Reflections on 11/24 Class

After discussing our small groups' core values at length during today's class, I realized how the value of incarnation is foundational to our lives as Christians yet also manifests itself in a variety of ways depending upon the cultural context in which a church exists. What it means to live like Christ and incarnate the Gospel within the slums of an international city differs drastically from what it looks like to do the same in a church plant located in an affluent neighborhood in Los Angeles, for example. Knowing and understanding the population with whom we desire to work is crucial. And yet, as we have discussed throughout the quarter, we must continue to remain open to the moving of the Spirit, in this case not falling trap to cultural context dictating our every decision within a church plant. Culture is a key aspect of how we live our lives incarnationally, but God is bigger than any cultural context will ever be.

Reflections on 11/19 Class

Near the end of last week's class period, as we went group-by-group and listed the core values that we felt were essential to incorporate into our church plants, I was struck by the level of creative freedom that God bestows on all of us. None of our lists aligned completely; in fact, there was often very little overlap from group to group. Yet it was clear that each one of us had taken our innermost desires for our plants and come together in community to discuss and creatively integrate these desires together. Although the outcomes may have differed significantly, the entire class was united by a common purpose--to discern the will of God and to explore creatively within that will.

Tom Sine's The New Conspirators

Conversation one of Sine’s work examines the four streams—emerging, missional, mosaic, and monastic—that have surfaced as the significant movements to renew and reimagine the Western Church in recent years. This section of the book provides a succinct description of each of the movements without resorting to absolute definitions or pigeonholing each group into specific categories. Therefore, Sine begins his book with a foundation through which to understand the new directions in which the Western Church is moving and thus which will have an influence on my own future church plant.

Conversation two then examines the impact of globalization, how the world has changed post-9/11, and how it is being influenced by the Western values of individualism and materialism. Therefore, we as the Church must make a conscious effort not to promote a direct link between Western cultural values and Christianity at large. We must also be aware that globalization and materialism have defined our eschatological hope and have a direct effect on other cultures. As a future church planter, I and my team must seek ways to combat these influences proactively.

The third section of Sine’s book continues the conversation begun in section two. This section is essential because of the way it reimages Christian eschatology as a homecoming of sorts in which God’s creation will eventually be restored and thus in which we get to participate now through the work of the Kingdom. Such a theological notion is essential for how we as the Church work to embody the missio dei and strive to be missional. Furthermore, it influences the sorts of celebrations that we have, the way in which we live our daily lives, and how readily we pay attention and respond to the injustice occurring around us—aspects of a church which are all important to consider throughout the planting process.

I found conversation four to be the most helpful out of all of the sections in Sine’s book, as it outlines specific examples of ways existing and new churches can research the cultural changes occurring around them and thus look ahead to the future accordingly. This allows a church to be proactive and combat the challenges that they might face (i.e. environmental issues, poverty and economic disparity, the declining church) while also seeking to provide positive alternatives to these situations.

Finally, conversation five of Sine’s work is important because it tells stories of specific ways in which church communities are creatively addressing the changes occurring within the world and thus within the church. This section is important for the final paper because of the wealth of first-hand accounts it provides on things like the use of ancient liturgy, missional approaches to church, and kingdom-living practices.

Reflections on 11/17 Class

Although this may seem like an obvious observation, today's work in our small groups allowed me to see the value in pursuing unity of heart and mind among the members of a church planting team. Despite any differences of opinion or in our strategic approaches, we all sought to find common ground while working to simplify our planting plans into deep convictions and foundational values. The differences in our approaches faded because we all were united in our willingness to pursue God's desires for our church, the community, and the world at large. This is a truth that I recognize that I must hold onto in any of my future planting opportunities.

Reflections on 11/12 Class (Bishop Cray)

While I found all of Bishop Cray's lecture in our class on Thursday to be thought-provoking, I especially was struck by the notion that we must approach church planting with an attitude of waiting to see what God grows out of our willingness to partner with him. The results can be as wide-ranging as a new project, an increase in new members, a new cell, or even a new church. The point, though, is not to attempt to understand or determine ahead of time what the results will be, but rather to remain patient, listening to the voice of the Spirit and moving accordingly throughout the entire process. Bishop Cray then raised the important point that churches will need to learn the skill of discernment if they want truly to see what God is doing and thus join in.

Reflections on 11/11 Missiology Lecture

Throughout Bishop Cray's lecture on the Fresh Expression Movement, I was reminded of the importance of allowing the Spirit to guide and direct a church planting or renewal movement. I think that the modern church separated itself almost completely from the moving of the Spirit (often by intellectualizing the faith). Thus, many of us in both the mainline and evangelical traditions are left to re-learn how to appropriate the sort of discernment and imagination that is needed to plant churches that are able to meet the needs of the contexts in which they find themselves.

Reflections on 11/5 Class

Discussion during Thursday's class raised the important issue of how we need to be proactive in including people from all walks of life in our church plants/renewals in order to avoid the socioeconomic, racial, and gender homogeneity that often occurs at the leadership level. All people need to be empowered to become leaders in the ways in which God has gifted them, including the poor and the marginalized. This idea speaks to the importance of mentoring and raising up individuals from a variety of backgrounds to meaningfully contribute to the growth and purpose of the church plant.