Dream Awakener

Fire in the Church by Kurt Fredrickson - A Literary Review

  sunset church 
  Originally uploaded by Alex !

I am doing a number of literary reviews these days for some research that I am undergoing. While you won't be able to check some of the pages I reference, I think you will gain much from the many quotes I mention.   Let me share with you how I go about my literary review.

LITERARY REVIEW
I basically start with my sense of the author's thesis, followed by a general overview of the book, and then I focus on themes that are pertinent to my research. With that said, here is my review of this most excellent paper.

THESIS
Kurt Fredrickson’s thesis for Fire in the Church: Organic Structures for the Missional Congregation is that structure matters.  If the church moves from an old mechanistic model to a living systems model, she will be able to create better environments necessary for the missional church to thrive.

GENERAL OVERVIEW
The question that Fredrickson is addressing is: How do church leaders foster proper environments so that the Spirit of God can set the church on fire anew (5)? He address this question by taking a look at our current postmodern context, especially as it relates to the shift from classic science to new systems science.  This shift is from a mechanical approach to life to an organic approach.  After explaining the nature of living systems science, he considers how to apply living systems theory to the church.  He insists, “Only as the church has an adequate understanding of its identity and its core practices, is the church able to move forward in new shapes” (55).  He then concludes by exploring how to nurture an atmosphere of missional imagination in light of new understandings of organizational theory.

THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER
This research paper is rich in content, with seven helpful figures that summarize important concepts (Pgs. 19,20, 41, 44, 45 and 52).  The following are some statements that seemed vital to remember.   In section one: “This new systems understanding sees the world more as decentralized than centralized, more networked than hierarchical, more organic than fixed.  It is not random and disorganized; it is rather organized through an understanding of complexity and emergence.  This new understanding of structures offers new possibilities for ecclesial organization.” (10)  “Because we think and behave differently in this information based networked society, we must rethink the way our organizations are structured.” (14)  “Structure affects function. Structure is not neutral. The challenge for the church is to imagine new forms and structures for church that will be able to more vitally carry the message of the gospel affecting transformation in people and societies” (21).  One way to do this is through reverse assumptions (21).

Statements from section two include:  In regard to relational principles in living systems theory: All living things have innate intelligence (30); Life is profoundly interconnected (30); Information brings change (32); Systems interact with their environment leading to adaptive challenges and emergence of new forms of organization (33); and living systems continue to multiply or reproduce (34).  “We do not create new structures as much as we create environments and the possibilities of relational connections so that new structures might emerge” (36). “Our ecclesial practices (new ecclesial structures) must emerge from primary Christological and ecclesiological understanding always mindful of the environment in which is the church is located” (37).

In sections three and four: “Structures that are not suitable are stifling and deadening.  Structures that are appropriate bring life and vitality” (43).  The mental framework transitions necessary in the church: “Radical individualism – wanderers to pilgrim; Aimlessness – busyness to vocation; Consumption – consumers to practioners; Fragmentation – individuals to community; Forgetfulness – amnesia to memory (64).

Church Planting - Models and Approaches

I am preparing for a church planting conference with the Ecclesia Network entitled Allelos, where I will be sharing on three topics.  The Equipping Church, Leadership Skills for the Journey and Models and Approaches to church planting. 

When it comes to models and approaches, I am wanting to get some feedback from you on this.  I have a lot of material that I want to share, including personal stories and such.  But I was wanting to make sure that I gave the "church planters to be" a good overview in what they should consider as they think through how they will approach the structure of the church, or the model.  Here is an overview of some of the things that I have thought about.  I would love it if you have any thoughts you would like to add.  I need to finish my preparation by Wednesday, though if you comment afterwards, I may still be able to use it.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER

The Context
Global/National/Metropolitan/Local/Neighborhood
Ethnic Context
Neighborhood Context
Educational Context
Political/Structural/Geographical Context
Life Style Patterns
Economic Context
Historical Context

The Team
Relational Assessment
    a. Mutual Trust
    b. Mutual Refreshment
    c. Mutual Enjoyment
    d. Mutual Commitment
    e. Unity of Spirit

Ministry Assessment
    a. Spiritual Gifts
    b. Passions
    c. Abilities
    d. Personality
    e. Enneagram
    f.  Experiences

Resource Assessment  (Ammerman)
    a.  People
    b.  Money
    c.  Space
    d.  Reputation
    e.  Spiritual Energies
    f.   Connections in Community
    g.  History

Process Assessment (Ammerman)
    a. Leadership
    b. Decision-making
    c. Problem-solving
    d. Conflict-management

The Theology of the Church
The Essence of the Church
The Metaphors of the Church
The Functions of the Church
The Marks of the Church
The Multiplication of the Church
The Definition of Success for the Church

CONTINUUM'S TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A MODEL
Solid/Liquid   (Structure and Change)
Hierarchy/Charisms   (Leadership)
Programmer/Environmentalist   (Leadership)
Center/Margins   (Leadership)
Vertical/Networked   (Communication)
Attractional/Incarnational   (Evangelism) 
Relevant/Resistant   (Culture) - HT Jason 
Anti-Pop Culture/Engaging Pop Culture   (Culture)
Formal [Attendance]/Informal [Relationships]   (Community)
Bounded Set/Centered Set   (Membership)
Monocultural/Multicultural   (Community)
Internal/External   (Focus)
Past/Future   (Orientation)

Would you add or take away one of these continuum's?

LEADING CONTEMPORARY ECCLESIOLOGIST (My overview of Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti work)
John Zizioulas an Eastern Orthodox bishop with a communion ecclesiology.  The Eucharist is the foundational act of the church.   The church is “instituted by Christ and constituted by the Spirit”

Hans Küng a catholic with a charismatic ecclesiology sees the church as the people of God, on a pilgrimage.  He favors a charismatic structure where each person is gifted to edify, serve and unify the body of Christ.

Wolfhart Pannenberg a Lutheran with a universal ecclesiology sees the church as anticipation “and a sign of the unity of all people under one God."  The church is a sign and tool of the coming kingdom for all humanity.

Jürgen Moltmann with a messianic, eschatological, charismatic, trinitarian ecclesiology views the church as a communion of equals that exists for the world.  He advocates a broader view of the Spirits work, in all of creation. 

Miroslav Volf a free church theologian with a trinitarian, participatory ecclesiology. He has an emphasis on the priesthood of all believers and sees the sacraments as necessary, but ordained ministers helpful but unnecessary.

James McClendon Jr. a Baptist theologian calls the church a narrative community that is future oriented, gift-created and a people of peoples.  He emphasizes the rule of God, centrality of Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit.

Lesslie Newbigin an Anglican with a missionary ecclesiology emphasizes the visible witness of the church - bearing and witnessing the truth.  The embodiment of the good news in the church and the missio Dei reflected in the Trinity are key.

MODELS TO EVALUATE
Missional Church
Emerging Church
Simple Church
Organic Church
New Monasticism  - HT Jason
Liquid Church
House Church
Liturgical Church
Neighborhood Church
Multi-site Church
Clusters - Mid-sized Missional Communities
Purpose-driven Church
Seeker-sensitive Church
Mega Church

I realize that some of these overlap but what would you add to this list? 

I would appreciate any feedback that you might have.  I realize that this post will probably only make sense to some people.  If it doesn't make any sense to you, don't worry.  Tomorrow is another day.

Why Church Matters by Jonathan Wilson - A Literary Review

One of the differences between a literary review and a straight up book review is that literary reviews are written to help with future research. So I am writing with the idea that this will guide me to what I want to go back and study.  There are various approaches to literary reviews, but here will be mine.

LITERARY REVIEW
I basically start with my sense of the author's thesis, followed by a general overview of the book, and then I focus on themes that are pertinent to my research. With that said, here is my review.

THESIS    
Wilson in Why Church Matters contends that a healthy ecclesiology occurs when the church becomes a participant in God’s work (by God’s grace) by engaging in the practices that witness to the kingdom.

GENERAL OVERVIEW
Wilson begins his book with an explanation of the notion of practice, as developed by Alasdair MacIntyre, and in the three sections of the book, he explains how the body of Christ best embodies these practices.  In the first section of this book, Wilson describes what he considers the foundational practice of the church – faithful worship.  In the second section, he addresses practices that he judges to be in need of renovation today – witness as kingdom words and deeds and discipleship as human flourishing.  And in section three he talks about practices that build on the foundations and renovations and form the church toward the kingdom.  These practices include baptism, the Eucharist, foot washing, confessing the creeds and suffering as the Power of the kingdom.  In describing each of these practices, Wilson helps the church to live as a faithful witness to the kingdom of God.

THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER      
One of the more beneficial chapters of this book occurs when Wilson summarizes MacIntyre’s often quoted book, After Virtue.  After MacIntyre analyzes how our culture has been shaped by the Enlightenment project, in his assessment, our culture has abandoned “most convictions about the telos (the “good,” the created purpose) of human life and human activities.  This abandonment of telos drains our actions of any real meaning and significance” (14). Wilson then describes MacIntyre’s five ways of understanding of practice, but recasts them in light of Christian tradition, which I outline in the next paragraph.  This idea of practice is what Wilson uses to build the rest of his book on.

1. Practices embody a concept of the good. Wilson understands the Christian telos to be that the church is to witness to the kingdom by being and making disciples.
2. Practices constitute a community.  In other words, “the church does not have an identity rooted in something other than its practices” (18). 
3. Practices are oriented to internal goods.  God is not to be followed for some “external” good, like material prosperity or security, rather the good is that the gospel of Christ be made known to those who have yet to hear and believe. 
4. Practices extend our conceptions of the good. The idea here is that the community of disciples’ conception of the good is transformed by its practices (20). 
5. Practices enable us to participate in the good. He veers from MacIntrye here, for MacIntrye says practices enable us to achieve the good, but Wilson points out that grace makes us participants in the good, not achievers.  Wilson then says that “Practices cannot be sustained apart from institutional structures” (22) and that “the institutions of the church are to serve the practices of the church” (23).   Practicing for Wilson is not like basketball practice, but rather like practicing medicine or practicing law. 

After fleshing out this idea of practice, he takes each of the practices aforementioned, and looks at them in light of the telos.  For example, when he talks about worship, the big question is not “Did I like it?”  But rather “Does this worship reflect God’s character and will?”  “Is it a foretaste of the coming Kingdom?”

One more note, in the appendix Wilson assesses the ecclesiology of Francis Schaeffer, Chuck Colson, Rick Warren and Brian McLaren.  He finds Rick Warren wanting. 

The Great Giveaway by David Fitch - A Literary Review

Over the next few weeks you will probably see a number of literary reviews. One of the differences between a literary review and a straight up book review is that literary reviews are written to help with future research. So I am writing with the idea that this will guide me to what I want to go back and study.  There are various approaches to literary reviews, but here will be mine.

LITERARY REVIEW
I basically start with my sense of the author's thesis, followed by a general overview of the book, and then I focus on themes that are pertinent to my research. With that said, here is my review.

THESIS
Fitch in The Great Giveaway contends that the evangelical church under the spell of modernity has given her various callings (functions) away; he is calling the church to be the church in our current context of postmodernity.

GENERAL OVERVIEW
Fitch works out his thesis first by redefining success and looking at the various practices of the church - Evangelism, Leadership, Worship, Preaching, Justice, Spiritual Formation and Moral Education.  He addresses how the evangelical church has given away each of these callings due to her marriage to modernity.   He makes the case that the church has structured herself out of meaningful existence. In each chapter of the book he takes one of these core callings of the church and describes how the church has given it away to  “the experts” or over to certain techniques.  He then proposes some practices for the church to engage in that are rooted in the history of church, so that the church might faithfully live out her calling again, in our postmodern context.

THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER
Fitch takes the first chapter to redefine success.  He makes the point that the American business culture and individualism has caused the church to be concerned about numbers and size, but the real question should be: “What kind of organization facilitates the inner workings of a local body of Christ that are necessary to properly nurture new believers into followers of Christ and participants in his salvation through the body of Christ?”(38) I found Fitch’s diagnosis of the church brilliant.  For the sake of memory, I want to (a) list out each practice he evaluates, (b) describe how the church practiced it in modernity and (c) summarize Fitch’s advice on how the church can reclaim that approach by a different set of practices that are true to the scriptures and our current context of ministry.  As a note of caution, this outline does not do justice to the rich insights that Fitch gives us in each chapter.  Nor does this chart list all of the advice he gives for each practice.  For example, in the practice of evangelism, Fitch talks about the practice of hospitality, prayer, mercy, justice, third space ministry and other things.  This chart I developed gives a simple look at how the evangelical church thought about this practice under the spell of modernity, and how she ought to think about this practice in postmodern times.  (Click  to make larger.)

The explanations and detailed understanding of what Fitch has written is worth reading again and again.  I highly recommend this thoughtful book.

Is Conversion a Four-Letter Word? Part VI

  Ways of seeing 
  Originally uploaded by monoglot

Now we are coming to the last two parts of this series.  Wednesday's post will be the final one.  I would love to hear from you on what you have thought about this series.  Are you finding it beneficial?  What have you liked, disliked, question or affirm?  On with today's installment.

PART III – For Those Who Consider Conversion a Four-Letter Word
“The Christian gospel has sometimes been made the tool of an imperialism, and of that we have to repent.  But at its heart it is the denial of all imperialisms, for at its center there is the cross where all imperialisms are humbled and we are invited to find the center of human unity in the One who was made nothing so that all might be one.  The very heart of the biblical vision for the unity of humankind is that its center is not an imperial power but a slain Lamb.” (Newbigin 1989:159)

As we have seen, both modernity and postmodernity, in their own ways, have contributed to conversion being a four-letter word by many people today. Yet how we view conversion, the particular lens through which we view it, and the places where we stand to view it are all critical if conversion is to become desirable once again.  I believe the issues in these posts are best handled by becoming a language teacher.  As a language teacher, I intend to embody the language of faith and teach the grammar of faith to others, whether it’s through public preaching, personal encounters, or group discussions.  In this way, whether one is under the spell of modernity or postmodernity, as he learns the language of faith, he will re-engage in God’s mission with a sense of vigor.  To get specific on how I would do this, I have provided a couple of personal grammar lessons. Listen in.

Advice for Those Influenced by Modernity
If you have a hard time letting go of the concept of “objective” truth, love to argue people into the faith, and only view the gospel as your ticket to heaven, then I have some good news for you.  First, while you may believe that absolute objective truth is what our culture needs, I would suggest that what our culture needs is a church that believes the truth so absolutely that she actually lives it out (Fitch 2007:57).  We need to move from an apologetics of argument to an apologetics of embodiment.  We need to move from getting people to assent to four spiritual laws or points-on-a-bridge diagram to inviting people to switch stories, so that they might enter into the kingdom of God in all its glory. 

This is a kingdom where the life and teachings of Jesus give discipleship real teeth - where we learn to follow the Liberator of those who have been oppressed by the system, the Lover of those who have been rejected by society, and the Deliverer of those who have been seduced by consumerism.  Our story is not just a private one dealing with personal morality but also a public one dealing with powers and principalities that need redemption.   Our story is centered on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  Our story in not limited to the death of Christ and the hereafter, but it is also about the kingdom that is at hand.  Our story doesn’t end with the annihilation of the earth, but a remade heaven and earth.  Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we can be confident that there will come a day when our cries for justice will be heard, our thirst for God will be quenched, our connection with each other will be deep, and our longing for beauty will be realized. (Wright 2006: 225-240)

The Good News is that “It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill in the world; it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church.” (Moltmann 1977:64) We are not required to be salesmen for God, but rather journalists, proclaiming to the world that God’s reign is at hand (Hunsberger in Hunsberger 1996:23).  And as we proclaim this good news, we must embody it as a community.  In the words of Bryan Stone, “the church does not really need an evangelistic strategy.  The church is the evangelistic strategy.” (Stone 2007:15).

Yoder on Missional Communities

  the cross 
  Originally uploaded by noe_carrillo

"The political novelty that God brings into the world as a community of those who serve instead of ruling, who suffer instead of inflicting suffering, whose fellowship crosses social lines instead of reinforcing them.  This new Christian community in which the walls are broken down not by human idealism or democratic legalism but by the work of Christ is not only a vehicle of the gospel or only a fruit of the gospel; it is the good news.  It is not merely the agent of mission or the constituency of a mission agency.  This is the mission."  - John Howard Yoder The Royal Priesthood

An Ecclesiology For Late Modernity by Kurt Fredrickson - A Literary Review

This review is of a Ph.d. thesis by Kurt Fredrickson.  I got a lot out of this paper, so I hope my review reflects that.  The full title of the thesis is: An Ecclesiology for Late Modernity: The Missio-Ecclesiology of Deitrich Bonhoeffer.

LITERARY REVIEW
I basically start with my sense of the author's thesis, followed by a general overview of the paper, and then I focus on themes that are pertinent to my research. With that said, here is my review.

THESIS
In light of a world in rapid and discontinuous change, Fredrickson claims that the church must develop new ways to “redemptively engage multicultural postmodern North America”(i) and that Deitrich Bonhoeffer’s missio-ecclesiology paves the way for us.

GENERAL OVERVIEW
Fredrickson looks to the writings of Bonhoeffer as well as those who have studied his writings to consider how to reshape the church so that she can “once again be a transforming agent for good” in the world.  Fredrickson first looks at Bonhoeffer’s Missio-Ecclesia Vision and describes how his vision is grounded theologically in his Christology, Anthropology, and Ecclesiology.  He then uses Bonhoeffer’s vision to critique North American religion as well as assess the church in the United States, before paving the way forward.  In describing where the church should go, Fredrickson says that Bonhoeffer’s thought is that a new structure begins with metanoia (repentance) and then he takes Bonhoeffer’s thoughts and develops a list of characteristics that describe what the Emerging Missional Church should look like.

THEMES TO RE-VISIT
A key element that Fredrickson picks up on in Bonhoeffer’s writing, which is a significant point for the church today to grasp, is how the church exists for the sake of the world.  This theme is throughout his work.  He says, “The church can never be isolated from the world as God is not isolated from the world. Bonhoeffer notes:  ‘God is the beyond in the midst of our life.  The church stands, not at the boundaries where human powers give out, but it the middle of the village.’” (3)  In another place he states, “For Bonhoeffer, faith meant engagement. The Christian and the church is never isolated or withdrawn from the world.  Faith is “participation in this being of Jesus (incarnation, cross, and resurrection….) Our relationship to God is a new life of ‘existence for others’, through participation in the being of Jesus.  It is living completely in this world” (12).

With this needed reminder that the church exists for the sake world – he also reminds us that she also needs to remember the posture that she should have as she lives out this vocation.   As Fredrickson notes, “Bonhoeffer was also aware that the church’s stance in society must not be one of triumph and security.  The utter failure of this mode was clearly seen in the German church. [During the rise of Hitler]  The new stance of the church must be one of weakness and suffering. The new stance of the church in waning Christendom will be in exile, in diaspora. It is this weak and hidden church that will become a force for good and blessing in the world” (11).

One of the most instructive, concise, and thoughtful parts of this work was when Frederickson said, “While Bonhoeffer’s missiology is not explicit, it is quite apparent in his writing and actions, demanding a radical new understanding of the gospel and a restructuring of the church.  Bliese summarizes this missional emphasis from five different vantage points in Bonhoeffer thought.”  The following is a summary:

    1.  There is mission with the view from inside: renewal        
         The church to ongoing reform and obedience to Christ alone

    2.  There is mission with the view from below: suffering
         We must see history from the perspective of the powerless and oppressed

    3.  There is mission with the view from outside: embrace
         How can Christ be Lord of the religionless?

    4.  There is mission with the view from the world: solidarity
         Christ is present in the world and for the world

    5.  There is mission with the view from the cruciform center: the cross
         The faith that will make a mark in the world is carries a cross (15-17)

Fredrickson’s look at contemporary Missio-Ecclesial Expressions in pages 72-85 is worth reviewing, as well as his conclusions.

 

Missio Dei by Fred Peatros - A Literary Review

I'm continuing with my literary reviews on missional leadership.  Today I want to review a concise but rich book written this past year (2007) by Fred Peatross. It is aptly titled: Missio Dei - In the Crises of Christianity.   

LITERARY REVIEW
I basically start with my sense of the author's thesis, followed by a general overview of the book, and then I focus on themes that are pertinent to my research. With that said, here is my review.

THESIS
Peatross makes the claim that church is mission, “not a program or an activity in the larger life of the church” (22), and because the church “no longer lives in a favored position with its host culture, Christians must be more like leaven than a church-centric, attractional-Sunday-center” (xvii).

GENERAL OVERVIEW
Peatross breaks his book into two sections - deconstruction and reconstruction.  In section one, he works at helping his readers realize that if the church in the West wants to be contextual, she should move from being attractional to being missional.  And in section two he provides the motivation as well as some practical advice on how to live more missionally.

THEMES TO RE-VISIT
While some have lost hope that current congregations will move from being attractional to missional, Peatros writes in hopes that his words might “resurrect a slumbering church” to see that a different world requires a different way.  Peatros has taken to heart the advice of Hirsch and Frost and is not only living incarnationally, but in this book he is effectively helping to persuade others to live the missional way of life.

This book is filled with rich quotes, important statistics, inspiring stories, and helpful advice, written by a man who apparently has a great passion for the people Jesus misses the most.   Peatross recognizes that “a renewed commitment to the missional task will require creativity in developing new forms and shapes in which the gospel can be expressed in a post-Christian culture” (14).  Peatross questions the practice of reproducing clones of modern churches, in postmodern times and poses this important question: “How does the American church make the transition from a clean, respectable, middle-class worshiping body of believers to a totally outward-looking, eyes-focused, knees-worn, heart-burned, missional church?” (46)  While he gives no map or cut-and-dried formula to see the thousands of attractional churches become missional churches, he does extend a practical invitation into the joy of following the incarnational way of Jesus and on page seventy-four shares some of the personal lessons that he has learned on his journey.

Merry Christmas!

  Merry Christmas 
  Originally uploaded by madaboutgrey

I trust that you are experiencing a meaningful Christmas.  I pray that your New Year is filled with a fresh sense of the wonder of God and a deeper sense of God's call for your life.

I thought I would leave these words for you today, from Henri Nouwen.  "Somehow I realized that songs, music, good feelings, beautiful liturgies, nice presents, big dinners, and many sweet words do not make Christmas.  Christmas is saying "yes" to something beyond all emotions and feelings.  Christmas is saying "yes" to a hope based on God's initiative, which has nothing to do with what I think or feel. Christmas is believing that the salvation of the world is God's work and not mine.  Things will never look just right or feel just right.  If they did, someone would be lying... But it is into this broken world that a child is born who is called Son of the Most High, Prince of Peace, Savior."

Around the Blogosphere - The Best of This Week in Blogs

  The Amazing Race 
  Originally uploaded by HaMeD!caL

There are many great bloggers who not only write excellent posts, but are avid readers of other blogs.  As readers they typically devote a post, often once a week, where they make a list of links to some of their favorite posts from other blogs that week.  This conglomeration of links goes by many names.  Scot McKnight calls this kind of post  - Weekly Meanderings, John Santic calls it - Speedlinking, Ben Myers calls it - Around the Traps, Tony calls this kind of post - This Week in Blogs, and I call it Choice Blog Entries.  Regardless of what name these posts go by, they are often filled with many great links.  So it is my hope to travel around the blogosphere  in order to give you the best of this week in blogs as often as I am able.

Random Acts of Linkage #38
Brother Maynard at Subversive Influence takes us on a huge tour around the blogosphere, from Advent posts, to interesting videos and from Piper's vs. Wrights gospel to online theological training sites.

Preaching Today Blog
The Preaching today blog posts there top ten posts from 2007, which include such things as:  When You Have to Prepare More Than One Sermon per Week, Six Disciplines for Taking your Preaching to the Next Level, Half-Brained Preaching and When Biblical Illustrations are a Bad Idea.

This Week in Blogs
Tony and setnservice  points to posts like:  The Lie of Transparency, What's Now from Donald Miller, Christianity and Judaism, and the number one killer of American Teens. 

Weekly Meanderings
Scot consistently has some great links.  In this past week of his weekly meanderings, he links to an interview with Fred Peatross and New Wineskins to book reviews and some articles about presidential candidates.

The Shaping of Things to Come by Frost and Hirsch - A Literary Review

Today I wanted to share with you an older book (meaning it came out in 2003) that I hadn't had the chance to read until recently.  I can see now why so many have been talking about this book.  It is rich with missional insights and challenges.  I hope you enjoy the review. 

LITERARY REVIEW
I basically start with my sense of the author's thesis, followed by a general overview of the book, and then I focus on themes that are pertinent to my research. With that said, here is my review.

THESIS
Frost and Hirsch in The Shaping of Things to Come assert that we need to “get over” the Christendom mode of doing church and move forward to the emerging missional mode if the church is to survive and thrive the West.  This will require fresh imagination and courage as well as a radical and revolutionary approach.

GENERAL OVERVIEW 
In part one, Frost and Hirsch declare that the way out of the demise of the church is not by evolution, but by revolution.  They are calling for what amounts to a second reformation.   In the remainder of the book they call us to move from the Christendom mode of doing church to an Missional mode of being the church, which they describe as:  (1) An Incarnational Ecclesiology - where the church moves from being attractional, to incarnational and contextual; (2) A Messianic Spirituality – where we move from a speculative Hellenistic approach to a more Hebraic concrete approach; and (3) An Apostolic Leadership – where we move from ordained clergy leadership, to the five-fold leadership – Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher that belongs to the whole church.

THEMES TO RE-VISIT
Hirsch and Frost first call us to an incarnational ecclesiology.  They state, “The Incarnation provides us with the missional means by which the gospel can become a genuine part of a people group without damaging the innate cultural frameworks that provide that people group with a sense of meaning and history.” (37) Incarnational ministry is identifying with people as much as possible without compromising the gospel, “having a real and abiding presence among a group of people, (39) it requires a sending impulse rather than an extractional one, (39) and “finally, incarnational mission means that people will get to experience Jesus on the inside of their culture and their lives.” (40)

They encourage church planters to move from planting attractional churches, like every other church in the West, and invite them to plant incarnational ones: “Instead, why not allow they rhythms and lifestyle patterns of the people we’re trying to reach determine the shape our communal life and worship meetings take?” (63) Practically they encourage many things including: finding people of peace (64), multiplication, not addition (65), third spaces (24), shared projects (25), and commercial enterprise. (26)

Frost and Hirsch, as thoughtful practioners, give many helpful and instructive charts throughout the book.  The following charts summarize key concepts in the book: The mode of the church in the three different eras chart (9), the attractional verses incarnational chart (41), the bounded set or centered set approach chart (50), the extraction vs. incarnational chart (72), the commands verses practices chart (80), the contextualized church chart (85), Hebert’s model for critical contextualization (90), Travis’s six types of Christ-centered communities (91,92), the missional-incarnational-messianic-apostolic mode chart (158), the socio-dynamic view of ADEPT chart (174), the leadership styles and their relationship to organizational life cycle chart (179), the organizing a revolution chart (203), and the bounded, fuzzy, centered sets and theological structure of Hirsch’s old church charts (207-209). The chapters on Imagination and the Leadership Task (Chapter 11) and Organizing a Revolution (Chapter 12) are worthy of further study.

A Conference You Don't Want to Miss!

If you have been enriched by Alan Hirsch and David Fitch, and you enjoy having some meaningful interaction with other missional leaders, then you don't want to miss this conference that is coming to Washington D.C. this coming February!

I live in Los Angeles, and I will be flying to this East Coast for this one.  Besides hearing from these thoughtful and engaging practioners, you will have an opportunity to connect with other missional leaders from around the country. 

There will be three kinds of sessions: [cs] collective sessions, [fs] focused sessions, and [gt] give and take sessions.  One of the collective sessions will be a panel discussion.

Below are some of the details as far as the schedule, and it is only one click away to find ALL the details.  It might be a nice Christmas gift for someone you know.

Early Registration: Before December 25th!
Regular Registration: After December 25th until capacity is full.

[cs] Collective Sessions by David Fitch Include:
The Practice of Church as Counter-Culture
The Practice of Preaching as Proclamation and Story
The Practice of Spiritual Formation as Community

[cs] Collective Sessions by Alan Hirsch Include:
The Practice of Re-Calibrating the 21st Century Church
The Practice of Incarnational Engagement
The Practice of Communitas

So check out the details at The Ecclesia Network Site. If you are a fellow blogger and have been encouraged and challenged by Alan or David, please link to this entry to let others know about this conference.  The price is great for an all inclusive package.  This time will enrich your soul and stimulate your missional imagination.

Sharing Stories

  Summer Night Blues II 
  Originally uploaded by TommyOshima

Eugene Peterson suggest that if we approach our lives like we often approach scripture, it not only distorts the story of scripture but our stories as well.

"The reason that story is so basic to us is that life itself has a narrative shape - a beginning and end, plot and characters, conflict and resolution.  Life isn't an accumulation of abstractions such as love and truth, sin and salvation, atonement and holiness; life is the realization of details that all connect organically, personally, specifically; names and fingerprints, street numbers and local weather, lamb for supper and a flat tire in the rain.  God reveals himself to us not in a metaphysical formulation or a cosmic fireworks display but in the kind of stories that we use to tell our children who they are and how to grow up as human beings, tell our friends who we are and what it's like to be human... Somewhere along the way, most of us pick up bad habits of extracting from the Bible what we pretentiously call "spiritual principles" or "moral guidelines," or "theological truths," and then corseting ourselves in them in order to force a godly shape on our lives."  (Peterson 1998:3,4)

Anderson and Reese in Spiritual Mentoring ask the question: "Have we been trying hard to measure up to the "principles" we have created from Scripture, rather than embrace and celebrate our blemished, embarrassing, scarred lives for the stories of redeemed grace they are?"

Quote of the Week: Becoming a Detective of Divinity

  The Preaching of Saint John the Baptist, ca. 1510 
  Originally uploaded by Maulleigh

Barbara  Brown Taylor in The Preaching Life tells her story of how her eyes were opened to a new world after hearing a message delivered on Sunday as a child. 

She writes, "My friends words changed everything for me.  I could no longer see myself or the least detail in my life in the same way again.  When the service was over that day, I walked out of it into a God-enchanted world, where I could not wait to find further clues to heaven on earth.  Every leaf, every ant, every shiny rock called out to me - begging to be watched, to be listened to, to be handled and examined.  I became a detective of divinity, collecting evidence of God's genius and admiring the tracks left for me to follow."

So remember, when you get the chance to share the word of God privately or publicly, maybe God will use you to cause others to become detectives of divinity. 

Quote of the Week: Risk, Improvisation and Experiment

  Jumping Out of the Page 
  Originally uploaded by Kris Kros

"A church which pitches its tents without constantly looking out for new horizons, which does not continually strike camp, is being untrue to its calling. ...[We must] play down our longing for certainty, accept what is risky, and live by improvisation and experiment."  - Hans Küng, The Church as the People of God