I’ve joined 30 Vineyard worship leaders and influencers in another Essentials Blue course for the next 5 weeks. It’s exciting to see this group gather, from 8 different countries, all carrying the same DNA of the Vineyard movement.

If you are interested in tracking with some of their blogs, you can find them here

Already there’s a sense that we’re going to mine some gold with this group.

Nic Gee, has done a great post this week on liminal spaces which we attempt to provide as we lead others into worship.

Nic’s thoughts sent me off in a totally new direction as I made a connection with liminality found in Alan Hirsch’s book The Forgotten Ways. Alan has written expansively relating to the rites of passage in African people groups to the massive adaptive challenge the Western church is currently experiencing.

(I don’t want to get off on a tangent, but to come to grips with these primal shifts in community dynamics, anthropologist Victor Turner’s ideas of liminality and communitas are particularly useful. The study has linked liminality with communitas – where a community encounters God and one another in a new way.  It involves adventure and movement, and it describes that unique experience of togetherness that only really happens among a group of people on a dangerous journey to unfamiliar places.)

As I consider the teaching Dan Wilt includes in the Essentials Blue course regarding liminal (‘threshold’) spaces, I’m exploring this dynamic of liminality further, as perhaps there is a strong thread connected to what happens to a community of faith, when they touch these God-initiated liminal spaces.

I am off to seek more understanding about this. If you are reading this, and can point me along the way of discovery, let me know!

Other sources:

1. A.J.Roxburgh, the Missionary Congregration, Leadership and Liminality, 1997, p 61

2. Victor Turner, The Ritual Process (1969) and Passages, Margins and Poverty: Religious symbols of communitas, Part 1 Worship 46, 1972

We are all called to share the good news of the gospel, but some are more gifted at it than others. I'm not talking about Billy Graham or anything; just ordinary regular people. I'm fairly decent at making and keeping friends. I enjoy people. I delight in relating with people. But I have never "closed" the deal in sharing the gospel. I know that isn't a great choice of words, "closed", but I don't mean it in a small sense. I don't mean someone saying the "sinner" prayer and going on their merry way. I mean the light of recognition going off in someone when they realize that the gospel story is true and that they must join in continuing that story. They are compelled by the love of God for them so that they desire to know God and partake in the redemption of the whole cosmos!

I've never had that happen to me.

And I've been semi-ok with that.

But now, I have completely new vision. Now I know what has been missing in my story of sharing the good news of Jesus. I need to know who the closers are in my circles! Once relationships are formed we include the closers into the mix and let them do there work. As I'm writing this, I'm regretting my choice of the word closer, because I think people will read that and think of marketing or the show with Kyra Sedgewick! It sounds crass and I don't mean it that way. I mean it in a wonderful way. Maybe I should call them Openers! They open the door to the kingdom like no one else can. Yes that is better. Alan Hirsh just calls them evangelists--like the Bible does. Maybe I shouldn't mess with a good thing.

So by evangelists I'm not talking about people who PUSH and DON'T LISTEN. We all need to listen and understand and dialog and respect people! These are people who are sensitive, loving, empathetic, non-pushy and that can share the story of God with us in such a way that others want to join in living life with Jesus.

Think of it: you live in community and form relationships. You then connect those in your community that are pre-believers with the Openers (!) and watch the magic happen! I love it. No pressure. God does the work using those God has gifted.

This is the other idea that really stood out for me from the book: Person of Peace article.  More comments later (maybe).

Ever pass a church sign while driving that made you go, "huh?" Check out these.

On the more serious side, check out Rick Warren's interview with Christianity Today magazine on, among other things, why he no longer will wear Hawaiian shirts.

Finally, here's the link to Alan Hirsch's current "reading list." Now that you've seen his, what about yours? Write back here and let me know what you've been reading lately and what you think of it.

Remember, look for the "Sunday Starter" here tomorrow...

1. What has the reaction to your book Pagan Christianity by you and George Barna been like so far?

To our encouragement, it’s been incredibly positive. Since the book was released in January (seven months ago), I’ve received over 10,000 emails from readers. I’d say that 95% of them have been extremely positive about the book. This includes pastors, some of whom claim that their lives have been changed by it. You can read a sampling of some of these emails on my blog.

The interest in the book hasn’t waned much either. When it hit #11 on Amazon.com, we were stunned. The seven month average has been around #500. We are very thankful to the Lord for the response. It’s been amazing to be honest. Something we didn’t expect. Especially given that this is such a controversial book.

2. Although your teachings tend to be generally well-received among those in the house church segment of Christianity, there is one teaching that remains rather controversial among them -- that of the need of the specially trained house church planter. Although this pattern can be clearly seen in the NT, wasn't the necessity of the house church planter due to the fact that Christianity was new to the world? Does not today's society, particularly in the West, with its abundant number of Christians and access to Christian resources, negate the need for a specially trained house church planter? Doesn't your claim that there are only a small number of well-trained house church planters in the world today create a clergy/laity class, where there are an elite class who are equipped to do the ministry and others who cannot?

I don’t think this subject is as controversial today as it may have been in the past. The idea that the apostolic ministry (i.e., church planting/equipping) is viewed as a valuable gift in the body of Christ in our time is held by most of the influential voices who are writing and speaking on the subject today. Some examples are Wolfgang Simpson, Jon Zens, Alan Hirsch, John White, Tony & Felicity Dale, Tony Fitzgerald, Neil Cole, Lance Ford, and influential writers like Robert Banks and Watchman Nee. I realize that there are those who believe that the apostolic ministry faded out with the close of the NT canon, but I don't hold to that concept. And I don’t know many people who do.

To my mind, the objection you state in your question rests on a false assumption. Namely, that the only thing apostolic workers (church planters) do is bring people to Christ. They do a whole lot more than that.

For example, one of the main characteristics of apostolic ministry is to "equip the saints" to function as a community of believers that meets under the headship of Jesus Christ corporately (Eph. 4:11, etc.). The last twenty years of meeting with organic churches leads me to believe that this ministry is just as valuable today as it was in the first century.

Forming living stones into a building, equipping the saints to function under Christ, to know Him deeply, and to express Him corporately is very much needed today. According to the mail I receive, many house churches (and “missional” churches for that matter) have little community life and many are not centered on Christ. Many of them do not know His headship in their gatherings.

Neither I, nor the people I have listed above, view church planters as being any sort of "clergy" class. The same is true for evangelists, teachers, prophets or any other gift in the body. None are part of a "clergy" class. The New Testament doesn't teach a clergy/laity dichotomy; it instead teaches that within the one body there are many different ministries and gifts. And all of them are valuable.

In Pagan Christianity, George Barna and I are very vocal against the clergy/laity dichotomy. Unfortunately, almost 200 years ago, some Christians created a doctrine that made "the five-fold ministry" (as they called it) a new kind of clergy. That doctrine is still with us today, unfortunately. I've critiqued it elsewhere in detail (see Rethinking the Fivefold Ministry).

Paul warned the Corinthians about the danger of one part of the body saying to another "we have no need of you." So refusing any ministry or gift that God has set in the body is a mistake that we make to our own loss. By the same token, I'm probably one of the strongest critics of a sectarian and elitist attitude. Consequently, if a person purports to be a church planter or an apostle and they believe that only their work is “the real deal,” and they have no interest in what others are doing for the Kingdom of God, then my advice is to head for the door. Such an attitude reveals egomania (if not psychosis). It doesn't have the marks of the cross of Christ upon it nor does it have any points of contact with reality.

In short, I believe in apostolic ministry today for three reasons: 1) it's a consistent pattern throughout the New Testament and an ongoing ministry of the body of Christ, 2) it’s in the DNA of the church and it will organically emerge from it if churches are planted properly, and 3) my experience and observation over the last twenty years testifies to its helpfulness.

I've written on this subject in some detail in an article entitled, Finding Organic Church.

The first part of the article seeks to bridge the gap between those who teach that an organic church is as simple as baking a cake and anyone can do it versus those of us who say that it requires a bit more than that for it to be healthy and sustained. Based on the feedback I’ve gotten so far, this article has brought a great deal of common thinking and unity on this issue. 

Having said that, there is no panacea for keeping organic church life pure. And there are plenty of self-proclaimed apostles who are fixated on their own importance and who are sectarian and elitist. But this doesn’t take away from the fact that apostolic ministry – when it’s functioning as it should – is certainly a help, as are all the ministries in the body of Christ (see 1 Cor. 12:1ff.)

As I've said in another place, Christians should be cognizant of their need for apostolic ministry, generous in their support of apostolic workers, yet cautious of those claiming to have apostolic status.

3. In your study of church history, have you encountered groups of people, whether considered Christians or heretics, who also recognized the Jewish and pagan origins of church traditions, thus renouncing them as do many house churches today? Can you tell us of such groups and their impact on Christianity?

Yes, the work of Watchman Nee in China is, to my mind, the most recent example that comes to mind. One of his disciples, Stephen Kaung, has had a profound influence on my life and ministry.

In the beginning, the work of God under Nee was very pure. God used it to contribute a great deal to the body of Christ. Nee’s books have added greatly to the body of Christ today. For those of us who are holding the torch outside the institutional church system, Watchman Nee is one of the men whose shoulders we humbly stand on.

4. What is your opinion of the following church traditions embraced by many Christians: Christmas, liturgy, and the church calendar?

If a tradition doesn't violate the organic nature of the church, if it doesn't subvert the headship of Jesus, and if it doesn't suppress the functioning of the Body of Christ, then in my opinion it can be used for God's glory. I stand with Paul: Let every person judge within themselves.

5. One reviewer of your book (Pagan Christianity) on Amazon states, "What is dangerous about this work is that it states clearly that it is restoring the Christian church back to its first century moorings, which it then seeks to revolve almost totally, if the reader follows their reasoning, almost completely on 1 Corinthians 14:26, that this be not centered around one person, but all participate with Biblical teaching, hymn leading, etc. In this same Scriptural text they exhibit poor exegetical skills by concluding that everyone ministers when assembling together (ecclesia) however this text denies women to speak in these assemblies. This is but one example of inaccurate Biblical exegesis (which they exhibit none of in this work, other than reference Viola's other writings) but do the proof-texting in the footnotes which they seriously deride their opponents of." What would be your response to these statements?

This touches one of the frustrations that authors face. It's impossible to cover every single objection in a single book for the simple reason that the book would be too long for any publisher to print or any reader to abide :-) That means that in any book, publishers and authors must decide what goes in the book and what stays out. Those who have carefully read "Pagan Christianity" know that it's the first book in a series. So it never pretends to answer every objection or fully develop every point.

For that reason, some of my and George’s other works are referenced when we couldn’t fully develop a thought in a particular chapter. We wanted readers to know where they could go to see where we developed them. (I learned to do this from N.T. Wright and F.F. Bruce by the way.)

That said, I address the whole question of women speaking in the church at www.ptmin.org/role.pdf

6. It is a common claim that the early Christians avoided building churches due to rampant persecution as well as the poverty of most early Christians. What does history does us about the accuracy of such a claim?

History shows that it's a common myth. I address this very point in detail in my new book Reimagining Church. How’s that for referencing other works? J

7. Many of your critics accuse Pagan Christianity of lacking scholarly merit and you of twisting scholarly works out of context to suit your own agenda. What is your response to these accusations? Have any well-known and well-respected scholars endorsed the accuracy of your presentation of the early Christian church in Pagan Christianity?

To the first question: That accusation sounds an awful lot like, "The authors wrote this because they were hurt by some pastor and are now sucking on bitter lemons." It's sweeping conjecture without substance. The obvious question that I and other readers would have is: "how exactly does it lack scholarly merit and where specifically do George and I twist a scholarly work?”

It’s my understanding that only a few people have made this conjecture; but in every case, another scholar who is supportive of the book has refuted it.

To the second question, yes, the book has been endorsed by reputed New Testament scholars, historians, and authors as well as church practitioners.

8. Can you tell us a little about the sequel, Remagining Church, which just came out.

I think that Leonard Sweet put it best when he described it as a “theology of church as organism rather than as institution.” The book takes the Trinity as the model for the church, and then seeks to present a compelling picture of what first-century church life was like, and how it can operate with the same freedom, vibrancy, and spiritual reality today.

I’ve been working on this book for nearly twelve years. I wrote it so that God’s people can understand what a church that comports with NT principles can look like in our day. I also wrote it to hand to those who ask me and others like me, “So why do you meet without a pastor, without a religious building, and without fixed rituals?” and “So if you don’t have a pastor, who is your covering?”

This book addresses these questions are more. Your readers can read some sample chapters and endorsements at www.ReimaginingChurch.org

9. Since the description of the early church in the NT was not prescriptive for us today, why do you feel Christians today should not have the liberty to deviate from their example? Are not we not free today to conduct our churches today however we'd like?

I would challenge the statement "the early church wasn't at all prescriptive." I’d ask: What basis does one have for saying this? To me, that's like saying the earthly life of Jesus is not prescriptive but only descriptive.

I believe that some of what we read about the church has prescriptive force while some of it doesn't. And one can distinguish between the two by reading the teachings of Jesus and the apostles.

In "Reimagining Church," I address this very question in great detail. The arguments are built on the teachings of Jesus and the apostles as well as the nature of God Himself.

10. George Barna joined with you in this reprinting of Pagan Christianity by Tyndale House. What interests do Barna and Tyndale have in promoting this book?

Barna is a church reformer who wants to see God's will established now and in the future. Your readers can hear him talk passionately about this at www.ptmin.org/barna_viola.mp3 and www.ptmin.org/barna_viola2.mp3

Tyndale felt the message of the book was important enough to publish so that Christians would hear and interact with it. I'd say that our interest is the recovery of God's will for His church. And that is something that touches every Christian.

11. Wayne Jacobsen, an author widely read and admired by many house church adherents, is not a necessarily a fan of house churches over other types of churches. He points out that just because we follow the example of the apostles by modeling our church structure on theirs doesn't mean we will experience the life they shared or that imitating the fruit will bring fruit. He believes that the life of Christ precedes the church, that the life must be present and that life will naturally result in a local assembly of Christians. What is your response to Jacobsen's stance? How should this viewpoint affect church planting efforts, if it should affect them at all?

Those who have read all of my work and have heard me speak know that I'm not a proponent of "house church" per say. In fact, I delivered a message in last year's National House Church Conference where I shared many of my concerns with the modern house church movement. I've also made the statement that if I had to choose between some house churches and some institutional churches, I'd run toward the institutional church with break-neck speed! :-)

I'm also not a proponent of what I call "the biblical blueprint" approach to church, which you seem to be speaking of here. Biblical blueprintism is the idea that says that all we must do is find the correct "pattern" of meeting in the New Testament, mimic it, and presto, we'll have the church. I personally believe that this is a flawed approach.

At the same time, I believe that the idea of a phantom, nebulous church also misses the mark. This is the notion of church that says that if you and I have coffee at Starbucks, we just had “church.” To my mind, not only is this concept of church unscriptural, but if we peel it back to its core, it is rooted in the desire to have relationships without commitment.

The NT notion of the local church is a visible, locatable, visit-able, touchable, seeable, authentic, face-to-face community in a local area that meets together regularly, takes care of one another consistently, and shares its life together.

Anything less is not a local ekklesia in the NT sense of the word. Virtually every NT scholar would agree with me here.

When it comes to this thing called the church, my heart beats in one direction. My passion is the Lord Jesus Christ -- His Lordship, His centrality, His headship, His supremacy, His all-sufficiency, His reality. I only speak on the church as it's incidental to knowing Him, loving Him, and expressing Him in the earth with others, according to God's eternal purpose. The church flows out of Christ, just as Eve came out of Adam. She is a part of Him.

To my mind, church planting (i.e., apostolic ministry or Christian "work") -- whatever you wish to call it -- is simply the presentation of the Lord Jesus Christ spiritually and practically to a group of people, whether non-Christians or Christians. By presenting Christ spiritually, I mean presenting Jesus Christ in life and in depth. (In my observation, we don't hear Christ presented like this too often in our time. I didn't for many years while I was a Christian.)

When Christ is presented in life and depth, our breath is taken away and we fall in love with Him and with one another. By presenting Christ practically, I mean people are given practical handles on how to know this incredible Christ individually and corporately -- in reality and in depth. When Christ is presented in this way, the church -- real, authentic, life-changing organic church life -- issues out of that.

Organic church life can happen spontaneously without any direct preaching, if people encounter the living Christ together. But it typically doesn't last long. When I was in college, I touched a spontaneous burst of church life. But it died pretty quickly. (I also touched organic church life spontaneously later on. But that's another story.)

Those who are called to apostolic ministry have a two-fold responsibility, I believe. One is to keep foreign elements out that would seek to choke the life of a church. The other is to breathe new life into a believing community once its spiritual life gets low. If you study the ministry of Paul carefully, you'll find that he consistently did this with the churches he worked with. To put it in a few sentences:

If we preach Christ to a group of people, but they aren't given practical handles on how to know Him corporately, we won't get the experience of the church.

If we preach the church, we'll get a man-made movement and lots of divisions afterwards.

If we preach that we're the only ones preaching Christ correctly, we'll end up with an elitist sect that lives in its own self-enclosed universe.

If we preach Christ spiritually and practically and exhibit Him in our attitudes, we'll get the church - living, breathing, and centered on Jesus.

July 2008 by Wendy Scoggins

Check out the new landing page created by Michael Tummillo

We discussed false prophets/success and idolatry in class last night.

"We still have so much to learn, so much to do, and so far to go, but we are confident that God is 'on the move..." -Kirsten Strand, Community 4:12

In our last post, we looked at the way one church is learning to build bridges between their safe, sacred spaces on Sunday and the hurting secular world throughout the rest of the week. And even though they have much to do and far to go, they are a wonderful example of this Missional Resurgence that's not only rebuilding hope in communities, but much needed trust in the church as well.

Element #1: Jesus at the Center

In his book The Forgotten Ways, Alan Hirsch ponders the power behind resurgence:

"Imagine there was a power that lies hidden at the very heart of God's people. Suppose this power was built into the initiating 'stem cell' of the church by the Holy Spirit but was somehow buried and lost through centuries of neglect and disuse. Imagine that if rediscovered, this hidden power could unleash remarkable energies that could propel Christianity well into the twenty-second century-- a missional equivalent to unlocking the power of the atom"

Hirsch believes such a power exists and is a clearly identified phenomena that has energized history's most outstanding Jesus movements. Here's his graphic of the six foundational elements of this phenomena we call Missional Resurgence:

The central character of the New Testament is Jesus Christ. He must be at the center of any Missional Resurgence. Yet, according to Hirsch:

"...History amply demonstrates how we as God's people can so often obscure the centrality of Jesus in our experience of church. It is remarkable how Jesus can so easily be cast out from among his people. Have you ever wondered why in Revelation 3:20 Jesus is seen standing outside the church knocking at the door and asking to come in? How did he get out from among His people in the first place?!"

Though Hirsch's thoughts may be a bit unnerving, they are still hopeful. How do they hit you?

We'll be exploring the other five foundational elements from the graphic next.

Content from "The Forgotten Ways" by Al Hirsch

I'm still wading through material for my dissertation on missional church planting and today going back over Alan Hirsch's book, The Forgotten Ways, I was struck by how much the missional crew hinge on the pre/post Constantine distinction. Now I think it is a major issue in the history of the church and it is foundational to the way that the church of Christendom panned out over the following centuries up until the enlightenment. What I'm not thoroughly convinced on yet is exactly what the pre-constantine church looked like. Missional gurus tend to paint this era as being highly organic, non-institutionalized, simple or small church meetings, anti-building, no top-heavy leadership and on the fringe of society in general. Sounds fairly similar to the emerging church paradigm doesn't it - hence the obvious excitement for missional practitioners over these historical insights.

My question: Is that an accurate historical portrayal of the pre-constantine era? I guess I'm a little concerned that we become reductionistic about church before Constantine because it fits with our missional agenda and so we pick up on some distincitves from the era and gloss over others. Have I picked up all the organic/simple/non-institutional/fringe/decentralized distinctives in my reading from that era? Yes I have, but its also been a lot more messy than that at times. And so I wonder, just wonder, if we should perhaps refrain from making the pre-constantine era such a fundamental hinge to the contemporary argument and turn our focus rather to the biblical exegesis of missional life and practice? I don't want to devalue the lessons of history at all but or the brilliant insights of missional gurus like Alan Hirsch, but coming from a reformed, evangelical missional perspective, I would like to see them rooted more within the context of biblical exegesis. What do you think (history buffs and all)?

You have to read this post by Internet Monk: "God have mercy on the messenger."

Drew Goodmanson has a few posts and links to the recent Total Church North American Conference in: Session 1 - Steve Timmis

Session 2 - Steve Timmis.

Session 3 - Tim Chester

Alan Hirsch asks "Why Do Woman Live Longer than men?" Hilarious!

Church Planting Novice thinks about To Start or Not to Start a 2nd Service. He provides 3 great reasons why you ought to at least think twice.

I will give this a CP rating of 4.5/5 for any church planter who is going to engage an urban setting and would like a great handbook to help through the intial stages of the church planting process. I have been at it just under 3 years and I think this book could have really helped me in the initial stages.

My only critiques are two things. 1) Hirsch has to be the worst illustrator in the world. No he didn't draw cartoons, but he might as well have because I found his illustrations quite hilarious as he attempted to make points through graphs and diagrams (no offense Alan, but I laughed out loud). 2) Sometimes (and I mean very rarely) Alan got a little too smart. I have been reading this stuff for many years and loved all his thoughts but I think the new church planter might find it a little over the top.

At the end of the day Alan is real, honest and brilliant. Read this book and while your at it, read this review by my bud Nick at symbiosis who has many other very insightful things to say.

Amazon.com just got the book back in stock. So it’s available again.

(For those of you who don’t purchase books online, it’s also being carried by Family Christian Stores, Borders, and Barnes & Nobles.)

Here’s the story behind Reimagining.

I’ve been working on this book for the last 12 years. It seeks to answer the following questions:

*If the traditional church isn’t God’s best or the only alternative to church life, than what can and perhaps should stand in its place?

*What does an organic church look like in the 21^st century & is it possible?

*Does the Bible really give us enough information about church practice?

*How do you reconcile the arguments that you and George Barna made in Pagan Christianity with this verse and that verse? (The “this verse” or “that verse” will vary for each reader.)

* What about contexualization? What about “covering”? What about being under authority? What about submission and accountability? Etc.

In the words of some other authors:

“In Reimagining Church, Frank Viola is at the top of his game, showing a serene, soaring mastery of the theology of church as organism rather than organization.”
Leonard Sweet, author of Soul Tsunami, Soul Salsa, and 11

“Dissent is a gift to the Church. It is the imagination of the prophets that continually call us back to our identity as the peculiar people of God. May Viola’s words challenge us to become the change that we want to see in the Church ... and not to settle for anything less than God’s dream for Her.”
Shane Claiborne, author of The Irresistable Revolution, activist, and recovering sinner (thesimpleway.org)

“True to form, this book contains a thoroughly consistent critique of prevailing forms of church. However, in Reimagining Church, Frank Viola also presents a positive vision of what the church can become if we truly reembraced more organic, and less institutional, forms of church. This is a no holds barred prophetic vision for the church in the twenty-first Century.”
Alan Hirsch, author of The Forgotten Ways and The Shaping of Things To Come

As the constructive follow-up to Pagan Christianity, Reimagining Church seeks to paint a picture of what church can and (in my judgment and experience) should be. The book roots the spiritual principles of church life in the New Testament and in the nature of God Himself. It also contains real-life stories and practical examples from my 20 years of meeting with organic churches.

In addition, it addresses such issues as contextualization, spiritual authority, “covering”, leadership, accountability, as well as the current trends that have sought to reform the church. And in one chapter, every verse in the Bible that is commonly used to justify hierarchical leadership, a clergy, institutional leadership, etc. is addressed.

In short, the book is an attempt to present a readable but thorough theology of organic church life under a single cover.

In Jeremiah 1:10, we read: "I have this day set thee . . . to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant."

Pagan Christianity was never meant to be a book that stands alone. Rather, it is the first part of a fuller argument. To borrow language from Jeremiah, it's the part that seeks to "root out, pull down, destroy, and throw down." Reimagining Church is the second part of the argument, and it begins the process of "building and planting."

Sixteen years ago (1992), Christian Smith wrote an outstanding book entitled Going to the Root. For me, this was THE book to hand to people who wanted to understand a new paradigm for church. Sadly, this book is no longer in print. I may be stretching it here, but I'm hoping that Reimagining Church will replace the role of Going to the Root.

You see, since Smith's book went out of print, there's been somewhat of a vacuum. There's been a great need for a single volume to cover the waterfront of what organic church life looks like and how it's rooted solidly in the New Testament and in God Himself. While there have been many fine books written on the church over the years, to my knowledge, there really hasn't been one that covers the whole gamut and answers common objections.

This was my goal in writing Reimagining. I very well may have failed to pull it off, but I gave it my best shot.

Recently I was listening to a presentation by Alan Hirsch who shared a few things that caused me to reflect on what God is doing in our lives. One of the areas in which the Lord has directed us is to be a blessing and aware of the opportunities he brings to us on a daily basis. In Hirsch’s presentation he talked about what it means to be missional. Now that is not the same as having a missions emphasis or doing missions. It’s not even the same as having an active missions program in your church. It has to do with who you are, not what you do. Then what you do emerges from who you are as disciple of Jesus. In being missional he shared these three traits:

1. See God differently – as a missioning God. God is always doing mission – seeking and saving the lost, establishing His Kingdom in the lives, homes, cities and nations.

2. See the Church differently – as disciples called out to do the mission of God. We are to be imitators of God, therefore we are to be on the same mission as God. His mission is our mission. Instead of seeing the church as a recipient of God’s benefits, or a gathering of worshipers, our focus should be to be more like him, a missioning people.

3. See People differently – as people created in the image of God waiting to meet their King. Humanity is not the enemy of God nor the Church, but a people whom Christ died for, even while they were sinners. So we see them with that potential, wanting to be a part of their lives and serving them, loving them, and forgiving them until they come to know Jesus and are transformed by his grace and power into citizens of the Kingdom of God.

This is where the Lord has us, learning to see God as He really is, to see His Church as she really is and to see our neighbor, humanity as it really is. About 2 years ago the Lord had us move to a neighborhood in Portsmouth, Virginia to begin to be a light to that community. Not in the way you would normally do it in a church evangelistic campaign or program, but to integrate our lives with the lives of our neighbors. That is one of the characteristics of being missional – being in proximity of the world we are called to reach. I had spent so many years being isolated from the world, almost living in “spiritual bubble” surrounded by Christians. Now we are attempting to live near those who are in need of Jesus. To be honest this is more difficult than we had imagined since our lives have been so segregated from those whom Jesus has called us to serve.

As we live in among, and serve our neighbors, we desire to do three things that will make a difference:

· Mirror Jesus – imitate Christ. But to do this we must know Him because the Gospel IS Jesus. Our level of intimacy with Jesus has become a priority. Not in the normal “let’s go to a worship service” intimacy, but a moment by moment conversation with our Lord so that we will see what He is doing, and then do what He does.

· Depend on Jesus’ power and not our own. What I mean is, instead of flaunting success or material wealth to the point of depicting a people who can do anything they wanted, we strive at being a people dependent on God’s power. This is another shift in our thinking that is taking some effort. In the past the Church has presented herself as having wealth, power and all the material strength she needs to build, buy all she needs. I always felt this was to show the prosperity of the Lord, but in reality it shows an arrogant and prideful heart. God forgive us and help us to present humility and be a people who are powerless so that only the power of Christ will shine. It should be our goal that our flesh or efforts will not take any glory.

· Proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom. That is why we are here. As we truly develop friendships and become a part of our neighbors lives we can then speak the truth of the gospel to them not as hired preachers, or guilt manipulated door to door sales types, but out of the experience of being among them as friends. That way we can not only share our lives, but make disciples. Jesus never said go and make converts, or go and plant churches, he said go and make disciples. This means we become a part of people’s lives in a genuine way, and proclaim truth and life.

I share these things to encourage you to look around and see the opportunities the Lord has made for you to make disciples. It is refreshing and liberating to know that you don’t have to go off to some school somewhere, become a member of the clergy, spend hours in seminars and trainings, but merely get to know Christ more and more, live in proximity of the world we are called to reach and be that Jesus you have gotten to know where you live. Don’t try to impress others by your wealth, your knowledge or your religion; but remain meek and humble in the image of Christ and not in the image of religion. Then your opportunities to tell others about Christ will be genuine and effective.

One of the house churches in our area has done just that by becoming friends with some Asian Muslim refugees. They are teaching them English, how to live in the USA and become close friends with several of these families. They are certainly misplaced and in need of a friend. Maybe there are some folks like that near you that you can serve.

Frost and Hirsch are proposing that the way that we have done church for the past 1500 years, is not going to work in our current post-Christendom era.  They then go to give examples of new ways that people are trying to reach their communities.  Including a church planter who started a shoe store in hopes of one day starting a church with the people who are buying shoes from the store.  Or coffee shops that provide a place for forum's where people can build community and discuss ideas.  (That's what the nextchapter.com was doing in La Conner).

Frost and Hirsch also talked about the different types of leaders that will be necessary to keep the church moving forward in this new era.  The Christendom model of church was attractional and assumed that people should come to us for all things religious.  But the New Testament model of Church was Go Out with the Gospel.  The types of leaders that thrived in Christendom were the pastor/teachers.  Frost and Hirsch advocate that we start to build churches around the Apostle/Prophet/Evangelist/Pastor/Teacher model.

It would be unwise to say that the church doesn't need to change.  And Frost and Hirsch provide a lot of great ideas for how the church could change.  I would recommend this for anyone contemplating a church plant.  It might give you some great ideas on what your church could be instead of doing the same old thing.

I think this was a very helpful book, and I started reading it before I knew that it would be one of my texts for school.  So Yippee, I got this one done and out of the way.

If you enjoy this post, you might also enjoy this one on "Books on New Monasticism".

To read reviews of some of these books from around the web, check here.

In Alphabetical order by the last name of the primary author:

1. Ray S. Anderson, An Emergent Theology for Emerging Churches (InterVarsity Press, 2006).
2. George Barna, Revolution (Tyndale House Publishers, 2006).
3. Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith (Zondervan, 2005).
4. Rob Bell and Don Golden, Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile (Zondervan, 2008).
5. Don Brandt and Ron Sider, Inheriting the Earth: Poor Communities and Environmental Renewal (WorldVision, 2004).
6. Kester Brewin, Signs of Emergence: A Vision for Church That Is Always Organic/Networked/Decentraliz (BAKER BOOK HOUSE, 2007).
7. Warren Brown, Nancey Murphy, and H. Newton Malony, Whatever Happened to the Soul? Scientific and Theological Portraits of Human Nature (Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1998).
8. Spencer Burke, Making Sense of Church: Eavesdropping on Emerging Conversations About God, Community, and Culture (Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2003).
9. Tony Campolo, Red Letter Christians: A Citizen's Guide to Faith and Politics (Regal Books, 2008).
10. D. A. Carson, Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications (Zondervan, 2005).
11. Bruxy Cavey, The End of Religion: Encountering the Subversive Spirituality of Jesus (NavPress Publishing Group, 2007).
12. Steve Chalke and Alan Mann, The Lost Message of Jesus (Zondervan, 2004).
13. Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical (Zondervan, 2006). (Reviews)
14. Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw, Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals (Zondervan, 2008). (Reviews)
15. Clarke E. Cochran et al., Church, State and Public Justice: Five Views (IVP Academic, 2007).
16. Neil Cole, Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens (Jossey-Bass, 2005).
17. Tim Conder, The Church in Transition: The Journey of Existing Churches into the Emerging Culture (Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2006).
18. Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be (Moody Publishers, 2008).
19. William T. Ditewig, The Emerging Diaconate: Servant Leaders in a Servant Church (Paulist Press, 2007).
20. Dennis M. Doyle, The Church Emerging from Vatican II: A Popular Approach to Contemporary Catholicism (Twenty-Third Publications, 1992).
21. Mark Driscoll, Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church, Revised. (Zondervan, 2006).
22. Mark Driscoll et al., Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches: Five Perspectives (Zondervan, 2007).
23. Nathan C. P. Frambach, Emerging Ministry: Being Church Today (Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2007).
24. Michael Frost, Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture (Hendrickson Publishers, 2006).
25. Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21 Century Church (Hendrickson Publishers, 2003).
26. Becky Garrison, Rising from the Ashes: Rethinking Church (Seabury Books, 2007).
27. Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger, Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures (Baker Academic, 2005). (Reviews)
28. Stanley J. Grenz, A Primer on Postmodernism (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996).
29. Stanley J. Grenz, Created for Community: Connecting Christian Belief with Christian Living, 2nd ed. (Baker Academic, 1998).
30. Stanley J. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000).
31. Stanley J. Grenz, The Moral Quest: Foundations of Christian Ethics (InterVarsity Press, 2000).
32. Stanley J. Grenz, The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei (Westminster John Knox Press, 2001).
33. Stanley J. Grenz and John R. Franke, Beyond Foundationalism: Shaping Theology in a Postmodern Context (Westminster John Knox Press, 2001).
34. Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community (Jossey-Bass, 2008).
35. Stanley Hauerwas, Unleashing the Scripture: Freeing the Bible from Captivity to America (Abingdon Press, 1993).
36. Stanley Hauerwas, The Peaceable Kingdom, 2nd ed. (SCM Press, 2003).
37. Stanley Hauerwas and Romand Coles, Christianity, Democracy, and the Radical Ordinary: Conversations Between a Radical Democrat and a Christian (Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2007).
38. Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon, Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony, 1st ed. (Abingdon Press, 1989).
39. Jim Henderson, Matt Casper, and George Barna, Jim and Casper Go to Church: Frank Conversation about Faith, Churches, and Well-Meaning Christians (BarnaBooks, 2007).
40. Alan Hirsch, Forgotten Ways, The: Reactivating the Missional Church (Brazos Press, 2007).
41. George R. Hunsberger and Craig Van Gelder, The Church Between Gospel and Culture: The Emerging Mission in North America (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996).
42. Wayne Jacobsen and Dave Coleman, So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore (Windblown Media, 2006).
43. Tony Jones, Postmodern Youth Ministry (Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2001).
44. Tony Jones, The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life (Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2005).
45. Tony Jones, Divine Intervention: Encountering God Through the Ancient Practice of Lectio Divina (Th1nk Books, 2006).
46. Tony Jones, The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier (Jossey-Bass, 2008).
47. Tim Keel, Intuitive Leadership: Embracing a Paradigm of Narrative, Metaphor, and Chaos (Baker Books, 2007).
48. Dan Kimball, The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generations (Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2003). (Reviews)
49. Dan Kimball, They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations (Zondervan, 2007).
50. Dan Kimball, David Crowder, and Sally Morgenthaler, Emerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations (Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2004).
51. B Larson and R Osbourne, The Emerging Church (London: Word Books, 1970).
52. Christopher Stephen Lutz, Tradition in the Ethics of Alasdair MacIntyre (Lexington Books, 2004).
53. Alasdair Macintyre, Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry: Encyclopaedia, Genealogy, and Tradition (University of Notre Dame Press, 1991).
54. Alasdair C. MacIntyre, Whose Justice? Which Rationality? (University of Notre Dame Press, 1989).
55. Alasdair MacIntyre, Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues (Open Court, 2001).
56. Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, Third Edition, 3rd ed. (University of Notre Dame Press, 2007).
57. Brian D. McLaren, A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey, 1st ed. (Jossey-Bass, 2001).
58. Brian D. McLaren, Church on the Other Side, The, Exp&ed. (Zondervan, 2003). (Reviews)
59. Brian D. McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I Am a Missional, Evangelical, Post/Protestant, Liberal/Conservative, Mystical/Poetic, Biblical, Charismatic/Contemplative, Fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Green, Incarnational, Depressed-yet-Hopeful, Emergent, Unfinished CHRISTIAN (Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2004).
60. Brian McLaren, Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope (Thomas Nelson, 2007). (Reviews)
61. Brian McLaren, Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices (Thomas Nelson, 2008). (Reviews)
62. Carol Howard Merritt, Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation (The Alban Institute, 2007).
63. Donald Miller, Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance (Harvest House Pub, 2000).
64. Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality (Thomas Nelson, 2003).
65. Donald Miller, Searching for God Knows What (Thomas Nelson, 2004).
66. Donald Miller, Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road (Thomas Nelson, 2005).
67. Nancey Murphy, Beyond Liberalism and Fundamentalism: How Modern and Postmodern Philosophy Set the Theological Agenda (Trinity Press International, 1996).
68. Nancey Murphy, Anglo-American Postmodernity: Philosophical Perspectives on Science, Religion, and Ethics (Westview Press, 1997).
69. Nancey C. Murphy, Reasoning and Rhetoric in Religion (Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2001).
70. Nancey C. Murphy and George Francis Rayner Ellis, On the Moral Nature of the Universe: Theology, Cosmology & Ethics (Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1996).
71. Nancey C. Murphy, Stanley Hauerwas, and Mark Nation, Theology Without Foundations: Religious Practice and the Future of Theological Truth (Abingdon Pr, 1994).
72. Nancey Murphy, Brad J. Kallenberg, and Mark Thiessen Nation, Virtues & Practices in the Christian Tradition: Christian Ethics After Macintyre (University of Notre Dame Press, 2003).
73. Joseph R. Myers, Organic Community: Creating a Place Where People Naturally Connect (Baker Books, 2007).
74. Roger Oakland, The Emerging Church, DVD (Understand the Times, 2005).
75. Roger Oakland, Faith Undone: The Emerging Church a New Reformation or an Endtime Deception (Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2007).
76. Doug Pagitt, Reimagining Spiritual Formation: A Week in the Life of an Experimental Church (Zondervan, 2004).
77. Doug Pagitt, Preaching Re-Imagined: The Role of the Sermon in Communities of Faith (Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2005).
78. Doug Pagitt, Church Re-Imagined: The Spiritual Formation of People in Communities of Faith (Zondervan, 2005).
79. Doug Pagitt, A Christianity Worth Believing: Hope-filled, Open-armed, Alive-and-well Faith for the Left Out, Left Behind, and Let Down in us All (Jossey-Bass, 2008).
80. Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones, Emergent Manifesto of Hope, An (Baker Books, 2007).
81. Doug Pagitt and Kathryn Prill, BodyPrayer: The Posture of Intimacy with God (WaterBrook Press, 2005).
82. Fred Peatross, Tradition, Opinion, and Truth: The Emerging Church of Christ (Writers Club Press, 2000).
83. Steve Rabey, In Search of Authentic Faith: How Emerging Generations Are Transforming the Church, 1st ed. (WaterBrook Press, 2001).
84. Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger, Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples (B&H Publishing Group, 2006).
85. Arne Rasmusson, The Church As Polis: From Political Theology to Theological Politics As Exemplified by Jurgen Moltmann and Stanley Hauerwas (University of Notre Dame Press, 1996).
86. Peter Rollins, How (Not) to Speak of God (Paraclete Press (MA), 2006).
87. Peter Rollins, The Fidelity of Betrayal: Towards a Church Beyond Belief (Paraclete Press (MA), 2008).
88. Bruce Sanguin, The Emerging Church: A Model for Change & a Map of Renewal (Copperhouse, 2008). (Reviews)
89. Mark Scandrette, Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus (Jossey-Bass, 2008).
90. Donald Schmidt, Emerging Word: A Creation Spirituality Lectionary: Scripture Readings and Commentary for the Church Year (iUniverse, Inc., 2006).
91. F. LeRon Shults, The Postfoundationalist Task of Theology (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999).
92. Ronald J. Sider, Good News and Good Works: A Theology for the Whole Gospel (Baker Books, 1999).
93. Ronald J. Sider, Doing Evangelism Jesus' Way: How Christians Demonstrate the Good News (Evangel Publishing House, 2003).
94. Ronald J. Sider, Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience, The: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World? (Baker Books, 2005).
95. Ronald J. Sider, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity (Thomas Nelson, 2005).
96. Ronald J. Sider, Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America, 2nd ed. (Baker Books, 2007).
97. Ronald J. Sider, Scandal of Evangelical Politics, The: Why Are Christians Missing the Chance to Really Change the World? (Baker Books, 2008).
98. Ronald J. Sider, I Am Not a Social Activist: Making Jesus the Agenda (Herald Pr, 2008).
99. Ronald J. Sider, Philip N. Olson, and Heidi Rolland Unruh, Churches That Make a Difference: Reaching Your Community with Good News and Good Works (Baker Books, 2002).
100. Tom Sine, The Mustard Seed Conspiracy: You Can Make A Difference In Tomorrow's Troubled World (Marc, 1972).
101. Tom Sine, Mustard Seed Conspiracy (W Pub Group, 1981).
102. Tom Sine, Taking Discipleship Seriously: A Radical Biblical Approach (Judson Press, 1985).
103. Tom Sine, Cease Fire: Searching for Sanity in America's Culture Wars (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996).
104. Tom Sine, Mustard Seed vs. McWorld: Reinventing Life and Faith for the Future (Baker Books, 1999).
105. Tom Sine, The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time (IVP Books, 2008). (Reviews) (Another Review)
106. Leonard Sweet et al., Church in Emerging Culture: Five Perspectives (Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2003).
107. Steve Taylor, The Out of Bounds Church?: Learning to Create a Community of Faith in a Culture of Change (Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2005).
108. Phyllis Tickle, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why (Baker Books, 2008).
109. Heidi Rolland Unruh and Ronald J. Sider, Saving Souls, Serving Society: Understanding the Faith Factor in Church-Based Social Ministry (Oxford University Press, USA, 2005).
110. Jim Wallis, Faith Works: How to Live Your Beliefs and Ignite Positive Social Change (Random House, 2005).
111. Jim Wallis, God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It (HarperOne, 2006).
112. Jim Wallis, The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America, 1st ed. (HarperOne, 2008).
113. Jim Wallis et al., The Revolution: A Field Manual for Changing Your World (Relevant Books, 2006).
114. Pete Ward, Liquid Church (Hendrickson Publishers, 2002).
115. Jim L. Wilson, Future Church: Ministry In A Post-seeker Age (B&H Publishing Group, 2004).
116. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Free To Be Bound: Church Beyond the Color Line (NavPress Publishing Group, 2008).
117. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, New Monasticism: What It Has to Say to Today's Church (Brazos Press, 2008).
118. N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church (HarperOne, 2008).

Ok folks, thanks for your on and off list suggestions. I have revised the list. It is now a bit longer. Perhaps we should think about which books can be culled from the list. Which ones don't actually make that strong of a contribution? I'll start to add some commentary on the books through links on the titles. Thanks again.

Some of the basic ideas include:

-The initial stages of structure are to exist 'solely to support the grassroots'

- Institutionalization happens when Local church outsource to the centralized body, this may be discipleship, training, education, power and authority.

-Institutions begin to have a life of their own, often neglecting the mission of the institution when it was  initially set up.

-Examples of China where the church is basically a network structure.

The conclusion is basically that  network structure is better....

'...network structure, where power and responsibility is diffused throughout the organisation and not concentrated at the center, that more approximates our real nature and calling as the Body of Christ'

 

Some thoughts....

It is interesting to read this in reflection of my past experiences of church institutions. The anglican church is very institutionalized. Training colleges when I checked them out in the late 90's didn't seem to reflect churches where I was going. It was 'you live on campus', no part time options where you could intergrate church life with study. 

The Vineyard in Australia doesn't appear that institutionalized, though it is pointing towards that direction. A College is been set up in WA.  There is no formal requirements to go there in the Vineyard.

I can see that it is quite different church growth in China where there is perseccution compared to in Australia. In Australia its just wise no matter how small you are to get insurance, pay royalties to music artists, have a bank account in your groups name. This maybe the start of institutionalization, but it is a necessity. While in China I presume if you do anything like this your cover is blown!

I suppose you have to be pretty tight in you're understanding and practice -'Supporting the grassroots'. But I think this is right. You need no more than three things  which describes what you are setting up then sticking to it. I will have to try to get my hands on the Australian Vineyards Constitution to see if such a description exists.

Links to Alans articles :Institutions 1, Intstitutions 2.

Many are approaching change organically, adding a dose of purpose and intentionality within natural systems.  For example, working through neighborhoods, coffee shop connections, facebook groups, hobby activities, etc... 

The bottom line is that Organics view friendship as the core commidity of change.  Find places where friendship happens naturally and you've found a place where change will happen naturally.

The best sources on organic change I've been exposed to include Neil Cole, author of Organic Church, Alan Hirsch, who is currently doing a series on Organics through his blog, and Joesph Myers, author of Search to Belong and Organic Community.  Myers' latest book has been my recent study topic, so stay tuned for highlights and thoughts to ponder from his book throughout this week.

One man Zinoviev, who at one stage, just after Leninns death was in the running to rule Russia. Stalin won that race and ruled by blood and fear. Evently after a show trial Stalin had Zinoviev killed. After the murder Stalin had the guards come over to is dacha to reenact the event. Zinoviev's last words were.

"Hear, O Israel"

It amazed me that one of the original Bolsheviks of the revolution would go back to their childhood faith.

Alan Hirsch writes about the Shema Yisrael, Hear, O Israel

And into this context comes the shema…

“Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one. Love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Dt.6:4-9 NIV)

The declaration in this religious context has direct and far reaching implications: What this meant to the person/s coming under this claim is that no longer could there be different gods for the different spheres of life, a god of the temple, another god of politics, a different god for fertility in the field, and yet another for the river, etc. But rather that Yahweh is the ONE God who rules over every aspect of life and the world. Yahweh is Lord of home, field, politics, work, etc. and the religious task was to honor this ONE God in and through all aspects of life. For “…for from him and through him and to him are all things.” (Rom. 11:35.)

 

In 1988 Zinoviev was cleared of all charges by the Soviet Government during perestroika. I pray that Zinoviev's last prayer was answered.

Hirsch's writing style can be a bit technical (I personally enjoyed it a lot), but the stuff is amazing.  The book is about what he has termed the Apostolic Genius.  It's what made the New Testament church such an explosive movement.  It's what made every Jesus movement so explosive (including the underground Chinese church).  He explores each aspect of the Apostolic Genius--the Lordship of Jesus, disciple making, missional-incarnational impulse, apostolic environment, organic systems, and communitas (not community)--and shows what it can and should look like.  When these things are present, the church (in whatever form or "model") thrives and spreads like a virus.

Hirsch also, unapologetically, writes about the demise of the Western church due to consumerism, which has shaped a massive majority of churches into nothing more than providers of spiritual goods and services.  He does (and rightly so) hold out great hope for the church in the West.  It will take much work, prayer, sweat, and risk, but there is hope for revival.

While every aspect of the book captivated me and spurred me to much thought, the chapter on communitas really got me thinking.  It seems as if the early church (and other great Jesus movements) was always in a state of what Hirsch calls liminality--a situation of marginalization and danger.  This lead the early believers to really live what they believed and get on mission--communitas:  I for the community, and the community for the world.  It's really got me thinking about how our church can become more on target with God's mission.

A great book, a must read (even if it angers you... which it just might if you've been a Christian for a long time... and it definitely will if you're a consumer Christian who cares about your wants and needs over those of everyone else).

There are really two primary sources for learning more about the Missional Church movement.  First, there are missiologists and theologians, employed at seminaries, who have been calling the church to a more faithful witness.  Leslie Newbigin is the grandfather of the Missional Church.  Darrell Guder and George Hunsberger are some of the current leading missiologist.  Secondly, there are practicioners of the Missional Church, those who have created communities that reflect the values of the Missional Church.  The problem is that these communities are subversive, understated, and are not based on consumer values.  The goal of growth looks like planting, planting, and planting rather than small, mid-size, and mega.  Therefore, they are unknown beyond the community.  Ever heard of Chris Seay?  Yeah, he leads a growing tribe of new believing, postmodern, outward focused, artsy, everyday missionaries in Houston.  Most of the church has no idea.

There are a few notable exceptions to this.  Alan Hirsch is an Australian pastor.  His work has been some of the more practical treatments for those who are interested.  His book, The Forgotten Ways, has changed many people's understandings of the who the church is to be.

One of the foundational issues in the missional church is how we are to engage the culture.  Andy Crouch is one of the missiologists that I talked about earlier.  I have added a video of him unpacking the church's uncorfortable relationship with culture.  I hope it's as revelatory, affirming, and encouraging for you as it has been for me.

i have a tendency to get fixated on things from time to time, which probably feeds into my functional OCD (never been diagnosed by the way).

alan hirsch has effectively summarized and synthesized the scientific concept of "chaos theory"... how it's significant, and what it means for the church. he mentioned it briefly in the forgotten ways, (which is a must-read; click here to read the first two chapters), and elaborated on it further last week when i had the opportunity to talk with him. i am so convinced of it's significance (especially in the organization and functionality of the church) that i am going to focus (errr "fixate") on it in my doctoral dissertation.

without breaking it down for everyone just yet, (to avoid leading you), i am curious if anyone out there knows much about it, and is aware of any great resources that focus on chaos, adaptive leadership, emergence, etc. i am clearly fixated on it right now, and the only way to get my "fix" is to study the living daylights out of it. please let me know, and i'll somehow return the favor (possibly with some literary recommendations of my own).

furthering the invisible...

"We find the phase actually now singularly unhelpful. We are tending to drop it ourselves, or when we use it, [its] with [the word] missional attached to it. That is what we are more on about, like the church becoming a missionary agency and thinking like missionaries in our own context."

When I first became aware of the entire Emerging Church movement I was extremely excited and quickly learnt that there was a difference between Emerging (which is a wider movement) and Emergent (which is a narrower movement with whom some of its practitioners I would differ quite strongly theologically on certain issues) and enjoyed discussing the relative merits and weaknesses of both.

But now I have become tired of the entire discussion. What I enjoyed about the Emerging/Emergent movement in the first place was that side issues were less important like baptism, the gifts of the Spirit, church government etc. When I was younger (and freshly out of Bible college) I loved to debate these kind of issues and the fine nuances of theology and semantics but soon it grew tired. Of what value is it really whether you are paedo-baptist, episcopal or secessionist when there is a dying world that needs to hear about and experience the gospel(ok - it does have some value but not the pride of position we normally give this kind of debate). It was this focus that first attracted me to the whole movement.

But it feels like now as the movement is becoming more legit, with conferences, books, recognised leaders and churches it is also becoming more concerned with defining what it is and it not (i.e. emerging rather than emergent). This ground feels familiar and quite frankly not somewhere I am in the mood to go over again.

So I agree with Alan Hirsch here - I have had enough of Emergent/Emerging terminology and would prefer to simply prefer to talk about Missional Church. As it keeps the two most important things at the centre - Mission (the gospel) and the church (community - the best hermeneutic for the gospel is the local church!). Also it is devoid for now of terminological baggage that needs to be deconstructed, justified or explained and I have grown weary of this kind of theological debate.

So I prefer to speak about missional church... Well that is until that becomes a technical term itself...

Traditional churches rely heavily upon their buildings. Churches without buildings, like Wheatland, often want to be in buildings and sometimes feel a sense of inadequacy or illegitimacy until they have a place to call their own. Unfortunately, churches end up abandoning what some have described as third places because they own and operate their own facilities. A building is not an end unto itself and every church which owns a building would agree. However, indirectly and unintentionally the building (tail) wags the church (dog). The resources required for building ownership, in both human and financial capital, demand attention and focus that can, and often does, inhibit missional engagement.

Hirsch encourages the idea of small missional communities meeting in third places such as coffee shops, restaurants, and bars. A third place is a place of social interaction where relationships can develop and meaningful conversation entered with little risk. Having such gatherings drives missional minded people to think long and hard about the deepest necessities required for Christian community. Taking the party, of which we are a part, into the house of people who are outside of the church is not a new gimmick but a reclaimed expression of the early church.* In fact, Jesus' incarnation is the greatest expression of missional endeavor. Jesus brought God's presence (the "party") into the house (the lives of his hearers) of those who were far from participating in the life of God.

I am encouraged that Wheatland has done some of this. We often invades third places with missional purpose. Paul Riley, with some help from Brad Moser, helped launch our theology pub that meets at River City Brewery. For over a year relationships have been formed and blessing exchanged with some of the employees. This is an example of the party moving from one house into another. It brings to mind Eugene Peterson's translation of John 1:14:

The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.

Here is a challenge I take from Hirsch and from much of the "missional" reading and reflecting I have done over the last few years. The structures of the church, while important, must remain subservient to the mission of the church. Hirsch makes the point this way in The Forgotten Ways:

Christology determines missiology which determines ecclesiology.

While it seems so simple and so obvious I, along with many others, have made the mistake of shaping the church around patterns and models that seem familiar to me rather than allowing my understanding and commitment to Christ and his practices to establish (or re-establish) what the purpose or mission of the church is. It is important for us to always go back to the basic principles of the missio Dei. God has sent his Son, in a missionary capacity, to redeem, renew and recreate the world. Inhabiting third places, finding ways to bless our neighbors, and recognizing the presence of God's Kingdom in this world are important disciplines for those who want to participate in the missio Dei, God's work in the world.

The mission of God coincides with the Kingdom of God. Let's think about how we can participate in God's Kingdom in small, seemingly inconsequential, ways. When we do I can't help but think we may be fulfilling what Matthew 13:33 says:

He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."

Third places and neighborhoods, kitchens and dining room tables, breakrooms and bars, ballfields and schools are the plane on which we all find ourselves living and moving within the Kingdom.

This idea of "taking the party into their house" come from Andrew Jones and a talk he gave at Soularize many years ago. He is an uber-blogger. You can find him at: tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com