Showing posts with label Ecclesiology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ecclesiology. Show all posts

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Missional Church Part 5: A Dream

This is part five of the series.  Make sure you read parts one-four first to get the full picture.

A Dream
I have a dream.
I have a thirst for this dream that cannot be quenched by anything less than Christ Himself.
I have a vision for a church without walls.
A church that is as mobile as the wind.
A church that multiplies like rabbits in the Spring.
A church that loves each other more than family.
A church that walks in humility.
A church that gives good news to the poor.
A church that proclaims freedom for prisoners.
A church that gives sight to the blind.
A church that sets the oppressed free.
A church that proclaims Jesus’ reign over the powers of the world.
This is the same dream that Jesus has for His Church and we must settle for nothing less.

Missional Church Part 4: A Small Taste of Hope in a Baby Church

This is part four of the series.  Make sure you read parts one-three first, or else you may find yourself lost.

A Small Taste of Hope in a Baby Church
I am part of a very young organic church that meets in our apartment and various other homes. We began two years ago, but slightly less than two months ago we birthed two churches out of the one. So the church I am currently a part of is only a few months old. We are very much still a baby church. But the exciting thing about babies, is that they have such amazing potential, especially when nurtured well under the reign of Jesus.

We are organic and we are simple. We are a community of daily fellowship. We make time for each other throughout the week to intentionally spend time growing our friendships and blessing one another. Jesus is our Supreme authority. He is the master of ceremonies anytime we gather. We make abundant space for His voice to be heard. We are also led by the priesthood of all believers. Everyone has equal voice in our community when we gather. No one preaches, instead all share from their hearts and share what God has been revealing to them throughout the week. There is no overhead cost because we don’t have a building or any paid staff. Our tithes are used instead to bless the lives of those God puts in our lives in service of His Kingdom. Each of us are in very unique and different places in life and thus spend much of our time in different contexts. We encourage each other to constantly be paying attention to what God is doing in our own contexts and to be bold in our participation of that work in order to more fully participate in God’s mission to reconcile all things to Himself. When we gather, we then share our stories with each other. We like to ask the question, “what has God been doing in your life over the past week?”  It is vital that we share these stories with each other to better understand God’s mission and our part in it. We are still a baby church. But like all babies, we offer great hope. We offer a hope of what Christ’s Church has the potential to become.

And that is good news.