emergent
kiwi
In Liquid Church, Pete Ward takes a deep swim in postmodern waters. While many are just trying to dog paddle, Ward explores ways for the church to incarnationally flourish in our contemporary culture. At times the theologian in me wonders if Ward’s theology is so liquid he ignores Divine person, and thus the importance of gathering. At times the practitioner in me wonders who will fund Pete’s dreams. But the insights around spiritual desire and the creative and missional possibilities around shopping for meaning are worth the price alone. It is a provocative book in which the missionary heartbeat is undeniable. The book is well written. It is concise. It handles well. If you’re serious about being church in the postmodern world, it is worth taking the plunge.
liquid church
Coming:
Olive Drane, creativity and the image of God
Christchurch, January 04
Going:
Taylor's to Chch, Jan04
Church and Society, Auckland, Feb04
Stuff I've written:
Celebrating a Postmodern Pentecost
Sketching a postmodern missiology
Romeo/Juliet/altworship
DJing salvation
Piglet reads the Bible in a postmodern world
Coupland/community
cultural
wildflowers
1 Peter:mysogynist
or feminist
New generation/new
millenium
Church
in a global world
My further reading
art and spirituality
church ministry
postmodernity
Generation X
popular culture
gospel and culture
faith in aotearoa new zealand
Conversations that enhance me:
andrew jones up close
small ritual
douglas rushkoff
jonny baker
God-n-
club culture
paul fromont
darren rowse
Christian greenie
God-n-club culture-2
human in london
intellectually gritty
rachel cunliffe
jordon cooper (mentioned my blog 3x)
mark barkaway
Interview with:
Archives:
June 2002
July 2002
August 2002
September 2002
October 2002
November 2002
December 2002
January 2003
February 2003
March 2003
April 2003
May 2003
June 2003
July 2003
August 2003
September 2003
October 2003
November 2003
December 2003
January 2004
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Does it matter?
I’m in trouble. A denominational agency sent out a money seeking brochure. The image on the front cover reads "pastoral ministries" and features 3 men. I saddened me. Images shape reality. Why, oh why did it have to be 3 men?
I wrote to them. I pointed out that the denomination believes in women in ministry. I worked really hard to make it a nice letter. I even offered to check future brochures for them.
In return I was told I have "misinterpreted" and "misconstrued" them. That they are actually very supportive of women. That they do good work. That not many women are in ministry anyhow. Does it matter? Was it worth the effort?
posted by spirit2go team at 4:09 PM
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
A lot of my thinking has been about gospel and culture recently. Or if you like, the church as wildflowers, blooming along the roads of our society. I just ache for the church as beautiful, as distinctive, for the church as impacting the main routes of societal meaning. A real help for me has been the work of theologian Miroslav Volf and I've used him recently when speaking at Ponsonby, Graceway, Intro the theology classes and PhD seminars. His article on 1 Peter and gospel and culture, while long, I find very insightful. A number of people have asked about it.
posted by spirit2go team at 2:26 PM
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Driving down the Southern Motorway out of Auckland, the sides of the highway are covered with wildflowers. Just superb.
Wildflowers. How much of our life and worship is like this? Steve Collins plays with this idea on his smallfire website, which consists of photos of alt.worship communities, because they are like flowers in the desert, objects of fleeting and fading beauty.
Hundreds drive by and are glad, but we never hear their feedback. Are we too result focused - is there another bum on the seat - and are missing the colour that our lives bring to others?
Oh. They're ecofriendly "Wildflower World are also developing a commercial organic mixture using wildflowers to attract beneficial insects to organic food production crops, from apple orchards through to vineyards. This mixture is under extensive evaluation."
posted by spirit2go team at 4:59 PM
What place the environment for our churches? The first question of the Unlimited/Massey Corporate Environmental Responsiveness Survey is whether your company has a board member with specific environmental responsibility.
Hmmmm. How many of our churches have an "Environmental deacon"? Is it a worthy investment of leadership time? If God loves the earth, is this a good way to practically show it?
posted by spirit2go team at 4:49 PM
Just back from the snow. Shannon, our 5 year old has never seen snow. So straight after lecturing on Monday at 5 pm we drove, 4 hours to Taumaranui. Then spend Tuesday at the snow, before driving back from a 7:30 pm first brainstorming group on our Earth Mass (more on this as it evolves). It was a great family time. Great to build in memories like this.
posted by spirit2go team at 3:45 PM
Sunday, August 25, 2002
Rough guide to Graceway for all those toe dippers on Saturday night. Some of those people who've dipped their toes into Graceway recently were invited for coffee and dessert and to share their experiences and to get a bit of info re Graceway. 6 new people and a few locals gathered. A good night. It's like being present at the birth of a baby. All you hear is the good stuff (hey there's hard stuff about birth and about Graceway), but generally new people see the good;
different church
want to participate
the depth of sermons
friendly welcome.
Cool stuff. I'll try and add the "rough guide to the graceway website some time.
posted by spirit2go team at 1:54 AM
Friday, August 23, 2002
Heard yesterday that someone else in Auckland has just quit their job with Anglican youth to form a art and spirituality centre. Wow. Two dreamers in one city. Might be some synergy here. I've been trying to make phone contact.
i'm enjoying playing with this idea of reframing church. Still committed to the community, but using the windows of art and spirituality and internet portals to look at our life does show a whole new range of dimensions. It is authentic to our life, because we do have this creative worship ethos which has morphed into art exhibitions, installations, creativity and spirituality workshops (we're running a storytelling course in September, but that's another blog!), spirituality postcards.
And they might present funding opportunities.
posted by spirit2go team at 4:09 PM
Wednesday, August 21, 2002
Found this absolutely funky building today. 5000 sq feet. Concrete, Sunny, in a place with real character, and feel.
We could house a great artists collective, insert the coffee machine and sofas, and install the "portal". It would be a great space.
Downsides - not in Ellerslie, only 2 close parking spaces, and its a little out of the way. And we have no cash. Its like chicken and egg. No space so no artists. No artists so can't afford space. Grrrr.
Anyhow, we might use it for The Easter Garden. Next Easter I have this idea of installing a 20 sq metre indoor garden, with labyrinth, run workshops. I have the landscape designer. So we need a space and this could be it.
posted by spirit2go team at 1:32 AM
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
I had a job review last night. 3 people from the community, plus my mentor, gathering together to assess how I've done in relation to what the community ask me to do as part of the community vision.
I always find them nervous and scarey. Hard for everyone, cos they are my friends, and then we have to readjust our relationships to evaluate. But its part of my commitment to creating ways for people to be constructive.
There's so much idealism around community, and I like to dream big while building for worst case scenarios.
Anyhow. It went well and we finished with a bottle of red and a toast to the next "20 years" of ministry at Graceway!!
posted by spirit2go team at 2:55 PM
Monday, August 19, 2002
Spent some time with my "spiritual director" today.
She reminded me of the need to walk slow, to feel the sun on my back, to pick some flowers from God's garden, to take "big steps" just for fun, to delight in life.
She's 2 and her names Kayli and she's my youngest. "Unless you become like one of these, you will not enter the Kingdom."
posted by spirit2go team at 1:17 AM
Sunday, August 18, 2002
checking enetation again!
posted by spirit2go team at 2:52 PM
Friday, August 16, 2002
A contemporary Jesus?
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/othersports.html
posted by spirit2go team at 7:36 PM
Mystical Communion
One of the values of the emerging church is a refinding of church as mystical communion. We have a desire for real relationships with people. We also have desire for a fresh sense of intimacy with God (hence the use of the word Daddy, which for those who have bad relationship with their Father must be quite off-putting). We draw on Biblical images of the Body of Christ and the People of God. It’s certainly been a focus at Graceway. However, its got its downsides.
I find this quote the other day, which I found helpful.
Some people involved in the underground are eagerly looking for the perfect human community … The longing desire for the warm and understanding total community is the search for the good mother, which is bound to end in disappointment and heartbreak. There are no good mothers and fathers, there is only the divine mystery summoning and freeing us to grow up.
Gregory Baum, Church as Mystical Communion
The task of discipleship is seeing people grow up, which includes recognizing frailty, in us and in others and in our dreams of church. That doesn’t stop me dreaming, just makes me aware of the need to treasure people more, listen harder, tuck down for the journey longer.
posted by spirit2go team at 5:13 PM
Graceway is nomadic this Sunday. Can't use our community hall so we're meeting at Carey College dining room, 471 Great South Road.
It's a foodbasket service, a chance to honour community and creativity and spirituality. Based on a Maori proverb; with your foodbasket and with my foodbasket, the guest will have enough. Bread is provided. People bring dips and salad and fruit. We share. We then share communion. We then share from our spiritual foodbasket - what's been helping our journey - throughts, insights, books, CDs, Scriptures, images ... They are always really rich evenings.
posted by spirit2go team at 1:35 AM
Thursday, August 15, 2002
Phone call today:
Phone: Can you pray because my mother has had an accident in a foreign country
Me: Yes I know. I’ve already heard.
Phone: Oh good. <
Me: <
Phone: Yes. I just use email.
Ah the delights of a world of reframed communications!
posted by spirit2go team at 10:21 PM
Today I was working away on my thesis and the phone rang. Do you want a coffee says my wife?
It's the first time she and the kids have been out of the house if 4 days, what with being sick. They were all so pleased to breathe fresh air.
posted by spirit2go team at 1:36 AM
Tuesday, August 13, 2002
My 2 kids are getting over bad ear infections. We've spent the last 3 nights cleaning up vomit, answering lots of cries, sleeping on the floor nursing children to sleep. Last night I was only up twice. So life is looking up. I never realised how precious sleep was until I became a parent.
posted by spirit2go team at 10:22 PM
Sebastian just rang from Germany. I'm supervising a Masters in Theology that he's doing. He's looking at Generation X values, as read in Douglas Coupland's work. He's then focused that specifically on Gen X leadership. And now he's reading Scripture, looking for resources that might guide Gen X Christian leaders. It's a really interesting project.
I'm also supervising Mike. He's doing a research essay, critiquing Dave Andrews and the Waiters Union. Looking at issues of mission, community and location and how they will impact on the way we do church in New Zealand.
Two really good young thinkers. Part of the emergent leadership God is raising up. It's a privilege to be involved with them.
posted by spirit2go team at 12:39 AM
Saturday, August 10, 2002
Last night 12 of us gathered at our place for a dinner party and a conversation about church, community and the future. All of us connected with Graceway, either in leadership or as “interns” who have gone through the church and onto other faith communities. We also had Alan Hirsch join us. He’s playing with subcultural church planting in Melbourne and so was bound to internationalise and enrich and stimulate our evening.
Fine wine, fine food, fine conversation.
We based the evening around a number of quotes and questions;
Worship will be embodied, and place the mutual sharing of stories of faith at the centre of its search for meaningful community. So what does it mean for Christian faith to be embodied in Aotearoa New Zealand?
People without lives like to hang out with other people who don’t have lives and thus they form lives. So how does Graceway continue to create space for people without lives to hang with us and so to form lives?
People find their true fulfillment not only as they relate to one another, but as the relate to God thru one another. So what does it mean to create communities that find God thru others?
People picked a question and asked someone else what they thought and so the conversation flowed.
We ranged from Kyoto Protocols to sexuality to ways to restructure ourselves economically and so release resources for the Kingdom. It was a very rich and stimulating evening. Thanks to all participants and to God.
posted by spirit2go team at 4:05 PM
Thursday, August 08, 2002
Clearing my mail after a hectic spell and I found the newsletter of future church (they'll be on the web soon and when they do, I''ll post their address). I open the newsletter and find Graceway postcards (www.graceway.org.nz), a rave I did on Faithless and spirituality (also at www.graceway.org.nz and hit the link emergent thinking), and my weblog. It caused me to reflect again on how funny all this communication is becoming. We can access each other while never realising it. Its a great era to be alive. It asks so many questions about how we do church and be Christian in light of all these new routes of meaning.
posted by spirit2go team at 7:22 PM
It appears that my rave about church as portals has sparked some discussions. I got this email yesterday;
""Yes" it’s time to re-shape, not just parts, but our whole ecclesiology, such that church, in all it’s myriad of forms, contexts, practices, and traditions, becomes portals, or the term I like to suggest, "spatial rifts" through which people might move, seek, and do. I think of "Star Trek" or "Doctor Who", or some Sci-Fi concepts. These rifts would be multi-dimensional (read, ‘historical,’ ‘eschatological’ etc.), multi-traditioned (‘ecumenical Christian’), multi-ethnic, multi-cultural (not in an ethnic sense) etc. These would be fluid - changing, growing, opening, and closing etc. (I was thinking of Pete Ward’s interview about ‘fluid’ churches), flexible, open ended networks or communities (local, national, and global) in which people, deeply connected with travellers both internally and externally, act as mentors, friends (gently and lovingly pulling people toward God revealed in Jesus), guides, ‘incarnators’ and connectors – connecting people to, as you say, a range of options, resources, experiences, help, and other person’s. "
Thanks Paul (prodigal.blogspot.com)
posted by spirit2go team at 7:19 PM
Tuesday, August 06, 2002
A number of people have asked about Converse.
Converse was 17 people representing 10 different communities, who met from Thursday 2 pm-Saturday 12 pm. We slept in one big room and ate together, at Cityside Baptist. We were facilitated by Mark Pierson.
We seemed to me to be bound together by a range of factors. Firstly, post-exilic - that while disturbed by church as is, we have elected to build something new rather than leave. Secondly, theological factors - the importance of creativity, spirituality, community and humanity. Thirdly, postmodernism - a desire to connect with a changing culture.
We heard each others stories and then described our ministries. We weren’t there to grab the latest worship idea, but to bat around the issues we were facing as people doing church differently.
Conversational trends
the need to shift from creative leaders to a creatively participating community
the need to shift from creating worship to practising mission communities
the need to take seriously the way culture is reshaping community and thus to structure our lives to resource those outside the "Worship experience"
The need to train and mentor others who want to journey
the challenge of resourcing this type of "out there" spirituality
the importance of relationships with other like minded people in keeping us going
the importance of process. That’s it not about copying some else’s idea, but going on a journey in which the community learn and grow
posted by spirit2go team at 10:39 PM
Saturday, August 03, 2002
Spiritual Portals?
Is it time to reshape parts of church life as spirtual portals. By this I mean that if people are rejecting church but finding spirituality, then they are bypassing a whole lot of church historical spiritual treasure. But its not good shouting louder. Is it time to create spiritual portals - pilgrimages, retreats, spiritual coaches, free boxes of spiritual giveways, spiritual postcards. All accessed through a "portal" both a place and a space, which points the spiritual seeker to a range of options.
If it emerges from Graceway (or any church community life), then its authentic and linked with community, which is nice and important, goes God is into relationships (Trinity etc).
posted by spirit2go team at 3:57 PM
Friday, August 02, 2002
converse was great. 9 groups from around NZ.
Key issues;
how to train
how to see others contributing creatively in the community
how to be church for spiritual seekers, so that care for others is part of our inner life.
It was a great conversation.
I got back home to read jonny bakers blog and the irony that a similar thing was happening in London. Is this part of the maturing of the emergent, a gathering not of wannabees or couldbees but of those doing stuff and learning together?
posted by spirit2go team at 7:52 PM