Friday 11 May 2007 at 12:56 pm
A Visit to the Pub
A friend and I went to the a town pub last Christmas Eve; we had two encounters,
quite different.
The first encounter was with a young female – we didn’t get her
name. As we sat and mulled over the past year we heard her speak about her faith,
she attended an Evangelical Charismatic Church on the outskirts of the city.
However she had a more liberal approach to her faith, both theologically and
socially. She was clearly aware of the tensions between her worship environment
and chosen faith community and her inner awareness.
(more)
Friday 11 May 2007 at 12:55 pm
Play
The church is in total darkness apart from one side chapel, which is softly
lit. Ambient music plays quietly in the background. One by one people arrive,
they are young - mainly teenagers and twenty something's. There is a table in
chapel with a range of sweets, drinks and snacks, people serve one another and
themselves and relax. After a while Peter welcomes everyone to the gathering,
he is the guide for the evening, although many people have contributed to its
preparation. He introduces the first part of the gathering; there are a number
of worship items to explore. People make there way to the various tables and
chairs in the chapel.
(more)
Friday 11 May 2007 at 12:54 pm
A Personal Journey
This article documents four experiences of church, four shapes of church
that both represent what is 'emergent' and inform us of what forms future
church may take. They are based on my personal experience over 12 years, they
are therefore suspect as historical data; what is important is the shape,
not the final details.
(more)
Friday 11 May 2007 at 12:46 pm
What is the Future Shape of Church? Is Church shape or structure? What is the shape or structure we need? Cell? Network? New? Old? Minster? Local? Dispersed? Are these models or rulebooks? What is missing?
(more)
