sustain:if:able kiwi

Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? of Fresh Expressions

My task this weekend including needing to explain (twice, once in seminar, once in sermon) fresh expressions in 25 minutes. I decided to use journalism’s Five Ws as a frame. To give some Biblical grounding, I used Luke 10. So here is a Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? of Fresh expressions, using Luke 10:1-11.

• Who? Ordinary “no-name” disciples. In other words, any and all. Fresh expressions invites a lay revolution
• What? Fresh expressions began. 36 gatherings of people around Kingdom story and Kingdom activity.
• Where? At tables of local villages. In other words, not in church buildings, but in any and all places in our local communities
• When? A long time ago. And through church history. And it continues today.
• Why? Because of missio Dei: “It’s not the church of God that has a mission, but the God of mission who has a church”.
• How? In Luke 10 through six principles and practices of
1: Going (v 1-2)
2: Vulnerability, taking nothing but peace in a willingness to receive hospitality (3-4)
3: Listening, for where God is active in our community in the return of peace (v.5)
4: Dwelling at table, building deeply human relationships in existing communities and networks of relationships (v. 7)
5: Discerning God’s fingerprints, paying attention to where God might be at work in the fullness of shalom (v. 9)
6: Discussing the Kingdom, in response to healing to engaging in conversations about Kingdom of God is near (v. 9, 11)

So there you are, my take on Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? of Fresh expressions.

I also put together some prayer stations, so for those who want to engage Fresh expressions using interactive learning cf just words (more…)

resourcing missional church

I concluded my missional church leadership class yesterday with the following ….

MISSIONAL COMMUNITY…SIMPLE from jeff maguire on Vimeo.

It’s from the website saying it simply, (hat tip Bosco Peters), who have the goal of tackling “new topics, concepts, or ideas that need to be explained simply.”

The class chewed their pens for a minute or two. And then came the money question: How did Jesus resource the 70/72 to be missional community? Great integration, the student taking the video clip to theology, in particular the missional theology embedded in Luke 10:1-12, Jesus sending disciples out in missional community. (Sermon on Luke 10:1-12 here if you want some more framing).

It is simply too good a question to answer immediately. Sure I’ve got some ideas, and some practical examples from 6 years at Opawa. But some questions need to sit. So instead I suggested it become our homework question. 200 word responses over the next 10 days please and I’ll collate them for next time we meet.

Want to be part of the fun? Got some cyber ideas for my class? 200 word maximum in the comments please: How did Jesus resource the 70/72 to be missional community