Not as original

Apparently this new blog name is not as original as we hoped. See the comment posted on a couple of entries previous...of course, at least we are on the right track!

The Sky is Falling

I'm reading a really interesting book right now called "The Sky is Falling" by Alan Roxburgh. Admittedly, it is already 3 years past its publishing date, but I think the ideas Roxburgh lifts up still hold true. One is that we must recognize that are living in a period of transition. The framework (or using the word I most often use, paradigm) out of which most of us come is no longer in operation. And it's not just one thing that got us here. In a very clear illustration, Roxburgh identified several contributing factors: globalization, post-modernism, economic insecurity, rapid technology change, and many others. These have combined to shake loose the predictable framework by which we live and work - and it is true for churches. 

This was the statement that really caught my attention. His contention is that "the generations that might cultivate a new kind of church are probably not even born yet." That means that even our youngest and brightest pastors, fully immersed in the postmodern context, are still captured in this time of transition - that the "new kind of church" we will become is still generations away. 

There is good Biblical basis for his contention. He points out Jeremiah's Israel - exiled for many years - returning to rebuild Jerusalem only when a second generation had been born. I think of the time Israel wandered in the desert. Those who began the journey never saw the end - only the descendants of those first refugees out of Egypt made it into the new land. 

So, what is our call, those of us living in this time of transition? If Roxburgh is correct, how can we be faithful to our own call as we negotiate our time in the wilderness? More over, as the old model of doing church and the arguments of conservative vs. liberal, modern vs. postmodern, traditional vs. contemporary, fall to the wayside, how can we continue to be a community of love and unity in the messiness of traveling on uneasy, unlevel ground?

I think part of the answer is not so much in trying to "solve" the problem of the church but to be willing to follow God into the wild - to trust that God goes before us and after us - and in God's time, a clear picture of the new land ahead will become clear.

What do you think?

Apostolic Genius

Yes, I do recognize that quote - and it's a good one. It speaks to what I think will be at the heart of a renewal and revitalization of the UM in New England. In preparation for our discussion of Hirsch's book, I flipped open the introduction and saw the phrase "Apostolic Genius" underlined. As an example of this phrase, Hirsch looks back to Methodist history, noting that in 1776 "fewer than 2 percent of Americans were Methodists. By 1850, the movement claimed allegiance of 34 percent of the population." Other explosions of Christianity have occurred in history, most recently in China. Hirsch insists, and I think he's on target, that it is when the church (read "followers of Jesus") rediscover the apostolic call - the missional DNA - that it returns to health, and growth. For many, the threat of death purified the faith to its essence, and its pure form, became incredibly powerful and attractive.

I'm praying that this discussion blog will ignite in us and others that missional pulse, a willingness to risk, and that we will be more willing to give up "playing" church as well as no longer allowing those who look to our leadership to continue to "play" church.

Here's my question for today (undoubtedly a reflection of my having read Revelation again for Disciple Bible Study): if being a follower of Jesus were suddenly declared illegal in the U.S., and you may be in danger of being imprisoned and/or killed for gathering with other followers, would you still gather?

Relationships

Got this quote from another blog...Rick, you might recognize it! I pray this revolution will "fly"!

"We each have divinely ordained connections through relationships to reach the world...The Gospel flies best on the wings of relationships." Neil Cole,The Organic Church, p. 162.

Reviving the church...

As one who loves and feels called to serve the smaller churches (83% of all UMC's in New England have less than 100 in worship on a Sunday morning), I believe this revolution needs to call forth the members of those churches to a revised understanding of what the local church is. As one who grew up in a small church, I understand the thought process of believing one must have a full-time pastor in order to be a church (I was recently at a meeting where one church considered the appointment (1/2 or 1/4) very important to how the town viewed it) and the difficulty of paying for such a position. It becomes a focus on the dollar and not the cross!

If we continue to live with such an image of church, we will be closing more and more of them rather than seeing them as outposts from which God's amazing work can be done within the Kingdom. Our challenge in beginning this revolution is to empower people to look at what they have, not what they want; at who they have, not who the wish would enter; and at what they have done, not what they wish they had done. In many revolutions, people grab what they have and then fight for their lives and their ideals. God has given us many tools and gifts, let up pick them up and go forth, growing God's kingdom according to God's plan!

If God can create such beauty as this picture, how exciting is it to consider what God will be creating in this revolution to reimagine and revive the church!

reimagining church

This blog begins with a dream. It begins with hope. It begins not with despair, not with with cynicism, and not with pessimism -- but also not with contentment, not with satisfaction, not with a willingness to settle for the status quo or a passive resignation to the way things are.

Yes, we begin with a dream. We begin with hope.

And we begin with a conviction that the church can be something more -- that God wants it to be something more.

We begin with a belief that the church is a sleeping giant, that God is eager to breathe into us a breath of new life, and that if only we'd open ourselves to the moving of the Spirit, we could be a powerful force for God's transformation in the world.

And we begin with a certainty that some things must change.

So let's begin. Let's begin a conversation. Let's begin a movement. Let's begin a revolution.