Love this photo that I think just captures New Zealand.... our new home. We've been in New Zealand now for 5 months. It's been truly amazing! So many new experiences. There hasn't been too much culture shock coming down here from Aberdeen, Scotland. UK. After all, as I am daily reminded, this is the "Edinburgh of the South". But there is a great deal to find your way with and come to terms with. Even in such a short period though, we have experienced wonderful hospitality and friendship. We've ejoyed soaking up the scenery of course too. While it has snowed, days are generally brighter. Big blue skies, whispy clouds and some warmth.... spring is on its way again too!
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We had spent the past 6 and half years church planting in Cove (Aberdeen, Scotland). And what great years they were. That was perhaps the beginning of what has been a journeying to new dimensions of personal faith, church, mission and more. And it continues. Having undertaken an immense move, as a family to the other side of the world to pursue some mission in the PCANZ, in particular the Highgate Mission with my friend Martin, it has been and continues to be 'a stirring adventure' in faith.
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In Cove I had started to consider the importance of the spatial dynamic to mission and the significance of place. Such thinking started from a small book written in 1880's by Edwin Abbott Abbott: Flatland: A romance in many dimensions. Its about maths, its a social critique of his day and describes the rules of society in it's 2 dimensions. However the square is taken to Spaceland where he sees the amazing 3 dimensional aspects of a new world. He then begins to image other dimensions and speaks of that 'more spacious space' beyond. On return to Flatland all that happens is, his radical thinking and speaking place him in prison and cherishing - thoughtland. Anyway, it stimulated me to begin think of the 'emergent' scene as a setting out beyond flatland to the spacious places. I want to learn more of what this means not just in thoughtland, but in practical terms to live in the beyond , in the in-between places.
Now here in Dunedin, on the Highgate we are seeking to create new spaces/places for critical exchange with the community.
And so I want to start this blog to explore and reflect on the journey beyond flatland and as Abbott hoped for (somewhat paraphrased and adapted) ::
so that we may aspire yet higher and higher,
thereby contributing to the enlargement
of the imagination and the possible
development of missionary churches::
