Archive for December 2006
Dwelling in the Word
Church Innovations is a consulting and research group out of Minnesota. I don’t know them personally, but found their site off a link from Allelon. What I do like is that corporately, not just individually, they practice what they call dwelling in the Word.
CI has taken as its mission text Luke 10:1-12, and their staff dwells on this text a lot as they process decisions for their company. This practice is their version of the practice, lectio divina. Lectio ("reading") is the ancient practice of reading scripture for what it says to the reader, not for what the text means. Lectio has it’s origins in the monastic tradition, specifically the Benedictine tradition, and is a form of prayer — not study, sermon preparation, or devotional reading.
Two additional practices related to lectio are meditatio ("meditation") and oratio ("prayer"). And I like the monastic description of the monks’ vocation — laborare et orare — "to work and to pray." Not a bad way to live one’s life. – Amicus Dei
Networks, Identity, and Change
Stanford Social Innovation Review has an interesting article in its current issue titled, Networks for Good Works. Written by Joel Podolny, dean of the Yale School of Management, neither the article nor the magazine are concerned with church or faith. But Podolny raises several issues that have implications for missional communities, such as:
A contrast-society
I have just finished reading Gerhard Lohfink’s Jesus and Community: The Social Dimension of Christian Faith. Lohfink was professor of New Testatment at Tubingen University until 1986. In this book, Lohfink presents several interesting points about the central role of community in what he calls the people of God.
Church of the Customer
One of the big pet-peeves in the missional community is the church as provider of religious goods and services. Here’s what Brian McLaren’s church, Cedar Ridge, says — "It´s a global mission, but it must be worked out locally. If you have this understanding, you will not see the church as a purveyor of religious goods and services, which you attend as a consumer. Instead, you will see the church as a community of people engaged in mission, and you will see yourself as a partner in that mission."
Comforting Christ
Catherine Doherty, activist and founder of the Madonna House, was born in Russia in 1896. Raised in the Russian Orthodox tradition, but schooled in Egypt at a Catholic school, Catherine as a young girl was acutely sensitive to God’s call on her life. She recalled one day being in the garden of the school where a statue of Saint Francis occupied a prominent spot among the plants and flowers. Catherine said to the statue, "One day I will be poor like you and birds will eat out of my hand." Later in life, Catherine recalled, that although no birds had ever eaten from her hand, she had indeed become poor like Saint Francis. But the incident which would shape her life most dramatically occurred inside her schoolroom.
The poustinia and missional prayer
I never cease to be amazed at all the things I do not know. In our "morning hours" prayer time, Debbie and I read from Celtic Daily Prayer. The readings the past several days have been about the prayer lives of the poustiniki – Russian hermits who fasted and prayed in the solitude of a very basic cabin, called a poustinia.
The Nobel Peace Prize and Poverty
Muhammud Yunus won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. What did Yunus do to deserve the most prestigious award for peace on the planet? He loaned poor people money. In the grinding poverty of Bangladesh, Muhammud Yunus loans beggars an average of $12 so they can start their own businesses and stop begging. My wife and I spent more than $12 at Starbucks yesterday. So why is this such a big deal?
The Hope for Small Churches
According to Outreach magazine, I pastor a small church — one with less than 300 in attendance. I’m blogging for Outreach once a week in 2007 on the topic of small churches, and I have a couple of posts up already. Driving back from Richmond today, I got to thinking about small churches and their future. Out of some 350,000 churches in America today, about 90% of them have 100 or less in attendance. Most are plateaued or declining. Many have 40 or less in attendance. Is there any hope for them?
Emerging church theology
If you’re interested in the emerging church phenomenon, two books stand out as must-reading, both by Fuller Seminary professors. Emerging Churches by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger, both professors at Fuller Seminary’s School of Intercultural Studies (formerly School of World Mission). Published in 2005, Gibbs and Bolger took 5-years to pull together the 9 traits they identified as unique to emerging churches.
Confessions of a Small Church Pastor
The title was not my choice, but the Outreach magazine blog I am writing each week is now up and live. Confessions of a Small-Church Pastor will tackle issues of interest (I hope) to churches with 300 or less attending. This link may be temporary, but I’ll advise you if and when it changes.
So, join in the conversation in one or both places. BTW, I’ve got to come up with 52 ideas for posts — any suggestions? — Amicus Dei
