what you are experiencing Genesis Community
I have been working with Bill Collier on his vision. We all know that within the United States we have…

A Kingdom Nation. That is all of the believers. We are a ‘holy nation.’

I have discussed this many times on KingdomInsight. Check my profile for other discussions…

So, I have been working on this and learning about community in general. A few weeks ago, Bill introduced the concept of community to our household. We have an unusual household for the United States: there are about 10 or 12 people in our household. Some come and go, so it is a bit challenging to have a ‘hard count.’ My husband and I have always had additional people as part of our household: at times friends or extended family members. We were inspired by Francis Schaeffer’s book: L’Abrie. We have always enjoyed an extended family.

Our community was in crisis just a few weeks ago. We had added ‘non-compatible’ people. It is hard to get people together without problems occurring. This was the worst I had ever experienced. Too many opinions, too much irritation. It wasn’t working.

So, Johnny and I asked Bill to take the lead. What he did was simple on one hand, but the impact has been so incredible that the members of our household agree: there are not words in the common English language to describe it.

Before we had a group of people, today we have a learning community. People share Common Union, a shared identity and a shared purpose.

Think about the number of households that are fragmented, non-functional – with fighting, anger and frustration. There are probably MORE households like this than there are households that are NOT like this. It is NOT necessary!

So, our next step in this, the Genesis Community is to help people across this region establish households that are strong and cohesive.

I am on a the ‘ride of my life’. I could not IMAGINE where this road is taking me. I could not IMAGINE that I would, at this age, see and experience things I have never experience before.

Stay tuned… we want to offer to you that you can experience these things, too!
God bless!

Lisa... you have got it. I have never experienced anything like this. And, those in our household say the same: never experienced it. Johnny and I have always had an extended household. But, we never had a 'missional' community with a shared identity and standards. The impact on the individuals in our household is astounding: from drawing people into the Kingdom because they can see God work to people overcoming difficult life, controlling problems. Again, this is all new to me. I must add, Bill expected all of these things. What he has told me was that he did not anticipate is how quickly things would happen. He said the process we are experiencing usually takes 6 months & that we are months ahead of schedule.

This puts me in a 'good news' 'bad news' position. ;-)
The bad news is that I have worked on KingdomCommunity efforts for years with little results to show.
The good news is that I now understand - I have always tried a top down approach: energize people to initiatives and I thought that real community would result. I am understanding from Bill's coaching: if we build authentic community, everything else grows out of that. The plus is this: since Bill is starting at the household level... it's like 'bulls eye' for our culture. Most households struggle to be functional. It is probably, when we get down to it, the number one problem in the U.S. And, it is unnecessary.

We're planning on how to launch this - through our local efforts and though web/phone based training. I will be posting as we are ready to do these things.

Thanks for your comment!

Lisa said:

Ditto Dave's comment. I read this and thought ok you got me curious. You are obviously excited. I'm having a hard time figuring out what happended. You went from bickering to friends, a temporary truce, a decision to work together, What? Looks like it happened in a short time. It happended through the work of individuals and not a miracle...? Of course I'd like to look at what Bill presented.

Replies

Juanita January 24, 2010 at 4:32am

Thanks, Bob!

Bob Pyle said:
Juniata, The eternal rewards and fulfillment you experience in building a close knit fellowship will yield fruit that remains. Thank you for taking the risk of faith in building an intentional community and spiritual oasis of Love that is transformational and is secure in the Fathers will for all his children. Hope to see you all soon. Pastor Bob Pyle
Bob Pyle January 20, 2010 at 3:09pm

Juniata, The eternal rewards and fulfillment you experience in building a close knit fellowship will yield fruit that remains. Thank you for taking the risk of faith in building an intentional community and spiritual oasis of Love that is transformational and is secure in the Fathers will for all his children. Hope to see you all soon. Pastor Bob Pyle
Juanita January 20, 2010 at 9:35am

Lisa... you have got it. I have never experienced anything like this. And, those in our household say the same: never experienced it. Johnny and I have always had an extended household. But, we never had a 'missional' community with a shared identity and standards. The impact on the individuals in our household is astounding: from drawing people into the Kingdom because they can see God work to people overcoming difficult life, controlling problems. Again, this is all new to me. I must add, Bill expected all of these things. What he has told me was that he did not anticipate is how quickly things would happen. He said the process we are experiencing usually takes 6 months & that we are months ahead of schedule.

This puts me in a 'good news' 'bad news' position. ;-)
The bad news is that I have worked on KingdomCommunity efforts for years with little results to show.
The good news is that I now understand - I have always tried a top down approach: energize people to initiatives and I thought that real community would result. I am understanding from Bill's coaching: if we build authentic community, everything else grows out of that. The plus is this: since Bill is starting at the household level... it's like 'bulls eye' for our culture. Most households struggle to be functional. It is probably, when we get down to it, the number one problem in the U.S. And, it is unnecessary.

We're planning on how to launch this - through our local efforts and though web/phone based training. I will be posting as we are ready to do these things.

Thanks for your comment!

Lisa said:
Ditto Dave's comment. I read this and thought ok you got me curious. You are obviously excited. I'm having a hard time figuring out what happended. You went from bickering to friends, a temporary truce, a decision to work together, What? Looks like it happened in a short time. It happended through the work of individuals and not a miracle...? Of course I'd like to look at what Bill presented.
Lisa January 19, 2010 at 1:17pm

Ditto Dave's comment. I read this and thought ok you got me curious. You are obviously excited. I'm having a hard time figuring out what happended. You went from bickering to friends, a temporary truce, a decision to work together, What? Looks like it happened in a short time. It happended through the work of individuals and not a miracle...? Of course I'd like to look at what Bill presented.
Juanita January 19, 2010 at 4:59am

Dave,
You have some good thoughts/questions. Bill and I are talking about how to pass these on to other people. I think, through this site, we will be offering an opportunity. I know that many households, even some that only consist of two people, have turmoil that they don't need to have.

Dave Knauss said:
I'm wondering if some people may ask you for a detailed step-by-step explanation of your crisis-solving techniques. Would they work between parents and teens, or between spouses?
Dwayne Leon Gobin II January 18, 2010 at 12:20pm

What an interesting situation you had found yourselves in. I know from experiences in the past when one has a group of people living under the same roof; I had never seen too much good come out of it except for squabbling and bickering. What you have described is wonderful and shows again how God works things together for His good. as the Word of God tells us so. I cannot wait to hear more. Please keep us posted. God bless you and your entire household and may you all have a blessed week.
Dave Knauss January 18, 2010 at 10:41am

I'm wondering if some people may ask you for a detailed step-by-step explanation of your crisis-solving techniques. Would they work between parents and teens, or between spouses?
Juanita January 18, 2010 at 10:31am

For tweeting: http://bit.ly/4vc7w4

This reply was deleted.