The Mission-Shaped Church Series
Here are a series of posts that I have done over the last couple of months on The Mission-Shaped Church.
Missio Dei - Mission of God
This is the idea in scripture where you have God the Father sending the Son, and God the Father and the Son sending the Spirit, and then the Father, Son and Spirit sending the church into the world.
A Future-Shaped Mission Part One
A quick look at globilization, new media and asking the question of the churches role in the context we find ourselves.
A Future-Shaped Mission Part Two
This entry is basically about how our eschatology shapes our missiology, which in turns shapes our eccesiology.
A Future-Shaped Mission Part Three
The fleshing out of Part two, asking the question: If the life of the coming age is the elimination of hunger and thirst
and in its place abundance, how are our economic practices at this
moment anticipating the reality of abundance and the elimination of
hunger and thirst?
The Mission-Shaped Church and the Kingdom of God
Some have domesticated, tamed or emasculated the good news by limiting
it only to another time and another place, and followed the way of the
Gnostics, but Jesus was bringing Good News for today in this place, as
well as to the people of Galilee and surrounding areas for that time in
that place. Here are some great quotes on the Mission-Shaped Church and the Kingdom of God.
Church as a Sign
The Church is a sign of the kingdom, pointing people to the reality which is beyond what we can see. So what kind of sign are we?
Church as a Foretaste
The community that has learned to love one another, build one another
up, admonish one another, encourage one another, forgive on another,
live in harmony with one another, honor one another and be at peace
with one another - becomes a community where the promised fulfillment
of creation is visible, tangible and experienced, even though not yet
perfected. That community becomes a theological experience, a
foretaste of the coming reign of God.
Church as an Instrument
We see throughout this letter to the Ephesians that the church is to be
kind of a preview or movie trailer of what is to come. The church is
to embody the ministry of reconciliation, it is to be an instrument
through which God’s will for justice and peace and freedom is done in
the world.
The Church in the US - Not Optimistic, Nor Pessimistic
Leslie Newbigin was an amazing missionary in India. When he lived in
Madras his house was half-way between the airport and the city, so it
was a great place for different pastors and priests to stop off and
have lunch. After lunch, people would always ask him a question. They
would ask, “Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future of the
church in India? To which he had to develop a standard reply. He said...
The Test of a Missional Church
A quick entry on the one real hermenutic of the gospel. A must read.
You can go to Kairos Los Angeles for an audio series on The Mission-Shaped Church. You are free to download the mp3's.
Thanks for the resources JR, I'll make my way through them...I love the language that the theological big wigs like Bosch, Newbigin et al use.
categories such as foretaste, sign, co-redeemers, co-creators are so participatory and involving and that is what a passive and entertained christianity needs to hear. theology, church and mission become much more rich and fulfilling when viewed from the perspective that we live, enact and demonstrate the Kingdom "...on earth as it is in heaven". It's about dreaming and living God's eschatalogical future and vision in the present day...with all of creation affirmed and included within it.
thanks again...
Posted by: john santic | December 14, 2006 at 10:06 PM
John,
Yeah, Bosch and Newbigin rock, and I'm with you on co-reedeemers, co-creators language. God has given us such a life of adventure. I love living in the present with the anticipation of the future - towards the hope we have. (Sounds like a good blog I know about -Towards Hope)
Posted by: JR Woodward | December 14, 2006 at 10:26 PM