Chp. 1
Culture has shifted dramatically within the last 60 years in the West. This shift in culture from modernity to postmodernity and Christendom to post-Christendom necessitate that churches in today's Western world shift as well from their cultures rooted in the practices of the past to practices that reflect the needs of the people of today.
Chp. 2
The emerging church exists under a variety of forms today in the US and Britain yet there are a few common distinctive such as identification with Jesus, transformation of the secular space, and living in community.
Chp. 3
The emerging church focuses on the kingdom of God as its missional duty. Therefore, those in the emerging church try and emulate Jesus wherever they are in society, with the hopes that such a display will attract those who are in the world. This model of "doing church" is drastically different from having people come to a building on Sundays.
Chp. 4
Bringing the kingdom of God to earth as Jesus did means bringing it to the part of society that is secular. For those in the emergent church, the sacred/secular divide is something that adherents try to erase, precisely by being Jesus whether they find themselves in church or not.
Chp. 5
Emerging churches view church as family and not an institution – in other words, church is meant to be highly relational, a place where people can come as they are, be welcomed and not shunned. This conception of church as family runs against the prevailing Western emphasis on the individual.
Chp. 6
Emerging churches go to great lengths to include the outsider in their churches. Some emerging churches will visit holy sites of other religions or else invite holy men of other religions into their church services to share about their pagan practices and religion. In my opinion, some of these practices (cf. p. 132-3) go too far, and by mixing the religions of Yahweh and the pagans, the truth becomes muddied.
Chp. 7
Serving is a core practice of those participating in the emerging churches. Emerging churches stress that serving is meant to be a lifestyle and not a random practice. Furthermore, the type of serving advocated does not amount to the social gospel; instead, the serving is meant to be a more intentional reflection of Christ in the individual serving.
Chp. 8
Emerging churches desire that all would participate in their services. Instead of a select few that are designated within the church to lead the meeting, each person ought to be allowed to display their gifts – this is assumed to be in line with Paul's discussion of the gifts in 1 Cor 12-14.
Chp. 9
Worship is a creative event in the emerging churches. Beyond creating music, participants are encouraged to contribute art in the form of media, drawings, paintings, sculptures, spoken word, etc. as their expression of worship to God.
Chp. 10
Emerging churches move away from the hierarchical model of leadership to a model of leadership that is open, team-based, and volunteer. This flat model of leadership is an attempt to encourage the "priesthood of all believers."
Monday, November 30, 2009
Reflection on 11-30
It is interesting to me that so many groups identify with the Exodus story - the Puritans being one of them. Groups that identify with this story often do so because they are being persecuted. Nevertheless, self-identification with the Israelites (groups that identify with the Exodus story usually align themselves with the Israelites rather than Egypt)entails that the group be the special people of God. This sort of self-identification can (and often does) lead to an elitist mentality within the group that will manifest itself in the actions of the group towards outsiders; the result is not a compelling Christian witness of forgiveness and inclusion but rather creates a negative image of the group.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Reflection on 11-23
It is interesting that some would see the refocusing of the Reformers' thought on the "priesthood of all believers" as the start of individualistic devotion and practice apart from the community. Perhaps the Reformers' belief stressing individual ability to commune with God is actually the reason, since "priesthood" as a concept must involve the presence of others - the one acting as priest atones for the sins and communicates with God on behalf of others. Without others, there could be no priesthood.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Reflection on 11-18
I find Dr. Bolger's comment interesting regarding the New Monastic desire to have both republicans and democrats living and reconciling together. It would seem to me that New Monastics are quite liberal on their theology regarding war as well as their beliefs concerning economics - how does this then entice a republican?
Monday, November 16, 2009
God's Missionary People by Charles Van Engen - My Reflections
Chp. 1
During the 60s social activism began to rise and the church began to consider mission in all of its duties. This stress on mission began to overtake some of the religious elements of the church such that the church was now focused on changing society, whether their message to society contained the gospel or not. Still, today this is a problem within the church. Rather than preach an unfiltered message, preachers and congregations are watering down the gospel in order to be politically-correct and inoffensive in the hopes of buttering up individuals to join their ranks.
Chp. 2
In opposition to this emphasis on politically-correct social activism, Van Engen stresses a new paradigm of church in mission where the church is actually built up into an entity that expresses its faith in the mission it carries out.
Chp. 3
Van Engen looks to the book of Ephesians in order to define the essence of the local church. He defines the local church as one member of the entire Body of Christ, which is the ekklesia. Thus, one member is wholly independent, but it can only be fruitful when it is tied to other members of the body.
Chp. 4
Van Engen contends that the four elements of the Apostolic Creed ought to be reworked for mission and not simply the inward workings of the church. For example, catholic implies that the church ought to grow (geographically, culturally, numerically, etc.).
Chp. 5
Van Engen identifies other values that the church should embrace alongside with (and related with) those of one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. The church ought to identify with the oppressed, witness, carry out works of mission, yearn for numerical growth, and live for the good of the world.
Chp. 6
Van Engen offers a redefinition of the mission of the church using the words koinonia, kerygma, diakonia, and martyria. Kerygma stands for the proclamation that "Jesus is Lord" in the midst of society. Our message needs to be direct when we state that "Jesus is Lord" in the midst of a pluralistic, "coexist", religious society.
Chp. 7
Local churches are not "ends in themselves" but are "tools of the kingdom of God." Thus, churches are the conduits of the Holy Spirit and not the resting places of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given preeminence and will use churches for His glorification.
Chp. 8
Van Engen argues that the ministry of the church must reflect the ministry of Jesus. Van Engen focuses on the prophetic, priestly, kingly, healing, liberating ministries of Jesus most – but this wasn't all Jesus was. In short, the church needs to embody Jesus – every aspect of Him and every ministry he performed!
Chp. 9
The church ought to set missional goals that are reasonable for it to attain. The means by which these goals are attained ought not to be so radical as to lead to alienation; yet they ought not to be so worldly that they fail in leading to salvation.
Chp. 10
Van Engen vehemently opposes "factor Beta" (i.e. having 10% of the church interested and doing all of the work leaving the other 90% disinterested and uninvolved) yet he fails to offer any real convincing strategies to avoid this situation in churches.
Chp. 11
Leaders are to be both servants and authority figures. Focusing too much on one or the other will lead to abuse – on the one extreme by the congregation feeling and acting as if they are the power-holders and on the other extreme as the leader "lording his authority", leading to a dissatisfied congregation.
Chp. 12
In order to link the visions of the church to missional contact with the world, the practice of biblical, spirit-led administration is a must. This task is all-too-often overlooked by those in leadership positions.
During the 60s social activism began to rise and the church began to consider mission in all of its duties. This stress on mission began to overtake some of the religious elements of the church such that the church was now focused on changing society, whether their message to society contained the gospel or not. Still, today this is a problem within the church. Rather than preach an unfiltered message, preachers and congregations are watering down the gospel in order to be politically-correct and inoffensive in the hopes of buttering up individuals to join their ranks.
Chp. 2
In opposition to this emphasis on politically-correct social activism, Van Engen stresses a new paradigm of church in mission where the church is actually built up into an entity that expresses its faith in the mission it carries out.
Chp. 3
Van Engen looks to the book of Ephesians in order to define the essence of the local church. He defines the local church as one member of the entire Body of Christ, which is the ekklesia. Thus, one member is wholly independent, but it can only be fruitful when it is tied to other members of the body.
Chp. 4
Van Engen contends that the four elements of the Apostolic Creed ought to be reworked for mission and not simply the inward workings of the church. For example, catholic implies that the church ought to grow (geographically, culturally, numerically, etc.).
Chp. 5
Van Engen identifies other values that the church should embrace alongside with (and related with) those of one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. The church ought to identify with the oppressed, witness, carry out works of mission, yearn for numerical growth, and live for the good of the world.
Chp. 6
Van Engen offers a redefinition of the mission of the church using the words koinonia, kerygma, diakonia, and martyria. Kerygma stands for the proclamation that "Jesus is Lord" in the midst of society. Our message needs to be direct when we state that "Jesus is Lord" in the midst of a pluralistic, "coexist", religious society.
Chp. 7
Local churches are not "ends in themselves" but are "tools of the kingdom of God." Thus, churches are the conduits of the Holy Spirit and not the resting places of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given preeminence and will use churches for His glorification.
Chp. 8
Van Engen argues that the ministry of the church must reflect the ministry of Jesus. Van Engen focuses on the prophetic, priestly, kingly, healing, liberating ministries of Jesus most – but this wasn't all Jesus was. In short, the church needs to embody Jesus – every aspect of Him and every ministry he performed!
Chp. 9
The church ought to set missional goals that are reasonable for it to attain. The means by which these goals are attained ought not to be so radical as to lead to alienation; yet they ought not to be so worldly that they fail in leading to salvation.
Chp. 10
Van Engen vehemently opposes "factor Beta" (i.e. having 10% of the church interested and doing all of the work leaving the other 90% disinterested and uninvolved) yet he fails to offer any real convincing strategies to avoid this situation in churches.
Chp. 11
Leaders are to be both servants and authority figures. Focusing too much on one or the other will lead to abuse – on the one extreme by the congregation feeling and acting as if they are the power-holders and on the other extreme as the leader "lording his authority", leading to a dissatisfied congregation.
Chp. 12
In order to link the visions of the church to missional contact with the world, the practice of biblical, spirit-led administration is a must. This task is all-too-often overlooked by those in leadership positions.
Reflection on 11-16
Bolger: "Liberation theology preferred the poor but the poor preferred Pentecostalism"
I have heard elsewhere that the poor have a general affinity to Pentecostalism. I have heard many reasons as to why this is so, but still I wonder, do the rich not have this general affinity towards Pentecostalism? Why might they not? Does Jesus' critique of the Laodicean church suffice as an answer? Do riches make people feel as if everything is hunky-dory, thereby leading to less of a fascination with evil spirits? The focus on evil spirits is, after all, one of the reasons that the poor are attracted to Pentecostalism.
I have heard elsewhere that the poor have a general affinity to Pentecostalism. I have heard many reasons as to why this is so, but still I wonder, do the rich not have this general affinity towards Pentecostalism? Why might they not? Does Jesus' critique of the Laodicean church suffice as an answer? Do riches make people feel as if everything is hunky-dory, thereby leading to less of a fascination with evil spirits? The focus on evil spirits is, after all, one of the reasons that the poor are attracted to Pentecostalism.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Reflection on 11-11
Bishop Graham Cray: "Do not call people to where you are. Call them to go with you to a place where neither the two of you have been before."
In other words, God has something more for both of you. You might think that where you are right now is glorious, but God has even greater realms of glory for you to visit. Moreover, what works for you might not work for the other person. You need to guide that person into a place that works for both of you - a place where God's Spirit is able to tabernacle within the relationship.
In other words, God has something more for both of you. You might think that where you are right now is glorious, but God has even greater realms of glory for you to visit. Moreover, what works for you might not work for the other person. You need to guide that person into a place that works for both of you - a place where God's Spirit is able to tabernacle within the relationship.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Reflection on 11-9
I wonder about the youth congregations that are popping up in England as part of the Fresh Expressions movement. It is a shocking phenomenon due to the age of the pastors who are leading these congregations - 15 or 16 years old sometimes. The fact that these congregations are separate entities suggests that the guideline of "high accountability, zero control" is an agreement struck between the senior pastor and the pastor of the youth congregation. High accountability is understandable; but zero control is incredible when considering the ages of those leading - they must be some pretty amazing teenagers!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Reflection on 11-4
Bolger: "Europe became Christian [largely] by the sword".
I never considered this in the past. I had known that Islam expanded by the sword, but I had always considered the spread of Christianity in history to be due to missionary activity. Guess I was wrong. I wonder if this conversion by the sword was true conversion, though, or if it created massive nominalism? I wonder if this Christendom expansion is in some way responsible for the deprivation of faith found in Europe today?
I never considered this in the past. I had known that Islam expanded by the sword, but I had always considered the spread of Christianity in history to be due to missionary activity. Guess I was wrong. I wonder if this conversion by the sword was true conversion, though, or if it created massive nominalism? I wonder if this Christendom expansion is in some way responsible for the deprivation of faith found in Europe today?
Monday, November 2, 2009
An Introduction to Ecclesiology by Karkkainen – My Reflections
Chp. 1
The Eastern Orthodox Church has a theology centering on the work of the Spirit and lived experience. There is strength in this theological bias in that God is allowed to do as he pleases. However, such bias can also allow heretical beliefs or experiences to creep in which appeal to emotion and not truth revealed in the word.
Chp. 2
Catholicism is highly spiritual like Eastern Orthodox tradition, which has its strengths and weaknesses. A recent push in Catholicism towards ecumenism may have the appearance of good, but it seems to me that the type of push they are advocating for would permit unrighteousness as a means of holding peace.
Chp. 3
The Word and the sacraments form the basis of the Lutheran faith. Contrary to the Eastern Orthodox Church and Catholicism, a biased focus on the Word may quench the Spirit.
Chp. 4
Reformed churches have gone through several alterations in theology, perhaps accounting for the plethora of denominations considered to be reformed. They vary greatly with respect to the Catholic Church because of their insistence on the Word of God as final authority vested with the truth. However, churches of this tradition differ amongst each other in regard to proper relations with the state, baptisms, and leadership structure.
Chp. 5
I find a lot of my personal convictions regarding church to be shared by those of the Free Church movement as described in this chapter. The Bible does time and again show that ordinary, unpretentious, "unqualified" men and women can have access to God and minister in his name. True church should seek to allow all members to minister in accordance to their gifts, and not relegate the ministry to men who have "qualifications" – it is God who qualifies.
Chp. 6
The author points out that Pentecostals are concerned with the "lived experience" more than "thematized theology". Personally, I would have to agree with this assertion and would like to add that when experiences are overly thematized, the mystery of God is lost in the analysis and experience undeservedly loses its potency to affect individual change.
Chp. 7
Ecumenism is a biblical and lofty goal. It has been incredibly difficult to establish due to differences in ecclesiology. Although the principle of finding common ground as a means to ecumenism is understandable, territory not claimed as common ground might be heretical – this ought to serve as a warning to those who seek unity above righteousness.
Chp. 8
John Zizioulas speaks of the church as embodied in communion because he observes that the whole order of creation is in relation to one another. He argues that in order to celebrate the Eucharist a bishop is needed, which would limit those without access to a bishop and so stifle attempts at ecumenism.
Chp. 9
Hans Kung speaks against the Catholic clerical leadership method in favor of charismatic leadership as was found in the early church. This form of leadership does not quench the spirit and allows all believers to become "priests of God."
Chp. 10
Wolfhart Pannenberg is a theologian who alludes frequently to ecclesiology in his writings. Central to his theology is ecumenism, believing that a lack of this in the church more than "hardly any other factor obscures the truth of the gospel of Jesus." Hmm.
The Eastern Orthodox Church has a theology centering on the work of the Spirit and lived experience. There is strength in this theological bias in that God is allowed to do as he pleases. However, such bias can also allow heretical beliefs or experiences to creep in which appeal to emotion and not truth revealed in the word.
Chp. 2
Catholicism is highly spiritual like Eastern Orthodox tradition, which has its strengths and weaknesses. A recent push in Catholicism towards ecumenism may have the appearance of good, but it seems to me that the type of push they are advocating for would permit unrighteousness as a means of holding peace.
Chp. 3
The Word and the sacraments form the basis of the Lutheran faith. Contrary to the Eastern Orthodox Church and Catholicism, a biased focus on the Word may quench the Spirit.
Chp. 4
Reformed churches have gone through several alterations in theology, perhaps accounting for the plethora of denominations considered to be reformed. They vary greatly with respect to the Catholic Church because of their insistence on the Word of God as final authority vested with the truth. However, churches of this tradition differ amongst each other in regard to proper relations with the state, baptisms, and leadership structure.
Chp. 5
I find a lot of my personal convictions regarding church to be shared by those of the Free Church movement as described in this chapter. The Bible does time and again show that ordinary, unpretentious, "unqualified" men and women can have access to God and minister in his name. True church should seek to allow all members to minister in accordance to their gifts, and not relegate the ministry to men who have "qualifications" – it is God who qualifies.
Chp. 6
The author points out that Pentecostals are concerned with the "lived experience" more than "thematized theology". Personally, I would have to agree with this assertion and would like to add that when experiences are overly thematized, the mystery of God is lost in the analysis and experience undeservedly loses its potency to affect individual change.
Chp. 7
Ecumenism is a biblical and lofty goal. It has been incredibly difficult to establish due to differences in ecclesiology. Although the principle of finding common ground as a means to ecumenism is understandable, territory not claimed as common ground might be heretical – this ought to serve as a warning to those who seek unity above righteousness.
Chp. 8
John Zizioulas speaks of the church as embodied in communion because he observes that the whole order of creation is in relation to one another. He argues that in order to celebrate the Eucharist a bishop is needed, which would limit those without access to a bishop and so stifle attempts at ecumenism.
Chp. 9
Hans Kung speaks against the Catholic clerical leadership method in favor of charismatic leadership as was found in the early church. This form of leadership does not quench the spirit and allows all believers to become "priests of God."
Chp. 10
Wolfhart Pannenberg is a theologian who alludes frequently to ecclesiology in his writings. Central to his theology is ecumenism, believing that a lack of this in the church more than "hardly any other factor obscures the truth of the gospel of Jesus." Hmm.
Reflection on 11-2
I find it interesting that celibacy had roots as far back as the Council of Nicaea in 325. However, it seems more interesting to me that the practice does not seem to have been common in the Christian church before that. What would have shifted the minds of the people around 325AD to place extra value on celibacy?
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