Our second meeting was a smaller affair and after the noise of the pub, we opted to meet in a home. Interesting because although it was a more intimate setting and we were able to be very open and honest with each other, we all agreed that there was something special about talking about God very openly in a crowded pub environment.

Once again, there was no problem with people talking about things they felt strongly about and we discussed things that were very personal. I think this must be a tribute to the instant bonding of people - kindred spirits if you like, united by a very real desire to connect with God.

One of the things that struck me was that we recognised that we had all gone through phases of life and we had changed considerably over the years. The question arose, 'how does church change to accommodate us as we change?' We talked about it for a while and didn't come to any conclusion.

The other topic of note was that it was easy to identify three of us in Fowler's faith development model (stage 4 and 5). Whilst I appreciate that this model has its critics, it again begs the question of how does church accommodate people as they move from one season of life to another.

Can anyone suggest some books that might give an insight here? I am also wondering now how our group might deal with this should we want to continue to meet after the 12 weeks are up. Does the charisma of the meeting become institutionalised in order to give it longevity or does the group only have a set life-span?

We have had to miss a week so I posted a contemplative exercise on the other blog (5 Feb) so that people didn't feel disconnected.