by Q Panel via Q Talks
Christianity’s top perception is that its adherents are anti-homosexual. Listen in on a conversation with three church leaders that are changing this perception in their communities one life at a time.
30JulHomosexuality
The dot-com boom and bust is often compared to the Gold Rush. But Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos (via Ted Blog) says it’s more like the early days of the electric industry.
Pastor Tim Keller talks via Big Think Blog on how he does not believe anyone is truly a biblical literalist.
27JulCHURCH TRENDS 2
John Sweetman
Church life is constantly changing. In this series I am discussing some diverse trends that I have noticed in evangelical churches in Queensland over recent years.
These comments are purely personal observations. They come from my interaction with pastors, students and churches as well as my reading, but they are only personal impressions and are not necessarily supported by objective evidence. So feel free to disagree. Your experience will be different from mine. While I have opinions on many of these trends, in these articles I am attempting to observe not critique.
2. The American influencers of the Western church are changing.
Most Queensland evangelical churches have been heavily influenced by Bill Hybels and Rick Warren over the last 20 years. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Hybels’ emphasis on reaching the lost, seeker sensitive services, and relevant ministry and Warren’s focus on intentional ministry (purpose-driven), outreach, strong management, and effective, accountable ministries became the priority for many churches striving for growth.
These two authors and practitioners became household names among pastors and many church leaders. Many churches tried seeker services or completed the purpose driven life series. We were seeking intentional, growing, mission-oriented churches like Willow Creek and Saddleback.
While the old firms of Hybels and Warren continue to influence, there are newcomers on the block that many pastors and church members are now more likely to listen to. Names like Rob Bell, Mark Driscoll, Andy Stanley and Erwin McManus are respected, especially among younger generations.
However, these new guys (and they still are largely all male) are not so much touting structures and systems to improve the church, but are mainly calling Christians to live biblically (within their own particular theological nuances and directions). It’s not that they don’t care about systems and structures (e.g. Driscoll has his successful Acts 29 church planting movement), but their first priority appears to be thinking, biblically-informed, kingdom-minded Christians.
By lumping these influencers together, I’m not saying that they would agree on priorities and theology. They are actually quite diverse and all have their own emphases and followings.
These new influencers write books and produce video series (who can forget Rob Bell’s Nooma), but their main impact is through their sermon podcasts, that are possibly being imbibed more by younger Christian leaders than pastors. This is producing a generation of Christians who think independently of their own churches and teachers, and who may not look to church attendance for spiritual nourishment.
It is worth noting that quite a few of the most commonly downloaded podcasters (e.g. Mark Driscoll, Tim Keller, John Piper) come from a Reformed perspective. Some are gentler and others more strident in their approach, but I think that they appeal to thinking Christian leaders because they teach Scripture at depth. There are signs that their teaching is bringing a resurgence in Reformed influence with a contemporary edge.
23JulRedeeming Justice
By Cathrine Rohr Via Q Talks
Put prisoners together with some Harvard MBA students, a business plan competition, and a gutsy New York investment banker and amazing things happen. This idea turned into a national program and is reshaping the justice system’s commitment to prisoners reentering society.
A great video, please watch!
Pastor Tim Keller talks via Big Think Blog on how he first turned to faith.
Music review by Tim schraeder via the TS Blog
Hillsong isn’t a band, it’s a church… and their music is just a simple expression of what’s happening inside their House, which now spans the globe with their home base in Sydney and extension campuses in London, Cape Town, Stockholm, Moscow, Paris, and soon-to-be New York City.
If you ever get the chance to be a part of one of their worship nights when they tour, or if you ever get the chance to meet them, they will be the first to tell you from the outset that they are group of people who love Jesus and are faithfully committed to the music ministry of their local church.
20JulCHURCH TRENDS 1
John Sweetman
Church life is constantly changing. In this series I am discussing some diverse trends that I have noticed in evangelical churches in Queensland over recent years.
These comments are purely personal observations. They come from my interaction with pastors, students and churches as well as my reading, but they are only personal impressions and are not necessarily supported by objective evidence. So feel free to disagree. Your experience will be different from mine. While I have opinions on many of these trends, in these articles I am attempting to observe not critique.
1. Churches and pastors are beginning to think kingdom more than church.
Two recent, influential Christian movements have been the church growth movement and the church health movement. The church growth movement researched the factors that caused churches to grow numerically and offered them as principles for growing the local church. The church health movement (that followed) argued that health, not growth, was the important issue for churches, but the thinking was that good health would almost inevitably produce growth.
Both of these movements suggested ways in which the church could more effectively minister and grow. They viewed the strength of the church as being the measure of our effectiveness for God. Everything revolved around the local church.
This fixation on the local church is beginning to diminish. Many church leaders are now thinking “kingdom” more than “church.” The kingdom is about the movement of God to assert his rule in this world. It involves loving and serving the community, standing for justice, doing what is good in the workplace, and caring for our world, as well as growing in Christ and evangelising our friends.
In other words, kingdom effectiveness goes well beyond what is helpful for the local church. A church could be heavily involved in kingdom ministry without necessarily seeing growth or even health. The ministry of Jesus could be seen as an example of effective kingdom ministry (sharing the good news, caring for the needy, bringing healing, loving and serving, standing up for right in the face of injustice) without seeing any great institutional or conversion success.
There are many signs of this emphasis on the kingdom. Some churches are becoming more involved in their communities e.g. helping in schools, meetings needs, taking stands on community issues, working with community organisations. Some churches are building stronger links with overseas missions work. They are not so much supporting missionaries as becoming personally involved in meeting the needs of actual overseas communities.
The kingdom movement is certainly gaining momentum. It has many strengths. It takes us beyond the idea that the work of God stands or falls on the growth of the local church. We have a big God who is working in the world as well as in the church. Our narrow focus on church growth and health has tended to cause us to view our community merely as potential converts who could become Christians and join our church. It has also produced unhealthy competition and comparison between churches. A kingdom emphasis puts us all on the same page with the same goal.
But will it damage the church? Here are a few things I think we will need to watch. We need to be careful not to water down the demands of the gospel for conversion. We need to hold on to our emphasis on grace above works (the kingdom tends to be about doing). We need to ensure that we are biblically discipling Christians. We need to continue to nurture a love for the local church (with all its flaws) and not see it as a limiting institution.
16JulWriting a Sermon
Tim Keller talks via Big Think Blog about how he writes his sermon. He puts in about 25 hours a week into producing and delivering one public speaking presentation before doing anything else in his job.
It’s back! Online registration will be live very soon…but for now, join the event and our neoLeader page on facebook and invite your friends!
REGISTER HERE!
THEME
Missional Leadership
DETAILS
$30, 28th August 2010, Ashgrove Baptist @ 7 Firhill St, Ashgrove
KEY SPEAKERS
Dr Richard Hibbert, Mark Broadbent
ELECTIVE SESSION #1
Cross-cultural Mission
Introducing Muslims to Jesus - Richard Hibbert
Evangelism
How to easily share the gospel with your friends - Nathan Harris + Mark Broadbent
Community
Growing/planting an outwardly-focused small group - Michael Knight
Mission
Reaching Aussie teenagers & young adults - Grant Gehrke
ELECTIVE SESSION #2
Cross-cultural Mission
I wonder about serving God overseas - John & Juanita Anderson
Evangelism
I’m not an evangelist, so what do I do? - Nathan Harris + Mark Broadbent
Community
Making a kingdom difference in your community - Andrew Mayne with Panel
Mission
Reaching Aussie blokes - Michael Knight
PROGRAM
1.00 Registration
1.30 Session 1 - Richard Hibbert “Cry of the Unreached”
2.45 Afternoon tea
3.15 Elective 1
4.15 Elective 2
5.15 Break
5.30 Dinner
6.30 Session 2 - Mark Broadbent “The Call to Mission”
8.30 Finish
REGISTER HERE!
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