Ht Start the Week. A bit black and white, but it's hard to be critical of something which puts things so simply. Which church most resembles yours?
Showing posts with label emerging church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label emerging church. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
2 minute intro to 'Missional Church'
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Living in Medium Tension
John Coles writes in the latest New Wine e-newsletter:
Starting from the edges
...a (new) movement must live in medium tension with the surrounding culture. If the tension is too high then the movement will only attract social misfits – if it is too low it will not attract anyone who wants to be changed or wants to be different from society’s norms or from religious norms.
It also appears that most radically effective missionary movements start from the edges rather than the centre of historic denominations. This is probably because the centre of most institutions is more interested in self-preservation than in change and development.
When God baptizes a person or a church in a fresh way with his Spirit they will probably need to work out how to live in medium tension with the mother church. If not they will spin off and may be effective amongst a new group altogether but not succeed in bringing fresh life to the mother church. In contrast if they don’t live in any sort of tension with the mother church they will probably revert and be conformed again to the old way of doing things.
makes a lot of sense to me, very helpful.
Starting from the edges
...a (new) movement must live in medium tension with the surrounding culture. If the tension is too high then the movement will only attract social misfits – if it is too low it will not attract anyone who wants to be changed or wants to be different from society’s norms or from religious norms.
It also appears that most radically effective missionary movements start from the edges rather than the centre of historic denominations. This is probably because the centre of most institutions is more interested in self-preservation than in change and development.
When God baptizes a person or a church in a fresh way with his Spirit they will probably need to work out how to live in medium tension with the mother church. If not they will spin off and may be effective amongst a new group altogether but not succeed in bringing fresh life to the mother church. In contrast if they don’t live in any sort of tension with the mother church they will probably revert and be conformed again to the old way of doing things.
makes a lot of sense to me, very helpful.
Monday, August 17, 2009
7 whole ways not 1 in 7
Steve Taylor writes about a visit to an organic community, and compares it to our normal models of church. Fascinating:
Here is what Heronswood offered:
1. A space: a historic house and established gardens, around which one could wander, free of charge, absorbing the peace, or pay a small entry fee to wander another part of the garden.
2. A cafe: selling a range of food, a real try before you buy experience of new vegetables and imaginative possibilities.
3. A demonstration garden: ln which new vegetable varieties were grown, stretching the imagination, offering possibilities. Tied to this was a demonstration plot showing “the size of garden needed to feed 3 people for a year.” It was quite stunning to realise how little a space of land was required to grow vegetables.
4. Which was tied to “product” in the form of plants, seeds and books. You could buy those new possibilites you see in the garden. You could purchase the seed pack required to start your own garden. Lots of resources were targeted at beginners, both books and hands on starter kits.
5. Regular workshops were offered, in how to plant, compost, harvest. A chance for relationships, a chance for those who might not get books, but might learn by hands on practice.
6. A festival, twice a year, offered a chance to celebration.
7. A committed core, the diggers club (what a great name) in the form of a membership group.
What would it mean to stimulate our thinking by placing ecclesial life and mission alongside this type of multi-faceted place, the hands on experimentation, the one-off workshops, the festivals, the demonstration plots, offering a wide variety of ways to access?
Most churches offer a church service, which is essentially targeted at (7) the committed core, the members, those inside the community. If they get missional, they run (2) a cafe or a variety of community facing programmes. But it pales into insignificance alongside workshops, festivals, product, demonstrations, space and core.
Read it all here. Ht Prodigal Kiwi(s) (again)
To be fair a lot of older churches offer '1', though for only a limited amount of time as the building is normally locked.
Here is what Heronswood offered:
1. A space: a historic house and established gardens, around which one could wander, free of charge, absorbing the peace, or pay a small entry fee to wander another part of the garden.
2. A cafe: selling a range of food, a real try before you buy experience of new vegetables and imaginative possibilities.
3. A demonstration garden: ln which new vegetable varieties were grown, stretching the imagination, offering possibilities. Tied to this was a demonstration plot showing “the size of garden needed to feed 3 people for a year.” It was quite stunning to realise how little a space of land was required to grow vegetables.
4. Which was tied to “product” in the form of plants, seeds and books. You could buy those new possibilites you see in the garden. You could purchase the seed pack required to start your own garden. Lots of resources were targeted at beginners, both books and hands on starter kits.
5. Regular workshops were offered, in how to plant, compost, harvest. A chance for relationships, a chance for those who might not get books, but might learn by hands on practice.
6. A festival, twice a year, offered a chance to celebration.
7. A committed core, the diggers club (what a great name) in the form of a membership group.
What would it mean to stimulate our thinking by placing ecclesial life and mission alongside this type of multi-faceted place, the hands on experimentation, the one-off workshops, the festivals, the demonstration plots, offering a wide variety of ways to access?
Most churches offer a church service, which is essentially targeted at (7) the committed core, the members, those inside the community. If they get missional, they run (2) a cafe or a variety of community facing programmes. But it pales into insignificance alongside workshops, festivals, product, demonstrations, space and core.
Read it all here. Ht Prodigal Kiwi(s) (again)
To be fair a lot of older churches offer '1', though for only a limited amount of time as the building is normally locked.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Blast from the Past: The Shaping of Things to Come
More stuff from 'The Shaping of things to Come' by Hirsch and Frost
"When we speak of our virtues we are competitors, when we confess our sins we become brothers" (Karl Barth)
"In contrast with today, when so much of our Christianity is about being with the right people in the right places at the right time, Jesus was always in the wrong places, with the wrong people, at the wrong times. "
"None of the creeds get to talk at all on right living, the very topic the Bible itself cannot seem to talk enough about."
"Christians have often disputed as to whether what leads the Chrisitan home is good actions of faith in Christ...it does seem to me like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most necessary. A serious moral effort is the only thing that will bring you to the point where you throw in the towel. Faith in Christ is the only thing to save you from despair at that point: and out of the Faith in Him good actions must inevitably come. " (CS Lewis)
And in a great section on reconciling the activist and the reflective prayerful type:
"A life of action, movement, energy and striving is the best place for the reflective practices of meditation, prayer and reflection."
"We shape our tools and then our tools shape us (an insight from Marshall McCluhan). We invented the sermon (actually we borrowed the technique from the Greek and Roman philosophers) and then it reinvented us. We have become totally reliant on it. See what happens if you decide not to preach in church next Sunday. "
...and you can apply the same to buildings , (we shape our bulidings, then our buildings shape us), worship songs, theological training, parishes, liturgy, etc.
"One of our friends says that if he could be the same person in three places, he would have acieved holiness. The challenge is to be the same person at church, at work, and at home."
cartoon from the man at cartoon church . It has nothing to do with the quotes (or does it?) but I like it.
originally posted November '06
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Free Booklets on church planting and emerging church
Over at the Church Army, ‘Encounters on the Edge’ have just had a clearout of back copies. I therefore have 10 copies each of over 30 titles, which are free to give away for local churches to use, study and reflect on, so if you're fairly local, do get in touch. If you'd like a batch of your own, they may still have some back copies spare (and if not they may send you a pdf, which is nice), but you need to be a subcriber: £15 a year for 4 books.
Each is about 24 pages long, and combines research, the story of a particular new church, and theological reflection. Here are the ones sitting in a box in my study:
Each is about 24 pages long, and combines research, the story of a particular new church, and theological reflection. Here are the ones sitting in a box in my study:
- Community and youth
- Unit 8: a forgotten estate
- cell planting
- youth congregations
- what is church
- community engagement
- network churches
- multiple congregations
- what kind of leadership do new churches need?
- Church planting by a ‘graft’ of extra members
- midweek church
- alternative worship
- the church in exile
- Eden Project, Manchester
- Holy Trinity Bromptons church planting
- Catholic Fresh expressions
- church for addicts
- tough estates
- network churches
- cell church alongside congregations
- youth congregation
- Mission Shaped Church
- New housing areas
- Church in the workplace
- church for artists
- ecology and community
- rural fresh expressions
- rural cell church
- new monasticism
- mission and discernment
- church for under-5s
- simpler church
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Tribal Generation gathering, Yeovil 13th December
one of the most bizarre and exciting gatherings I have ever been to where 5000 people from across South America gathered to worship God and learn more about how to reach their generation and their cultural group.I encountered men and women of God reaching out to Goths, hell’s angels, heavy metal, emos, transsexuals, prostitutes, homeless and drug addicts. It was truly inspiring and humbling to hear the stories of transformation and hope, and it was exciting to see how churches were being planted in these cultures.
The Tribal Generation is a movement to equip the planting of new churches, which focus on reaching the emerging generation. We are arranging a Tribal Generation meeting in the UK and we are inviting you to join with us and share your visions for this generation
More information here, Tall Skinny Kiwi is going. And it's free. Yeovil, centre of the universe!
The Tribal Generation is a movement to equip the planting of new churches, which focus on reaching the emerging generation. We are arranging a Tribal Generation meeting in the UK and we are inviting you to join with us and share your visions for this generation
More information here, Tall Skinny Kiwi is going. And it's free. Yeovil, centre of the universe!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Mission blogs
recently found mission blogs, well worth a look.
Tim Chester, especially like his recent post on Communities of Grace vs Commuities of Performance. Tim is based in Sheffield (hooray!) and is involved in a 'household church' there, part of a creative missional church network called 'The Crowded House'. "Like conservatives we emphasis the centrality and sufficiency of the gospel word. Like emerging church we emphasis the importance of the gospel community". His site's also worth a visit for a good collection of articles on mission, church, spirituality and theology.
Kouya Chronicle, based at Wycliffe Bible Translators
David Couchman at Facing the Challenge, which is a fascinating site - anyone used their courses? Good collection of articles on culture, and Biblical reliability. First stumbled across when looking for details of the BBC's 'soul of Britain' survey, done a few years back to explore British attitudes to spiritual issues.
JR Woodwards primer on missional church: Ht to the last 2 blogs above, absolutely superb post bringing together a library of internet links on mission and missional church. Sections include:
- defining the missional church
- book reviews
- theology of mission
- recent history
- ecumenical mission statements
- mission practice
- mission blogs
- mission resources
- mission studies.
Obviously its impossible to keep on top of all of this stuff, and you'd need a couple of weeks study leave to browse all the links, but he's done an excellent job of pulling all this together.
Tim Chester, especially like his recent post on Communities of Grace vs Commuities of Performance. Tim is based in Sheffield (hooray!) and is involved in a 'household church' there, part of a creative missional church network called 'The Crowded House'. "Like conservatives we emphasis the centrality and sufficiency of the gospel word. Like emerging church we emphasis the importance of the gospel community". His site's also worth a visit for a good collection of articles on mission, church, spirituality and theology.
Kouya Chronicle, based at Wycliffe Bible Translators
David Couchman at Facing the Challenge, which is a fascinating site - anyone used their courses? Good collection of articles on culture, and Biblical reliability. First stumbled across when looking for details of the BBC's 'soul of Britain' survey, done a few years back to explore British attitudes to spiritual issues.
JR Woodwards primer on missional church: Ht to the last 2 blogs above, absolutely superb post bringing together a library of internet links on mission and missional church. Sections include:
- defining the missional church
- book reviews
- theology of mission
- recent history
- ecumenical mission statements
- mission practice
- mission blogs
- mission resources
- mission studies.
Obviously its impossible to keep on top of all of this stuff, and you'd need a couple of weeks study leave to browse all the links, but he's done an excellent job of pulling all this together.
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