I've wondering if I should just let this blog fade away into the void.  Giving its soul up so that no one but Google remembers.  But not today.

It's been 8 years since the first post here.  Eight years.   Here's some of the things I have discovered through and because of this blog.

The world is changing and so is the church.
          At first I thought that the world was changing and the church was not.  That may have been so in the beginning of the is quest for knowledge   I can confidently say that at least most of the church has realized the need for change in its values, shapes, and rhythms.  Does it have the courage to make those changes   That remains to be seen.

There is more openness to talk.
         I'm not sure this much has changed here, really.  I do think that those who have begun to rethink how they minister to the world, they are more open to talk about issues that the church faces today.

There is more openness to try new things
       I think many have had discussions that we need to shift what we do.  Many of these changes are superficial   Things like shifting styles of music and types of seating, etc are helpful.  They are not as deep as they need to be.  It's a start.  I'll take it.

Modern, Postmodern, Emergent, Missional
       I had lunch with a guy at a missional church in summer 2005.  He helped me unpack some of these words.  It began to help me understand what was happening.  We as culture, were shifting.  We are still, obviously.  Some people wouldn't call us Postmodern yet, more like Late-Modern.  Fine by me.  It just helps me to know that it's the shifting of an epoch.  Many things are in the air, not just how we do church.  Sadly, Emergent has been made into a brand.  I've also heard emergent used by psychologists, and scientists not just pastors.  Missional is simply fulfilling the mission Jesus gave us.  Many of us have begun to see this more as a lifestyle and way of being in the world than new music, coffee, and sharp looking graphics on the screen.  Missional is not a program or a teaching series.  I'm curious to see how we make movements in this area in the next few years.

There are more acceptable forms today than there were a few years ago
          Our discussions and the boldness of some to experiment with new forms of church has caught on.  Many of us are still doing the old form with new clothes.  The frame is the same.  This is ok movement for me.  I'm really excited to see that its ok and expected in some area's of our ChOGiverse to do church in untraditional settings.  This is great work in the lab.  We still have more testing and discovery to do.  The types of church plants we've tried in the last five years are in the right direction, but we're not there yet.


 My hope is that you keep migrating.  I did, literally  [St. Joseph, MI to Seattle, WA]  I hope you're minds and styles can continue to shift.  I hope that you can take part in what Phyllis Tickle refers to as the 500 year yard sale.  Hold on to what church has held sacred before the Modern Epoch.  Keep of few things from our time, and pitch the others.  Mourn and grieve them.  Lead others through their greif.  Then set out on expeditions   Head to the lab for more experiments.  More of us need to migrate our ministry to 3rd Spaces [Coffee shops, pubs, restaurants, community centers, and the like].  Many of us need to bring our ministeries to our living rooms and dinning tables.  We need to revisit the revolutionary hospitality that Jesus exhibited.  A hospitality that you could argue brought down the Roman class system and in turn the empire, one meal at a time.  Lets invite the neighbor we don't like over for dinner and see what God can do in our midst.

Migrate well my friends.