Monthly Archives: February 2005

In the church but not of the church or vice versa

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Went to look at some houses today and saw a great one just need to sell ours. The state of flux around moving has been triggering all sorts of thoughts about church. Dropped in on some friends in Chard and Mark came out with the statement as joke that we need to be “in the church but not of the church”. Reflecting I was unsure whether it was the right way around. The alignment of church and state, the issues around what church has become, and the need for a new theology of church, has all caused me concern over the past few weeks. I want to be around the people and explore and grow towards community but am not sure of the current associations. All this reminded me of the Anabaptists, and I came across the article by Anne Wilkinson-Hayes
“>The key task of the church in this era is to reinvent herself for mission With the history of the Anabaptist’s I was encouraged to see the continued movement that the title of the article suggests. Following on this theme I am really into a notion that I am currently calling Process ecclesiology that sees the missionary endevour (when well thought out and open ended)as church. I am yet to fully develop the concept but began to explore it in Off the Beaten Track. But I think Howard Snyder is spot on who states “The church needs liberating from it has become in order to be that which God intends.â€? Whilst the concept is hard to address in brief the key points would be
1. Holistic mission is about changing society, ourselves and individuals.
2. Mission should happen in-front of church not out-from church, and the danger is the latter holds back real change and reinforces control.
3. An acceptance of the Regnocentric position means that Tacking is about helping society and individuals become fully human which is also being and growing church.
4. Church is a broad concept that is about process and outcome, and tacking is church.
5. All of this is framed by the ethics of Christ with Orthopraxis being a key concept.

So where too next with Process ecclesiology?

I like the ups and downs of life

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It has been one of those weeks and it’s only Thursday, I had a nightmare start, forgetting minutes, power cable for the laptop and all those sorts of things. Then some great stuff happened, some fantastic times in lectures, in the past four days it seems that so much has happened. As I reflect on the rapid ups and downs of the last few days I feel far closer to God and as if I’ve been washed around with him in the sea of life. It has been a great process as I think about the current pulls of the tide and even with the stress of having the house on the market and all that entails I’d still rather be in the sea of life than anywhere else at the moment.

Is America being selfish?

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I thought it was time for rant, but I was so down about Americas attitude towards climate change and the Kyoto agreement, and hearing the news today about their attitude to Browns proposal for debt relief and the G8 just made want to scream. Is it an attitude held just at the top of government or is it a widely held protectionist position arising from the masses. The few Americans I know are as concerned about debt in Africa as many of my UK friends but what is the groundswell opinion. Has consumerism pervaded so deeply that now it is translated into what I can only describe as an overt SELFISHNESS that seems to be the motivating factor and attitude the white house holds as a plumbline when deciding on most issues but particularly towards debt and climate control.

The Fast Game IT’s BACK!

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I have finally found a new supplier for the FaSt game. In case you you don’t know what it is. The FaSt game has been called many things over the years, A non book version of church, Church as a board game, a discipleship tool, the alternative to alt worship. Having sold out a while back I have had a number of people request copies but in my usual disorganised style, never kept a record. So if you want a copy, and you want to try and do Church in a whole new way with young people get in touch soon because I am sure we will run out fast again. The price for the new run will be £32 + p&p. If you want to know about the faSt game then there is a link on the right hand side or below which has info and a review.

For those of you who are working to the detached strategy and have reached relational expressions of church and want to explore this with your young people then the FaSt game would be an ideal resource. If you are experimenting with new forms of church and want to try something completly out of the box, we have been using the FaSt game for church at home for some time now and find it works really well in informal settings. Other people have taken the game into prisons, youth groups, drop in, and on buses. I currently have 20 units available but have a deal with the supplier so I can take advance orders as well if they run out too quickly.
FaSt.doc