Open Source Church

How simple things from signs to conversations can create an environment of transparency, hospitality, and equality.

As groups coalesce, they tend to form their own cultures, processes and modes of operation that, over time, become normative for those who belong. Understanding how these groups operate, from high school cliques to million-dollar corporations is not always easy. Much of what happens is guided by the group’s culture, an invisible force that operates somewhere deep within the group’s identity. I like to think of it as a group’s DNA or Source Code.

In Open Source Church, we won’t get into the technicalities of software production, but we will use the metaphor of open source software to consider how we can make our source code available for newcomers and longtime members alike. Open source principles are not about changing our identity, values, or theology. Rather, we will consider how we can celebrate the beautiful source code that’s been created at Central and make it available so that others can know who we are, what we value, and how they can join in.

One of my favorite things about open source technology is that it’s a constant conversation, a community gathering together to make something bigger and better than any one person could accomplish. We will meet during Sunday School on Jan 31 in the conference room. Come and join in the conversation.