Recap - 1.25.09

I'm going to try and recap each Sunday discussion as best I can, for those people who cannot make it.  This will certainly be easier when we get back into a more framed discussion (by the way, see our book link on the main page - there's still time to get it, read, and be ready with colorful commentary come Feb. 8th). 

Please comment on these sections with additions, subtractions, or rephrasing that might help capture the essence of our conversation.  I'm going to try and put it as succinctly as possible without missing the spirit of the night.   

Our freeform discussion has ranged through many topics, spiritual and not so spiritual (depending on who you ask).  This week we picked up where we last left off on the discussion of prayer.  Some of our questions included -

*why do we pray the way we do (in terms of formalities)?
*do we believe God will always answer every prayer?
*does the quantity of people praying for something change God's response, in either content or timing?

With respect to the experiences of the community, a few have shared events that have shaped our lives to which we can attributes God's intervention, movement or presence. 

In general, many of us are moving away from "the way we used to pray", or at least examining the ways in which we were taught to pray.  These habits (some good, some bad, and some neither) undoubtedly affect our view of the relationship we have with God.

It was brought up that our culture has a huge influence on our prayer patterns.  As trained consumers, it's difficult to shed the habit of constantly asking and recieving.  Contemplative prayer and meditation were discussed, though we did not delve too deeply into these subjects.

We then discussed a bit about tithing.  There was some agreement that we've enjoyed being able to free up our finances to give to those in our community who are in real need.  There is a great amount of efficiency in this as there is little to no overhead.  **An additional thought to this (Jim mentioned his brewing) - if we were to tithe to a church, nobody would raise an eyebrow at the purchase of donuts, coffee, etc.  And, how much more genuine is someone that creates something with his own hands to share with the group?  There is something truly beautiful about what we share amongst all.  But I digress into editorial..

Okay, that'll do it for now.  I know I missed some nuances, (specific ones that I really enjoyed) but I'm trying to keep this in the short sweetness.