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emerging church, emergent, simple church, house church, home church.Monday, October 24
30 hallmarks - 16: the heart of your church: Large meetings or small?  Around the world the gravity of churches is shifting away from the large Sunday morning worship event to the small group. There is a rapidly spreading awareness that the real matrix of growth and change lies here.There is a growing agreement that: 1. Small, participatory groups are the main source of intimacy, growth, accountability, responsibility, repentance and new steps of faith. They are the only context where the 54 "one anothers" can realistically be lived out. 2. Extensive networking between all churches is still needed to win our cities. posted by alexander @ 9:19 AM 0 comments 
0 Comments:Thursday, October 20
come with us Had an inspiring meeting with Juliet Kilpin who not only works with Urban Expression planting churches in the East End of London but has also just started part time as Mission Advisor (church planting and evangelism) for the Baptist Union. She passed on a great comment she heard at a recent gathering to discuss the emerging church The emerging church is the only recent movement who have asked the existing church to come with them rather than simply rejecting what has gone before. Strongly recommend anyone interested in planting churches in todays culture to get along to Incarnate in December which the Baptists are running (but dont let that put you off!!). posted by alexander @ 3:38 PM 2 comments
2 Comments:Do you think "emerging church" has a different meaning in the US to what it has in the UK? Just that I know a number of American's who would disagree with the comment about the emerging church bringing the existing church with it. The sense I have is that in the US, emerging churches seem to be emerging more outside of existing structures whilst within the UK there is a lot more happening withing them. What do you think? Sam hi, good point. "Emerging church" means different things to a lot of people! But I would say that the most visible (though by no means the only) part of the EC here in the uk emanates from within the existing church and has generally decided to work with it rather than offloading. This has obviously been massively helped by Rowan William's call and support for a 'mixed economy'. There are other parts of the emerging church which have disconnected from the existing church, mostly due to having no other option, but are still happy to work with rather than against. Personally I think this relationship is critical for the whole of the future church, inherited and emerging, so long may it continue. Tuesday, October 18
simple but not easy Have had some excellent conversation in the comments in one of the posts lower down. Check it out on this post here. posted by alexander @ 5:45 PM 0 comments
0 Comments:30 hallmarks - 15: expensive or explosive? George Barna, "In the last decade, the churches in the US spent $500 billion on domestic expenses - with no growth to show for it."Most money raised in legacy churches is used to maintain what is already there rather than to multiply it. In the new home based churches the opposite is true. posted by alexander @ 9:09 AM 0 comments
0 Comments:Saturday, October 15
are we willing? Of all the questions and issues that arose from the experience of the 90’s (Challenge 2000) perhaps the most fundamental relates to the issue of movement. Some suggest that if our commonly agreed end goal remains the reaching and discipling of our towns, cities, regions and nation, and we still accept that this is best accomplished through a movement of church planting, then we must once again face up to the challenge of what it will take to initiate and sustain such a movement. Are we willing, they ask, to embrace the changes necessary in order to see a movement initiated? For example, changes related to the shape and structure of church, and the empowering and genuine releasing of the laity. posted by alexander @ 3:28 PM 0 comments
0 Comments:Friday, October 14
30 hallmarks - 14: ministry:magnetic or mobile? Are you sitting in your building trying to get people to come in? Or are you going out to the people? In the new paradigm church is all about going to where the people are - in their homes, offices, cafes etc.In a 1991 survey of young people in Holland, 100% said they were interested in God but only 1% said they were interested in church. Pastors who heard of this commented that something must be seriously wrong with the youth of Holland!!!! posted by alexander @ 6:25 AM 7 comments
7 Comments:
When a house church book like Megashift ( I have read it) comes along it focus' in on the idealistic part of what house church can do.....(tends to promise much more than it delivers) ie if everything went according to the vision that so and so (who wrote the book) sees then we should have a great and dynamic multiplication movement. It assumes that everyone who enters a house church will naturally want to connect with non believers. It assumes that everyone will know (or feel comfortable) with how to make contact with non believers.... It assumes also that everyone will be on the same page re mission.... It assumes that people will magically become kingdom focused. It assumes that peoples problems will be at a manageable minimum. It assumes that no house church will split. It assumes that no controlling leader will come along. It assumes that everyone will have an evangelical outlook or a postmodern outlook....and so on. So nothing is written about what to do when a controlling leader rises up. What do we do when half the group wants only community and the other half misson. What does one do when your house church has been together for 2 years and they have basically settled in to an informal church service.... and call that community. How do we become equipped to reach out? How do we transition from a group that wants a meeting to a missional group? Does anyone have the time to give what it takes to develop good community and also be a missional presence?
Frank, thankyou for taking the time to write at length. I have to say that I agree with much of what you say. In our own setting we are at a similar stage and were infact discussing this on Sunday (round the table!). My blog www.alexandercampbell.blogspot.com tracks some of our own journey. I am challenged by the approach that others like http://www.backyardmissionary.com/ Andrew Hamilton & the Upstream community have taken; moving intentionally as a team/community into a new area to be incarnational. But even they admit it has not been easy! These are really important issues and I would encourage you to keep raising them and maybe share any lessons you guys have learnt along the way. I am not opposed to a book like Megashift..... for I think even Jesus painted a picture (idealistic at times) of how things could be if we would take his teaching to heart. Yet Jesus' life ended up in a lot of persecution and in the end paid the ultimate price for what he did in his life. Barry McGuire had a song 25 years ago that said "What good would it do to change my way of living if everything inside me remains the same." I ask the same question "What good would it do to change our way of doing church if everything inside us remains the same." I just feel we need more people (And books) sharing what the cost of all this is going to be. Just because we have a simple form does not mean all this is going to be easy. I would be interested in hearing how your discusions progress.
Frank, you said: "I just feel we need more people (And books) sharing what the cost of all this is going to be. Just because we have a simple form does not mean all this is going to be easy."
I think it would be a good idea but I wonder ....is there enough will to count the cost? We have books like "houses that change the world," John Eldridge says "Its the little platoons that change the world, and I recently read an article that the church ought to be changing the world. What does changing the world mean in light of counting the cost? I'm not saying this is the right way, but the way we deal with this issue is to never let it become an issue in the first place! We are able to do that because from the outset we determined that we were not attempting to build anything. we didnt put a name on what we were doing and we have no desire to 'hold on' to people. Its amazing what a weight that lifts off. our aim (not always achieved), is that Jesus is free to build the way He wants to do it. so we arent trying to build anything for ourselves therefore we have nothing to loose. that doesnt mean we dont have responsibility for those in our 'family' of course we do. but our objective isnt to hold on to them so we can build a 'successful' church or ministry, we want them to grow up and leave home. the only thing we jealously guard is Jesus place of headship. we're finding that He does a pretty good job when permitted. does that make sense or does it all seem a bit idealistic? Thanks for the discussion Thursday, October 13
30 hallmarks - 13: free the people! free the Lord! "Countless christians have shed tears of joy and release when they join open fellowships and suddenly find that they are an integral and honoured part of something far bigger than they are.Even better: God is free to do what He wants in open meetings!" posted by alexander @ 8:58 AM 0 comments
0 Comments:Wednesday, October 12
30 hallmarks - 12: who's incharge here? The issue as usual in this world, is control. And Pastors are hired because laymen have relinquished control, cut back on commitment, abandoned responsibility, and turned into spectators...Jesus wants His church back, and He's going to get it. The revival that is sweeping the world and heading towards the US and Europe will be led by a million nobodies under the clear headship of Jesus Christ.posted by alexander @ 9:38 AM 0 comments
0 Comments:Monday, October 10
Incarnate 3-4 December 2005 Venue: International Mission Centre, Birmingham. A gathering for members of the Baptist family who are planting churches or considering doing so. Are you thinking of planting a new church or reviving a struggling congregation? Come and do some creative thinking on what church could be. Are you already on the adventure of starting a new expression of chuch? Take the opportunity to reflect on how things are going and consider the next steps forward. Subjects include: What is church? Disciple Making in a Church Plant; Raising Leaders in a Church Plant; Pioneers or Pastors? Stories of Creative Church Planting. Contributors include: Simon Hall of Revive Leeds; Stuart Murray-Williams, church planting consultant; members of Urban Expression London; plus others. To get more info and a booking form go here and scroll down the page. posted by alexander @ 4:30 PM 0 comments
0 Comments:30 hallmarks - 11: decisions - no voting, no decrees To tradition-bound minds, an "open church" sounds like a recipe for chaos. Infact it's usually the opposite. It's a complex topic, but basically we try to decide things by consensus. That way we all learn and grow.Elders provide guidance and leadership mainly as father figures, mother figures, or examples, not ruling executives. posted by alexander @ 2:10 PM 0 comments
0 Comments:Tuesday, October 4
30 hallmarks - 10: passive or proactive? "The #1 gripe of most pastors...is, 'what on earth do I have to do to get these people off their butts?' It seldom dawns on them that they might be their own worst enemies, giving their flock an hour or two of practice every week in sitting and doing nothing. The Sunday morning drill in suspended animation is perfect for zombies-in-training."posted by alexander @ 8:06 AM 0 comments
0 Comments:Monday, October 3
30 hallmarks - 9: in open fellowships, men are a slight majority Men feed on challenges. Can't live without them... You don't grow strong men by making them sit in rows... Zoo-born animals fed by keepers never learn to survive in the wild...Go on let 'em loose. posted by alexander @ 3:42 PM 0 comments
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