Shaping of things to come...

I spent the day being wrongly labelled.

Courtesy of blah I’m listening to Hirsch and Frost’s take on mission. Feeling the ‘missional pulse’ of how to be church in a culture where people are not interested. The importance of recognising the need for proximity, presence, powerlessness, proclamation. The DNA of mission - mDNA. Contrasting communication and hair styles is mixing the day up nicely – although I’m sure I suffer from a form of dyslexia connected with complicated diagrams!!

Hirsch and Frost are challenging all things parochial, all things settled, all things institutional, all things Christendom. Challenging Church Growth (defined as ‘Christendom on steroids!’) but interestingly offering as an alternative a jazzed up evangelical ‘friendship evangelism’ re-mix. Their outward emphasis for mission is healthy with a strong identification of the realities of being church in the post Christian west. Their message is compelling, well presented.

I look around the attendees - all labelled – best lovingly described as an "All-age Christian Union" but varied from their piercings to greenbelt t-shirts to novelty musical socks – I’m left thinking.

There is more to church than going water ski-ing and reading a psalm. There is more to church than growing a mullet and racing model cars! I’m left thinking I’m not sure that their ‘either/or’ approach or their exaggeration of IC strengthens their discussion. I’m left thinking where does the ancient/modern tension, the strength and beauty of heritage fit? I’m left thinking what does the missional church look like in its community? I’m left thinking why do people keep calling me Graham?

Perhaps some strands are missing, but only - I believe - in that time is against them. Dialogue is restricted. A strong theme "Christology should determine our Missiology, which then in turn should affect our Ecclesiology" is coursing through their comments which leaves me feeling comfortable that with more dialogue the role of the church missionally would have come through loud and strong. I like their premise of engagement, of working towards inspiring people to ask – "who are these people?"

I leave – a day well spent. I’ve met some intriguing people, made connections with those until now were just names in blogland!. I take my name tag off – I look at it Graham Cotterill??

Nothing worse than being wrongly labelled!

I'm left thinking when people are looking and are provoked into ‘asking who you are?’ sometimes labels that are wrong are not that helpful!! In this ‘emerging’ church culture of the latest pre-fix and dot abbreviation I think we need to be careful!

-----

Rob has more reflections that are worth checking.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A bit of sally bashing....

Came across a good bit of Sally bashing over at salvationsoldiers I have to say we try and make sure that everything we raise goes into projects that build local community in Poplar but hopefully if you read this blog you get that sense anyway.
Read more

Lost Voices of Mission...Fred Brown

Image
Along the world famous Oxford street in London's Westend; nestled in among the classy frontage of designer shops there is almost an unnoticeable, unimpressive wooden door. It is more or less alongside The Regent Hall's main entrance onto the busyness of Oxford Street. People pass the wooden door oblivious to the equally unimpressive wooden steps that go up three storey's to what was Regent Hall's youth club. When I was 10 I played on these bare wooden steps totally unaware of the significance behind and upon which I played. Many years later I discovered a university youth work course - as an induction to Youth Work - stopped outside this insignificant wooden door to point out that Youth Work as we know it in the UK started behind this door. ...whether that be the surbanite flower people that flooded the Westend to express their free love; or the hard core drug community this unimpressive wooden door became the 'portal' that blurred encounter between church an
Read more

Types of Christian Spirituality...

Image
It is easy to think and to limit ourselves to a single approach to Christian spirituality. A 'if it works for me it should work for you approach' tends to narrow our appreciation of other ways which actually impoverishes our experience of spirituality. Urban T. Holmes has developed a means of exploring spirituality and helps develop an appreciation through discovering links between spirituality, temperament and predisposition. The diagram illustrates his ideas together with potential inherent dangers. The vertical continuum speaks and helps us understand our relational orientation to God. This ranges from engaging with God through understanding and theological process to a more emotive response. Horizontally speaks of a persons preferred means of pursuing the spiritual life. Kataphtic speaks of affirmation and the need of something tangible in an individuals spirituality- this may take the form of worship, art, even imagination with the use of metaphors, symbols and images play
Read more