If the Spirit of God is renewing the fulness of our humanity towards a new creation, what does this mean for the life of the imagination, and what part does the imagination play in the life of missional communities?

Papers for the postponed Thinklings gathering April 2006.

It is probably fair to say that the work of the Spirit in the ministry of the church has too often been restricted in our understanding to a rather narrow range of ‘religious’ activities, many of them associated with speaking, such as prophecy, tongues, preaching, prayer, etc. Increasingly, though, the church is seeking to express itself and engage with society in more imaginative and creative ways. What are we to make of these developments? In what ways can we celebrate the creativity of God in our communities?

We see this topic as a great opportunity to expand our horizons and include lively and inventive contributions from the arts - in the form of stories, poetry, music, painting, sculpture, etc. - in addition to our normal stodgy papers on theological and practical themes. This will be a Thinklings not just for ‘thinkers’ but for dreamers and creators.