Friday, October 26, 2007
Getting Started
My name is Tamara Buchan and I am a passionate follower of Christ. My journey with him has been surprising and continues to make life adventurous.
When I was a Mom with 3 little girls, I got a strong call to go to seminary. It felt like I was dumped there with a shovel it was so abrupt, yet the way was paved; even down to the provision of the finances.
This call to seminary took both my husband, Bill, and I off guard. And, those around me all wanted to know what I was going to "do when I got out." I didn't have a clue, I didn't even know how I felt about women in ministry.
But, as time went on, I began to discover that I had some ideas about the Church. I saw that the Church was losing relevance in our culture. I saw that people were happy in their church buildings, but pretty uneasy about being witnesses to the world. I saw that people didn't understand that every person has a specific purpose, not just those who are "officially called to ministry." I saw that the professional pastor was often more interested in protecting their territory than in seeing new territory developed for the Kingdom.
So, I began to dream. I dreamt about what it could be if we each knew why God had created us and what he wanted us to do. I dreamt about the real community that would come through coming together to accomplish something that only God could do through his people. I began to dream about a church where the people were passionately leading, not the pastor. I began to dream about what would happen if the money was freed up for mission, not for the expenses of the church building and staff.
About two years ago, I began to experience God moving me to a new place~a place where many of the practices of the modern church were laid down and new ways of living out our faith emerged. The church where I was pastor began to experience movement too, in desiring to plant a new church, one that would look different than our church. God, in his surprising ways, brought all of it together and on June 3rd, the congregation of Pine Lake Covenant Church on the eastside of Seattle, voted to send me as a planting pastor to start a new church, one that would call people to a different way of Church.
This different way begins with the thought that "instead of going to church, we are the church."
The name is Missio Lux. It means mission of light in Latin. As we go and follow God, we are bringing light to our world. Can't wait to explore more of this with you as we blog together.
When I was a Mom with 3 little girls, I got a strong call to go to seminary. It felt like I was dumped there with a shovel it was so abrupt, yet the way was paved; even down to the provision of the finances.
This call to seminary took both my husband, Bill, and I off guard. And, those around me all wanted to know what I was going to "do when I got out." I didn't have a clue, I didn't even know how I felt about women in ministry.
But, as time went on, I began to discover that I had some ideas about the Church. I saw that the Church was losing relevance in our culture. I saw that people were happy in their church buildings, but pretty uneasy about being witnesses to the world. I saw that people didn't understand that every person has a specific purpose, not just those who are "officially called to ministry." I saw that the professional pastor was often more interested in protecting their territory than in seeing new territory developed for the Kingdom.
So, I began to dream. I dreamt about what it could be if we each knew why God had created us and what he wanted us to do. I dreamt about the real community that would come through coming together to accomplish something that only God could do through his people. I began to dream about a church where the people were passionately leading, not the pastor. I began to dream about what would happen if the money was freed up for mission, not for the expenses of the church building and staff.
About two years ago, I began to experience God moving me to a new place~a place where many of the practices of the modern church were laid down and new ways of living out our faith emerged. The church where I was pastor began to experience movement too, in desiring to plant a new church, one that would look different than our church. God, in his surprising ways, brought all of it together and on June 3rd, the congregation of Pine Lake Covenant Church on the eastside of Seattle, voted to send me as a planting pastor to start a new church, one that would call people to a different way of Church.
This different way begins with the thought that "instead of going to church, we are the church."
The name is Missio Lux. It means mission of light in Latin. As we go and follow God, we are bringing light to our world. Can't wait to explore more of this with you as we blog together.
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