benedson

The Future of the Emerging Church?

The base communities in South America were reinventing church before I was even born! So i think that it's right that we look to them for some wisdom. Jose Comblin said that there will be three potential outcomes for the base communities and i think that these outcomes can also be applied to the emerging church:

Firstly, they will become institutionalised, will expand and become universal. Is this Fresh Expressions?

Secondly there will be specialized action groups, springing from the religious institutes. There will be teams of priests, study teams, religious centres for spirituality, mission groups, the utilization of television and radio. Is this Emergent?

Or finally, a new church will be born, a church born of faith that nourishes God’s people...

Technorati Tags: Base Communities, Ecclesiogenesis, emerging church, Fresh Expressions

Babies

A sixth fact that you probably didn't know about me is that I'm going to be a dad for the second time! Ruth is pregnant and the baby is due towards the end of June! All is going well so far and we had our first scan a few weeks ago and everything is going to plan!

btw. this is not Ruth!!

Technorati Tags: Babies, Pregnant

200 million pound insurance claim and the premier league title...

I was in the car picking up Jude from nursery and as i turned into the town hall at the traffic lights there in front of me was the entire man. utd. squad. I think that they were on their Xmas night out...One slip of the foot on the accelerator and the premier league title would have been heading to Chelsea and I'd have a massive insurance claim against me...but I bet Jose would have paid it...

Technorati Tags: Man. Utd

Tagged...

Laura has tagged me, so here are five things that you probably don't know about me...

1 - When i was a child i was in the brownies and wore a yellow dress!

2 - When i was 21 I had a hallucination whilst on acid where I met the devil...I became a Christian quite soon afterwards!

3 - My choice of my first university was based on proximity to Ruth (who I'd only met a few weeks previously) rather than anything else, like academic credibility...it was a product design degree...but I'm still married to Ruth!

4 - When I was about 16 I was on a public water slide in france when my foot accidentally , ahem, went down a woman stranger's swimming suit top...when i pulled my foot out it was not the only thing that fell out...

5 - I was a vegetarian for 8 years, but on reflection i think that it was more about being a sensitive man of the nineties than any ethical stance...

Okay time for the fun bit i tag: Mark Russell, Dj Fat Roland, Mark Berry, Matt Wilson, The Manchizzle

Technorati Tags: Crap, puppy

Theosis - partakers of the divine

I'm preparing for a couple of Christmas services and TSK got me thinking about Xmas and Easter with this post. In emerging church circles I've come across the Eastern Orthodox Perichoretic nature of the trinity a bit, particuarly in Liquid Church and have recently discovered the Eastern Orthodox theological concept of Theosis.

Theosis means deification and it is the process of human beings becoming holy and being united with God. For Eastern Orthodox people the incarnation is the way in which humanity can become united with God. This statement by St. Athanasius of Alexandria indicates the concept beautifully: "The Son of God became man, that we might become God".

What would otherwise seem absurd - that fallen, sinful humanity may become holy as God is holy - has been made possible through Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate. Naturally, there is a limit on this as it is not possible for any created being to become God or even another god...But as II Peter 1:4 says we may become " . . . partakers of divine nature."

And i think that this is my hope this Christmas, that we may all become partakers in the divine nature of God...Wouldn't that be just fantastic...but probably a bit scary too!

Technorati Tags: Christmas, Theosis

To fly or not to fly?

Great post by Gareth of Moot.

Christmas rites of passage

Last Friday i went through a significant Christmas rite of passage - My first event nativity play as a Dad! Jude was a dog - about as biblical as a sheep, but he loved it!

Tomorrow I'm going to his nursery Christmas meal, I'll have to sit on a chair that is about 4 inches high at a table that is about 6 inches high eating over boiled potatoes and reformed meat...great!

Technorati Tags: Christmas, Christmas, puppy, puppy

Spacenk ad

This is a stunning advert. I'm not sure how to download it, but if anyone knows then let me know...

Technorati Tags: Ads, culture, SpaceNK

ecclesiogenesis and emerging church

I'm reading, amongst other things, Ecclesiogenesis by Boff at the moment. I cannot help but make connections between the base communities of south america and the emerging church. Boff said that - We are not dealing with the expansion of an existing ecclesiastical system, rotating on a sacramental, clerical axis, but with the emergence of another form of being church, rotating on the axis of word and the layity. Base communities have at their centre a communitarian ethic, they are characterised by the absence of alienating structures, by relationships, by reciprocity, by deep communion, by mutual assistance, by communality of gospel ideals, by equality among members.

Can anyone tell me of any studies that make connections between the base communities and the emerging church?

Technorati Tags: Base Communities, emerging church, Base Communities, Ecclesiogenesis