in my view (for Sunday 8th October, CMP Newsletter)

IN MY VIEW by Pastor Pete
In my view one of the great dangers to true community in the church is the lack of face-to-face time. Let me encourage you to think about developing relationships using a very simple idea called 'my place, your place, our place'.
It is my belief that a healthy deepening friendship requires three 'spaces' in which it develops. It requires inviting others to come into 'my place' so that they feel valued. It requires me going into 'your place' so that I get a better sense of who you are, and you know that I value you enough to go to you. It also requires that we develop 'our place', those places which is neither yours or mine, but is created as 'our place' because we do stuff together there.
Try this exercise.
(1) Write down the names of people from church who in the last six months have been entered your three spaces, 'my place, your place, our place'.
(2) Write down 3 names that you would like to invite to 'your place' in the next 3 months.
Note: Because 'our place' is the least intimate, it is also the easiest to invite people to and so for many people is the first place to start. Ideas of 'our place' might be a coffee shop, the beach, the movies, etc.