A message from Peter Findley:

Orders like ours come into being through a move of God’s Spirit.  Churches tend to settle down, so when God does something new the life that springs up won’t often fit in existing structures.

TOM started because so many leaders, especially young leaders, were being raised on the back of what God was doing in Sheffield.  They were called all over the world, but they wanted to stay part of the family, and so Mike and Sally founded the Order of Mission with their Sheffield community, a global network of missional leaders bound by covenant in proclaiming the Kingdom of God in the world.

Then others beyond Sheffield, including me and Anne, became deeply involved, and we wanted to join in too.  Initially, TOM’s centre was in Sheffield.  Then, Pawley’s Island, today we are more dispersed.

Being an Order can be an uncomfortable ride.  When people start orders, what they do is often quite unpopular (like St Francis, like John Wesley), because they rock the boat and undermine established boundaries.  But the Spirit of God is a boat-rocking, boundary undermining shaker of complacencies, and joining in is a great gift to the church (even if the gift is only recognised with hindsight!). 

Gareth is inviting us to join in praying with other members of TOM, for four weeks of listening and discernment about our new Senior Guardian.

He has four questions to help us in the process.  I want to encourage you to join in and engage, and to pray and listen in three dimensions:  passionate spirituality, radical community, missional zeal.  Who could lead us into that?

Love and blessings,

Peter