Learning Journey

So, what’s next?

So, what’s next?

This week Dave and Sarah summarise the plans for the New Year, looking at our emphasis, structure, rhythm and how to get involved.

Discussion Starter Questions

  • How do you feel about change and trying new things? How does this influence your reaction to the plans for Exeter Vineyard?
  • Where do you think you will fit into the plans? It’s easy to form our own opinion, but what do you think God is saying about this?
  • What do you think doesn’t sound so good? What are you excited about?

You can watch the video here!  The talk starts at: 7:54mins.

Under the Surface

Under the Surface

God is at work in our heart, wanting to deal with our whole person. So this means being increasingly aware of our feelings, motivations and desires as well as our actions. Today Dave talks about how we tune into our inner world and give God permission to change us there.

Discussion Starter Questions:

  • How aware are you of what’s going on inside? Do you think much about your feelings?
  • Do you find you naturally analyse your reaction to situations? What ways can we make ourselves more watchful of the inner dynamics that drive our actions?
  • Sometimes we can be afraid of dealing with what might be lurking inside us. Do you think sometimes you use busyness and distraction to avoid what’s in your heart? How can we be braver at dealing with the pain and brokenness in our inner lives?

You can watch the video below.  The talk starts at: 10:17mins

Committed To Community

Committed to Community

To move out of a ‘vague hope we might change’ into a process of change (aka discipleship) requires intention and choice. Today Dave talks about how, through committing to community, we develop ‘our people’. Those who will support and encourage us, and also often the channel for God’s work to change us.

Discussion Starter Questions:

  • What have you committed yourself to and how has it worked out? Things like subscriptions, gym memberships, relationships. What seems to be the deciding factor for ones that continue and ones that don’t. What might be a better way to commit to commitments?
  • What makes spending time with people easy or difficult? What sort of activities, culture or atmosphere is good? How might this work in our church communities of Hubs?
  • Dave talked about this requiring us to be more active (his taking notes in a lecture analogy). How do you feel about this? It requires being social and opening up your life. Do you find one of these easier than the other?

You can watch the News and Talk here.  Talk starts at: 9:03mins

Time as an Investment

Time as an Investment

Today Dave thinks about the difference between belonging to community and attending an event.
Discussion starter questions:
  • Think about the times when you’ve had really good friends. How did the friendship start and what influence did circumstances play? How different is your life and rhythm now to then?
  • How does it feel to think about friendships as something we make intentionally, rather than something that happens to us?
  • How high a priority do you think friendships are to you? Are you happy with this level of importance or do you think you should change it’s importance? How might your lifestyle and choices reflect the actual real-world importance you place on it?

You can watch the video of the podcast here.  The talk starts at: 12:19.

Hubs at the Heart

Hubs at the Heart

Today Dave thinks about how we organise church and how aiming for discipleship might mean we need to adjust our ideas and practice.
Discussion Starter Questions:
  • How does it feel to shift the heart of the church from the Sunday service to small communities? What does this throw up for you? How much does the practice of going to the Sunday service feel like part of your identity as a Christian? How do we interpret this and what does it tell us?
  • How much are we hungry for change in our own lives? How aware are we of how much we’re not like Jesus? What feelings does this evoke? Does it carry shame or a sense of determination? It’s interesting to think about these feelings in the light of 2 Corinthians 7:10.
  • How much are we prepared to disrupt our lives for the sake of experiencing God change us? What feelings does this throw up for us? How does this reveal our view of God? Do we think he is a hard, authoritarian task-master or a gentle coach or something else? Think about the gap between what we know we should believe and what we actually feel.

You can watch the video of the talk here.  The talk starts at: 6:50

Hub Principles

Hub Principles

As we continue to think about how Hubs, our small communities, will be centred around discipleship, today Dave talks about some principles that will underpin our Hubs in 2021.
Discussion Starter Questions:
  • Dave gave 4 principles; Leaders, Size, Rhythm and Missional Focus. What do you think about how these four principles might influence or shape Hubs?
  • How might each of these influence the process of discipleship?

You can watch the News and Talk here – talk starts at: 3:33mins