I led the worship time at Mimos two weeks ago and I set up some "worship stations" based on the theme of Living Water. Our passage for reflection and teaching was John 7:37-38.
We had five stations set up:
1. Care Boats
People wrote their cares and anxieties on a piece of rectangular paper which they made into an origami boat. They placed the boats in the tub of water and symbolically gave those concerns to the living water of Christ.
2. Waterfall
Station 2 was playing the song "Waterfall" by Matthew Ward. People could sit, read the lyrics and listen to the song.
3. A Prayer for the Thirsty
Psalm 143 was printed out and put on a a wall. Kneeling pads were placed near the wall for people to kneel and read the prayer of David.
4. Living Water
Five passages of Scripture were printed out for people to read and meditate on. Psalm 36:5-9, Isaiah 41:17-18; Revelation 21:6; Revelation 22:1,2,17
5. Lectio Divina and Drawing
The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4:4-14) was printed out and people were asked to read through it a few times and imagine themselves being there in the conversation. Paper and textas were available for people to write of draw their impressions of the encounter.
Showing posts with label Missional Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Missional Church. Show all posts
Monday, October 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Let's Get Real
I was re-reading the chapter on Authenticity in Exiles this week and it felt like I underlined the whole chapter - Frost is so quotable. Here is one that jumped out at me - “Part of the pervading phoniness about many Christian’s lives is that there seems to be an assumed difference between our public worship experience and our private lifestyle and practices.” (p. 93).
At a recent visit to a church I was again astonished at how forced and routinised (is that a word?) the meeting was - it was as though the church felt obliged to follow a particular pattern that actually discouraged real interaction bettwen the people who were present. Even though there were not people in the meeting who could assist with musical accompaniment there were songs played (on CD)in the regular places of hymns which everyone sat and listened to as though is was a requirement of the weekly ritual. I hope I'm not sounding too critical but I left feeling that this small group would have been much better off sitting in a circle (rather than in rows behind each other) and having a heart to heart discussion about a passage of Scripture, some sharing about what God was doing (or not doing) in their lives and prayer to encourage and inspire each other to continue the fight and press on toward the prize.
Luckily, I attend a lot of different churches for work, so this one will not easily be identified but more and more I am seeking a real engagement with other Jesus followers when I gather with them in various locations around the country. . . And don't get me wrong, I'm not against a formal liturgy I am just against a disconnected and lifeless liturgy whether it be formal or informal.
At a recent visit to a church I was again astonished at how forced and routinised (is that a word?) the meeting was - it was as though the church felt obliged to follow a particular pattern that actually discouraged real interaction bettwen the people who were present. Even though there were not people in the meeting who could assist with musical accompaniment there were songs played (on CD)in the regular places of hymns which everyone sat and listened to as though is was a requirement of the weekly ritual. I hope I'm not sounding too critical but I left feeling that this small group would have been much better off sitting in a circle (rather than in rows behind each other) and having a heart to heart discussion about a passage of Scripture, some sharing about what God was doing (or not doing) in their lives and prayer to encourage and inspire each other to continue the fight and press on toward the prize.
Luckily, I attend a lot of different churches for work, so this one will not easily be identified but more and more I am seeking a real engagement with other Jesus followers when I gather with them in various locations around the country. . . And don't get me wrong, I'm not against a formal liturgy I am just against a disconnected and lifeless liturgy whether it be formal or informal.
Monday, May 07, 2007
When the church is not the church
The English word “church” is translated from the Greek, ekklesia which literally means “the called out ones” (ek – out and klesis – calling) and was used to describe an assembly or a lawful assembly. Applied spiritually, ekklesia is “the called out of” - that is, the saved who are called out of the word (John. 17).
• “Church” (ekklesia) is used to denote all those who are in Christ without any particular geographic designation (Matt 16:18), as well as groups of followers in a particular geographic area (1 Cor.1:2).
• “Church” used universally (all the saved) is always used in the singular.
• “Churches,” plural, refers to a number of local churches, the groups of called out ones in various areas. For example when Paul wrote, “... the churches of Christ salute you” (Rom. 16:16).
• “Church” is applied to the gathering or assembly of God’s people (1 Cor 14:19).
• “Church” denotes those followers who have connected together and have the full development as far as organization is concerned (Acts 14:23).
• The local church, when fully organized has elders and deacons (Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim 3:1-13).
I’ve been noticing people’s use of the word “church” recently. I’m aware that although the definition of a word determines its usage in language, the reverse can also be true: the contextual usage of a word can actually influence and change its meaning.
Annette (my wife) was driving with Kate (8) and Thomas (4) in the back seat of the car recently. Thomas had his teddy (Fred) and Fred was eating everything they drove past. “Fred is eating the tree,” “Fred is eating the car,” “Fred is eating the church” to which Kate spoke up and said, “That’s not the church, the church is people, not a building.”
“Church” is used 115 times in the Greek New Testament, however, it never refers to the building in which the church meets. Yet, our use of the word “church” can lead us to this conclusion. I hear people saying things like, “we’re going to church,” “we’re having a working bee at the church,” “the board meeting will be at the church.” While I understand that what most people mean is “the building where the church meets,” it subtly draws us away from the true meaning of the church as the people of God, (followers of Jesus) gathering to encourage and serve each other and then going out to share and demonstrate the Gospel.
I also hear people saying, “after church let’s go out to lunch” or “I like some quiet reflection time before church starts” this use of “church” focuses on the gathering of people or “the service.” Although the gathering of God’s people is vital, it is only one aspect of being the church and in my view is secondary to the going purpose. We gather to encourage each other, serve each other, learn from each other, recommit ourselves to each other, be accountable to each other, worship God together and pray for each other so that each person can be better equipped to live out their faith as they go out to their various homes, workplaces, schools and communities.
I asked my class at Kingsley College last year the following question: If there are two groups of 20 people and one is a church and one is not, what makes the church a church?
We summarised the list to the following: The church is
• Committed to following Jesus Christ in faith and action
• Committed to serving each other and building each other up using their gifts
• Committed to being accountable to each other and to grow in love for God and others
• Committed to gathering regularly and sharing in worship and relationship
• Committed to share in mission together and be witnesses of the Gospel message in all areas of their lives.
Michael Frost asks a similar question in his book Exiles . He asks “when is a bunch actually a church?” He proposes the following four requirements: Trinitarian Theology, Covenantal Expression, Catholic Orientation, and Missional Intent.
In the Church of England report, Mission Shaped Church, they summarise the five values of the church as: 1) focused on God the trinity, 2) incarnational, 3) transformational, 4) disciple making and 5) relational .
Our usage of the word “church” ought to be as a verb. That is we do church and be the church, rather than as a noun, we go to church (meeting) or we clean the church (building).
My observation is that churches can easily become preoccupied with the noun definitions of church. Time and energy is consumed on buildings (or raising money for buildings) or on the gathering (service) to the point that no time or energy is left for the primary purpose of the church which is living missionally in our communities with the support and accountability of the church.
• “Church” (ekklesia) is used to denote all those who are in Christ without any particular geographic designation (Matt 16:18), as well as groups of followers in a particular geographic area (1 Cor.1:2).
• “Church” used universally (all the saved) is always used in the singular.
• “Churches,” plural, refers to a number of local churches, the groups of called out ones in various areas. For example when Paul wrote, “... the churches of Christ salute you” (Rom. 16:16).
• “Church” is applied to the gathering or assembly of God’s people (1 Cor 14:19).
• “Church” denotes those followers who have connected together and have the full development as far as organization is concerned (Acts 14:23).
• The local church, when fully organized has elders and deacons (Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim 3:1-13).
I’ve been noticing people’s use of the word “church” recently. I’m aware that although the definition of a word determines its usage in language, the reverse can also be true: the contextual usage of a word can actually influence and change its meaning.
Annette (my wife) was driving with Kate (8) and Thomas (4) in the back seat of the car recently. Thomas had his teddy (Fred) and Fred was eating everything they drove past. “Fred is eating the tree,” “Fred is eating the car,” “Fred is eating the church” to which Kate spoke up and said, “That’s not the church, the church is people, not a building.”
“Church” is used 115 times in the Greek New Testament, however, it never refers to the building in which the church meets. Yet, our use of the word “church” can lead us to this conclusion. I hear people saying things like, “we’re going to church,” “we’re having a working bee at the church,” “the board meeting will be at the church.” While I understand that what most people mean is “the building where the church meets,” it subtly draws us away from the true meaning of the church as the people of God, (followers of Jesus) gathering to encourage and serve each other and then going out to share and demonstrate the Gospel.
I also hear people saying, “after church let’s go out to lunch” or “I like some quiet reflection time before church starts” this use of “church” focuses on the gathering of people or “the service.” Although the gathering of God’s people is vital, it is only one aspect of being the church and in my view is secondary to the going purpose. We gather to encourage each other, serve each other, learn from each other, recommit ourselves to each other, be accountable to each other, worship God together and pray for each other so that each person can be better equipped to live out their faith as they go out to their various homes, workplaces, schools and communities.
I asked my class at Kingsley College last year the following question: If there are two groups of 20 people and one is a church and one is not, what makes the church a church?
We summarised the list to the following: The church is
• Committed to following Jesus Christ in faith and action
• Committed to serving each other and building each other up using their gifts
• Committed to being accountable to each other and to grow in love for God and others
• Committed to gathering regularly and sharing in worship and relationship
• Committed to share in mission together and be witnesses of the Gospel message in all areas of their lives.
Michael Frost asks a similar question in his book Exiles . He asks “when is a bunch actually a church?” He proposes the following four requirements: Trinitarian Theology, Covenantal Expression, Catholic Orientation, and Missional Intent.
In the Church of England report, Mission Shaped Church, they summarise the five values of the church as: 1) focused on God the trinity, 2) incarnational, 3) transformational, 4) disciple making and 5) relational .
Our usage of the word “church” ought to be as a verb. That is we do church and be the church, rather than as a noun, we go to church (meeting) or we clean the church (building).
My observation is that churches can easily become preoccupied with the noun definitions of church. Time and energy is consumed on buildings (or raising money for buildings) or on the gathering (service) to the point that no time or energy is left for the primary purpose of the church which is living missionally in our communities with the support and accountability of the church.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Lentil as Anything
Tonight (or more correctly - this afternoon) Mimos gathered at Lentil as Anything in Abbottsford. Lentil as Anything is a restaurant that serves organic, vegetarian meals in a homely and relaxing environment. The unique aspect of Lentil as Anything is that there are no prices on the menu. As their website quotes, "We embody a philosophy that challenges and defies our money driven consumerist society. Our philosophy of "no set prices" is a social experiment that encourages people to have an internal conversation with their conscience and their own ethics. You choose what you feel is an appropriate amount to pay for the food and service provided." So after you've finished the meal you put whatever you consider the meal and the experience to be worth in a box on the counter.
There were about 20 of us who gathered for an early dinner. We couldn't do a large group discussion but we chatted with the people around us and caught up with what each of us had been doing since we last gathered together.
There were about 20 of us who gathered for an early dinner. We couldn't do a large group discussion but we chatted with the people around us and caught up with what each of us had been doing since we last gathered together.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
FORGE - Dangerous Stories 2 Summit
As Mike Forst said - what an uncreative title - Dangerous Stories 2 - couldn't they come up with an original name for the sequel.
Regardless of the name, it was a great weekend of networking with other missional church people and hearing their stories - hence Dangerous stories.
Brian McLaren and Wolfgang Simson were the international speakers and we had a host of home grown talent in Mike Frost, Alan Hirsch, and Daryl Gardner (NZ). There were a squillion workshops and electives for the 600 odd people to attend.
I was challenged by Wolfgang Simson's reports of massive church planting in Egypt, India, Myanmar and other parts of the developing world.
I was also interested to explore further the issues of hyperreality and the consumer culture we live in and how the church has bought into this mindset.
Idea Ripple have DVD's, CD's and MP3's of the summit - well worth a look. I've ordered a complete set of MP3's for the Kingsley library - so for you Kingsley students you'll be able to borrow these when they arrive.
Regardless of the name, it was a great weekend of networking with other missional church people and hearing their stories - hence Dangerous stories.
Brian McLaren and Wolfgang Simson were the international speakers and we had a host of home grown talent in Mike Frost, Alan Hirsch, and Daryl Gardner (NZ). There were a squillion workshops and electives for the 600 odd people to attend.
I was challenged by Wolfgang Simson's reports of massive church planting in Egypt, India, Myanmar and other parts of the developing world.
I was also interested to explore further the issues of hyperreality and the consumer culture we live in and how the church has bought into this mindset.
Idea Ripple have DVD's, CD's and MP3's of the summit - well worth a look. I've ordered a complete set of MP3's for the Kingsley library - so for you Kingsley students you'll be able to borrow these when they arrive.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Staying Missional
Starting a new church is hard at the best of times - starting a new type of church that looks a bit different to the norm is even harder. We've been confronted with some extra challenges at Mimos lately that has caused us to re-establish our purpose. Towards the end of 2006 we lost a third of our group who moved away from Melbourne. The Harrisons (our founding pastor - Ruth) moved to Thailand, Alicia moved back to Cairns, and Chris and Liz Logan moved back to the USA. Our second challenge was that we were notified that our regular meeting place - The Stolberg Beer Cafe - was not going to be opening Sundays anymore.
Annette (my lovely wife), who has taken on the responsibility of leading and coordinating the church, has been great at calling us back to our original vision. In a recent email she said
We need to strategically consider what we are doing in our own neighbourhood and encourage each other in this and keep each other accountable to the people God has placed on our heart. When we gather as the wider Network we will be spending more time hearing what God is doing and praying for each other. Let me share a quote from 'Organic Church' (Neil Cole) - "Every Christian is a church planter and every home is a church...This is a whole new way of seeing Christ's church and it is happening today all across the Western world. I believe it is a contagious movement that will connect with many people who are disengaged with the old conventional church but seeking Christ. We must take Christ into people's lives, and it must be in the context of relationships." I'd love to consider that each of our homes is a church ready to bring the truth of Christ to those seeking Him.
We met on Sunday at Bundoora Park initially and then moved to McDonalds because it was so hot (37C) and reconfirmed our committment to be primarily missional - that is each person and/or family focusing on building relationships and being Christ in their own neighborhoods/work places/schools etc and that we will gather together as a network on alternate weeks for accountability, teaching, worship, sharing, prayer and to refocus our mission. Our prayer is still that we would "Be imitators of God, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us (Ephesians 5:1-2)
Annette (my lovely wife), who has taken on the responsibility of leading and coordinating the church, has been great at calling us back to our original vision. In a recent email she said
We need to strategically consider what we are doing in our own neighbourhood and encourage each other in this and keep each other accountable to the people God has placed on our heart. When we gather as the wider Network we will be spending more time hearing what God is doing and praying for each other. Let me share a quote from 'Organic Church' (Neil Cole) - "Every Christian is a church planter and every home is a church...This is a whole new way of seeing Christ's church and it is happening today all across the Western world. I believe it is a contagious movement that will connect with many people who are disengaged with the old conventional church but seeking Christ. We must take Christ into people's lives, and it must be in the context of relationships." I'd love to consider that each of our homes is a church ready to bring the truth of Christ to those seeking Him.
We met on Sunday at Bundoora Park initially and then moved to McDonalds because it was so hot (37C) and reconfirmed our committment to be primarily missional - that is each person and/or family focusing on building relationships and being Christ in their own neighborhoods/work places/schools etc and that we will gather together as a network on alternate weeks for accountability, teaching, worship, sharing, prayer and to refocus our mission. Our prayer is still that we would "Be imitators of God, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us (Ephesians 5:1-2)
Monday, December 11, 2006
Simply Church
I've recently finished reading Simply Church by Tony and Felicity Dale who are part of House2House ministries. It's only a small book (around 100 pages) and a fairly easy read. Tony and Felicity have been involved in church planting and house church movements since the late sixties and have gathered their insights into this book.
A quote from pages 84-85 - "There is no question in our minds that God's intention is for the church to have a structure that enables each person to develop their full potential ... One of the consequences of this is that we have always had an emphasis on small groups. Small is beautiful! In the small group there is the potential for every person to tkae an active part in a meeting ... Does this means there is no place for the large gathering? Absolutely not! Big is beautiful too. There is nothing more inspiring than a large celebration of hunderds, if not thousands of people all worshipping the Lord together. We see in the early church the disciples not only met together from house to house but also in the temple. We know that the apostles taught not just in people's homes, but also in the larger context of the temple courtyard, the synagogue and the hired hall. Some may ask, with this emphasis on the small group, what becomes of the kids? Too often the children are kept out of church meetings as being the "church of tomorrow," when actually they are the church of today. In our experience, the kids play a vital part, particularly in any times of worship. The kids will frequently start a song, or pray for those needing prayer, when they are allowed to participate. We have often seen their contribution bring the Spirit of the Lord directly into a meeting in such a way as to totally change the course of that meeting. The Holy Spirit is no respecter of persons - not by age or gender."
Mimos Missional Church
My family and I have been part of a new church in Melbourne since the start of 2006. Mimos (which is Greek for imitate) seeks to be followers of Christ supporting each other in living out Christ's love in our communities. We come from all parts of Melbourne and meet together at a central location - the Stolberg Beer Cafe in Preston - twice a month. One of those meetings is a "service" where we gather for teaching, corporate worship, communion, prayer, and encouragement. The teaching is usually dialogical with discussion and application. We have a strong focus on scripture, prayer, involvement and accountability. We try to include a lot of tangible elements to our gathering times and although each of our services includes music we rarely have corporate singing. We are multigenerational and include the children as much as possible getting them to participate in discussion, reading, and prayer.
The other monthly gasthering is discussion based usually around one or more Scripture passages and includes intercessory prayer. Every time we meet as a larger group we have a meal together - this is intentional.
The alternate weeks we meet in our own neighborhoods (either with other Mimosers in our area or as family units) for worship. The weeks in our neighborhood have a missional focus either getting involved in community life or having a community family to your house.
We have intentionally minimised the amount of time we are together to place more emphasis on being incarnational in our local communities. New people will come into the group through the neighborhood meetings.
We want to support each other in being real followers of Christ seeking to honour him with our lives.
The other monthly gasthering is discussion based usually around one or more Scripture passages and includes intercessory prayer. Every time we meet as a larger group we have a meal together - this is intentional.
The alternate weeks we meet in our own neighborhoods (either with other Mimosers in our area or as family units) for worship. The weeks in our neighborhood have a missional focus either getting involved in community life or having a community family to your house.
We have intentionally minimised the amount of time we are together to place more emphasis on being incarnational in our local communities. New people will come into the group through the neighborhood meetings.
We want to support each other in being real followers of Christ seeking to honour him with our lives.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Why I Like Mimos
My whole family is involved together in our gathering times
We have been able to ask ourselves - what will our church look like if we are to be authentic followers of Jesus?
Our focus is on imitating Christ in every area of our life
We only meet twice a month as a whole church which gives each of us time to focus on our own immediate communities in the alternate weeks
We hear from each other every time we meet
Lots of people get to share from God's word
We eat together every time we meet
Our corporate worship is interactive and unpredictable
Mimos encourages involvement in community groups and recognises this as a valid form of worship
Our gatherings are informal and engaging
Mimos involves everyone according totheir gifts and passions
Our gatherings connect with our everyday relationship with God and are a culmination of our 24/7 worship as we live together as individuals, families and in our communities
There is an excitement with a new church
People are free to discover new and relevant ways of expressing their faith in God
We hold each other accountable for our faith journey
We have been able to ask ourselves - what will our church look like if we are to be authentic followers of Jesus?
Our focus is on imitating Christ in every area of our life
We only meet twice a month as a whole church which gives each of us time to focus on our own immediate communities in the alternate weeks
We hear from each other every time we meet
Lots of people get to share from God's word
We eat together every time we meet
Our corporate worship is interactive and unpredictable
Mimos encourages involvement in community groups and recognises this as a valid form of worship
Our gatherings are informal and engaging
Mimos involves everyone according totheir gifts and passions
Our gatherings connect with our everyday relationship with God and are a culmination of our 24/7 worship as we live together as individuals, families and in our communities
There is an excitement with a new church
People are free to discover new and relevant ways of expressing their faith in God
We hold each other accountable for our faith journey
Sunday, October 22, 2006
John Smith at Philip Island
Last weekend our family went to Philip Island for the Wesleyan Methodist Church Southern District Conference. This is the annual gathering of Wesleyans in the Southern states. We had the usual business sessions to hear reports and elect boards, committees and directors for the following year but it is also a family camp that included children’s and youth activities. The guest speaker this year was John Smith (of God’s Squad fame). John gave two messages that challenged and provoked in his inimitable prophetic style. His general topic for the weekend was “Real Holiness” – living the way God intended us to live. He talked about our call to personal and social holiness. He began one message with an illustration of a tree that got chopped down in his backyard and he and his wife argued about how old it was. John decided to count the rings on the tree to determine its age – and he won the argument! He then made the point that the tree is always sustained by the outer ring of bark and that if that outer ring is damaged (ringbarked) the tree will die. This is true for the church, if the current church dies the whole church dies. He also identified that the inner rings support the tree and that the tree would not actually be a tree without it’s history . He encouraged the emerging church movement to consider the support that the church of history has provided for it. I agree with him in criticising those who don’t see anything good in the church of the past 50, 100 or 1000 years. We have to learn from and appreciate our heritage. I’m mindful of this as we (Mimos) seek to be an authentic church for our time and culture. We have to reject those things that do not help us be a real expression of corporate faith while at the same time embracing those practices that have stood the test of time for the church.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Exiles
I've been travelling a lot lately - which is why there has been little action on the blog. Townsville (twice), Sydney (twice) and Brisbance in the past 3 weeks. Also I've had a week of intensive study on Research Methods for my DMin.
All the travel has given me lots of time to read.
Among the many books I've partially read is Exiles by Mike Frost. Just released in July it is Frosty's (i think I can call him that - I spoken with him twice) latest.
It includes a lot of stories and thoughts I've heard Mike speak of at conferences previously but it is well written and engaging. Heere is a quote from page 63 that particularly resopnated with me.
"If I'm busy several nights a week and all weekend with my church activities, how can I possibly develop a commitment to such frequent proximity? Our churches, under the guise of doing work for Christ, are inadvertently sucking us away from the very people that Jesus would want us to hang out with. . . Exiles have figured out that churches don't value people who won't turn up for every meeting, attend every event, and locate all their significant friendships within the congregation. They have decided to slip away from the ever-spiraling vortex of so-called Christian fellowship. It sucks you in, demanding everything of you, leaving you completely socially disconnected from your neighbours, your community. . . Exiles, having read the dangerous stories of Jesus, have decided that the best way to do the Lord's work is to follow him out into the third places in their community."
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Book Review - Emerging Churches - Gibbs and Bolger
Gibbs, Eddie and Ryan Bolger, Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005Emerging Churches is a follow on from Eddie Gibbs’ previous book called Church Next which was originally published in 2000 and republished in 2001 with additional information from Ian Coffey which added a UK perspective.
Emerging Churches has similarities to Chruch Next in the content it covers, however, the research methodology is markedly different. Gibbs recognised that he needed to engage face to face with Emerging church leaders across the world in order to define first hand the common characteristics of this movement. Ryan Bolger co-authored the book and used this research as part of his own doctoral studies.
Gibbs and Bolger limit their study to 50 communities in the US and UK and while recognising the existence of similar communities in Australia, New Zealand and continental Europe, they cite a lack of budget (p. 8) for excluding them from the study.
I hope that current doctoral research being undertaken by Darren Cronshaw and the pending releases of Mike Frost’s Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian World, and Alan Hirsch’s The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church will give us an up to date picture of the emerging (or as most prefer down-under – missional) church in Australia.
Gibbs and Bolger’s intention is to describe what an emerging-missional church is rather than providing a critique of the methodologies or practices. However, they conclude most chapters by identifying the challenges that are presented by these approaches.
Gibbs and Bolger analyse the data collected over a five year period from interviews, forums, discussions, and case studies to identify common characteristics of the emerging church in the US and UK. Nine common practices are identified as “missionally significant” (p.9) and from my perspective they reflect accurately the identified pratices of emerging missional churches in Australia from my own experience. Three core practices are identified as being characteristic of all emerging groups: (1) Identifying with the life of Jesus, (2) transforming secular space, and (3) living as community.
The remaining six practices “are derivitave of these three core practices” (p. 43) and many are evident in each community: (4) Welcoming the stranger, (5) serving with generosity, (6) participating as producers, (7) creating as created beings, (8) leading as a body, and (9) taking part in spiritual activities.
Gibbs and Bolger offer a succinct definition of the emerging (missional) church as “communities that practice the way of Jesus within postmodern cultures (p. 44).” While this may be true of the current movement, I see it more as a new way of being the church that reaches into culture. (fullstop) and while postmodernity is the prevailing mindset of our culture, that may change and I believe the missional approach to being the church is an essentially Biblical approach that can be adapted to any changes in culture.
Overall, a very helpful read. It will be most suitable for those who want an overview of what the ‘so-called’ emerging or missional church is all about. The vast collection of first hand stories from people involved in emerging communities gives confidence in the thorough research that has produced this comprehensive assessment.
Monday, July 24, 2006
The Basics of the Church
Some years back, Annette and I were taking a couple through pre-marriage counselling. In one of our sessions we were talking about vows and I asked what they would like to do for their vows - i.e. did they want to use traditional wording, make their own personal vows etc. The groom-to-be then asked, "What is the minimum?" Obviously not the response I expected. We should be looking to ask - What would be most meanigful? What is our commitment all about?
Some people ask the same question of the church. Maybe people who are disenfranchised with traditional models of church will get together with a Christian friend over a coffee and say "we're the church!!" But is this the church??
This raises questions about the essential nature of the church. I've been tossing this question around for about 10 years (since I started pastoring) and it has been the topic of discussion at Mimos as well as we've tried to identify the essential characteristics of the church and remove those things that are purely cultural or hangovers from a previous era.
In preparing to teach Planting and Growing Healthy Churches at Kingsley this Semester I have re-read The Shaping of Things to Come by Mike Frost and Alan Hirsch.
They identify these three core aspects of the church
1. Communion (In Relationship with Christ)
God’s Word
Worship
Learning
Fellowship
Serving/Giving
Gospel telling/Sharing
They comment that, “many people accept church as it currently happens because they assume their local church service is somewhere prescribed in the pages of Holy Writ. As long as these three Cs are present and being maintained, any group of Christians can legitimately be considered a church in any place.”
The following questions are given to clarify their point:
Some people ask the same question of the church. Maybe people who are disenfranchised with traditional models of church will get together with a Christian friend over a coffee and say "we're the church!!" But is this the church??
This raises questions about the essential nature of the church. I've been tossing this question around for about 10 years (since I started pastoring) and it has been the topic of discussion at Mimos as well as we've tried to identify the essential characteristics of the church and remove those things that are purely cultural or hangovers from a previous era.
In preparing to teach Planting and Growing Healthy Churches at Kingsley this Semester I have re-read The Shaping of Things to Come by Mike Frost and Alan Hirsch.
They identify these three core aspects of the church1. Communion (In Relationship with Christ)
Worship
Learning
Fellowship
Serving/Giving
Gospel telling/Sharing
They comment that, “many people accept church as it currently happens because they assume their local church service is somewhere prescribed in the pages of Holy Writ. As long as these three Cs are present and being maintained, any group of Christians can legitimately be considered a church in any place.”
The following questions are given to clarify their point:
- Do you need to meet in a church building? Not necessarily.
- Do you need to meet weekly? Not necessarily. The first Christians met every day. A church can meet as often as it needs to fulfil the above commitments.
- Do you need a minister? No necessarily. The New Testament is clear on the need for accountability, admonishment, and learning. It does speak about leaders (elders) exercising humble and loving care for a community. But you don’t need an ordained minister for that.
- Do you need to sing hymns? Not necessarily. There is mention in the New Testament of the value of singing spiritual songs. But if the goal is that worship and learning occur when you meet, you can use as few (none?) or as many songs as you need.
- Does someone have to bring a sermon? Not necessarily. As long as people have an opportunity to hear from God through his Word and other means, it doesn’t matter if one person speaks for thirty minutes or thirty people speak for one minute each. Learning, worship, and the opportunity for God’s Word are essential. How they play out is entirely open to experimentation.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Church @ Home
The new missional church that our family is part of is called Mimos (which is Greek for imitate). We have been meeting together since February and have just finished 12 studies going through the book of Acts and identifying the missional nature of the church.
We are now transitioning into a new phase of Mimos. Up until this point we've all (around 35 adults and children) been meeting together each Sunday evening @ The Stolberg Beer Cafe in Preston to learn together, encourage each other, celebrate God and pray.
We are now going to start meeting twice a month in our own local communities (mostly houses). For some it will just be their family; others who live close enough will join together. Once a month we'll gather back at the Stolberg to worship, learn, and share in each other's lives. The fourth week we'll all gather at one of our local communities so we get to see where everyone lives, works and share's life with people. This way we can be better informed to pray for them and the people God is leading them to.
So, today we are having church @ home. We've done it a few times before. Annette and I and our the three kids will read God's word together, pray together and worship together.
Also this week the people of Mimos will be intentionally meeting with people in their communities to build friendships and have an opportunity to speak Christ into their lives.
We had a family from Thomas's kinder over for tea last night. It was great to spend time getting to know them and sharing our lives.
More on the nature of church in another post.
We are now transitioning into a new phase of Mimos. Up until this point we've all (around 35 adults and children) been meeting together each Sunday evening @ The Stolberg Beer Cafe in Preston to learn together, encourage each other, celebrate God and pray.
We are now going to start meeting twice a month in our own local communities (mostly houses). For some it will just be their family; others who live close enough will join together. Once a month we'll gather back at the Stolberg to worship, learn, and share in each other's lives. The fourth week we'll all gather at one of our local communities so we get to see where everyone lives, works and share's life with people. This way we can be better informed to pray for them and the people God is leading them to.
So, today we are having church @ home. We've done it a few times before. Annette and I and our the three kids will read God's word together, pray together and worship together.
Also this week the people of Mimos will be intentionally meeting with people in their communities to build friendships and have an opportunity to speak Christ into their lives.
We had a family from Thomas's kinder over for tea last night. It was great to spend time getting to know them and sharing our lives.
More on the nature of church in another post.
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