Dear Mom and Dad,

I attended a conference on counselling and the “emergent” church, put on by Providence College and Seminary this weekend. What I learned there reminded me of how you always encouraged me when I was a child to try new things in different ways. Who knows what possibilities might arise when the pace of a regular routine is changed?

As an adult I had forgotten this; that is until I attended the conference at Prov.

The first speaker, Gary Collins, talked about Christian coaching, which differs from traditional counselling. While traditional counselling focuses more on working through past issues, coaching involves helping a client evaluate where they presently are and working with them to achieve future goals.

“Coaching is taking people from where they are to where they want to be,” Gary said. I like that, even though it is a new concept for someone like me who is used to the traditional methods of counselling. I was really struck by the concept that coaching helps people reach their goals and experience change.

Individuals who go through coaching may not have emotional problems, but may need help to reach their goals. Everybody needs a personal cheerleader! A coach can provide guidance and direction.

The second part of the conference focused on the emergent church. I was really encouraged by how the emergent church is trying to challenge the way that we as Christians do conventional church. Those involved in the emergent church hold to some of the “traditions” that are found in conventional churches, but also see benefit in new experiences.

Emergent churches see the importance of sharing personal experiences (testimonies), establishing authentic relationships and building community and spirituality. I find it interesting the emergent church does not believe that their way of doing church is the right way, but rather see it as another option of doing church, another option of expressing our faith to God.

I shocked to realize the structure of the emergent church is different than the common church structure. Authority in the emergent church isn’t from top down, with the pastor being at the top. Rather, they work as a team, with the lead pastor being the team leader. “The Emergent Church thinks differently,” Gary Collins told us. I think this is a new concept to how we would traditionally do church in North America.

As I write to you, I wonder, why have I moved away from trying new things in new ways? Gary Collins and the emergent church challenge the traditional way of doing things. They offered something new and something different, and a lot of people have benefited.

Christian coaching helps people reach their goals and define their vision. As for the emergent church, a local congregation in Winnipeg, Soul Sanctuary, began a little less than two years ago with 50 people. Now they have a congregation of 400. They couldn’t possibly have known the outcome—but they were willing to try something new and different.

That is a good lesson for all of us.

Lavlet Forde is the administrative assistant for ChristianWeek. She is studying in the counselling program at Providence College and Seminary in Otterburne, Manitoba.