sustain:if:able kiwi

am I emerging/ent and why Rock Harbour is right and wrong?

Just been listening to some church (called Rock Harbour) reflect on the question of why they are, or are not emerging/ent? (hat tip Andrew Jones). There’s a position paper, plus a long video (I watched the first 70 minutes) here. I have not met these folk. But since I often get pinged by the question – are you, Steve Taylor, emerging/ent, it was fascinating to watch someone else search for a response. What resources do they use? Does their reasoning make sense?

Here are some thoughts as I listened:
1. I like the way they set up a framework, which they suggested gave them freedom to quote from people they disagree with. They pointed to how Paul and Jude quoted their opponents, and thus, by abstraction, we can quote from people without agreeing with all of their theology. This makes sense and I liked the way that Rock Harbour then used that to encourage people to think and test for themselves.

2. They show little awareness of the processes of interpretation. They make a strong point of talking about “the Bible” and how they were Biblical. But they showed no awareness of the fact that everyone person reads “the Bible” from within culture and through their existing frameworks. There is no such thing as “pure Bible reading.” I would suggest Rock Harbour need to work harder on making the process of interpretation clearer. It is not Bible <---> individual believer, because interpretation also includes the Spirit (who is sent to point to truth) and the community, to whom the Bible was given.

3. They make a big deal of the four gospels being different, which they then use as examples of contextualisation. By implication this frees them to contextualise. Well yes. But they then make the statement that the Gospel writers, while contextualising, are committed to an unchanging core. At this point my logic detector goes off. Where, I want to know, is this unchanging core? If this is not in the four gospels, where is it? If it is a synthesis of the gospel eg into propositions or a doctrinal statement, then who has done this synthesising, because surely this is a human interpretation of the core? And at that point the Rock Harbour approach to contextualisation becomes wobbly IMHO, simply because they are trying to present an undefined, inner, “core” as somehow divinely ordained.

4. They make a big deal of Acts being about contextualisation (which it is), but duck – majorly – the power and weight of Acts 15. Acts 15 is crucial, because Acts 15 suggests that contextualisation, correctly practised is NOT about doctrinal purity (the unchanging core), but about the praxis of caring of the poor and the ethics of food sacrifice. In other words, don’t use Acts to defend your doctrinal purity, but to consider how faith is lived.

5. They spend a long time on why they will keep spiritual formation. (It needed a good edit.) Surely it would have been simpler to apply their notion in (1) – that they are simply taking the best bits from the Christian tradition.

6. Their notion that “It is finished” is a salvific statement surprised me. I interpret “It is finished” as Jesus dying. If “It is finished” it is salvific, then what is place of resurrection and the Spirit in their theology? In other words, salvation is not just the death of Jesus, it’s also the life, death and resurrection.

So, after having been reflective on another group, how would I answer the question? are you, Steve Taylor, emerging/ent?

My answer is this
1. In Acts 2, the Spirit comes and one of the signs of the Spirit is that people heard in their own language.
2. That work continues today, as the Spirit continues to desire that people hear God in their own language. That for me, is how I see the term emerging/ent church.
3. Yes, this work of Spirit will require discernment, the ability to recognise what is working toward God and what is working away from God. We’re not the first people to face such questions and for that we have the Scriptures and the community of God and the knowledge gained throughout history.
4. This conversation between Spirit, church, Bible, with the knowledge gained through history, must generate debate. That debate is part of the reason there’s a lot written about emerging/ent church. Like all debates, there’s both heat and light, so books and websites need to approached with brains on. All that is heat is not light and vice versa.
5. God wants to make Godself known and this is an essential part of the work of God’s Spirit. This Spirit is one of love, not of fear, and so as we talk together, we need to seek relationships that give and receive love, (modelled in the way and walk of Jesus).

gospel people: one way or many?

Excellent day with the Laidlaw (Auckland) class. What seemed most helpful was some new material I pulled together around being gospel people. (It was part of a sermon series I preached at Opawa last year, on Taking the con out of conversion, so fascinating to have stuff I preach, shaping up a class.)

What has intrigued me for a while is that the book of Acts has 20 speeches in which the gospel is being presented. So how do the early church live/present the gospel and how might that inform us today?

So I invited the class to place the speeches side by side, in particular Acts 2, Acts 14 and Acts 17.

And you very quickly see how different each presentation is. All use different resources to present the gospel (Old Testament, creation, culture). All end with a different conclusion (resurrection, God’s providence).

In other words,
– there is no one single core gospel message being presented,
– there are many resources that can be drawn on,
– there is no “universal” thing to believe/preach
– that success is the exception, not the norm.

(Here is a table I drew up to synthesise the Biblical texts).

It’s a stimulating, yet liberating realisation. Certainly lots of energy resulting, as people became encouraged to be creative and diverse.

peeping Bobbies: Is is Biblical to peer into a city of refuge?

Interesting clash between church and state in this newspaper article: “A Catholic priest has condemned Christchurch police as “tactless” after they staked out a funeral and allegedly stopped a car-load of mourners at gunpoint in an effort to find the dead man’s fugitive son. Several police were at the funeral of Linwood’s Tala Seleni, who was found dead in an apparent murder-suicide this month. At the time Seleni’s son, Tasi, 29, was on the run from police who wanted him on charges of kidnapping and stabbing. He did not attend the service after he got wind of the police presence. Pauline Seleni, Tasi’s mother and Tala’s separated wife, said police had violated the “sanctuary” of the church and prevented her son from making his farewell to his father.”

Where does the idea of a church being a sanctuary come from?

Firstly, probably the sense of a funeral being significant. Good ritual is about making a space, in which emotions can be channeled and expressed. Police presence is piercing that space, constantly reminding participants of the outside realities. Surely the Police could have gone as plain clothes, made an arrest quietly afterward if the person was present?

Second, the notion of a place – the church – being sacred. In Deuteronomy 19 we find cities of refuge. Israel is to build cities and clear roads, to which people flee when acts of violence are committed. Presumably this is tied to a safe legal process, in which the state mediates between offender and victim’s family, testing for accident and assessing innocence. And so this idea emerges, of specific places of sanctuary, in which people can flee.

I love Walter Bruegemann’s insights on this text, in which he points to this as a way in which church reforms society, acting within existing structures (local government, judicial), in order to enact God’s justice.

Which is lofty in concept and wonderful in vision. But can lose itself in the practicalities of life. And lacks clarity on when, where and how the State should be involved. Curiously, despite the detail of much of the Mosaic Law, there is no mention of this particular case-study, of whether the authorities can stake out these places of sanctuary, hoping to catch a son on the run!

Put it another way. Say a person accidently kills their son and flees to a city of refuge. The body needs to be buried (and quickly, in a Middle Eastern climate). Is the person guaranteed immunity so that they can leave the city of refuge to attend the funeral safely?

Our modern democracies are a long way from the theocracy of ancient Israel. So it is fascinating to see this notion of “sanctuary” still at work in our culture, and a grieving family and comforting Priest accusing the Police of peeping, of abusing “sanctuary.”

culture making: workplace mission and Kingdom stories

I’m a culture maker from Andy Crouch on Vimeo. (hat tip Bob Carlton)

I like how this affirms workplaces.
I love the variety of ages.
I like how some of these link their work with mission.
I don’t like how the last clip celebrates violent play.

I read this video within a framework of God as creator and redeemer of the world. But that’s me and I wonder what explicit narratives do drive people’s “culture making.” I wonder what uniquely the Christian gospel has to offer to culture making. I worry, based on a recent workplace experience (does forgiveness have legs), that Christianity today is actually not shaping culture.

I can see this being used at a church camp or through a block course, to create discussion on
– in what ways am I culture making
– what Bible stories shape my culture making
– what are the obstacles and dangers of my culture making
– what partnerships do I need to sustain and enhance my culture making
Finishing with the group making their own video, which becomes their “mission statement”

yes to bible and popular culture new book

Semeia Studies is one of the leading, cutting edge experimental publishers in the area of Biblical studies. The editorial board has just said yes to a new book proposal: titled The Bible in/and Popular Culture: A Creative Encounter. Edited by Dr. Philip Culbertson and Dr. Elaine Wainwright the book will explore a wide range of popular media: popular music, graphic novels, fiction, television and video games. Particular attention will be given to the way these media engage biblical texts and characters and to hermeneutical and methodological/theoretical issues.

I post this because the book will include a chapter by me, titled: Reading “pop-wise”: the very fine art of “making do” when reading the Bible in bro’Town. So over the last few months, I’ve been quietly stealing time to move between the book of Revelation, Sionerella bro’Town episode and Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art.

What I found intriguing was that so many of the issues discussed in Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art play out in discussions around emerging church and alt.worship. Like the relationship between word and image and the privileging of high culture. Best of all, the entire book is done as a comic. Yep. A book on theory of comics that’s a comic!! Now when is someone going to do that with theology?

pastoral care and divorce recovery

I sat with a group of 6 people today. In the course of a rolling conversation, 4 of the 6 shared how hard they are finding life because they are currently watching their children, and their friends children, face broken marriages. I hear talk of Divorce Recovery groups. But, I asked, Do we need Parents Watching Divorce Recovery Groups?

All the heads nodded.

As divorce statistics rise, it is not just those being divorced who need care. It is those who watch helplessly as the lives of their kids get torn apart. What does justice and reconciliation mean for parents, who have invested so much in the dreams of their children?

thinking Christmas

Helpful post on Christmas, church, mission and the Simpsons. The evangelical church as Comic Book Guy.

“Imagine Christmas as being like a giant bookstore, with a range of books; some serious, some populist, some trashy, some noble. Every book is a “Christmas” book though, of course, not every book is equal. People are browsing and choosing, talking and comparing. It’s an active and buzzing place – most people are not sure why they are there, but they are trying to make sense of it and trying to have a little fun. Do we really want to be hanging out in the comics section, chugging a slurpy and passing judgement on the people who “don’t get it?”

Which sits beautifully alongside yesterday’s Lectionary reading; Daniel 5:11, in which Daniel is described as “chief of the fortune-tellers, magicians, wizards and astrologers.” Most Christians would run a mile from that sort of ministry and would love to condemn those in such a ministry. Yet Daniel was able to honour God in the midst of a hot bed of alternative spiritualities.

Last Advent, I was preaching in our evening service. I got up and started reading the horoscopes from the local newspaper. You could hear a pin drop, and lots of uncomfortable feet shuffling! Generally, people like me at Opawa, but this was really pushing things. And then I started talking about the wise men, who followed their horoscopes to Jesus.

So how do the magi help us learn about God? The question takes me back to my introduction, some of you were probably a bit shocked, with me reading the horoscope. Same sort of shock in Matthews’s church when they heard about magi. For a Jew, following stars was idol worship. And so by including magi, Matthew is telling us that all sorts of people can seek Jesus, and they are not always from folks we’d prefer. That Jesus is not just Savior of his Israel! But he’s the saviour of all people. A king of the Jews who will rule also Gentiles.

It was a very powerful moment, as all of us realised how quickly we dismiss what is strange and unfamiliar.

kingdom signs in Coldplay?

I’m loving the new Coldplay album. I’ve been, until now, more a listener than a fan. But their new album has converted me. It’s more complex, less traditionally rock in structure and I like that.

I also think there’s some serious theological work going on in the album. I’m not yet clear what it is. But when the album includes ruminations (Track 7 – Viva La Vida) on “I know St Peter will call my name,” well, the church had better be listening, cos there are millions of people going to be humming that line in the next year.

needing sermon help

I need some sermon application help. Church ministers are NOT allowed to respond. I am working on a post-Easter sermon series titled Biblical pictures of witness. It is based on a honey of a book, Picturing Christian Witness by Stanley Skreslet: Using a wide range of Bible texts and some great art, Skreslet outlines 5 different images of witness used in the New Testament.

Announcing good news, for example the public speeches in Acts where the role of the Christian is to share publicly and in vulnerability
Sharing Christ with friends, for example, Mark 2:1-12, friends of paralytic man, where the role of the Christian is to walk with and alongside.
Interpreting the gospel, for example Philip and the Ethiopian Enuch, where the gospel crosses cultural barriers and the role of the Christian is to link and translate.
Shepherding, for example Luke 15 where the shepherds goes searching for the lost one and the role of the Christian is to carry the hurting,
Building and planting, for example 1 Corinthians 3, where Paul is building and planting and the role of the Christian is to ensure at all times that the medium is the message.

Now I am doing this series because I think the 5 images remind us that there is no one way of being a witness and thus frees us from rigid stereotypes to be ourselves.

But here’s the rub. I’m stuck with application in regard to the first one. What, practically, does announcing good news mean today? As a minister, I get to announce good news most Sundays. But what might announcing good news mean in home and workplaces outside Sunday? Love to have your comments ….

Bono theology: Waves of sorrow

I had wondered about preaching this on Sunday, but just could not make it cohere with the life of our faith community, which was celebrating the end of the church year with an Open Home, Open year celebration. So I offer it here!

The latest U2 release, Waves of Sorrow, gives us a fascinating insight into Bono the poet and Bono the theologian.

(more…)

Guest post: Praise God from whom all economies of scale flow part 3

Over the last week this blog (here and here) has been probing whether the growth of supermarkets might parrallel the rise in large churches. On the way we have explored competition vs cooperation and asked why we go to church.

Here’s another guest post I’ve been sent that I think adds some thought to the debate.

Just some thoughts taken from a book called Sustainable Leadership by Hargreaves and Fink. Although a book based in the world of education, I believe it’s message is transferable, and relevant to this discussion.

Hargreaves and Fink state that few schools [change to churches] are islands. The fates of schools are almost always intertwined. Outstanding teachers, leaders and pupils are drawn toward the high performing schools, and at the same time, they are drained away from the rest. For the education system to be sustainable long term, school leaders need to think beyond their own school.

In other words: should we accept that some churches will be “outstanding” and will grow. As they do, they will inevitably attract the best and brightest. In doing so, what disciplines might they introduce that will help them think beyond their own school? Or, using the categories of my initial post, how might “supermarket” churches care for the “corner diary” churches?

Guest post: Praise God from whom all economies of scale flow part 2

My post praising God from whom all economies of scale flow has caused a flurry of comment and interaction on and off-blog. Here is a guest post from a keen eyed watcher of world and church, wanting to be known simply as “the consultant”

One key issue facing Christian Church(es) in the modern environment seems to be the whole question “cooperation versus competition”. In other words, are
the different churches competing with each other, as opposed to working for
the ‘common good’. For example, if a church says that it is involved in
“church-planting” on a polytech or university campus, what does that
actually mean? Prima facie, everyone assumes this means that the church is
attracting new people, who would not otherwise be involved in a church;
(evangelising, to use the old term). However, my impression is that, in
practice, what tends to regularly happen is that the new church mainly
attracts people away from their existing churches to something that is
currently new and exciting – at least, it’s new and exciting for a few
months. You could rather bluntly, call it “congregation stealing”. The net
gain, across the overall Christian community however, may be quite small,
and instead we’ve just shifted existing people from one place to another.

Perhaps a true test of whether we are focused on our own interests, or those
of the wider Christian community (and the people we are working with), would
be if we were prepared to create new links with (evangelise) people – but
then, be prepared to let those people go to other churches. I somehow
suspect that this is the approach that the “great people” of the past like
Wesley would have taken.

Looking forward to the pushback from all students and blog readers involved in church planters and those involved in student ministry.

Praise God from whom all economies of scale flow

So “big city church” is growing. Excitedly, I am told of growth and expansion and new building plans. Size obviously matters.

At the same time, I hear of two neighbourhood churches, small, struggling, that have closed in the last 6 months. Both have encouraged their people to attend “big city church”. In other words, growth in “big city church” has come from the death of corner church.

What does the Christian church do with these realities?

I drive home thinking about supermarkets. And the slow death of corner diaries, driven to the wall by the advent of cars, the ease of transport and the economies of scale.

And let’s be honest. We’re all part of it. We all shop at supermarkets. We all appreciate cheaper prices and greater variety and we all gladly absorb anonymous service and ease of parking.

So is this the future of the Western church? A few lucky ones getting larger and larger, filled with punters reassuring themselves that nameless growth is surely evidence of God being present and Christianity having a future? Size matters. And surely it’s easier to sit and soak in a high quality band than listen to the tuneless two-piece band at the corner diary? And surely large leads to economies of scale and ensures good programming can be absorbed by both toddler and teen.

Is this gathering of crowds of consumers, praising the God from who all economies of scale flow, really the Kingdom vision that Jesus lived and died for?

If not, what do we do? And who will lead the revolution? You?

Or the consumer next door?

For more on this topic see here:

Church for U2 fans

(Saint Bono hat tip to Josh)

Church for U2 fans
preaching, communion and worship to 11 U2 soundtracks, (including songs like: I still haven’t found what I’m looking for, The Saints are coming, Crumbs from your table, One Tree Hill, 40, One, Pride, Scarlet, All I want is you, Elevation, Sometimes you can’t make it on your own). An offering will be taken for aid in Africa.

7 -8:15 pm, Sunday 26 November
Opawa Baptist, Cnr Hastings St and Wilsons Road