I'm in Kitchener for a two day denominational gathering. Here's what's happening:
Hugh Halter, author of the Tangible Kingdom, is our keynote speaker. He is challenging us to think missionally and to dream about what the church might look like if the committed (those who follow Jesus) lived in a way that made a tangible difference in the lives of those who do not yet follow Jesus (what he calls sojourners).
I'm presenting a workshop tomorrow with my good friend and regional minister, Joel Zantingh, on missional church practices. We are hoping to paint a picture of what the church could be if most people pictured Christians not as members of good and moral institutions but as missionaries in their communities.
Imagine how different life would be if regular people saw themselves as pastors in their workplaces, neighbourhoods and families. It would drastically change our ecclesiology. It would call us to move from a static view of the church as a gathered community to the church as a movement of people following Jesus to offer justice rather than injustice, plenty where there is poverty, reconciliation where there is division, love where there is hatred, and peace where there is turmoil.
That's a picture of God's kingdom on Earth.
3 comments:
It will be interesting to hear, how people see some of Halter's ideas fit within the context of a denomination; please post some reflections
My friend Dan and I were up last night discussing that conference, especially Hugh's ideas of sodastic vs. modastic.
They are strange, made up words, but they have put words to a lot of tension in our lives. Dan's life has been changed, and I have been challenged and affirmed. We both feel so much more ready for ministry.
Halter's experience is outside the traditional church context (although his church seems to be moving toward becoming more like other churches). It seems like ideas that start out radical tend to drift toward the mainstream eventually.
I am inspired by his focus on forming numerous communities that draw their distinctives from their local neighbourhoods and surroundings rather than from an institution in a centralized location somewhere in Denver.
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