e~mergent kiwi

emerging church postcards : Aotearoa New Zealand 4

For the last 6 months Fuller St Café has gathered on the first Sunday evening each month. We have a Café set up, fresh espresso and a theme for the night. First 6 themes were Narnia movie, Cancer panel, U2, Local Jazz band Toot & Croon, Da Vinci code panel, Christmas party. It's an experiment in planting an alternative congregation at Kaiapoi Baptist.

a helpful Scripture in the formation and life of your church community: Only Scripture I can think of at moment reflect more how I am feeling about the project now – Isaiah 42:9 "See I am doing a new thing, now it springs up, do you not perceive it?" Reflecting attempt to plant something new but not feeling understood. And Psalm 127:1 "Unless the Lord builds the house, it builders labour in vain" wondering if we’re on right track.

learning about spiritual formation: Not sure that the "community" has emerged yet and whether it's just too attractional to work.

movie (or scene) might sum up your year: One movie that might describe the first 6 months is "50 first dates." We are basically experimenting until we find a new, real and helpful way to explore faith and live life. Also I can relate to Pai in Whale Rider wrestling with leadership issues.

best mission moment in 06: Probably the cancer night where 70 people showed up. 20 of those were outside the existing KBC community and 4 in response to the ad we put in the local rag. We had a panel of brave cancer sufferers some who were in remission and others who were terminal. We asked them these questions: How did you hear the news about the cancer?; What was your reaction/ response?; The treatment – what was that like?; What support did you have from others, what was helpful/ unhelpful?; Where has God been in it all? We have just lost the second of the ladies who were terminal this week – please pray for her husband and sons (13 & 3yrs).

For more emerging church postcards 2006, go here.
For emerging church postcards 2005, go here.
For information on how your emerging church can send a postcard, go here.

emerging church postcards: aotearoa new zealand

OK, here's the first emerging church postcard 06. If you want to submit one details here.

This church has no name. It meets in Porirua (Wellington, New Zealand) on Monday nights for meals followed by adult times later in the evening.

a helpful Scripture in the formation and life of your church community: The Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount. Great stuff.

learning about spiritual formation: Thinking through the three aspects of believe, belong and behave and the dynamic they create in our corporate life. Thinking through the issues of spiritual formation for our children (age ranges 17 down to babies numbering round 30) and attempting to mentor each others kids finding significant others in our kids lives. Trying to find safe places which will also be able to challenge us in relation to the men and women respectively. Realising the importance of providing space for people to grow though stages of faith.

movie that might sum up your year: Worlds Fastest Indian – esp scenes traveling thought the States, stranger in a strange land, full of confidence and humour and not much else but kiwi ingenuity, having moments of near disaster and tragedy, coupled with much laughter and flying by the seat of our pants.

best mission moment in 06: Sponsoring and settling a Burmese family and all the subsequent followup and complications therein, incl encouraging us to work in with 1-2 other local (organized) churches. Also supporting a regular to go to Sri Lanka to help in rebuilding after tsunami.

the emerging church in 2005: a visual summary

What does the emerging church look like? More specifically, what does the emerging church look like in 2005?

And they say a picture is worth a 1,000 words. So, why not gather a visual date stamp? Why not invite an emerging church to send a picture of their life? Collected together, they could offer a visual narrative of a year of life lived.

Thus Postcards05 germinated. I posted the concept on my blog in mid-December and invited anyone who wanted to send a postcard. I worked up a generic template, hoping for visual continuity. I never got my wished for postcards from France and Serbia. But I did get fifteen postcards from 8 countries; Ireland, England (5), Australia (2), Canada (2), New Zealand (2), Germany, Malaysia and Denmark (and had email conversations with people in Japan and South America).

Today I printed out all 15 postcards and wondered if there were some repeated echoes.

Variety; emerging church groups were emerging among many denominations - Lutheran, Anglican, Baptist, Church of Christ, Pentecostal - to name a few. There were postcards from church plants and replants, from congregations and mergers. God is at work and life is emerging in very diverse contexts.

Beauty; half the postcards captured moments of beauty in worship. The aesthetics were rich and multi-layered. The spaces were diverse and creatively indwelt. The symbols – of paint and pastel, DJ deck and duct tape – arose from the whole of life. The environments pictured suggest a shift from performance to "aggregation", in which the whole of worship is greater because every person participates. There is a sense of worship, not for internal pleasure, but as the outflow of a vibrant, world-facing Christianity.

Culturally engaged; their were pictures from cafes and pubs. When asked for a music track that summed up the year, music from outside the church was a recurring theme. These are groups that, in the words of Tom Beaudoin, are birthed in the amniotic fluid of popular culture. The Word is being enfleshed as God is heard and expressed in "our own language" to paraphrase Acts 2:6.

Integrated spirituality; the use of labyrinths, a missional presence at Mind-Body-Spirit festivals, the finding of a faith at work, all are evidence of the quest for an integrated spirituality that embraces the whole person in all of life. The postcards are shaped by a questing, not for packaged belief, but for a vibrant spirituality that can make sense of, and flourish within, contemporary culture. Christian traditions and Christian Scriptures were inspired the living of an authentically Christian life.

Relational gospel; half of the pictures were of people gathering, relaxing, talking, walking. Food, drink and café table are prominent. A relational gospel was enacting a relational mission. For many groups, the best missionary moment occurred relationally; as the poor were fed, the migrant welcomed, Tsunami victims blessed, a local hospital painted and the lives of prisoners transformed. Proclamation of God’s presence in the world was being embodied in action rather than word. Whether these mission moments are capturing the fullness of mission is worth pondering into a new year.

Conclusion; So that's Postcard05, a visual datestamp of the emerging church in 2005. It's not global, because if you didn't speak English you would have found it hard to participate (and if you did speak American you weren't invited:)). Nor is it representative, because if your emerging church moved in different networks, you might never know of the invitation. Nor did I offer any editorial control and attempt to decide whether a group was emerging or not.

I simply collected a visual date stamp of the emerging church in 2005; a visual montage that shows an immensely varied, yet relational understanding of faith; a collection of postcards that point to a culturally integrated and engaged spirituality that is expressed in moments of aesthetic, participatory beauty and relational mission.

Link for all 15 postcards

emerging church postcards : Ireland

Time for a final postcard. Time for some fun. Maybe an emerging church from Ireland, maybe this is even better than the real thing?

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

Words about the image; Created by "photoshoping" a montage of shots from this fan site, which says it's free.

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; Well, if U2 were to provide their own postcard, in my view they could say that the much of their passion emerges from the Christmas birth; "Because it really sank in: the Christmas story. The idea that … there's .. a force of love and logic behind the universe … a creator who would choose to express such … power as a child born in "straw poverty." It's so brilliant ... There must be an Incarnation. Love must be made flesh." Quotes from Bono on Bono, Hodder and Stoughton, 2005, p. 126 and www.rollingstone.com/news/story.

What do you as an emerging community value?; Well, if U2 were to provide their own postcard, in my view they could say; "don't be upset or surprised when you pull something out from the depth that's uncomfortable ... It is impossible to meet God with sunglasses on. That's the connection between great music and great art, and that is why it's uncomfortable." Quotes from Bono on Bono, Hodder and Stoughton, 2005, p. 53.

What was your best mission moment in 05?; Well Steve Stockman offers this reflection on U2 in 2005; "Bono says, at least in Chicago, "Jesus, Jew, Mohammed…it’s true… all sons of Abraham." ... It is part of Bono's peace initiative worldwide. He wants us to see what indeed is true about all three faiths that are doing all kinds of harm to each other at this moment in history... In all aspects of his life Bono has decided to be a friend. He has relationships with atheists, hedonists, druggies, philanderers, war mongers, greedy capitalists, fascists, Marxists… you name it. It is about COEXISTence! What he has decided to do with this wide array of human beings is to recognize that they are all made in the image of God and loved by that God, so much that he would become a baby in straw and a man on a cross for them." Quotes from Steve Stockman, Link.

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emerging church postcards : England5

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; : safe space : is a joint mission initiative, launched by the Anglican Diocese of Lichfield and The Church Mission Society. It is in part a response to "Mission Shaped Church" and a vision to engage with the people of Telford (particularly 20s and 30s) who do not find a home or a place to explore spirituality in the traditional Churches. We have tried to identify some basic principles of mission... To enter community and rest in the hospitality of the people of peace, to participate in the Missio Dei, to seed communities of seekers by planting safe spaces within the heart of the community, to be inclusive and yet together to draw closer to divine truth, to seek transformation of people, communities and culture. (Luke 10, Acts 17, 1 Thess 2, Romans 14).

What do you as an emerging community value?; hope : sacrificial love : welcome : new revelation : creation and creativity : reality : inclusivity : surprise : challenge : justice and compassion : the journey.

What music track sums up your year?; You, you and you by Jon Kennedy (useless wooden toys). Lyrics:
"Calling out to you, you and you, we’re gonna make it all happen right here, right now,
Calling out, were gonna speak the truth...
We're gonna shake, we're gonna shine, I know we'll make it cause it feels divine."

What was your best mission moment in 05?; Seeing as we only started in September 05... Everything... But the most exiting thing has been how gatekeepers/people of peace have opened doors to us... The Football Club, The Town Centre, The College (where we have been given total use of a brand new "spirituality" lounge and teaching room that they built but don't know what to do with), The Mind*Body*Spirit community and family networks, and not forgetting the media... The hardest lesson I am learning is to rest in the hospitality of the community, to learn how to be.

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emerging church postcards : England4

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

Words about the image; Some of the team in the hot tub on a weekend re-evaluating grace and where we are headed, which has led to quite a bit of change for us all.

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; Birthed by a curate in the church who was given permission to start a new service – gradually a new Christian community emerged.

What do you as an emerging community value?; We’ve spent some time on this in the last year and this is what we came up with:
The short list:
Create - Grace values creativity
Participate - Worship should not be a 'show' or just 'led from the front'. Grace aims to minimise the separation between those leading and the "congregation" through interaction and opportunities to contribute. The same is true of other areas of Grace.
Engage - Grace wants to maintain an outward focus by engaging with everyday life and connecting with culture. Grace offers hospitality and supports members of the community/ network in their own areas of engagement.
Risk - Grace gives itself permission to push its own edges, take risks, not be afraid to fail, think outside the Grace box, try new things, reinvent Grace

The long list:
Creativity; Participate; Risk taking/experimental - as above
Holistic Christian faith - life isn't split into sacred and secular. We expect to encounter God in all areas of life and culture and hence those aspects are likely to inform and be part of our worship and other activities
Minimal exclusion - Grace is shaped by the people that are involved. It's an open door, all contributions and people are welcome. We recognise that Grace is different to other groups and other churches so It won't be to everyone's taste - some will self exclude.
Consensus - everyone is to a degree constrained by being part of a wider community, but the way we plan is to all bring ideas/contributions. At times this may take courage and it requires a level of sensitivity to other people who are perhaps less confident in bringing ideas.Our ideas are a gift offered to God and the community. We make decisions together.
Low permission threshold - we are not into controlling what people do. We want to encourage involvement without things being policed.
Freedom of speech - sometimes there are hidden issues in Grace whether because of personal power or gender. Grace values listening and speech - in other words we wanat to be honest, and listen to each other.
Hospitality - to one another, to visitors, to the wider church
Outward impulse - a growing aspiration of Grace is to include other things than developing creative worship as part of who we are.
High quality - Grace understands that how worship and other activities are presented affect how they are received. We endeavour to produce events and items that are of a high quality of presentation and accessible style.

What music track sums up your year?; Get Up Get Involved by James Brown.

What was your best mission moment in 05?; Getting an e-mail from the chaplain of Feltham prison where the labyrinth we created is being run with young offenders on a regular basis and hearing stories of how transformational that has been.

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emerging church postcards : England3

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

Words about the image; Updated (from here): The image was taken during a summer walk by the edge of the Severn estuary (English side). The bridges I think reflect something of what we’re doing - they’re straddling a border.

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; We grew out of the weekly little service which was once part of Resonance, Bristol. In Easter 04, the church did a big alternative service for the Vigil, which went well. Another one happened in September 04 and the decision was made to recommence big services quarterly. We found the numbers at the weekly littleservice grew through 05. We began to meet together to do things beyond plan big services, like going for walks, celebrating birthdays.

What do you as an emerging community value?; Taking things one step at a time, and finding our way, discovering much and having a lot of fun doing this.

What music track sums up your year?; A track we wrote in the summer called "Breathe" - we've only go the backing track at the moment, but we should really record the lyrics at some point.

What was your best mission moment in 05?; "Best" is probably the wrong word, and we weren't going out to do "mission". But our most significant memory was in September this year. One of our number, Kathy Allen, died very suddenly after a summer working in Uganda. Our littleservice was transformed, at the last minute, into a huge gathering of Kathy's friends, mostly in their 20s and 30s, many without any "categorizable" faith, to grieve and come to terms with the suddenness of her death just days before. We didn't do anything clever, just lots of candles, gentle music, some Taize chants and simple prayers. But many people said they found it helped.

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emerging church postcards : Australia2

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

For Words about the image; see the heading What was your best mission moment in 05 below.

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; In late 1999, four churches took the courageous decision to join together to create Northern Community, agreeing to sell their historical buildings and pool their resources to try something new. In the years since, our church has formed a vision to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. As a church, we recognise that our society is very different from what it once was.

What do you as an emerging community value?; We value our heritage as an established church but also recognize that our missional context requires new models and new ways of connecting with our community. While planting new faith communities that express different styles of worship and operate in different models we continue to recognize and support the traditional style of faith community. Our multi-congregational model allows us to value new models that are urgently needed while at the same time honour the traditional model. It is holding this tension that we value highly as a community.

What music track sums up your year?; The Space Between by Dave Matthews. Lyrics;
"The Space Between
The tears we cry
Is the laughter keeps us coming back for more"

What was your best mission moment in 05?; Earlier in the year, our Tangent congregation began to grapple with just how our church can better connect with people whose life experience is different to ours. We realized that we weren't really following Jesus' example of hospitality in eating with tax collectors and sinners. And we wondered how we could share the sort of hospitality and community which Jesus lived out. Out of that meeting we developed a vision to hold an open Christmas Day lunch for members of our community who do not have someone with whom to share this meal. The lunch was provided as a free lunch as a demonstration of the community and hospitality that we wish to engage in. We hope in future to be able to offer this hospitality annually as a part of the ministry of the church. The lunch was supported by our whole church that provided food and money. You can read Dan’s reflection on the lunch here.

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emerging church postcards : Canada2

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

Words about the image; This picture is of one of the worship stations we had set up for a series on the scriptures. You can see all the stations and get a quick descriptor and picure on each here. (thinkerlabs.ca is an open source ministry resource site that we're launching in february).

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; I read your book earlier this year. I was encouraged, stretched, intrigued and inspired to dream up my own 'postcards'. I approached the Senior Leadership team at my church asking them to give this new initiative a whirl. They took a chance and the rest is history...

What do you as an emerging community value?; It can be summed up in our manifesto: Where we live almost everything is pre-packaged, revised and tidied up for us. Participants by default, we exist under imposed sterile conclusions and the spiritual journey of deciphering truth becomes pointless.

Enter: (un'ed.i.ted spirituality).

A gathering where we can discover for ourselves, question without penalty, and fully experience the journey of truth.

Join the dialogue.

What music track sums up your year?; The Man Comes Around by Johnny Cash. (Everything we do points back to Jesus.)

What was your best mission moment in 05?; During a series on homosexuality, we spent an entire night in an interview then Q&A with a 50 year old in our community who has 'struggled' with his homosexuality since 8 years of age. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. Some walked away from the night shaking their fists, others with more questions, still others with a better educated (and perhaps Spirit-led) viewpoint on the issue(s).

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emerging church postcards : Aotearoa New Zealand2

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

Words about the image; The top image is flower petals dropped in water, the result of a worship ending. The bottom image is another worship ending, the invitation for the gathered community to crayon a blank sheet of paper and so in community meaning was formed.

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; Questions were being asked by someone outside the church and were answered in community discussion. This led to the realisation that church could be a discussion space rather than a singing and sermon space. A process of testing the idea over a a number of months lead to Espresso starting as a congregation of Opawa Baptist in May 05. Tuesday evening, couches, an opening ritual, a faith or life question that shapes a discussion and a worship "ending."

What do you as an emerging community value?; Conversation and community. Shared leadership and participation by anyone in the church life.

What music track sums up your year?; Believing by Sonshine of the Dub Conspiracy album.

What was your best mission moment in 05?; Every month a person shares about their work and the group reflect back to that person how their work might be mission as a participation in the activity of God as Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer. It has proved a wonderful way to both build community and to integrate a workplace spirituality as mission.

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emerging church postcards : England2

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

Words about the image; The attached photo was taken from a service that Dream hosted at Greenbelt last year (that's 2005!) called "Out of the Darkness." Our blurb for it read "when ultimate life came through a tree of death, how do we find signs of God in the seemingly god-forsaken and bring hope to others?" The red-lit barbed-wire covered cross stood as a centre piece throughout the worship and people were invited to attach strips of cloth with their own personal 'darkness' written on as one of the stations.

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; Dream was birthed in 2002 out of a group of 20somethings that had been meeting together regularly for a year experimenting with worship and discussing what 'church' might look like for their generation and peers. The energy and drive of these people gave birth to an exciting experimental community.

What do you as an emerging community value?; Dream has four core values: Christ-centredness, in that we focus our exploration on the person of Jesus and seek to follow where he leads; Openness, in that we welcome any who want to engage in this journey regardless of where they might place themselves faith-wise; Relational, in that we seek to build authentic community rather than simply having worship ‘events’; and Experimental, in that we are prepared to try new ideas and are not afraid of getting in wrong. (Yes, it is an acrostic spelling CORE!)

What music track sums up your year?; Yahweh by U2, which is not afraid to ask God the awkward questions but carries great hope in the struggles. A particularly pertinent song given the global disasters of 2005.

What was your best mission moment in 05?; Our best mission moment in 2005 was Merseyfest, a massive regional social action mission taking in 200 local community projects organized by churches in partnership with local authorities and community groups and staffed largely by Christian volunteers. The final weekend was a massive free festival, to which some 40,000 people came from across Merseyside. Dream ran the ‘Faithzone’ marquee, which had a large family-friendly labyrinth, a chill-out tent and an 8 station interactive installation on creation. Hundreds of people came through and many were deeply affected by the experience.

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the power of a postcard

This is the power of postcard 05. It creates connections. It brings a vision a step closer to reality. Imagine being able to say to your church; hey, a church like us is doing this.

Every so often I am reassured that my dream/calling of creating and building community via a coffeehouse is achieveable... Check out FREEWAY in Hamilton, Canada. I am delighted to see we have a shared vision ... I got the heads-up from Steve Taylor's emergent kiwi blog. Freeway posted a postcard on his site. Interestingly, the comments on the postcard indicate that Freeway is part of the Salvation Army!!! NO WAY!!! Check out the postcard ... If this is being done... then it can be replicated

Link

emerging church postcards : Canada

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; In 2001 Pernell Goodyear, along with his family, moved to Hamilton, Ontario to start a new church community that would attempt to love God and their neighbours in a changing culture. The Freeway is part of an International movement known as The Salvation Army, and is also part of a Canadian network known as Resonate.

What do you as an emerging community value?; truth | justice | beauty | community | authenticity | hope.

What music track sums up your year?; Anything But Ordinary by Avril Lavigne (Well, we had to pick a Canadian, eh?)

What was your best mission moment in 05?; The opening of our "third place" | coffee house | art hub | community commons | sacred space : - a project we have been dreaming about
since the beginning.

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emerging church postcards : Aotearoa New Zealand

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

Words about the image; This is really a pre-postcard but couldn’t resist … Some of the community of parents at our two preschools in Kaiaipoi have started meeting for coffee in a local café. Is this the start of something – I hope so … Its open to all parents but tends to mums – I need to work on not putting Dad’s off. We spend a couple of hours together on a Thurs morning and have had some great conversations. Could our community become like a church?

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; Well still being conceived really but as part of my role of community worker for the preschools I wanted to connect with parents and get to know them. In many respects it’s no different to other coffee groups especially ones in which the holy spirit is active ( I know of two other great examples of this in our church community).

What do you as an emerging community value?; We value relationship mainly I think – shared experience.

What music track sums up your year?; I’m thinking something from Hi5 or Wiggles. But eventually decided on Life line, by Brooke Fraser (what parent doesn't need one!!)

What was your best mission moment in 05?; Going together to explore the new art gallery in Kaiapoi – Fragments of Grace.

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emerging church postcards : Germany

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

Words about the image; The picture has been taken at our service for pentecost. Everybodys mouth has been ducttaped and we had to communicate through a little blackboard and chalk (inspired by the situation Zacharias found himself in; Luke 1). At a certain moment during the service we took off the ducttape and sang a song of praise together. It has been a very intense service which helped us to understand that we gained our voice through the Holy Spirit.

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; In 2001 some friends met in living rooms to dream about living their lives with Christ and together as a community of faith according to the people we are. Since then we walked on, at some points it has been a stumbling forward, sometimes there has been secure steps...

What do you as an emerging community value?; We are an open community of people, who share spirituality, foster creativity, live as friends, and are committed to spread justice.

What music track sums up your year?; Karate: This Day Next Year

What was your best mission moment in 05?; Our best mission moment might have been the moment we took off our ducttapes and realized we have been given a voice. Everyone has a voice from God to communicate with his and her surroundings. In that way I would suggest that our best mission moment has been the deepening understanding that it’s our own lives who communicate with our surroundings and not any mission enterprise. in my place it means being light when i am shopping, riding my skateboard, changing diapers and waiting on the bus - just living my live spreading the love of God.

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emerging church postcards : England

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

Words about the image; from an interaction in a sunday gathering.

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; Dropped in the deep end, April 1997 my wife and I, bi vocational, planted with the two of us in Sutton, Surrey. The struggle of planting a church in a post-christian (less than 2% of local people where we live on edge of london, with any connection to church) environment got us into the emerging church journey.

What do you as an emerging community value?; participation/interaction; questioning/doubts/mystery as a normal part of christian growth and formation; community involvement and engagement; mission at work, neighborhood, and our larger community.

What music track sums up your year?; Wiseman by James Blunt from "Back to Bedlam"

What was your best mission moment in 05?; Our community project moving into a warehouse and engaging the community significantly further, with several hundred volunteers from churches. And our oyunger youth decorating and helping at the local children's hospital.

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emerging church postcards : Malaysia

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; We were birthed five years ago, on April 1 2000 in my home. About 15 of us were part of the core to restart a Lutheran church that closed down for many years.

What do you as an emerging community value?; Allegiance to the Lordship of Christ; Living by Gods Grace; Godly Servant Leadership; Biblical Preaching and Teaching; Authenticity; Passionate Worship; Loving Community; A Heart for People; Prayer; Life in the Spirit; Kingdom Lifestyle; Telling the STORY.

I don't think we "lived" out the values equally. In my view I think we've been stronger in some and weaker in others.

What music track sums up your year?; Walk On by U2

What was your best mission moment in 05?; Working with another Methodist Church to "do something" for the Tsunami Victims (for more go here). Coming up to close second would be a couple of events during the Christmas season.

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emerging church postcards : Australia

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; Transformed rather than birthed. In fact, grown is probably the right word. Although the faith community has been around 45+ years, it started as a group of Christians meeting in a house and launching mission from there. So you could say it has always been a missional community. At the same time, it has often teetered on the edge of falling into a stale version of the tradional mode of church. Fortunately, some ratbag pot stirrers have always been around to keep us on track.

Buldings were built over the years but about 7-8 years ago it was realised that they were holding us back. In fact, the buildings weren't even any good for traditional models of church but were simply a waste of space and money. They weren't intentionally built that way (!) but our community changed in a way that was never expected.

Anyway, as a community we decided it was best to sell up everything (church building, office building, manse and another house) to do something that was more in keeping with our missional heritage, would be of benefit to what we were currently doing and launch us into new initiatives in the future. We surveyed the local community to see what the needs were and interstingly the results came back as...a building! A building that consisted of affordable meeting rooms of all sizes as many local community groups had no where to meet. A building that consisted of indoor sporint facilities, particularly for young people that had been forced to travel to play sport. A building that we be a hub for community events and a gathering place for whoever and whatever.

So we bought a factory and converted it into all of the above. The sign out the front says, "THE FACTORY. A community facility provided by Mitcham Baptist Church." Hopefully that makes it clear that the building is not the church, but is part of the mission of the church. Now refugees meet to play soccer, skaters meet to skate, ladies meet to make stuff, playgroups have waiting lists, you can sit and read or pray or chat or whatever. We still have the traditional Sunday worship gatherings, but they are no longer seen as the main event. You can belong without being there on Sunday.

Ironically, as soon as we moved, new faith communities that never use the place started to spring up around the place, resourced and supported by the MBC community. AS I type we are working throug the process of helping our playgroup leaders, our skate leaders, the group that meets to play poker in the pub, the group that meets for bible study in MacDonalds etc to see themselves as another expression of MBC. It is rasing some big questions - but this is a good thing. And the missional heart continues to beat.

What do you as an emerging community value?; All the disciplines, but especially prayer. Asking questions. Togetherness. Our history. Our future. Teaching and learning by all methods. Coffee.

What music track sums up your year?; Hmmm. i don't know the name of it, but that piece of classical music that rings out when the missioanry goes over the waterfall in "the Mission" has had an impact. Actually, we played the movie in one of our gatherings and it had quite a profound impact - I think the soundtrack reminds us of that.

What was your best mission moment in 05?; Seeing one of our white Aussie boy soccer teams getting their butts kicked by a team of 8ft sudanese high school students. Love it!

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Want to see a postcard from your emerging church group?

Want to see the whole set of postcards?

emerging church postcards : Denmark

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

Words about the image; In the spring of 05 we had a day where we wanted to explore one of our values: walking with people. One of the things we were doing was to go in to the local community and collect different pieces and then make some artwork that symbolized how we thought of the value. On the picture one of the groups are in the process of doing the artwork.

How were you as an emerging community birthed?; Basically we experienced that God called us to reinvent what it meant to follow Christ in a latemodern Danish urban context. And here we are trying to plant a new community in Copenhagen That was our starting point and we have tried to walk from there

What do you as an emerging community value?; Walking with God, Walking with people, Walking in creativity

What music track sums up your year?; Lift me up - by Moby

What was your best mission moment in 05?; Hosting a neighbourhood dinner in Innercity Copenhagen. We spontaneously got the idea of inviting people on dinner. The in the afternoon we invited people to the dinner in our yard and out of the blue came people from the middle east, drug addicts, artists, students and children showed up to the Barbecue and we had a great night of sharing stories, smoking waterpibes and listening to music.

Want to e-visit this emerging church group?

Want to see a postcard from your emerging church group?

Want to see the whole set of postcards?

emerging church postcards05

This Christmas I am collecting a series of postcards from the edge. To qualify just send me at steve at emergentkiwi dot org dot nz;
a) 1 photo of your emerging community this year;
plus a paragraph answer to these 4 questions;
b) how were you as an emerging community birthed?;
c) what do you as an emerging community value?;
d) what music track sums up your year;
e) what was your best mission moment in 05?

During January I will be post your image and responses as a series of postcards05 on my blog. Feel free to use the image and spread the word.

Oh, I nearly forgot. You need to be an emerging church outside the US. Sorry but I'm tired of the UScentrism of the emerging church blog world. Postcards05 is not for Americans. It's a blog-stake in the ground; a visual reminder that God is active outside the bounds of America.

Why postcards05? Darren interviewed me last week in relation to my out of bounds church? book. (He reviewed the book in May here). My book is based on a series of 8 postcards, posted from around the Western world. I write "postcards" from emerging churches around the Western world, and then seek in the chapter following the "postcard" to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by the emerging church.

The last chapter of the book, completed in May 04, postcard 9, invited people to write their own "emerging church" postcards. So during Darren's interview he asked me where I would like to be writing postcards from today. I replied from here; here and here. Darren then asked me where I would like to receive emerging church postcards from. I said France, because I'd love to see the emerging church turn back the tide of secularity in Europe, and a mixed ethnic church plant in Serbia, because I'd love to see the emerging church embrace mission in a country riven by religious and racial tensions, like Serbia.

This morning I thought, wow, maybe it could actually happen. Hence postcards05.