WELCOME TO THE WELL

A Roundtable of Covenant Relationships

Throughout Scripture, wells were more than places where people came to collect water.

They were places of encounter, covenant, conversation, fellowship, restoration and new beginnings. Relationships were formed around wells. Journeys were redirected there. Generations met there. And ordinary places became environments in which the purposes of God were revealed.

In the same spirit, The 777th Precinct Wellside Dialogue exists as a place where believers can draw deeply from the Word of God and from the grace, wisdom and experience He has deposited within His people.

Proverbs 20:5 BSB

(5) The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.

The Wellside is founded upon a simple conviction:

No individual carries everything that God has deposited within His Body.

We therefore come to the well not merely to speak, but to listen.

Not merely to teach, but also to learn.

Not merely to present our own understanding, but to draw from the grace God has placed within one another.

THE VISION REMAINS — THE EXPRESSION IS DEVELOPING

The Wellside Dialogue initially operated through a scheduled monthly online gathering.

As the initiative developed, it became clear that the purpose of the Wellside should not depend upon maintaining another recurring meeting.

The vision has therefore not been abandoned.

The method has been adjusted.

The Wellside is developing from a primarily meeting-centred model into an ongoing content-and-conversation ministry.

This allows the conversation to continue whether or not a live gathering is taking place.

The Wellside will now function through two complementary expressions.

MEDITATIONS FROM THE WELL

Drawing deeply from the Word. Reflecting quietly in His presence. Carrying living water into everyday life.

Meditations from the Well becomes the regular written expression of the Wellside Dialogue.

Approximately two meditations each month will be published on the 777th Precinct website.

These meditations will draw from Scripture and from the realities we encounter within our:

• personal spiritual journeys;
• families and relationships;
• congregations and ministries;
• apostolic and covenant relationships;
• workplaces and communities;
• leadership environments;
• wider Body of Christ.

They are not intended merely to communicate information.

They are an invitation to stop, consider, pray, examine and respond.

Each meditation may include questions designed to continue the conversation beyond the article itself.

READ MEDITATIONS FROM THE WELL

GATHERINGS AT THE WELL

The live conversational element of the Wellside Dialogue will continue.

However, Gatherings at the Well will no longer take place automatically every month.

Instead, gatherings will normally take place approximately once every three months, or whenever a particular subject has generated sufficient interest to warrant meaningful conversation.

The intention is that the meditations will often prepare the ground for these gatherings.

A meditation may raise a question.

Responses may reveal a need.

Several meditations may develop a common theme.

And from that developing conversation, a Gathering at the Well can emerge.

Before a gathering is scheduled, interest will be established and participation confirmed.

This allows us to gather because there is something meaningful to discuss—not simply because another date has arrived on the calendar.

FROM MEDITATION TO DIALOGUE

Our developing rhythm can therefore be understood this way:

READ → REFLECT → RESPOND → GATHER

We read the meditation.

We reflect upon the Scriptures and questions.

We respond with our thoughts, experiences and questions.

And when a subject warrants deeper engagement, we gather around the well.

The live meeting therefore becomes the fruit of the conversation, rather than the definition of the conversation.

OUR KINGDOM VALUES

• Christ remains the centre of every conversation.
• Scripture remains our final authority.
• The Holy Spirit is welcomed as Teacher and Guide.
• Every participant is treated with honour and dignity.
• Different experiences and perspectives may enrich the conversation without requiring the compromise of biblical truth.
• Covenant relationships are valued above personal platforms.
• We seek understanding rather than victory in discussion.
• We recognise that God has deliberately placed grace within different people and generations.
• The objective is the advancement of Christ and His Kingdom, not individual recognition.

THERE IS ROOM AT THE WELL

The Wellside is not intended to become a closed circle of experts.

There is room for the experienced leader.

There is room for the younger voice.

There is room for the person carrying decades of tested wisdom.

There is room for sincere questions.

There is room for different gifts.

There is room for correction.

There is room for learning.

There is room for one another.

Our task is not to determine who possesses the deepest well.

Our task is to recognise that God may have placed something within another person from which we need to drink.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

The Wellside WhatsApp group remains an important connection point.

It will be used to:

• announce new Meditations from the Well;
• share links to published material;
• invite comments, observations and questions;
• identify subjects that may require further dialogue;
• gauge interest in future live gatherings;
• distribute invitations and meeting information when a Gathering at the Well is scheduled.

JOIN THE 777TH PRECINCT WELLSIDE DIALOGUE ON WHATSAPP

COME AND DRAW

Jesus said:

John 7:37–38 BSB

(37) On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

(38) Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”

The Wellside exists because there is always more water in the well.

There is always something more to learn.

Something more to discern.

Something more of Christ to be formed within us.

So come to the well.

Read deeply.
Reflect carefully.
Respond honestly.
Listen prayerfully.
And when the time is right—gather with us around the well.

THE 777TH PRECINCT WELLSIDE DIALOGUE

The well remains open.

Herman Bouwer
The 777th Precinct Wellside Dialogue