missio

Here’s some links from around the web:

• What is The Gospel? by CJ Mahaney, via Reformation Theology
• A New Logo for History Church in Reston, VA, via Ben Arment
  
• 4 Questions for Every Dollar - Using Money in Ministry, via Church Relevance
• A Vision for Church Planting in the 21st Century, via Drew Goodmanson

Cool? Yeah. Leave some comments.

I’ve been reading Grace Abounding to Sinners by John Bunyan (link), which is a great book by the way, and in it he explains some misleading beliefs that the heretics of his time held. He realizes after the fact that these people have slowed him in accepting the Gospel by way of confusing him.

My question is: is the ‘emergent’ church movement doing the same? They don’t hold all of the following beliefs, but they hold some. And even others that aren’t here. (There is no real hell, etc.) Do we have an Emergentcy? Here they are, straight from page 63 of the book linked above (emphasis mine):

The errors the fanatics maintained were:

• That the Holy Scriptures were not the Word of God.
• That every man in the world had the Spirit of Christ, grace, faith, and so on.
• That Christ Jesus, as crucified and dying sixteen hundred years ago, did not satisfy divine justice for the sins of the   people now.
• That Christ’s fles andblood were within the saints.
• That the bodies of the good and bad that are buried in the churchyard will not rise again.
• That the resurrection has already passed for good men.
• That that man Jesus who was crucified between two thieves on the mount of Calvary in the land of Canaan by Judea did not ascend above the starry heaven.
• That He should not, even the same Jesus that died by the hands of the Jews, come again at the last day, and as man judge all nations.

Sound familar?

The title says it all. I don’t “know” ministry like some. I do, however, know what the Bible says, and I do know political science. The Bible says that the church is like a city; in fact, heaven will be a city. The church at large is like a city, and our local churches should be as well. Cities within cities. Cities on a hill. Cities separated. But cities, nonetheless. So, therefore, whatever makes a city successful will make a church successful. The one separating thing is a big one: the Church is a body, bride, family, and city that glorifies Christ’s name. As long as we are glorifying Christ’s name, what else is there to the church? The same things that make up a city. What makes a city successful?

According to Jane Jacobs, in her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane says that there is a major driving force: diversity. If a city has diversity (which they inevitably do), they will succeed. The same is true for the church. So how do we achieve diversity, and how does this affect the church?

• A concentration of people. Some of you may jump back at this, others may like it but get this: numbers matter to God. Without numbers, diversity is inherently impossible. In fact, God appreciates numbers so much, that He wrote a book about it. Check it out sometime in your Bible. The local church has to reach not just WASPs, but people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures. It’s imperative to our success.

• Small blocks. It creates community within a city. Resources are rapidly accessible. People are right on top of each other, and therefore small blocks within a city facilitate communication. So what does this mean for the church? Small blocks mean no barriers. It means having some sort of small groups functionality, whether it’s cell groups, home groups, or Sunday School. It means reducing all kinds of barriers between people in the church: equipping them, tearing down any walls, and bringing them closer together, and facilitating communication between the people within the church.

• Old and new buildings. In the city it means history and affordability. It means nostalgia and progression. It means development and remembrance. But what about the church? This means, in the church, old and new people. Old and new Christians. Old and new ways. Old and new wisdom. We can’t just reach one generation and expect our churches to be complete and whole. We have to have people who have experienced life. We have to have people who are new to life. We have to have people who have been there done that. Otherwise, we’re just a bunch of ignorant people moving forward through life.

• A major draw to people. In cities this means a mall, a theater, a restaurant corridor. In the church? It’s one thing: the relevant communication of the timeless Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. That’s it. Jesus says that if we raise Him up, He will draw all people to Himself. I say we, as teachers and preachers and church planters, take Him up on that. We can’t be diverse without people.

Sources: CoolTown Studios Post (link)