Elements of Incarnation...

Incarnate kicked off today at WBC; I managed to get to the first session with Stuart Murray Williams and thoroughly enjoyed his paper 'How is Jesus the focus of incarnational living?'

In no particular order SMW outlined what he termed elements of incarnation.


  • Living locally, rather than engaging from a safe distance
  • Participating in the community, rather than remaining aloof from it
  • Affirming and valuing all we can in the local culture
  • Being self aware and sensitive to our own assumptions and prejudices
  • Believing that God is already at work in the community and discovering how to join in.
  • Concentrating on relationships rather than programmes
  • Interpreting mission as ‘go to them’ rather than ‘come to us’
  • Operation from the grass roots rather than from positions of power
  • Embodying the gospel through small groups that infiltrate society
  • Doing things with rather than for the community
  • Communicating the gospel in contextual language and images
  • Communicating the gospel through deeds as well as words
  • Understanding faith and discipleship as whole-life activities
  • Rejecting sacred/secular dualism and refusing to see church as a separate sphere
  • Not knowing in advance what our ministry will lead to
  • Regarding mission as two-way, so that we learn as we teach
  • Not extracting converts from their culture but equipping them to live within it as followers of Jesus
  • Operating as ‘salt’ and ‘leaven’ in the community
  • Working for cultural transformation from the inside rather than the outside

Comments

Graeme Smith said…
Excellent day yesterday Gordon! I only wish that I was able to come to the whole event as I would have loved to read the papers I didn't get to hear in person.

Congratulations on a challenging event!
8:12 AM
lucy ar said…
Yep, I'll echo that.
Really great to be there, thanks for putting on a salient and challenging day (and also to the college for opening it up to everyone- and with free lunch! too generous)
9:20 PM
Gordon said…
Sorry I didn't get to say hello, or even get to see you both!! I was pulled in too many directions!
10:33 AM
Roz Lynch said…
Sounds like youthwork to me...lots of familiar elements...

oh and the wind video was great...so much so i nicked...trying to get back on the blog roundabout...so need all the inspiration I can get...btw...ever think of writing a book...me and Dean were thinking of doing one on youthwork or coffee blends or marsupial animals eating habits...
2:21 PM
Gordon said…
Roz - definately that's how I saw it; as for the book I'll write the foreward for you!!

Coffee?
11:21 AM
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