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How all of this can be implemented will require further reflection and discussion. I have already mentioned Randy Frazee's book earlier, which contains some practical steps a church can take to realize more community life in a traditional church setting. For those inclined to the house church model, Robert and Julia Banks' The Church Comes Home offers suggestions based on their extensive experience in house churches. The important thing is not to blindly copy what seems to be working in other churches. Every church has its own unique DNA, so we need not be so rigidly conforming in our approach.
In closing, let's stop dealing in abstract notions of church and focus on the everyday realities of life and how that can to be organically woven into our ekklesia as a seamless fabric. Let's lay aside the fossilized forms and stifling structures and put on new wineskins. Let's set sail to new territory, with the unpredictable winds of the Spirit leading us where He will.
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The believers came together around Christ and his story. They also
came with their own. They came to (re)connect their own stories to
his, and to each others'. That was the gathering. They taught,
prophesied, shared, ate, sang, and prayed their stories - their
lives - together around Christ. The Spirit made the conversation
possible. All the people shared the Spirit through whom they met
God and one another face-to-face. They urged one another in
conversation to grow into the full measure of their freedom and dignity. The sermon and the service have hijacked conversation. There are
conventions for talking and listening, but next to none for true
dialogue. Preaching does not allow it. Worship services do not
allow it. Theological debate does not allow it. Each has its
semblance of conversation. But the rules of each game militate
against an open-ended meeting of hearts and minds free from
the controlling agendas of keeping the systems in place. What kinds of new conversation do I envisage? First of all, not the neutral posturing of traditional exegesis and theology, nor the pseudo-interaction of preaching and church service, but people engaging with one another around concern and desire grounded in their everyday experiences. At heart is a rhythm between ancient narrative and modern story; between insight and healing. The agenda is as broad as life. The mood may be analytical and incisive, light and irreverent, deep and therapeutic. Maybe all, some or none of the above. At its heart are people wrestling with the Spirit and one another to know the truth, grace and freedom of Christ in all the particulars of who they are and what fills their lives. I think of them as grace-ful conversations. Conversations marked by grace. Conversations full of grace. Conversations that bring grace. Mark Strom, Reframing Paul: Conversations in Grace & Community; pp. 18,19. |
Is there a "circle of friends" out there with this vision, who understands what I'm looking for? Who sees church as not an event or religious club, but as a family who share their lives together in an everyday, ordinary way? It seems to me that if we are to move forward as a local body of believers and truly experience Christian community, we must get beyond meetings, programs, and external forms (as important as these are). Rather, we must seek a new way of being and doing church that is not cut off from the everyday flow of our lives.
I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colors will bleed into one
Well yes I'm still runningYou broke the bonds
You loosed the chains
You carried the cross
And my shame
You know I believe itBut I still haven't found what I'm looking for
U2, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For