i rant...
is it time for the church to stop being so concerned about how we are persecuted and begin being the church that Christ died for?
just the other night i was watching ‘the daily show with john stewart’. he showed a clip from a recent supreme court decision in texas to keep the 10 commandments in place.
and i’m all for the 10 commandments being in prominent places in our country and being recognized as foundational to the formation of this country. but…a guy, a pastor, and i’m sure one who wants to see us become a Christian nation again as much as i do, was going on about how this may mark a time when the Christian church will stop being so persecuted in this country.
yea, maybe so. but here’s what i left with…what a whiner!!
i don’t recall Jesus ever standing on the steps to Ceasar’s palace and demanding that he stop persecuting His people. if anything Jesus said to those that were following Him that they were going to go through much worse than simple persecution if they were going to follow Him. killed i think was the word He used.
so we americans and our watered down version of what it means to follow Christ are all up in arms if the 10 commandments are taken down from courthouses across the nation and think that this constitutes persecution.
no wonder america has become a mission field for other nations.

many of us have been wondering, how does this whole emergent thing look in preparing for ministry. Beit teaching or whatever. here is a tid-bit from Odyssey on looking at the text when preparing for sunday. Check out their blog I'm lovin what I've seen so far. [thanks for sharing Andy] The whole echoing Christ thing really made a lot of sense to me. Brilliant!

I also appreciate Dan Kimbal's thoughts on the world. Check out this article. Have you ever felt funny like this about something in church or Christian culture?

make it real today peops!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ works. It hasn’t lost it’s power. The message is still the same, and it shouldn’t be tainted with. No matter what era we live in, be it the Middle Ages, the Enlightenment, the 23rd Century, the message of Christ needs to reach the hearts of men and women. That is our mission. The way that is communicated isn’t necessarily our problem. Puppets, slides, mass, being yelled at, etc. considering the time and place, the way this God-life gets communicated changes.

Emergent isn’t about method, it is recognizing that the mission is dying, and while existing communities are holding on to the last bastions of what ‘worked’ there is a generation that longs for a deep connection with God. Can you remember when there were 14.4k and 28.8k modems, that you dialed up for your web access. You could only load so much information back in the day, and it was limited. What we are seeing in our churches is limited access to an incredible triune God. Sometimes its limited worship – where we don’t learn what it means to be facedown, or enter in to a prayer time on our own. Sometimes it is the limited word – where it gets so watered down by How to Apply this to your Daily Life, that the strong personal message of God directly to you, gets put aside by 3 points on a slide. Sometimes it is the limited mission, or the non-mission – where churches are so stuck on finding out everyone’s purpose – that the one main purpose – to Glorify God gets added on to the pile of steps and programs. And sometimes it is limited relationships – where Religion has replaced the Man, Jesus. Sin isn’t a breaking of a law, it is a breaking of relationship with God, and there are churches that have broken that relationship by trashing their mission.

Emergent is about the mission.

So when you see in your ministry that people are coming to the Lord, learning about Him, learning about themselves, and seeing them joining God in His work, then you realize that this Gospel still works, not the method. The Church of God is about the mission, I firmly believe that, but the Church of God isn’t the mission, it is a small part of the Kingdom of God. Emergent isn’t a house of prayer, you will not see any Main St. Church of Emergent pop up in your neighborhood. You will see people in your neighborhood long for something to fill that empty void in their life, searching for a place to ask questions, to be accepted as they are, and antique non-mission oriented religion filled communities will be passed on in a blink of an eye.

I disagree with Bolger about redeeming churches, cause that isn't our business. It is redeeming souls, bringing people to the Father. The Church of God Reformation Movement isn't what I gave my heart to, I gave it to Jesus, and I want others to give their heart to Him as well. The emergent conversation itself could turn in to something other than redeeming God's people, but for now, it speaks to those who's questions aren't being heard by modern traditional communities, (they don't need to be yelled at about their sin right now, so could you please just listen to them?). And in 100 years, it will be something else, I just pray to God, my grandkids aren't sticking to old-time emergent religion.

Here is a good look at the world we are dealing with, somewhat, provided at Emergent Village

More to the conversation over at Ryan Bolger's (Fuller prof.) blog.

"all things can be redeemed -- businesses, neighborhoods, clubs, homes, and yes, even churches...our call as kingdom agents is to turn things over, call to life those things to life that are moving towards death..."
LINK

I'm fairly new to this particular conversation, but have been following the emergent movement for a while now. I am increasingly aware of how the focus on reaching the postmodern generation has crossed over from a change of method to a change of message. This is not just another attempt to adapt our style of church to a changing culture with the same theology. This movement is challenging our conservative evangelical theology, our hermenuetic, our interpretation of the message of the gospel. I certainly don't mean in all ways, but those of us who feel a strong connection to the "new kind of Christian" need to know that we are being called to transform our whole way of thinking about God, salvation, sin, the church, community. I appreciate this place where I can work out the buzzing going on in my head over these concepts, a place where my ChOG roots are appreciated and where others cut from the same wool can help me figure out what my new garments should look like.

Post-Rapture Radio is a scathing indictment of contemporary Christian culture, "a fascist state [where] everyone says they're really glad to see you." It includes rants such as Jesus in a Suitcase, Rotarian Zombies, eschatology vs. scatology, spiritual shopping, among others. This is the book that dares to ask: If the world comes to an end and you're still here, were you spared or left behind?

Ryan Bolger from Fuller on emerging churches and denominations. Link

Randy, I will get to your post soon, we moved to Tampa this week!

I have noticed traffic slowing on here lately. Hey, that's ok. I understand school is out probably for all of us. Unless the schools near you to some cooky year round thing. So life has become busy on the persoanl level. I know Nate is camping with the fam this week. [You go!] My wife just birthed our second son. [YOU GO JEN!] I hope that in all these persuits that you're just trying to be who God wants you to be. I hope its part of your persuit of being, relevant, genuine, real, whatever buzz word you want to attach to it. I hope you are living "fully devoted follower"-ness.

When you get a chance I'd like to talk about how this disscussion has affected you, and how you do ministry. I hope it has. It has me. Lets hear some testimonies. I guess I'll start first. This has given me some words to express some things. I am becoming a better interpretor for Moderns and Postmoderns. I am looking at planning and preporations synvergently. [Right and left brained.] As I'm teaching I'm trying to be a tourguide to life. I'm pointing out siritual things in life. Trying show people how connected God is to everyday life.

Those are the biggest things I guess. I thank God for molding me. My prayer is that I allow him to clean the inside of the cup, so that I may be a useful vessel.

Thanks for being involved. Thanks for your hearts. I'm out.

Did you know that in Greenville, MI, where I reside there are ordinaces? Also did you know that in our fair city we are asked to follow those ordinances? We have an ordanace for dog poop. It is illegal to leave dog excrement anywhere other than your own lawn. So this lady lets her mid-size poodle poop in my lawn every time she walks by. Good thing it's not an 85lb Lab like I used to have. This lady is of the Builder generation. Every time I talk to a builder they always make a comment about society going to s***. That just gets me! HEY LADY IS IT THAT HARD TO PUT A PLASTIC GROCERY BAG IN YOUR POCKET? I'm done now. Thanks, I feel better.

nothing in recently sparked this, but here is it...

there is a difficulty i have seen with the style of leadership that I tend to inhabit. i tend to be a more “laid-back” leader, taking the opinions of others, hearing what’s on the table before I offer my own thoughts and ideas. this has brought me closer to some because their opinions have been valued. but in that process i have seen that when i ask for opinions but then those opinions/thoughts/ideas are not taken into the final process some will have a little bit of attitude that [as they saw it] their thoughts were not taken seriously.
the struggle here is, without becoming dictatorial, communication ultimately has to be that of “i’m still the leader and i want to hear your opinions, but ultimately it comes down to me. i’m the one with the job and you’re paying me to lead, so let me; and put your feelings aside.” that sounds so dogmatic and an "i’m better than you" feel. that certainly isn’t what i’m about!
and here in lies the struggle of leadership – how do i [we] lead effectively, and fairly [hearing all comers] but keeping in mind the thing God wants to accomplish?
i think one problem crops up from those in the modern mind – set: ‘lead with force’.
the leader is strong, opinionated and sets direction alone. i’m much more team oriented, wanting to hear the gamut of thoughts and designs and then understand and employ if they fit the greater vision of the organization [church].
it is, without question, the job of church leaders/pastor to set direction and cast the vision of ministry. but then at what point does she/he get out of the way and let those involved embrace the ministry with their fingerprint? shouldn’t that be right away? me thinks so.