Weblog
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Saturday, 13 October 2007
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Motion to house church?
For original post, click here.
During last week’s Sunday night gathering a few of us contemplated the need for the large amount of energy expended to get things set up and taken down at First Presbyterian. We were getting tables set, moving chairs (very uncomfortable ones at that) into a circle, hauling tables (which were extremely heavy), and then taking it all down… probably an hour or more work, for a group of 5 to 10. Was there some other way to have the hospitality, the warmth, the fellowship, and the intimacy without the churchy feel?Then advisers said that we really need to get out of the church building.
Seeing how I am definitely not one to say that buildings and church formalities are necessary for a connection with God, the concept of meeting in a home is an appealing one. At least now, as we are small, there may be something very good to this. I am a little reluctant as the leader of the group to have it in my own home. I just finished Neil Cole’s book, Organic Church, which is all about house churches. His insight is that it is better to have someone else from the group host as it empowers more people. Any opinions on this?
I never thought, back at Bethel Seminary, that I would ever have anything to do with a “house church” or anything like that. I can’t say that this is exactly that as we are supported by the bigger church, and very much committed to being an “emerging church” in Bend, but hopefully Thorsten Moritz would be proud.
I suppose there will be more reflection on this in the future, but I am wondering for those who manage to stumble on this what feedback you might give. My question above also stands: should a gathering be held at a place other than the leader’s home, or does it really matter?
**Also for those who stumble on this and are from Bend, please contact me if you are interested in having a personal conversation or interested in being a part of our gatherings.
Thursday, 11 October 2007
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Creating our own Kingdom...
Original Post is here.
I am always interested in how people talk about their church. I am fascinated with how we talk about the kind of community that we say we have…
It gets me thinking about the concept of Kingdom (which is what Jesus would say we are supposed to be about)… or I suppose we could say influence instead. This is not as meaningful of a term for us Christians, but for those who aren’t, I suppose it does come down to influence. So I’ll use “kingdom” interchangably with “influence.” So I ask myself, and I would love to ask those I talk to, but to avoid unneccessary offense, I refrain. What kind of kingdom are we trying to create?
There is the kingdom of our own church… done often in the name of community. Some pour money into weekly services, high tech media, and fancy buildings. We have the most interractive websites, the flashy publications, and streamlined programs. Everyone feels so good about being “there” and in the midst of the action. But if they aren’t bodies showing up at the program, are they really a part of it? We have great community because we share in this great church life, but is our church the kingdom we are trying to create? I have had this mentality and I still wrestle with it today…
Then there is national, or global kingdom… done in the name of politics and “peace.” We will have peace if everyone is Christian, or if we have Christians in power. Christianity must be defended and I must do my part by voting or supporting or whatever… To not vote is worse than anything else because it means I am not doing my part to promote a government with Christian values. See my previous post on this one! But why do we really believe that going to war or voting or being political is important? I don’t want to say that they are not important or should be ignored. More so, what is at the root of our need to push things? Are we seeking again to establish a “kingdom?”
What I really want to ask people is, “What kind of kingdom are you seeking to grow?” How is it getting out and into your city? How is it becoming more decentralized than centralized? (Not that many would really get what this means… I barely do..) These are the questions I ask myself. These are the things that I struggle with. For me, it is probably the individual kingdom that I am trying to grow… probably the worst kind. My own house, my own dog, a savings account, and on and on…
Wednesday, 10 October 2007
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Mental Gymnastics
(Go here for the original post... update RSS feeds) New Site!
Yesterday ended up being nothing but intensity. Breakfast… 7:00 in the morning… Darren, Bob, Ryan and I got together at the Victorian Cafe for our weekly men’s breakfast. We ended up talking post-modern and emergent theology the whole time. I can’t even get into it all here, but I must say, I spent most of the time listening and let them do all the talking. It was good, but we got quite deep for an early morning. Not to mention that I was seeing how I could get by with being cheaper than normal and didn’t order any coffee or much food.
I am excited as I have begun reading Brian McLaren’s new book, Everything Must Change. This may be his most controversial books yet, but I think it is something that is so needed as he talks about politics, religion, social justice, and where they have gone wrong in the West. There will no doubt be some reflections here regarding the book. November 1-3 is Off the Map Live in Seattle and us from Bend should get a chance to meet him… hopefully an early morning coffee.
For dinner last night, Bob and Janet took me to Kanpai! for sushi… WOW!! It was absolutely unbelievable! I haven’t had real sushi in six years, and only then because I thought I was getting a discount and I actually didn’t. It is not something that I can afford to do… well, Bob and Janet were amazing to take me out. After this, Bob and I had a really good discussion regarding what kind of structure our community might have. Much of what we are thinking and observing is similar and I found that with both of us being NFP’s we have devoted our lives to discretionary intuition. Don’t ask me what that means… Think: intuition and feeling without going overboard…
Our vision for this emerging community is profound and different from anything we have been a part of before. I keep thinking relational set epitomized. It is needed, here in Bend yes, but in so many other places as well. We are learning as we go… and trusting that the Spirit will show us the way.
