Church Without Walls

I came across this book by Jim Peterson by accident. I was looking for McLaren's book on the church at the library and this one was nearby. The title caught my interest so I decided to skim it. I liked it so well I bought it and now I'm rereading it. I can't recommend it highly enough. It contains the best explanation of where we are, how we got here, and where we need to go from here that I've seen. There are a couple sections that get a little slow, but it's worth pushing through them.

One of the things I like most about this book is the brief review of church history. He admits that he is omitting many things and only including things that will help to show how the Western church has come to where it is today. He does an excellent job of showing what a number of Church Fathers contributed to the church while at the same time being bold enough to show how some of their major foci have had negative consequences.

This has become my #1 recommendation on the missional church along with The Forgotten Ways.

The Longing Begins

Last weekend Michelle and I were able to travel to Aurora together for the first time. We left the kids in Huntington (with someone, don't worry) so we got to go on an actual date Friday to celebrate Michelle's birthday. That time along with the time in the car each way was great for us. We were able to share with each other what we're feeling about our transition to church planting and moving to a new place on a deeper level than we've been able to in weeks.

There were a few other great things that came out of the weekend.

1) Cory and Megan spent their entire Saturday showing us around Aurora and Batavia. This was great for Michelle and I because now as we look for jobs and places to live we have a reference point for where things are. We disagree already on where we want to live, but I'm sure it will work out in time.

2) We were able to have lunch with a couple named Brian and Sarah on Saturday. They are thinking along the same lines we are in regard to church and the kingdom of God, so it was great to talk with them about that. They are also really fun people and we had a great time getting to know them. We're excited to spend more time with them in the future.

3) Eli Steenlage, a friend who I met in Denver, made a logo for us. I don't have the jpg yet, but I'll put it up when I get it. He's very talented and I'm excited about it.

4) Cory's current church (Ginger Creek) is partnering with another church in Aurora (Family and Faith) to make an impact on the city of Aurora. The pastor of that church spoke and Ginger Creek Sunday and he was amazing. His message was very prophetic and really challenged me. If you have time check out the podcast from the link above.

5) We got to spend some great time with Cory and Megan. We are so looking forward to living near them and engaging in the mission of Christ with them!

So those are some highlights. We both came away from the weekend more antsy than ever to get there. We pray that God provides in a way that allows us to do that soon.

What's Our Creed?

In our discussions about a doctrinal statement, one of the ideas I had was to start with the Apostles' Creed but update/revise it a little bit. My hope in doing that would be to tie into the history of the Church while updating the language and a couple points of doctrine. Below is a draft and the changes that were made. I'd love comments on if this is an okay thing to do and what changes need to be made to it.

We believe in one true God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—Creator of heaven and earth. Jesus Christ, the only Son of the Father was born of the virgin Mary and was truly God and truly human. He lived a perfect life, died on a cross, and was buried. On the third day he rose from the dead. He appeared to many witnesses and ascended into heaven where he mediates for us at the Father’s right hand. One day he will return in glory and fully establish his kingdom.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the one body of Christ—comprised of all who are in him, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and eternal life.


What else needs to be included?
What is included that doesn’t need to be?

Changes from the Apostles’ Creed

1. The Father is not identified as Creator apart from the Son and the Holy Spirit since Scripture attests that all three were involved in the creation in specific ways.
2. That the one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is made explicit.
3. A statement about Jesus’ perfect life is added and the direct reference to his suffering under Pilate is removed.
4. The mention of descending into Hades is removed. There are varying opinions on whether or not this is what Scripture refers to. It does not seem to be an essential point.
5. A statement of his appearance to witnesses is added.
6. Christ is specifically named as our mediator.
7. The statement of judgment is replaced with a statement of the establishment of God’s kingdom. Might be good to include both.
8. The “holy catholic Church” is replaced with the biblical metaphor of the body of Christ.
9. “The communion of the saints” is removed.

Reimagining Evangelism

It's no news that the Christian culture sometimes doesn't do the best job at engaging nonbelievers, and there's a pretty obvious culture clash in America. A recent article from The Christian Science Monitor tells one story of a man seeking to build bridges with those without faith.

Jim Henderson of Off the Map (please check the site out if you haven't) is a former pastor who realized that most people never come to church and now is on a mission to help other Christians realize why evangelistic efforts turn people away. If nothing else, his resources are a great discussion starter and thought-provoker.

FaithVisuals.com actually has a free, downloadable video from Off the Map called Three Minutes With Three Lost People.

Open Systems 1

I have been doing a lot of reading, thinking, and discussing about open systems in recent weeks. The most recent impetus for this pursuit has been the book "The Spider and the Starfish." It looks at two organizational models. The first is a more traditional, hierarchical brand. It is compared to the spider because it dies if you take away its leadership, akin to cutting off the head of a spider. It is solid, but lacks the ability to adapt quickly. The second is a very decentralized, always-morphing organization that tends to honor leadership based on character and action rather than on position. This one is compared to a starfish because a starfish can be cut in two and rather than dying it will only produce two new starfish. Without going into all the details and making this entry insufferably long, suffice to say that starfish organizations are stand up to change much better (and change is a staple in our culture) and they tend to bring out greater participation and creativity from their members (something we long to see in Christian discipleship). It seems open systems could be good for the Church.

At least in the things I have been reading there is much talk about embracing open systems in our manifestations of the church. Of organizing in such a way that there are not centralized buildings and leadership, or even programs and theology for that matter (don't read that as saying "any statement about God is as valid as any other"). I think that were open systems truly embraced there would be great benefit to the people of God, but there are barriers to realizing this change. One is that humanity loves control. If an open system is created, influence must be earned over time, it cannot be taken or granted through title and position. This also makes paid church leadership a more "iffy" proposition. Not that it can't happen, but it must be abandoned as a necessity or right. A second problem is our undying fear of heresy. We must be in control or we will slide into something far removed from a biblical theology and practice. Other than the glaring problem that much of the Western Church is already in this predicament, especially in the area of practice and subservience to idolatrous ideologies, where open systems have been formed they have shown themselves to self-regulate. For instance, you might expect Wikipedia, with its availability to anyone's contribution, to be a hodgepodge of idiocy and misinformation, but it is nothing of the sort. It is largely accurate and when people do put misinformation on it usually corrected quickly by other users. We may be less necessary as gatekeepers of theology than we think.

There is much more to be said about this, but I'll leave it here for now.

Legal Bonanza

Now that we have temporarily settled in I am working on our incorporation and board of directors. I always knew I wasn't cut out to be a lawyer, but never have I had it confirmed so clearly as I have today. I have to read most sentences three times before I get an idea of what is being said and I'm becoming increasingly aware that I need help so I don't make any big mistakes.

It has been odd for me to reflect on the organic nature of what we are trying to do in contrast to the highly structured requirements of the law. It seems like a difficult task to fit a fluid organization into such a rigid container. I'm still not sure how I will fashion the legal documents in a way that doesn't stifle the freedom of all those who will be involved. There's a part of me that feels like it would be better to skip becoming a legal organization all together, but you give up too much in terms of legal benefits and protection if you take that step.

All this to say that I am reluctantly receiving an education this morning. It is one that will continue for days and even years to come.