“The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor; the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.”
-basil
When faith is privatized
and leadership is professionalized
and ministry is institutionalized
then the church becomes innefective
My friend Ruben Duran said this. I’m not sure if he heard it from someone else.
Tonight, a Christian community is conceived. It is only a twinkle in our eye. It may be nine months before something living, breathing, and other than ourselves exists outside of ourselves. But someday, we can look back and point to this night.
broken people.
broken hearts.
broken bread.
Who knows what it would look like? We’ll just have to wait and see. But you’re invited to take a peek into this from the very beginning. Failures and joys and everything in between.
I just posted “In my Humble Opinion†over at ELN.
Just for the record:
yes, the emerging/missional/post-modern/organic/simple/Emergent™ church is dumb.
yes, the emerging/missional/post-modern/organic/simple/Emergent™ church falls short of the glory of God
no, emerging/missional/post-modern/organic/simple/Emergent™ church isn’t new, or better, or right
yes, the church always needs to be reformed
yes, the church always needs to be re-incarnate-ed
A few things have been tugging at my heart and mind lately. I was reading Henri Nouwen’s “Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith” this morning, and a few things are beginning to click into place
The Most Human and Most Divine Gesture
The two disciples whom Jesus joined on the road to Emmaus recognised him in the breaking of the bread. What is a more common, ordinary gesture than breaking bread? It may be the most human of all human gestures: a gesture of hospitality, friendship, care, and the desire to be together. Taking a loaf of bread, blessing it, breaking it, and giving it to those seated around the table signifies unity, community, and peace. When Jesus does this he does the most ordinary as well as the most extraordinary. It is the most human as well as the most divine gesture.
The great mystery is that this daily and most human gesture is the way we recognise the presence of Christ among us. God becomes most present when we are most human.
These are the dreams that wake me from my sleep.
We see today “a widening darkness between our lucky stars.” Clearly the planet will not forever endure our insults. It’s time for moral outrage. At the same time we must pray for grace to content against wrong without becoming wrongly contentious, grace to fight pretensions of national righteousness without personal self-righteousness. Such grace comes largely through those who will laugh and weep with us, those who will picket and pray with us, and those who will never let us forget the wonders and beauty of God’s creation.
[ via William Sloane Coffin's Essay in "Walking with God in a Fragile World". ]
Wanna know more about this Emerg[ent/ing] church thing? Here’s a great list of about a hundred books to get you started:
Being called to be a church planter is a daunting calling and it can be hard to figure out where to start. To help you out, we asked a wide variety of church leaders and church planters what five books they would recommend to someone starting out with a church plant…
This would be a great job:
Church Army’s research unit, the Sheffield Centre, and the Archbishops Fresh Expressions Team are working together to support the development of mission-shaped fresh expressions of church. We think this task calls for the existence of series of learning networks centred around the creation of an evolving Online Guide to serve this young discipline. Much fuller details are available in the Phase 2 Fresh Expressions prospectus.
This post will involve:
• Developing and managing the Guide, with Michael Moynagh as editor and an editorial team
• Developing learning networks of practitioners using and modifying the Guide
• Ensuring its interactive engagement with the life of the Sheffield Centre and the Fresh Expressions team
• Being based at the Sheffield Centre, but being a member of both teamsIf the following looks like you – please get in touch
• Commitment to Fresh Expressions of Church
• Excellent ability to network, with good interpersonal skills
• The ability to reflect theologically on practice
• The ability to communicate through a variety of media, to edit and develop a website
• The temperament of a self starter but who enjoys working in a team
• The aptitude of a life long learner
[via churchtimes via bob fisher ]
Is it possible that conversation is the primary deficiency of the modern church?
As we begin to reconsider what it means to live a with-God-with-others life in this world, we must spend time learning How to Have Better Conversations.
A good friend, mentor, and professor of mine has spent quite a bit of time “interviewing” emerging adults (people between the ages of 18 and 40 who are still ‘becoming’ adults). If you want the full scoop, you should read coming of age
* The primary concerns of emerging adults, those questions which shape their lives and guide their formation, are significant:
** Am I?
** Do I matter?
** Do I belong?
** Where do I fit in?
** Can I make a difference?
These are not questions which can have imposed answers in three simple steps. They are living things in need of nurture and care. Can we nurture these questions through conversation. Through inviting their story? Through listening their story? Is a person changed by telling their life?
Isn’t the Trinity Itself a theology of conversation?