Interpathy .....

......not sympathy or empathy.

Just read this again in Frost & Hirsch's "Shaping of things to come"... "Interpathy describes that depth of a relationship when an outsider to a particular host community develops a burden for that community .... it refers to the capacity for an outsider to pick up a community's sense of values, what has hurt them and where they're headed."

I think it's all about listening to that host community asking the question 'what is good news to these people?' and what should church look like for them?

Frost & Hirsch suggest " we would think like missionaries and spend more time listening to, eating with, and playing with" those we are trying to minister to. We shouldn't try to impose church upon people like some sort of alien model but we should listen to what seems natural.

Listening, eating, playing .... sounds like fun!