getting beyond ‘jesus is my boyfriend’ worship
Yes, at last! A worship leader who is recognizing the dangers of the over-romaticization (or is it the eroticization?) of worship. A very candid interview with Matt Redman…
Yes, at last! A worship leader who is recognizing the dangers of the over-romaticization (or is it the eroticization?) of worship. A very candid interview with Matt Redman…
Forgotten Ways, The: Reactivating the Missional Church - Alan Hirsch
Forgotten Ways Handbook, The: A Practical Guide for Developing Missional Churches - Alan Hirsch, Darryn Altclass
ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church - Michael Frost, Alan Hirsch
The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21 Century Church - Michael Frost, Alan Hirsch
I really appreciate your thoughts and concerns… I think you’re right that inappropriate / unwise criticism of the church can just fuel the fire for some disillusioned young people, potentially contributing to their leaving Christian fellowship and drifting into lukewarm discipleship at best. What a loss.
I am very much a “both/and” kind of person… I think where we are placed right now (in Australia at least) the kingdom of God is best served with BOTH conventional styled congregations AND emergent / organic styled expressions of church and mission cooperating together. I’d love to see good discernment processes operating in both “systems”, so people are readily released to use their gifts wherever they “fit” best. I’d love to see conventional and emergent missional church leaders meeting together at the local level in respectful partnership.
When it’s really about the Kingdom… not about my church or my turf or my mission project… this shouldn’t be a problem. When it’s really about the Kingdom… where there is an attitude of mutual respect and Christian humility… this shouldn’t be a problem. When the questions that emergent groups and local congregations explore together are: “How can we serve you? How can we help you? How can we cooperate to serve this community best in the name of Christ? How can we best reach the diverse people in this community for Jesus, and make disciples?”… there shouldn’t be a problem.
My local church operates as something of a “hybrid” I think… we have fairly conventional Sunday morning services. We also have an afternoon church for /with people with mental illness and addiction issues called “Rahab’s Room”. We also have a meals ministry on Thursdays with a mix of some people from Rahab’s room, the mainstream congregation, and others from the community. We run playgroups and a MOPS (Mothers Of Preschoolers) groups… in fact a huge contingent of the church camp a couple of weekends ago came from the MOPS / playgroups families. We see that people are missionaries in their workplaces, schools and local neighbourhoods. We are happy for people to start up “satellite” ministries of whatever kind. I think when “conventional” churches start to embrace the idea that multiple styles of ministry, multiple congregations, multiple mission initiatives can emerge from the life of that church… when they abandon control and the need to herd everyone into a single Sunday service… when they realise the main game is spreading the kingdom by all possible means… then so much life and health can be released!
When the main game is the kingdom… all local churches and missional groups can hopefully support each other in a place. Wouldn’t it be great if “conventional” churches were able to provide (trained and appropriate) spiritual mentors for emerging groups / leaders? Wouldn’t it be great if they were able to provide some financial support, or offer building use or volunteer help if required? Wouldn’t it be great if emergent groups were able to spark the imagination of local “conventional” congregations to approach their local mission field more creatively?
Wouldn’t it be great if it was all about the kingdom, and not about us and them?
There have been leaders of conventional churches who have tried to control everything, been territorial, and been hyper-critical of the new… what a shame. There have been emergent leaders who have been hyper-critical (and unloving) toward conventional churches, and have completely alienated themselves. What a shame. But I am seeing signs of hope, and churches and emergent groups cooperating well in places… and even in some broader systems (we’re certainly working on this in Churches of Christ Vic/Tas)
“How good and pleasant it is where brothers live together in unity… for there the Lord bestows his blessing” (Ps 133
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