The kids ate toblerones, there was a competion to make them out of straws and tape; yesterday in church we went triangle crazy!

The lastest lifeshape we looked at is one of the most helpful and straightforward in my opinion. It shows how God wants us to grow three ways: UP, IN and OUT.

A friend sent me a link to St Ebbe’s church in Oxford who seem to have got this pretty clearly (without crediting anyone else). I believe Mike Breen credits the original picture/ idea to church planting experts Bob & Mary Hopkins, though I seem to recall Zinzendorf had something very similar in the C18th!

Summary?

God wants to grow us UP:
to stretch you in your relationship with God…

God wants us to grow IN:
to stretch you in your relationships IN the church…

God wants us to grow OUT:
to stretch you in mission and engagement with the world he loves.

Any emphasis that doesn’t grow us out all three ways leads to a wonky triangle with tragic consequences for discipleship.

If you’d like to hear the talk from yesterday, where I sought to apply the triangle to the disciples’ experience at the feeding of the 5000 go to the church website.

The great news from the second service was that 12 people ended up being baptised as they ‘stretched up’ – only 4 were scheduled to be baptised but 8 more responded before the end! God is sooooo good.

Makes me want to sing about how good triangles are…come on, join in!