Pagan Christianity January 14, 2008

Frank Viola and George Barna have partnered up to write a book called Pagan Christianity (The title itself is a critque of church as we know it.)

When George Barna’s research causes him to question the very shape that the church has taken, questioning the need for buildings that get used for a few hours a week, questioning the programs and staffing arrangements that have become standard operating procedure, when the church growth movement, the rise of the mega church, contemporary worship, none of that has stemmed the steady decline in participation in church as we know it, that’s got to give us pause.

We’re in an exhilerating and frightening age when NOBODY really has a handle on what’s next for the church. We increasingly know that church as it has come to be practiced is pretty much uninteresting and unsustainable.

For some of what Viola and Barna have to say, here’s a gigantic quote from the book:

“WE ARE LIVING IN THE MIDST of a silent revolution of faith. Millions of Christians throughout the world are leaving the old, accepted ways of “doing church” for even older

more to come January 12, 2008

I’ve been a bad blogger lately. I’m hoping to catch up next week. I’d like to do some reflecting on Alan Hirsch’s excellent book, The Forgotten Ways. I’ve read it once and I’m part way through again. Hirsch and Michael Frost collaborated on a book I haven’t read, The Shaping of Things to Come.

These guys are just saying things about the future of God’s mission in the world, in a way that I really connect with.

Anyway, more on this later. And I’m sure we’ll cobble together another event some time in the near future!

Getting our priorities straight January 2, 2008

This month at OVMC, we’ll be teasing out some of the stuff that Michael Frost was getting at in his talk that’s there for the viewing in the last post.

Here’s what we’ll be looking at more specifically:

January 6 Missio Dei — God is always on the move, specifically in our direction. God seeks us. He who created us and has loved us from the beginning, and has sent His Son to redeem us, continues to pursue us — and not just the churchy “us” we’re used to thinking about. God does some of His best work outside the church walls. 

January 13 Participatio Christi—Our role, then, is to participate in what He is doing, to make sure our best energies are engaged when and where the love of Jesus is at work. We neither determine our own agenda, nor merely imitate His, but rather participate in His, according to His call and guidance. 

January 20 Imago Dei—We recognize that each person — outside and inside the church body — is created in the image of God, and thus possess the inherent dignity and value that accompanies it. We recognize also that God has been, and continues to be, at work within them, leading them on a unique and sacred journey. 

January 27 Corpus Christi – The temple’s not on some mountain, or in Jerusalem, or on Memorial Highway in Oley. Our frail bodies are the temple, and collectively we are the Body of Christ, with Jesus himeslf as our head. There is an inherent interconnectedness, and interdependence. In participating with each other, the weak with the strong, the old with the young, the advanced with the beginners, we cooperate with Christ in what He is doing in our midst and beyond.

**some of this wording was taken from another web site. I’ll track down the author and give due credit.

The challenge in all this, illustrated so well by Blind Beggar in this post, is putting church into some kind of reverse osmosis process, where, instead of a once a week Sunday gathering being THE entry point, we become more and more a Corpus Christi that engages with the people and culture around us in meaningful ways, showing up where God has been already showing up, in the shopping malls, the bars, the coffee shops, the soccer fields, where people are just trying to figure out which end is up, not really caring what’s going on in that weird church building they pass on the way to work … anyway, you get the idea …

Michael Frost December 20, 2007

If the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones aren’t your thing, this is a well-spent 51 minutes and 47 seconds with Michael Frost. Thanks to Brian for posting this on his site, where I first found it.

December 19, 2007

Found THIS great site defining the term “missional”:

 

Merry Christmas from the Bosstones December 19, 2007

I was enjoying this song again, and just thought I’d share it. It has nothing to do with Christmas, but it sure is a lot of fun!

December 11, 2007

We had a really good gathering this past Sunday. Alicia from Max Cremas treated us really well. Thanks, Alicia!

I met a bunch of people whos names I promptly forgot. I got Casey’s contact info, so I can’t forget him! Had good conversation with Casey and with many others.

We focused on the waiting and the preparation aspects of Advent. We’re waiting for Jesus to return and complete the work of “making all things new.” I have a sheet of paper in my wallet listing some of the things I’m “waiting” for. But advent reminds us that the main thing we’re waiting for has already happened. In the Incarnation, God broke into history “in the cry of a tiny babe.” In some way all things are even now being made knew, thanks to God becoming flesh and moving into the neighborhood with us.

One of the cool things about eGp is that it represents the networked church in the region. We come from a variety of backgrounds. In creating an alternative space for seekers and for Christians from a variety of church backgrounds, we, hopefully, are spreading the DNA of Jesus’ ongoing incarnational mission.

Adventus: Waiting for a miracle December 5, 2007

Don’t miss the eGp gathering at Max Cremas this Sunday at 7:00 p.m. See Upcoming Events for details.

More Miller December 5, 2007

Here is a quote from Miller. It doesn’t give you a sense of Miller’s unique voice, but it’s theology I really resonate with. Miller is responding to a fundamentalism he has formerly embraced, which led him try to “be good” on his own steam:

“Rick [Miller's pastor who made a suicide attempt before he understood God's grace] says that I will love God because he first loved me. I will obey God because I love God. But if I canot accept God’s love, I cannot love him in return, and I cannot obey Him. Self-discipline will never make us feel righteous or clean; accepting God’s love will. The ability to accept God’s unconditional grace and ferocious love is all the fuel we need to obey him in return [not sure I totally buy that last sentence].

Accepting God’s kindness and free love is something the devil does not want us to do. If we hear, in our inner ear, a voice saying we are failures, we are losers, we will never amount to anything, this is the voice of Satan trying to convince the bride that the groom does not love her. This is not the voice of God. God woos us with kindness, He changes our character with the passion of his love.”

Finding Miller December 3, 2007

 

I’ve finally gotten around to reading some of Donald Miller’s stuff. I love great prose whatever the topic, but Miller writes great prose about being a follower of Jesus. He has a way of (to use some bad prose) “keeping it real.” He doesn’t sugar coat the difficult things — like our predilection as humans toward being pretty darn self-absorbed most of the time.

Blue Like Jazz is a good intro to Miller.