Feedback from Paul T

let's keep talking - cart before horse - creation before community - will ensure it is full of energy and doesn't get ensnared

ask yourself - where/what activities give me energy - v - what stuff I do or am planning to do - reduces/sucks the energy out of me..

this is one way - I try n practice- to listen to the Spirit whisper your next step - I think i hear this in what you yourself already said - ie should i do big event vehicle for bringing my dream about OR small posse who share same dream (events secondary- big thing later if God grows it)

permit me to flesh this out to two different possible steps ... instead of 'the whole of glasgow' as your constituency - i've narrowed it down to a smaller sphere - as an example.

If it helps -many saints share/have shared this same agonising decision ...

there are quite a few options for both of these - here is an example:

1. beginning with a small project with a few who share your dream for local music or electronic arts scene a few steps away from sally army

result: simple, flexible, prayerful, fast-responsive to your arts/music constituency and Spirit/father/jesus working among them there = staying power/energy to keep going DEEP into the gifts and pains of this particular culture

versus

2. doing a big thing within the shell of the existing sally army - involving all kinds of mechanisms, finances with some hidden strings, lots of conficting expectations from lots of different people - complicated, conficting expectations and responsibilities which can disempower and burn out those involved and make it increasingly unresponsive to (eg. arts/music scene and the people and events - father/spirit/jesus who are active there) - and lacks energy/focus to get very deep into God/culture of that constituency

love
pault

Thanks Paul... Love you too! Great advice...

Thing is... I want the first one within the shell of the second. I see the gap : within the Salvation Army : and hope to develop within this context. Keeping it small and real... letting the Lord grow it as He sees fit.