11.18.2003
I have invited a few close friends to take a look around a forum that can be a sounding board for thinking deeply about this thing that is the pursuit of God. I throw down the sword and challenge each of you to take part in this community of faith as we pursue a clear minded view of freedom. Shall you accept the challenge? Can you handle being called out? We will see!!
Check out this article that I pulled off of theooze.com about the changing church community. Let your mind free. . . .
So what might be some of the characteristics of church communities who
make
welcome these people inhabiting these 'edges' or 'in-between spaces'?
? They will creatively s t r e t c h outward from the edges. They will
preserve the old without resisting the new. They will be characterised
by an
opening outwards, an unfolding of creative and meaningful new praxis
and
forms. They will have a firm grasp of their core beliefs and values,
and
will operate out of a strongly theological framework. Their life will
be
less about perpetuating trendiness, about being 'trendy', and more
about
integrity, faithfulness, authenticity, and relational depth.
? They will be experimental, with a greater sense of 'movement' and
focus on
'journey'. There will be a greater sense of fluidity. Pete Ward, a
lecturer
in England, talks in terms of 'liquid church.' He's advocating a move
away
from church structures and practices of church where the focus is on
key
performance indicators such as increasing attendance, financial giving,
number of programs and small groups, and on the one-size-fits-all
approach
to church form and praxis. He believes the church must - in line with
culture - liquefy itself and adopt an increasingly informal, diverse,
and
fluid approach. Andrew Jones, in Prague, has blogged about diverse,
interacting, co-habitating "layers of church expression." Steve Taylor,
a
friend down here in New Zealand talks of this fluidity in terms of DJ's
and
their practice of sampling. Fluidity is less concerned about what the
one
best model of church might be, and is more concerned about being
faithful to
the One who calls it into existence, nurtures it, and enables it in all
its
diversity.
? They will have a greater commitment to creating 'space' - both
breathing
space, and creative, exploratory space. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of
Canterbury, has been quoted as saying that "churches need to offer more
space where people can 'draw breath' without demanding a big
commitment."
This kind of space will be opened up to the possibility of encountering
God
present by his Spirit - God encountered through story, symbol,
scripture,
art, music, poem, movie, and physical movement / symbolic action. The
gathering of these church communities (in whatever form) will be about
the
'framing' or 'curating' of open-ended space within which to listen, to
dream, to reflect, to pray, to learn, to be energised and replenished,
and
from there, to be sent out into all the world.
? They will be characterised by a very real sense of DIY
('do-it-yourself')
and participation. For me, Annie Dillard most succinctly captures this
sense: "...I know only enough of God to want to worship him, by any
means at
hand. There is an anomalous specificity to all our experience in space,
a
scandal of particularity, by which God burgeons up or showers down into
the
shabbiest of occasions, and leaves his creation's dealings with him in
the
hands of purblind and clumsy amateurs." Another friend, Mark Pierson, a
Baptist Pastor, writing on the subject of excellence of performance
versus
increased congregational participation, has this to say, "If excellence
is a
primary goal (rather than participation), then the weak, the timid, the
depressed, the disabled, the unskilled, the sick, the introverted, the
overweight, the less attractive, the poor and the untalented aren't
going to
get a look in. They'll be relegated to being spectators for someone
else's
worship performance...It's only in being open to as much participation
as
possible that community can be built."
Check out this article that I pulled off of theooze.com about the changing church community. Let your mind free. . . .
So what might be some of the characteristics of church communities who
make
welcome these people inhabiting these 'edges' or 'in-between spaces'?
? They will creatively s t r e t c h outward from the edges. They will
preserve the old without resisting the new. They will be characterised
by an
opening outwards, an unfolding of creative and meaningful new praxis
and
forms. They will have a firm grasp of their core beliefs and values,
and
will operate out of a strongly theological framework. Their life will
be
less about perpetuating trendiness, about being 'trendy', and more
about
integrity, faithfulness, authenticity, and relational depth.
? They will be experimental, with a greater sense of 'movement' and
focus on
'journey'. There will be a greater sense of fluidity. Pete Ward, a
lecturer
in England, talks in terms of 'liquid church.' He's advocating a move
away
from church structures and practices of church where the focus is on
key
performance indicators such as increasing attendance, financial giving,
number of programs and small groups, and on the one-size-fits-all
approach
to church form and praxis. He believes the church must - in line with
culture - liquefy itself and adopt an increasingly informal, diverse,
and
fluid approach. Andrew Jones, in Prague, has blogged about diverse,
interacting, co-habitating "layers of church expression." Steve Taylor,
a
friend down here in New Zealand talks of this fluidity in terms of DJ's
and
their practice of sampling. Fluidity is less concerned about what the
one
best model of church might be, and is more concerned about being
faithful to
the One who calls it into existence, nurtures it, and enables it in all
its
diversity.
? They will have a greater commitment to creating 'space' - both
breathing
space, and creative, exploratory space. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of
Canterbury, has been quoted as saying that "churches need to offer more
space where people can 'draw breath' without demanding a big
commitment."
This kind of space will be opened up to the possibility of encountering
God
present by his Spirit - God encountered through story, symbol,
scripture,
art, music, poem, movie, and physical movement / symbolic action. The
gathering of these church communities (in whatever form) will be about
the
'framing' or 'curating' of open-ended space within which to listen, to
dream, to reflect, to pray, to learn, to be energised and replenished,
and
from there, to be sent out into all the world.
? They will be characterised by a very real sense of DIY
('do-it-yourself')
and participation. For me, Annie Dillard most succinctly captures this
sense: "...I know only enough of God to want to worship him, by any
means at
hand. There is an anomalous specificity to all our experience in space,
a
scandal of particularity, by which God burgeons up or showers down into
the
shabbiest of occasions, and leaves his creation's dealings with him in
the
hands of purblind and clumsy amateurs." Another friend, Mark Pierson, a
Baptist Pastor, writing on the subject of excellence of performance
versus
increased congregational participation, has this to say, "If excellence
is a
primary goal (rather than participation), then the weak, the timid, the
depressed, the disabled, the unskilled, the sick, the introverted, the
overweight, the less attractive, the poor and the untalented aren't
going to
get a look in. They'll be relegated to being spectators for someone
else's
worship performance...It's only in being open to as much participation
as
possible that community can be built."
