the post-yesterday church

Street Church Redwood City

2012-01-24T17:04:00.000-08:00

On November 7, we launched Street Church Redwood City, feeding a hot meal to eight friends who live outside downtown. Last night (Monday, January 23), we fed forty-three people. These friends ranged in age from a child in a stroller to folks old enough to have been the child's grandparents.

Every Monday night from 7:30 to 9ish, we gather outside in a gravel parking lot in downtown Redwood City to do church. Acts 2:42 describes the practices of the early church: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." Street Church is a community that does all these things.

Street Church RWC is an ecumenical effort--faith communities of various shapes and sizes have been participating. I'm thankful for everyone who has been involved in this work of the Spirit. To get involved, send an email to Vicky@streetlifeministries.org (to volunteer to cook food) or to megan@streetlifeministries.org (to volunteer to serve food).

Summary of 14 Redwood City Church Visits

2012-01-24T16:29:00.000-08:00

Over the past several months, I have visited the worship services of almost all of Redwood City's English-speaking Protestant churches (I might have missed one or two). Without exception, my fourteen visits were interesting experiences--at times even fascinating. The purpose of my visits was twofold: (1) I hoped to assess the need for a new faith community in Redwood City, and (2) I hoped to discern who is currently under-served by existing churches. Here's what I learned:

On a typical weekend, about 1500 people attend the worship services of Redwood City's English-speaking Protestant churches. This number represents only about 2% of Redwood City's approximately 80,000 residents! Of course, a substantial number of people worship with Redwood City's four Roman Catholic and several Spanish-speaking Protestant churches. Still, there is clearly room for more churches in this community.
Only two of the fourteen churches I visited had a majority ethnicity numbering no more than 80%. Of these two churches, one had no more than three dozen worshipers. Ten of the more monoethnic churches were Anglo, one was Asian, and one was Tongan.
Most of the churches were multigenerational, but few had large numbers of Gen Xers and Millennials.
Eleven of the churches showed evidence of decline--their worshiping communities were far too small to fill their worship spaces.
There are just four mainline/oldline Protestant churches in Redwood City (two Methodist, one Lutheran, and one Episcopalian). All of these churches showed evidence of decline, and all of them had under one hundred worshipers present the Sundays I visited. Two of them had under fifty worshipers present.
The theological house of eight or nine of the fourteen churches I visited was conservative; rooms in this house included evangelical, Pentecostal, and Lutheran. All of these churches had plenty of space for more people. Redwood City doesn't seem to need any more conservative churches.
Only one church occupied a progressive theological house. This church also verbalized a low Christology, and its worship was undercontextualized. It was not clear to me that any of the churches occupied a progressive evangelical theological house--that is, I did not see and hear the thoughtfulness about faith, on the one hand, and the passion for Jesus, on the other hand, that is exhibited in the combination of a strong social conscience (advocating creation care, economic justice, gender equality, multiculturalism, nonviolence, peacemaking, and racial reconciliation) and a high Christology (affirming both the incarnation and the resurrection). For examples of progressive evangelical theology, see here and here.

In summary, Redwood City has room for new faith communities. Few of its existing faith communities are both multigenerational and multiethnic; some are neither. The mainline/oldline Protestant presence is small and declining, and there is no Presbyterian presence. The city suffers from a dearth of moderate to progressive Christian voices. One hue of the Christian mosaic that is largely absent from Redwood City's life is the progressive evangelical hue.

Redwood City Church Visit #14

2012-01-24T16:19:00.000-08:00

Redwood City Church Visit #13

2012-01-23T10:57:00.000-08:00

Redwood City in Pictures

2011-11-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

Wrestling with Revelation 4:1-5:14

2011-09-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

Wrestling with Revelation

Round Four: Revelation 4:1-5:14

“Revelation is not to be likened to an ‘apricot with a hard core’ but more to an ‘onion’ consisting of layers and layers of meaning.”

Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza

First Impressions

Pray.
Read Revelation 4:1-5:14 twice slowly, using different translations and noting significant variations.
Initial questions:

· What do these two chapters record?

· Who receives praise (worship) in this passage?

· How would you subtitle this section of Revelation?

· As the passage was read, which phrase(s) or verse(s) caused you to pause or stop? Paraphrase this phrase or verse.

Dwelling in the Text

Why do you think you paused or stopped where you did?
In general, what does a throne symbolize? In the first-century Roman Empire, who would it have called to mind? How might this person have responded to literature that presents God as “one seated on [a] throne” (4:2)?
Is there anything in this passage that points toward a doctrine of the Trinity?
The word worship is derived from the Old English word worthship. John hears a heavenly chorus sing, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power” (4:11a). According to this song, what makes God worth praise? Who is offering the praise? To which contemporary concern is this relevant?
What contrasting images—both representing Jesus—are juxtaposed in 5:5-6? What does the image in verse 5 convey about what Jesus has done? What does the image in verse 6 convey about how he has done this?
What does the “new song” of 5:9 say about the death of Jesus and the kingdom of God?

The Text in Context

Wrestling with Revelation 4:3:

· Read Genesis 9:8-17 and put it in conversation with Revelation 4:3.

· Describe the characteristics of the covenant symbolized by the rainbow.

Wrestling with Revelation 4:4:

· Read Revelation 21:12-14 and put it in conversation with Revelation 4:4.

· What does the number twenty-four suggest about the relationship between Judaism and Christianity?

Wrestling with Revelation 4:6a:

· Read Genesis 1:1-2 and put it in conversation with Revelation 4:6a.

· How is the sea of heaven different from the waters of the original creation? What is Revelation here saying about God?

Wrestling with Revelation 3:1-22

2011-09-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Wrestling with Revelation

Round Three: Revelation 3:1-22

“The seven messages tell us that there is a wide spectrum within the churches, from the highly accommodating to those who are persecuted—undoubtedly for not accommodating.”

Michael Gorman

First Impressions

Pray.
Read Revelation 3:1-22 twice slowly, using different translations and noting significant variations.
Initial questions:

· Who is speaking in this passage? Who are the addressees?

· Who receives the most criticism in this passage? Who receives the most praise?

· As the passage was read, which phrase(s) or verse(s) caused you to pause or stop? Paraphrase this phrase or verse.

Dwelling in the Text

Why do you think you paused or stopped where you did?
With which of the three churches does the church in America have the least in common? Explain. With which of the three churches does Trinity Presbyterian Church have the least in common? Again, explain.
With which of the three churches does the church in America have the most in common? Explain. With which of the three churches does Trinity Presbyterian Church have the most in common? Again, explain.

The Text in Context

Wrestling with Revelation 3:1-6:

· The church in Sardis is known for “being alive” but is in fact “dead” (3:1). What might characterize a church that looks alive but in reality is dead?

· The church in Sardis is diagnosed as “dead” or “on the point of death” (3:2). What prescription is offered?

· Read Matthew 24:42-44 and put it in conversation with Revelation 3:3.

Wrestling with Revelation 3:7-13:

· For what is the church in Philadelphia praised? Does it receive any criticism?

· Do Revelation 3:3 and 3:11 contradict each other? Why or why not?

· What do you make of Revelation’s rewards language (3:12, for example)? Is it compatible with the Pauline conviction that salvation is by grace—God’s free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9)? Explain.

Wrestling with Revelation 3:14-22:

· The church in Laodicea is famously criticized for being “neither cold nor hot” but “lukewarm” (3:15-16). Biblical scholars Eugene Boring and Michael Gorman disagree on how best to interpret this criticism. Boring thinks the terms in question “were used in the sense of ‘against me’ and ‘for me.’ The Laodiceans attempted to be neither for nor against [Jesus Christ].”[1] Gorman argues:

The text…does not present a spectrum with two extremes—hot (for Jesus) and cold (against Jesus)—and a wishy-washy middle. Rather, it presents two antithetical points, the first of which is illustrated with…hot water and cold water. Both of these are pleasing and beneficial, while lukewarm water is precisely the opposite, disgusting to taste…. “Lukewarm” here means so prosperous and supposedly self-sufficient (3:17) as to be completely out of fellowship with Jesus.[2]

Which of these two interpretations do you find most compelling? Why?

· The seven messages all end with an exhortation to conquer (3:21, for example). What is to be conquered?

[1] M. Eugene Boring, The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), 2219.

[2] Michael J. Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2011), 96.

Wrestling with Revelation 2:1-29

2011-09-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

Wrestling with Revelation

Round Two: Revelation 2:1-29

“Comfort…is only one side of Revelation’s story. Of John’s seven letters to the churches of Asia Minor (Rev. 2:1-3:22), only half are comforting.”

Harry Maier

First Impressions

Pray.
Read Revelation 2:1-29 twice slowly, using different translations and noting significant variations.
Initial questions:

· Who is speaking in this passage? Who are the addressees?

· With what tone do you imagine these words were spoken?

· As the passage was read, which phrase(s) or verse(s) caused you to pause or stop? Paraphrase this phrase or verse.

Dwelling in the Text

Why do you think you paused or stopped where you did?
With which of the four churches does the church in America have the least in common? Explain. With which of the four churches does Trinity Presbyterian Church have the least in common? Again, explain.
With which of the four churches does the church in America have the most in common? Explain. With which of the four churches does Trinity Presbyterian Church have the most in common? Again, explain.

The Text in Context

Wrestling with Revelation 2:1-7:

· The message to the church in Ephesus begins with “I know your works” (2:2) and later makes the survival of the church there conditional—“I will…remove your lampstand [“lampstand” = church] from its place, unless you repent [literally translated, ‘change your mind’]” (2:5). Does this message convey grace—that is, unmerited favor? If not, does this absence trouble you? Why or why not? (Recall Luther’s quote from last week in which he claims that “Christ is not taught or known in [Revelation].” Might Luther have meant that the book was missing an emphasis on grace?)

· Is this first message a pastoral (comforting) word or a prophetic (convicting) word? Explain.

· Read James 2:14-19 and put it in conversation with Revelation 2:2-5.

Wrestling with Revelation 2:8-11:

· How can people be both in “poverty” and “rich” (2:9)? New Testament scholar Eugene Boring thinks that “here poverty is meant literally. Christians have suffered economic discrimination and sanctions, but they are nonetheless spiritually rich.”[1] Revelation 2:9 might be paraphrased, “I know your affliction and your physical poverty, even though you are spiritually rich.” Can you think of a better explanation?

· Christians in Smyrna are about to suffer persecution in the form of imprisonment. Who are the implied accomplices to this persecution? (Who in the Roman Empire has the power to imprison?)

· Note that the message to the church in Smyrna is all praise, no criticism. Why might this be?

· Read James 2:1-7 and put it in conversation with Revelation 2:9-10.

Wrestling with Revelation 2:12-17:

· What about the church in Pergamum is appreciated? (“Satan’s throne” probably refers to the acropolis in Pergamum, where both a temple of the imperial cult [for worship of Caesar] and an altar to Zeus were located.)

· What about the church in Pergamum is criticized?

· Read Romans 8:4-13 and put it in conversation with Revelation 2:14.

Wrestling with Revelation 2:18-29:

· What works of the church in Thyatira are commended?

· “‘Jezebel’…is a literal false prophet or a symbol of accommodation.”[2] In what ways are some in the church in Thyatira accommodating to Roman culture?

· Read Romans 12:1-2 and put it in conversation with Revelation 2:20.

[1] M. Eugene Boring, The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), 2217.

[2] Michael J. Gorman Reading Revelation Responsibly (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2011), 94. Gorman also comments that “children” refers to Jezebel’s followers.

Wrestling with Revelation 1:1-20

2011-09-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

Wrestling with Revelation

Round One: Revelation 1:1-20

“About this book of Revelation, I leave everyone free to hold their own ideas.”

Martin Luther

First Impressions

Pray.
Read Revelation 1:1-20 twice slowly, using different translations and noting significant variations.
Initial questions:

· To whom is this letter written?

· In a word or phrase, how would you characterize the tone or mood of this passage?

· As the passage was read, which phrase(s) or verse(s) caused you to pause or stop as the passage was read? Paraphrase this phrase or verse.

Dwelling in the Text

Why do you think you paused or stopped where you did?
What parts of this “unveiling” (the Greek word translated “revelation” in 1:1 means “unveiling”) are the clearest or make the most sense to you? Explain.
What parts of this “unveiling” are less clear or make the least sense to you? Explain.

The Text in Context

Wrestling with Revelation 1:1-3:

· John writes that something “must soon take place” (1:1) and that “the time is near” (1:3). What “time” does John have in mind—the time when the world will end? the time when the Roman Empire and its persecution of Christians will end? some other time? Does John tell us in this passage?

· Read Mark 13:32-33 and put it in conversation with Revelation 1:3.

· Biblical scholars differ on what is in view in Revelation 1:3. James Efird writes, “What [John] is describing symbolically is a new age for God’s people with the persecution removed.”[1] Eugene Boring thinks John did have in view the end of the world and was simply wrong: “The error should not continue…. A reverent agnosticism concerning ‘times and seasons’ is the more abiding biblical view (Mark 13:32; Acts 1:6-11).”[2] Which of these readings do you find more compelling? Why?

Wrestling with Revelation 1:4 (see also 22:21):

· Read Galatians 1:1-2 and 6:18, putting them in conversation with Revelation 1:4 and 22:21.

· John indicates that what he is writing is a letter “to the seven churches that are in Asia” (1:4). Why might it be important to keep this fact in mind as we read Revelation?

· “The significance of this is that, as with all epistles, there is an occasional…aspect to Revelation. It was occasioned at least in part by the needs of the specific churches to which it is addressed.”[3] If our specific situation differs from that of the seven churches to whom John writes, then will all of Revelation remain relevant to us? Explain.

Wrestling with Revelation 1:5-7, 12-18:

· “There is one sufficient reason for me not to think highly of [Revelation]—Christ is not taught or known in it…. I stick to the books which give me Christ clearly and purely.”[4] These are the words of Martin Luther. Do you think Luther’s assessment is accurate? What can be learned about Christ in Revelation 1:5-7, 12-18?

· Read John 11:20-27 and put it in conversation with Revelation 1:5-7, 12-18.

[1] James Efird, How to Interpret the Bible (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1984), 88.

[2] M. Eugene Boring, Revelation (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1989), 73.

[3] Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 253.

[4] Harry O. Maier, Apocalypse Recalled: The Book of Revelation after Christendom (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002), 1.

Introduction to Revelation

2011-09-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

Wrestling with Revelation

“It seems necessary to say at the outset that no one should approach the Revelation without a proper degree of humility!”

Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart

“Revelation is widely popular for the wrong reasons, for a great number of people read it as a guide to how the world will end.”

Raymond Brown

Introduction to the Book of Revelation

The last book of the Bible, Revelation, “often ends up sounding like so much mythological mumbo jumbo.”[1] “In Reformation times, Luther assigned Revelation to a secondary status; Zwingli denied that it was Scripture; and it was the only New Testament book on which Calvin did not write a commentary.”[2] Perhaps Calvin simply ran out of time, dying before he could write on Revelation; or maybe fear or wisdom (or a combination of the two) led him to refrain. Whatever the case, things have changed since the 16^th century: Revelation today is a popular resource for persons who speculate about the end of the world. What are we to make of it?

Author and Audience

Revelation’s author is self-identified as John of Patmos; Patmos is an island southwest of present-day Turkey on which John had visions (1:1, 4, 9; 22:8). Little is known about John. He does not include himself among the first twelve disciples of Jesus (21:14), and his writing differs from that of the author(s) of the Gospel of John (see Eugene Boring, Raymond Brown, Lewis Donelson). His familiarity with the Old Testament (from which he frequently borrows imagery) indicates that he was a Jewish Christian. His original audience was seven mainland churches (1:4; 2:1-3:22).

Date

Most biblical scholars date Revelation to the last decade of the 1^st century, when Emperor Domitian ruled (James Efird, Boring, Brown, Brian Blount). Some scholars argue for either an earlier or a later date. These alternative dates are attractive because Revelation speaks of the persecution of Christians by Rome, and it seems that Christians were not persecuted as heavily under Domitian as under the earlier Nero or the later Trajan.

Genre

The book of Revelation combines the genres of apocalyptic (1:1—the Greek word translated “revelation” is apokalypsis), prophecy (1:3), and epistle or letter (1:4; 22:21) (Boring, Brown, Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart). Although strange to 21^st-century ears, apocalyptic literature was common in the 1^st century. Its language is symbolic (Efird, Boring, Fee and Stuart, Gorman), ironic (Maier), and possibly cryptic—that is, it may have hidden or coded meanings (Fee and Stuart). Its content is typically dualistic (good versus evil) and expectant of a better future for a suffering people (Efird, Boring); this future is not necessarily the end of history, as apocalyptic may or may not include eschatological (eschaton means “the last thing”) themes (Efird, Donelson, Maier). The genre of prophecy has as its focus truth-telling about the present, especially when a hard word needs to be heard—“to prophesy does not primarily mean to foretell the future but rather to speak forth God’s Word in the present.”[3]

Outline

Much of the imagery in Revelation is fantastic rather than realistic, and some of it is bizarre—it’s not easy to interpret. But there is a narrative logic to this letter that can be outlined in three parts. First, God speaks—loudly (1:10)—to the seven churches, using John as a mouthpiece in an effort to get their attention. Then, God judges Rome and, by extension, “all the Romes that would follow the great empire’s metaphorical lead...mimics of the same idolatrous belief that some humans maintained about their own superior, Almighty status.”[4] Finally, God wins, establishing in its fullness the kingdom that dawned with Jesus.

I. God Shouts (1:1-3:22)

Aug. 21 1:1-20

Aug. 28 2:1-29

Sept. 4 3:1-22

II. God Judges (4:1-18:24)

Sept. 11 4:1-5:14

Sept. 18 6:1-8:1

Sept. 25 8:2-10:11

Oct. 2 11:1-19

Oct. 9 12:1-13:18

Oct. 16 14:1-20

Oct. 23 15:1-16:21

Oct. 30 17:1-18

Nov. 6 18:1-24

III. God Wins (19:1-22:21)

Nov. 13 19:1-20:15

Nov. 20 21:1-22:21

Recommended Reading

Blount, Brian K. Can I Get a Witness? Reading Revelation through African American Culture. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005.

Boring, M. Eugene. Revelation. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1989.

Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament. New York: Doubleday, 1997.

Donelson, Lewis R. From Hebrews to Revelation: A Theological Introduction. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.

Efird, James M. How to Interpret the Bible. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1984.

Fee, Gordon D. and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Gorman, Michael J. Reading Revelation Responsibly. Eugene: Cascade Books, 2011.

Maier, Harry O. Apocalypse Recalled: The Book of Revelation after Christendom. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002.

[1] Brian K. Blount, Can I Get a Witness? Reading Revelation through African American Culture (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005), 5.

[2] Raymond E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament (New York: Doubleday, 1997), 809.

[3] Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 253.

[4] Blount, Can I Get a Witness?, 117.

Revelation Is for Mainstream Christians (BOOK REVIEW: APOCALYPSE RECALLED: THE BOOK OF REVELATION AFTER CHRISTENDOM)

2011-09-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

Harry O. Maier, Apocalypse Recalled: The Book of Revelation (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002), pp. 271.

In Apocalypse Recalled, Harry O. Maier, a Canadian New Testament scholar of German descent, contends that the book of Revelation is especially relevant to "mainstream" (what some call "mainline") Christians--a group that has long neglected it. Maier sees in his own theological house a "culturally assimilated" people. He encourages us to read Revelation as Laodiceans--"rich, not needing anything, neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm" (p. 38). If we do so, then we will hear the Bible's last book not so much as a pastoral word of comfort for persecuted persons (we are not persecuted), but as a prophetic word that challenges us to change.

Like many other biblical scholars (James Efird, Raymond Brown, Brian Blount, and Michael Gorman, to name a few), Maier does not think Revelation is primarily concerned about the end of the world. Instead, he believes its author (someone named John) chose the genre of "apocalypse to drive home the urgency of his exhortations and admonitions" (p. xii). Revelation's fantastic and dramatic images are for emphasis; they are not literal descriptions of the end of the world.

Maier's book is filled with fascinating information--from dismissive quotes about Revelation from Martin Luther to a list of well known persons who have analyzed John and have concluded that he was a curious person (to put it kindly). Maier also talks about the sights and sounds of Revelation (observing that the book is as loud as it is vivid), John's use of tenses (John writes in the past tense and the present tense more frequently than in the future tense), and John's use of irony (Maier reads Revelation as parody that makes fun of Rome--its violent imagery is ironic as a slain lamb is depicted as conquering a mighty empire).

Worth the price of the book is Maier's invitation to discipleship in the concluding chapter. John's work, argues Maier, calls its readers to be "cruciform ironists":

Cruciform ironists are content with the little story of God's little one from Nazareth and his fate. They have given up on controlling or writing the script for the metanarrative of secular culture.... They have given up on triumphalist attempts to Christianize the globe, on revolutionizing society through the application of Christian socialism or conservatism, on filling pews with ever more converts, on measuring the success of its witness by the size of its buildings and the strengths of its offerings. They remain aloof from models promising church growth. Cruciform ironists are deeply suspicious of megachurch success stories. They know that the way of costly testimony is narrow, difficult, and small. (p. 205)

In short, discipleship doesn't look Roman (big, powerful, coercive); instead, following Jesus is characterized by lamblike vulnerability (which, paradoxically, has lasting power).

Making Maier's work unique is his inclusion of autobiographical stories of an apocalypse--a catastrophic event--suffered by his German family. At the conclusion of World War II, "Eastern Europeans who had been terrorized and brutalized by their Nazi occupiers exacted revenge on...ethnic Germans" (p. 13). Maier's family fled to Canada. He recalls the apocalyptic language used by his family to describe this event throughout his book.

Wrestling with Revelation

2011-09-10T04:13:00.000-07:00

Trinity Presbyterian Church has started a 14-week study of the book of Revelation. We've worked through the first three chapters; tomorrow we'll hear chapters 4 and 5 (whether we'll understand them remains to be seen). I've been writing curriculum for our small groups; I'll start posting this curriculum in the near future.

Here's a list of resources that I'm using:

Blount, Brian K. Can I Get a Witness? Reading Revelation through African American Culture. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005.

Boring, M. Eugene. Revelation. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1989.

Donelson, Lewis R. From Hebrews to Revelation: A Theological Introduction. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.

Efird, James M. How to Interpret the Bible. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1984.

Fee, Gordon D. and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Fiorenza, Elisabeth Schussler. "The Followers of the Lamb: Visionary Rhetoric and Social-Political Situation" in Discipleship in the New Testament. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.

Gorman, Michael J. Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness, Following the Lamb into the New Creation. Eugene: Cascade Books, 2011.

Maier, Harry O. Apocalypse Recalled: The Book of Revelation after Christendom. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002.

Stringfellow, William. An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land. Waco: Word, 1973.

Missional Community Infomeal

2011-09-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

	On September 25th from 5:00 to 7:00, Josh and Amy are hosting an infomeal (yes, I coined this word) to let people know more about plans to form a community that will seek to make a life-giving impact in Jesuslike ways in, for, and with Redwood City. Initially, this learning community will be part focus group and part “imagineering” (borrowed this word from Disney) team. We're looking for people who know RWC well and/or who belong to Generation X or Generation Y (forties, thirties, twenties, and teens); we're also looking for a mix of ethnicities (to reflect RWC). Attending this infomeal commits people to nothing further. Just come ready to eat and to learn more. God may be calling you to a new adventure.... Interested? Email me: jrowley@trinity-pres.org.

On September 25th from 5:00 to 7:00, Josh and Amy are hosting an infomeal (yes, I coined this word) to let people know more about plans to form a community that will seek to make a life-giving impact in Jesuslike ways in, for, and with Redwood City.

Initially, this learning community will be part focus group and part “imagineering” (borrowed this word from Disney) team. We're looking for people who know RWC well and/or who belong to Generation X or Generation Y (forties, thirties, twenties, and teens); we're also looking for a mix of ethnicities (to reflect RWC).

Attending this infomeal commits people to nothing further. Just come ready to eat and to learn more. God may be calling you to a new adventure.... Interested? Email me: jrowley@trinity-pres.org.

Interpreting the Book of Revelation for Today (BOOK REVIEW: CAN I GET A WITNESS?)

2011-09-08T11:34:00.000-07:00

Brian K. Blount, Can I Get a Witness? Reading Revelation through African American Culture (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005), pp. 155.

Can I Get a Witness? Reading Revelation through African American Culture is a provocative new interpretation of the Bible's last (and arguably most bizarre) book. Although brief and well written, Brian Blount's book is difficult reading, due both to technical language and complex concepts. But readers who work through it will be rewarded with an interpretation (but not "the interpretive answer" [p. 6]) of Revelation that is an alternative to what "so often ends up sounding like so much mythological mumbo jumbo" (p. 5).

Blount identifies two weaknesses of historical and literary criticism: (1) biblical scholars can only "reconstruct" a writing's first-century context, knowing with certainty that their reconstruction is biased and never knowing with certainty that their reconstruction is accurate (pp. 3-4); and (2) different interpreters interpret the same text in many different ways, even when there is "some consensus about...historical context" (p. 4). In response, Blount advocates a "cultural studies approach to Revelation" (p. 5). He not only recognizes that an interpreter's culture will influence, if not determine, her interpretation (there is no such thing as an objective reading), he embraces this fact, celebrating the role of the reader in the construction of meaning. Blount calls for accepting different cultural readings and putting them in conversation with one another, allowing different interpreters and interpretive communities to be in dialogue as co-learners.

Blount's "goal is not to determine what Revelation meant in John's first-century community; the goal is to ascertain how material written in and for that community becomes meaningful for a particular twenty-first-century community" (p. 10). This reading approach has the potential to make Revelation and other ancient texts newly relevant. It jettisons the notion that a text can have only one meaning across all times and places. Blount summarizes:

We never really learn...which reading is the one objective and correct one. We learn instead how to comprehend the meaning of the text in vastly different and perhaps larger ways because we see and hear how others in their contextual situations access its meaning potential.... [T]hat doesn't mean the text can be made to mean anything. In intercommunal conversation, the tension that arises between interpreters sharpens focus on the text and brings challenge to damaging, unsavory, and untenable readings. (p. 35)

As an African American reader, Blount unapologetically reads Revelation in conversation with the African American experience. Like other biblical scholars (Harry Maier and Michael Gorman, for example), he interprets Revelation "as a call for active, nonviolent resistance [to Rome]" (p. 39). But he also connects this ancient text with African American culture--he "see[s] parallels" (p. 107).

Among Blount's more provocative and interesting insights is his observation that Revelation's image of Jesus as slaughtered Lamb does not teach an atonement theory. Rather, "[John] is showcasing [Jesus'] vulnerability and nonviolent resistance" (p. 78). If there is a developing atonement theory in Revelation, then it is a combination of Christus Victor and moral exemplar thinking: Jesus is a conquering lion who uses lamblike means, and his followers are called to use similar means. (Although Revelation undeniably features violent imagery, Blount contends, "It doesn't take much more than a surface reading to recognize that the Lamb is indeed noted for being slaughtered, not for slaughtering others" [p. 82].) The parallel named here is the nonviolent resistance of Martin Luther King Jr. (p. 83).

David T. Olson's "Top Ten Reasons to Plant Churches"

2011-09-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

10) New faith communities tend both to engage younger people and to be more multiethnic.

9) New churches energize established churches that help start them.

8) Churches tend to grow for about 40 years after their birth.

7) Church starts make good use of energetic, creative clergy.

6) New churches serve as laboratories for existing churches, with established communities learning from both the failures and the successes of emerging communities.

5) New churches provide leadership opportunities for new people that are not available in established communities that already have many leaders.

4) New churches are better able to contextualize their ministry for new generations than are churches that were designed for earlier generations.

3) New churches are better able to contextualize their ministry for growing ethnic populations than are churches that were designed for other ethnicities.

2) Conversion growth is more common in new faith communities than in established faith communities.

1) The population of the United States is growing; churches in the United States are declining.

(This list is paraphrased from David T. Olson's The American Church in Crisis, pages 155-156.)

What Young Adults Are Thinking

2011-09-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

Population Breakdown of the United States
(with Generation Y called "Millennials")

I have learned that Redwood City (where I am exploring the possibility of starting a missional community) is quite young--79% of its population is under 55 years of age. The median ages of the city's five largest mosaic types range from 29 to 43. These findings have led me to interview young adults as part of my ongoing research. To date, I've interviewed 11 members of Generation Y or Generation X, their ages ranging from late teens to early thirties; some have been churched and some have been dechurched or unchurched. Here's a summary of what they shared.

Thoughts about God
Of the 11 interviewees, 9 expressed belief in God and 2 were agnostics. Several indicated that they have many peers who are agnostics or atheists. Comments about God were positive: God was described as "creator," "wonderful," "familiar," "big," "present," "forgiving," "powerful," "cool," and "Jesus." When questioned about Jesus, the interviewees also responded positively (although one spoke of being both "attracted to and repulsed by him")--"good," "important," "same but different [from God]," "present," and "rebel helper" were among the descriptions offered.

Thoughts about Church
When asked their thoughts about "church," the interviewees shared mixed feelings--just 1 had only positive thoughts. (Similarly, the terms "religion" and "spirituality" were not well received, with the more churched persons tending to prefer the first to the second and the less churched persons tending to prefer the second to the first.) The most common impression of the church was that it is "unnecessary" and "irrelevant" (these words and others like them were offered frequently); even though some of the interviewees also described the church as "judgmental" (1 "bigoted"), the overall attitude toward the church was more apathetic than angry. Some interviewees spoke of church as a place--the phrase "stuffy building" was used by 3 of them, "calming place" by 1 of them. An interviewee who spoke of church as a people used the phrase "old people." When I asked the interviewees to imagine what kind of church would engage them and their peers, many of them spoke of a close-knit community (not too large) characterized by diversity (non-judgmental) and informality (not "extremist" or too churchy) and an emphasis on going and doing more than on sitting and listening. Worship services were not emphasized, but a few of the interviewees expressed a desire for current praise music.

Thoughts about Society
A third cluster of questions had to do with societal concerns. Asked to name social ills or injustices that were of particular concern to them and their peers, interviewees mentioned stewardship of the environment ("green" comments were the most frequent), lack of healthcare (respondents naming this problem were in favor of universal healthcare), violence, poverty, and gay-bashing. A concern to promote the arts was also mentioned.

A Primer on Church Planting 6 (BOOK REVIEW: PLANTING CHURCHES IN THE 21ST CENTURY)

2011-09-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

Part VI

The concluding chapters of Planting Churches in the 21st Century ask "Who?" and "What next?" To the first of these questions, Murray answers that church planters should be people who are self-aware, creative, flexible, resilient, and team-oriented (p. 167). These characteristics are "essential" or "highly desirable." Murray longs to see more women involved in church planting, and he criticizes the "patriarchal--and frankly sexist--attitudes [that] are still surprisingly evident among those who plan and organize church-planting events" (p. 168).

In his final chapter, Murray looks at what is likely to happen after a church is birthed. Even if things go well, there will be challenges. And sometimes things do not go well--for reasons ranging from "unexpected demographic changes" to a failure to reach "'critical mass'--the point at which there is sufficient momentum for [the church] to sustain itself" (p. 191).

A Primer on Church Planting 5 (BOOK REVIEW: PLANTING CHURCHES IN THE 21ST CENTURY)

2011-09-06T16:08:00.000-07:00

Part V

Once it has been decided why, how, where, and when to plant a faith community, the question of "what kind of church to plant" arises. Murray writes: "Toward the end of the [20th century]...questions emerged about the kinds of church that were being planted. Were they truly missional? Were they contextually appropriate? Were they culturally attuned? Were many different kinds of churches needed in a diverse society?" (p. 133).

In response to these questions, Murray first rejects "cloning"--the common practice of "merely replicating a familiar model of church" (p. 135). This creativity-deficient approach leads to under-contextualized churches. "Cloning is not the answer" (p. 137).

Instead, starting churches should be seen as "an opportunity to reimagine church, experiment with new patterns and practices, integrate missional and ecclesial dimesions, review inherited traditions and assumptions, configure the relationship between gospel and culture in fresh ways, and pioneer on behalf of the wider church" (p. 138). This adventure requires from the people doing the work attentiveness to their convictions (they will need to agree on a vision), their context (they will need to do something that makes sense in their time and place), and their constraints (they will need to work with what resources they have). Murray thinks that churches should prioritize values ("availability and vulnerability," for example) and vision over purposes (he's not a fan of churches being "purpose driven") (pp. 144-147).

The chapter closes with a call to focus more on missiology and Christology than on ecclesiology:

More important are the missional questions, How is God at work in the neighborhood or network, and how can we get involved? How might the host community be transformed by the values of God's kingdom? Then comes the ecclesial question, What kind of church can participate creatively and effectively in this mission...? Some argue that even missional questions are secondary and that the primary questions relate to Christology, Who is the Jesus church planters represent and proclaim? What is the gospel in relation to the culture, needs, and aspirations of the host community? (p. 158)

to be continued

A Primer on Church Planting 4 (BOOK REVIEW: PLANTING CHURCHES IN THE 21ST CENTURY)

2011-09-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

Stuart Murray, Planting Churches in the 21st Century (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2010), pp. 227.

Part IV

"Very few churches are planted too slowly" (p. 109). So begins chapter 5 of Planting Churches in the 21st Century, in which Murray tackles the question of "When?" (to plant a church). Throughout this chapter, he repeatedly recommends patience. "Frustrating though it may be to pioneers and activists, [a] preparatory period is vital if the planting process is to be properly planned" (p. 125).

According to Murray, this "preparatory period" should include not only the research discussed earlier, but also prayer, fund-raising, and identifying places to gather. He recognizes the importance of mission, community, and worship for any faith community, but he questions the prioritization of corporate worship services that has long dominated church-planting efforts:

Prioritizing corporate worship...is a legacy of the Christendom era, in which mission and community were often marginalized. Church planting should not be warped by this inherited bias. It is time we reinstated mission and community as equally central constituents of church.... If a community is forming with the intention of engaging in mission or if missional activities are intended to create a community, we may recognize that a church is emerging, whether or not this community is yet worshipping together. (pp. 126-127)

Finally, Murray questions the need for and prudence of big "launch events" (p. 130). Again, it has long been assumed that these events are necessary to start a new church well. But they may ultimately be unhelpful; for example, for "ventures that operate relationally rather than through events, a public launch may be superfluous or misleading" (p. 130).

to be continued

A Primer on Church Planting 3 (BOOK REVIEW: PLANTING CHURCHES IN THE 21ST CENTURY)

2011-09-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

Stuart Murray, Planting Churches in the 21st Century (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2010), pp. 227.

Part III

Having addressed the "Why?" and "How?" of church planting, Murray moves to the question, "Where should we plant?" (chapter 4). Murray advocates careful discernment in choosing a location for a new faith community, as starting a church "is a demanding, costly, long-term, and risky project" (p. 85). Research is needed.

Murray names five "components of community research." The first--observation--includes walking the community and spending time in eateries and public areas (pp. 88-89). Conversations are a second component of community research; conversations may include interviews and a focus group (p. 90). Interpretation of what has been observed and heard follows; theological reflection on the information gathered should include questions about how "the gospel affirms or challenges local cultural norms," where there are opportunities for "incarnational mission," what contextualization might look like in this place, and "[h]ow, where, and through whom...God [is] already at work in the community" (p. 94). The fourth component is application, which moves to questions about the need for a new faith community in the location being explored (p. 95). Finally, there should be consultation with existing churches in the community--not "to seek permission" but to start "life-giving partnerships and shared mission initiatives" (p. 96).

Murray also considers the matter of finding a gathering place for a new community. After cautioning against "focusing prematurely on meetings" (p. 101), he describes five possibilities--homes, public spaces like schools and parks, sacred spaces like traditional church buildings that have fallen into disuse, social spaces like bars and coffeehouses, and virtual space (online gatherings). The options are many.

to be continued

Redwood City Church Visit #12

2011-09-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

Redwood City Church Visit #11

2011-08-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

RWC NCD Update

2011-08-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

Here’s an update on the RWC (Redwood City) NCD (New Church Development) research I’ve been doing the last four months. My hope is to start gathering a learning community in late September that will be part focus group and part “imagineering” (borrowed this word from Disney) team. I’m looking for people who know RWC well and/or who belong to Generation X or Generation Y (forties, thirties, twenties, and teens); I’m also looking for a mix of ethnicities (to reflect RWC). For a period of several months, this learning community will be imagining what a new faith community in, for, and with RWC might look like.

In no particular order, my work thus far has included the following:

· Participation in a NCD training conference

· Coaching from a Presbyterian Church (USA) church planter

· Visits to 16 churches (11 established churches in RWC; 4 new churches and 1 multiethnic church in other parts of CA)

· Many miles of walking RWC neighborhoods (I’ve now observed most of RWC on foot)

· Many hours in RWC public spaces, eateries, and coffee shops (I’ve done my part for the RWC economy)

· Reading 8 books relevant to starting a faith community

· Conversations with 9 church planters

· Conversations with numerous potential participants in the aforementioned learning community

· Conversations with numerous people who live outside in RWC

· Interviews of 10 people ages 17-30

· Mentoring in a RWC public school (4 days a week beginning in September)

· Planning toward starting a “street church” (to feed the homeless) in RWC

· Study of RWC demographics (Mission Insite and other sources)

A Primer on Church Planting 2 (BOOK REVIEW: PLANTING CHURCHES IN THE 21ST CENTURY)

2011-08-10T16:58:00.000-07:00

Stuart Murray, Planting Churches in the 21st Century (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2010), pp. 227.

Part II

Murray's third chapter gives answers to a second question that church planters face--How? How should a person or group of people go about starting a faith community? Murray names and describes "twelve approaches to church planting. In the first eight, the planting agency is a local church; the other four models have different starting points within the wider church" (p. 54).

Most commonly, churches are planted (or mothered) by an established church. This mother/child approach typically has a number of characteristics, including the use of a seed group made up of members from the mother church (from dozens to "as large as one hundred"), a geographical proximity of mother church and new church, and a plan for the new church to become independent (rather than just an extension of the mother church).

Sometimes churches are started with little or no assistance from an established church. A spontaneous or emerging community (from, say, a missional experiment) may form, a "pioneer planter" may begin work on a new church alone, a "mission team" may be sent into an area by a denomination or other organization, or a "cooperative venture" may be undertaken by multiple churches and/or denominations. Factors to be considered in choosing from among these approaches include context, resources, and motives.

to be continued

Practicing the Way of Jesus

2011-08-10T15:44:00.000-07:00

Super excited to have Mark Scandrette preaching (9:30) and speaking (11:00) this Sunday (August 14) at Trinity. Mark's books include the recent Practicing the Way of Jesus: Life Together in the Kingdom of Love. Join us!

A Primer on Church Planting 1 (BOOK REVIEW: PLANTING CHURCHES IN THE 21ST CENTURY)

2011-08-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

Stuart Murray, Planting Churches in the 21st Century (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2010), pp. 227.

Part I

Stuart Murray's Planting Churches in the 21st Century is the best book on starting churches I have read. It has a theological depth that is lacking in some other church-planting books, yet it is also readable; and it is both thorough and concise. Murray, an experienced church planter who remains an advocate of church planting despite its mixed track record, offers a gracious critique of a wide variety of the motives for and methods of planting faith communities.

After an engaging first chapter, the book gives answers to a number of questions that people starting churches face, beginning with that of motive--Why? Why try to start a church? Murray names and assesses 18 reasons for starting new churches, ranging from the simple (there are new housing developments and no churches in the area) to the complex (there is an emerging culture that existing churches are not engaging).

Other reasons for starting churches that Murray considers in this second chapter include a desire "to replace churches that have closed," "to offset ineffective churches," "to reach unchurched people," "to embody ecclesial convictions," and "to stimulate denominational growth." About "ineffective churches," Murray warns against both "passing judgment" on existing churches, on the one hand, and "becoming sentimental and uncritical" of existing churches, on the other hand (p. 35). He has mixed feelings about "ecclesial convictions" and "denominational growth," finding them missional only if they are not motivated by "denominational expansionism" (p. 41). Helpfully, he observes: "Sometimes church planters and those who deploy them may have different, but not incompatible, reasons for planting. For example, church planters may be motivated by concern for a network or neighborhood, and perceive any impact on their sponsoring denomination as a by-product, whereas their denominational leaders may be interested in exploring new ecclesial possibilities" (p. 51). Ultimately, Murray states that "the only sufficient reason" for starting a church is a sense of God's call to this venture.

to be continued

Redwood City Church Visit #10

2011-08-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

Church in a Changing Culture (BOOK REVIEW: CHURCH IN THE INVENTIVE AGE)

2011-08-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

Doug Pagitt, Church in the Inventive Age (Minneapolis: Sparkhouse Press, 2010), pp. 114.

Doug Pagitt, founder of the "holistic missional Christian community" Solomon's Porch, puts his study of anthropology to use in Church in the Inventive Age. This brief, readable book (by design, it can be read in one sitting) begins with an analysis of American culture from its birth to the present, tracing changes from one age to the next. After landing us in what he calls the Inventive Age (which is just dawning), Pagitt offers Christians three approaches for doing church in this new context, all of which require adaptation in response to a changing world.

According to Pagitt, from its birth into the 1800s, the church in America lived in the Agrarian Age, a period during which a "parish model" made sense; in this age, geography seemed to matter more, and folks "belonged to the church that was closest them" (p. 15). During the 19th century, American society transitioned from the Agrarian Age to the Industrial Age; denominationalism emerged and thrived, with thousands of denominational churches popping up in growing urban areas, mirroring the period's emphasis on efficiency and replication (pp. 19-21). The Industrial Age gave way to the Information Age in the middle of the 20th century, with the television the new age's "icon"; again reflecting their society, "[c]hurches became learning centers," offering (not unlike a shopping mall) a variety of opportunities to learn about a variety of things. During this age, non-denominational churches found that "focusing on the soundness of their teaching techniques and the correctness of their content" led to growth (pp. 23-24).

Although the Information Age survives, it has begun to give way to what Pagitt calls the Inventive Age. "The Inventive Age is one in which inclusion, participation, collaboration, and beauty are essential values" (p. 30). How should churches respond to the dawning of this new day?

Pagitt names three options for churches that want to be responsive to the culture in which they find themselves: "[W]e can exist for the Inventive Age, with the Inventive Age, or as the Inventive Age" (p. 76). He thinks that any of these three options may make sense; which option a church chooses will depend on its situation. An established church that is healthy may choose to be for the Inventive Age, learning new language, lending expertise, practicing hope, welcoming all, embracing what it is honestly, struggling faithfully, knowing its strengths, and telling stories (pp. 79-85). An established church that wants to engage a people-group that it currently does not engage may choose to be with the Inventive Age, starting a new ministry or mothering a new church by walking alongside it, becoming a learner, trusting, lending resources, avoiding all strings, and more (pp. 87-94). A new faith community may choose to be as the Inventive Age; among other things, this community will be evolving, bilingual (or multilingual), and future-oriented but appreciative of "the best of [the past]" (pp. 95-107).

Redwood City Church Visit #9

2011-08-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

Redwood City Church Visit #8

2011-08-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

Redwood City Church Visit #7

2011-08-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 85

2011-07-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

July 24, 2011

This morning (10:30 to noon, to be exact) my family and I worshipped with The Cove, a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation that was birthed in September of 2002 by a mother church (First Presbyterian Church of Santa Rosa) and the Presbytery of the Redwoods. The faith community started with 70 adults from First Presbyterian; it has since grown to about 250 people. It has benefited from $105,000 from the PC(USA) and an award of $50,000 (the Walton award). The similarities between this venture and what I'm up to include the fact that The Cove's pastor was previously a long-time associate pastor with First Presbyterian (I do not, however, have 70 adults and $155,000 with which to work).

On this Sunday in July, close to 150 people (including seniors, children, and everything in between) gathered to worship God. The church has property in north Santa Rosa (suburban, growing)--two small buildings, one for corporate worship and the other for classrooms and offices. The worship space was contemporary, simple, and flexible, with the seating arranged on this Sunday in a semicircle facing a platform (raised only slightly) with Communion table front and center and praise band behind it. It was an intimate enough space to allow for easy dialogue between speaker and congregation.

The service opened with four keyboard-driven songs (accompanied by drums and two guitars), one of which was an update of a traditional hymn and another of which I had not heard previously. The band was made up of two women and four men. Their sound was soft rock.

After the opening set, the pastor (a fiftyish white male in casual attire) rose from where he was sitting with the congregation and made some announcements about the "Life of the Church" (per the barebones order of worship, which was brief enough to fit on the front panel of a trifold bulletin). These announcements were followed by an opportunity for visitors (there were several) to be introduced. An offering was then taken, with prayer for both local and global concerns offered during the passing of the plates.

The message (more testimony than typical sermon) was given by a thirty-something laywoman. (The Cove's commitment to the priesthood of all believers is also evidenced by the fact that its worship team, listed in the bulletin, has 18 participants.) The preacher based her "talk" (as she described it) on 1 Samuel 1:1-20. It lasted 35 minutes, concluding with an opportunity for listeners to write down prayer requests (for something for which we were "waiting") and put them in baskets located around the room.

The service concluded with the sacrament of Communion. Using informal language, the pastor invited those of us who trusted Jesus to partake. Bread and juice (in chalices) were then passed from row to row.

We had a pleasant hour and a half with the Cove. This church is evidence that given some people, some funding, and some time, a mainline Protestant church start can become a healthy, medium-sized, self-sufficient community. The Cove doesn't seem to be reliant on extremely charismatic leadership. Instead, this faith community has contextualized faithfully and smartly--which in the context of suburban Santa Rosa looks like gender inclusivity, informality, and simplicity.

What "Missional" Meant (BOOK REVIEW: CONFIDENT WITNESS--CHANGING WORLD: REDISCOVERING THE GOSPEL IN NORTH AMERICA)

2011-07-26T16:49:00.000-07:00

Craig Van Gelder, editor, Confident Witness--Changing World: Rediscovering the Gospel in North America (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), pp. 313.

The term missional has become ubiquitous; it is now a buzzword used to describe many different things by many different people. Recently, I stumbled across a "definition" (so lengthy that it's really more of a statement of faith) that seeks to put to rest confusion about the meaning of the word in question. "Missional Manifesto" is a ten-point statement whose authors include superstar pastors Tim Keller and Dan Kimball and popular theologians Alan Hirsch and Ed Stetzer; due to their many books and speaking engagements, these communicators carry a fair amount of clout, and their "Manifesto" struck me as a power play designed to direct debate.

If "Missional Manifesto" is to be believed, then missional not only affirms that "God is a sending God" whose people are called to be "missionary agents" (things that few if any people who use the term will refute) but also that God is male (as implied by the repeated use and capitalization of masculine pronouns when referring to God), that the church should never say or do anything "contrary to" Scripture (a simplistic hermeneutic that would seem to rule out, for example, rejecting genocide), that Jesus saves us from God by suffering God's wrath instead of us (the penal substitutionary theory of atonement), and that a triumphalistic tone toward the world is appropriate for followers of Jesus. Of course, these things do not sum up the entire statement, which also includes much to commend it--its affirmation of "Universality," for example. Sadly, the parts named above convey the notion that missional is just a synonym for conservative evangelical--Anabaptists, Eastern Orthodox, mainline Protestants, moderate and progressive evangelicals, Roman Catholics, and others need not apply.

My suspicion upon reading "Missional Manifesto" was that the word missional has been co-opted, repackaged by conservative evangelicals to say something very similar to what they have been saying for decades. To help myself understand why the statement did not sit well with me, I pulled an early contribution to the missional conversation off the shelf and re-read it. Confident Witness--Changing World is one of a number of books produced by The Gospel and Our Culture Network and published by Eerdmans; reading it again confirmed my suspicion that the once-generative word missional has been co-opted.

As is often the case with collections of essays, the contributions that make up this book--written by an ecumenical group that includes evangelicals, mainline Protestants, and Roman Catholics--are uneven. However, there is at least one piece in each of its five sections that repay re-reading. Richard Mouw opens the first section with an essay that is classic Mouw--navigating a middle position that is clearly and graciously articulated. Mouw states that North America is now a mission field, and that the church must analyze this changed and changing context carefully, becoming neither "too fond of the culture" nor "too disdainful of this culture" (p. 5). Mouw's contribution sets the tone for a book that is very much about the faithful contextualization of the gospel in contemporary North America--contextualization that neither translates too much nor too little.

Douglas John Hall's piece is the highlight of the second section. Provocatively, Hall opines:

Today, [conservative churches] have become so important in the scheme of things public that all who seek civic office must court their favor. Meanwhile, most of the old, mainline denominations that once formed the backbone of the Christian establishment on this continent now find themselves depleted and increasingly, almost arrogantly, ignored by the centers of power. This, I would say, is to their advantage.... The Christians in the United States and Canada who should really be worried today are those who are being counted on for their support of the very policies that are killing the humanitarian gain we have been able to mount on this continent. The sidelining of the mainline churches, on the contrary, could possibly be the beginning of something very interesting. (pp. 71-72)

Hall's hope is that a disestablished church will become better at thinking the faith (doing theology), thereby equipping itself to be "true friends and not mere flatterers, comforters, or in-house priests" of the "dominant society" (p. 79).

The book's third section starts with an essay on the cross by James V. Brownson. Brownson does not mention the penal-substitutionary theory of atonement, much less affirm it. Instead, he interprets the death of Jesus as a living out of the teaching of Jesus--specifically, the beatitudes. According to Brownson, the cross challenges the status quo. Followers of Jesus will do the same (pp. 133-134). When these followers do so in community, they do missional church.

"The Kingdom we seek is not something we create, but is rather a reality we discern when the Spirit of God gives us eyes to see" (p. 195). This statement explaining the kingdom of God is the highlight of an essay in the book's fourth section by William R. Burrows. Burrows calls for transformation--a call that may not lead people to flock to missional communities.

Finally, Alan Roxburgh's contribution begins section five. Roxburgh names names and pulls no punches. He is tired of pastors and pop-theologians who peddle "the new and the next" without "serious biblical and theological reflection on the nature of the church" (p. 242).

All of this wisdom and more can be found in Confident Witness--Changing World. Not found in this book are references to God with capitalized personal pronouns, a simplistic approach to Scripture, an affirmation of the theory of penal substitution, or triumphalistic language. It seems that missional originally had nothing to do with repackaging conservative evangelicalism--or any other -ism.

Preaching John (Part Fifty-Four)

2011-07-07T17:53:00.000-07:00

John 19:16b-42 (Summary)

"Woman, here is your son.... Here is your mother."

"I am thirsty."

"It is finished."

The Gospel of John describes these three brief sayings as the last words of a dying Jesus. Consistent with the fourth Gospel's repeated attribution of divinity to Jesus, these words show little evidence of a person in great agony (although the second may suggest physical discomfort). Instead, John highlights Jesus' character--his selfless concern for others, his thirst for righteousness, and his obedience to God. Even tortured and humiliated (he hangs naked on a cross), a stoic Jesus shows loving concern for his mother and friend, thirsts to see relationships made right (righteousness is the making right of relationships), and remains obedient to God (he does not save himself by calling for an army of angels).

The hope of the powers that be is that Jesus, executed in brutal and humiliating fashion, will be so thoroughly discredited that no one will dare follow him. But even before the resurrection, John offers evidence that this hope will die: Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus--secret disciples--go public in order to bury Jesus. They are willing to risk their security for a dead man whose future they do not yet know.

Preaching John (Part Fifty-Three)

2011-07-07T16:32:00.000-07:00

John 19:16b-42 (History of Interpretation)

McClymont seeks to harmonize the four Gospels--so, for example, he asserts that Jesus carried his own cross for awhile, then had it carried by Simon of Cyrene (Mark and Matthew) after tiring. (While possible, this reading requires eisegesis.) McClymont notes that stripping the person to be crucified was common practice. He describes the saying "It is finished" as "a cry of satisfaction and even of triumph" (Saint John, pp. 272-275).

About the burial of Jesus in a garden, Shepherd writes: "Symbolism is always allusive, if not illusive, in this gospel. The fact that Jesus was betrayed in a garden (18:1) and buried in a garden may be the evangelist's way of emphasizing that what man lost in the Garden of Eden by sin and disobedience is now recovered in a garden by obedience unto death. So Paradise is regained" (The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary on the Bible, p. 726).

Whitacre observes that "such executions were not rare." He writes, "John's account is very focused, very spare. In what follows [John] will not dwell on Jesus' own agony, except for his thirst just before his death." He also thinks it "likely [Jesus] was naked." Whitacre gives some attention to the three sayings of the dying Jesus, finding in the first "Jesus still exercising love and care," in the second both physical suffering and spiritual meaning, and in the third an announcement of the completion of Scripture (John, pp. 456-463).

Carter wants to make clear that "It is finished" does not mean "the end of [Jesus'] work." Rather, resurrection and ascension follow, showing that "God's power triumphs over sin, death, and elite opposition to Jesus" (John, p. 54). Perhaps Jesus means his life of obedience has come to an end--that he has been obedient from start to finish. Calvin writes: "How has Christ abolished sin, banished the separation between us and God, and acquired righteousness to render God favorable and kindly toward us? To this we can in general reply that he has achieved this for us by the whole course of his obedience" (Institutes, p. 507).

Preaching John (Part Fifty-Two)

2011-07-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

John 19:16b-42 (Context)

In John, the crucifixion of Jesus follows immediately after a lengthy conversation between Pilate and Jesus (actually two conversations with the torture of Jesus in between). Setting matters to this Gospel's author: John describes a movement from the Garden of Gethsemane to the high priest's courtyard to Pilate's headquarters to Golgotha. Then Jesus is buried in "a garden in the place where he was crucified." Jesus is betrayed in a garden, and Jesus is buried in another garden.

In the passage following, Mary Magdalene visits the tomb of Jesus before dawn. She finds the stone rolled away and the body of Jesus gone. She then runs to Peter and the disciple to whom Jesus has entrusted the care of his mother. The two disciples race to the tomb, finding it empty except for the linens that had been used to wrap Jesus' body.

In the context of the four canonical Gospels, John is conspicuous in his description of Jesus' final breath: "Then [Jesus] bowed his head and gave up his spirit." Mark and Matthew describe Jesus crying out, agonizing as he feels the absence of God. Luke's version depicts a calmer Jesus than do Mark and Matthew, but in all three Synoptics Jesus cries out as he breathes his last breath.

Looking at the larger historical context, it appears that crucifixion was employed regularly by the Romans against the Jews. Citing Josephus, Richard Horsley writes: "The Roman generals and governors assigned to Judea and Galilee repeatedly used crucifixion as a means of terrorizing the populace, presumably to deter further resistance.... [A]round the time Jesus was born, the Roman general Varus, after burning towns and devastating the countryside, scoured the hills for rebels and eventually had about two thousand men crucified" (Jesus and Empire, p. 28).

Preaching John (Part Fifty-One)

2011-07-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

John 19:16b-42 (Disposition)

Beginning with Jesus' carrying of his own cross and continuing through his relatively peaceful death, what does John's description of the crucifixion convey about Jesus? What does it say about Jesus' nature? What does it say about his character? What might have been John's reason(s) for omitting some of the details found in the Synoptic Gospels?

What do the words here spoken by Jesus--the last words of a dying man--say about him? What were his passions? What did he desire to see and do?

Of what import (other than to provide a narrative bridge) are verses 38-42? Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus follow a dead Jesus. What does the story show by mentioning their service to Jesus?

Preaching John (Part Fifty)

2011-07-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

John 19:16b-42 (Initial Acquaintance)

"So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him" (John 19:16b-18a). With these few words, John shifts the scene abruptly from the lengthy encounter between Jesus and Pilate to the execution of the former. Jesus is nailed to a cross.

Two other persons are crucified alongside him, reminding the reader that the manner of Jesus' death was not unique. Pilate has an inscription put on the cross of Jesus, reading, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Not surprisingly, "the chief priests of the Jews" object, asking the Roman governor to edit the inscription to indicate that Jesus only claimed to be King of the Jews. Pilate refuses.

After nailing Jesus to a cross, four Roman soldiers take the clothes of Jesus, dividing "them into four parts, one for each soldier." This detail indicates that Jesus not only died a painful death, but also a humiliating death. He suffered naked for all to see.

As he suffers and before he breathes his last breath, John's Jesus speaks three times. First, he tells his mother and one of his disciples to care for each other: "Woman, here is your son.... Here is your mother." Second, he says, "I am thirsty" (diyw, the same word Jesus uses in the beatitudes [Matthew 5:6]). Third, he says, "It is finished" (tetelestai). (The second and third sayings are just one word each.) Then Jesus dies in peaceful fashion.

In the Synoptic Gospels, the dying Jesus is depicted differently. In Mark and Matthew, Jesus cries out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46). In Luke, Jesus says first "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (23:34), then "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise" (23:42), and finally "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit" (23:46). In these three Gospels (especially Mark and Matthew), the crucified Jesus comes across as more human, suffering greatly both physically and emotionally--he feels that God has abandoned him. As has been the case earlier, John's Gospel seems to emphasize the divinity of the man Jesus.

Intriguingly, John's account of the death of Jesus ends with two secret disciples going public. Joseph of Arimathea goes to Pilate and gets permission to bury Jesus properly. And Nicodemus reappears (by day this time, John implies) to help.

Summary of My Second Month Trying to Start a Missional Community

2011-07-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Wannabe Church Planters

Attended a new church development conference in SoCal
Visited the worship services of 3 SoCal churches, 2 new and 1 multiethnic
Visited the worship services of 3 Redwood City churches
Received a green light from my presbytery to take next steps
Studied two demographic reports from Mission Insite
Attended various RWC events
Walked several miles of RWC
Read 3 books relevant to starting faith communities
Had conversations with 2 church planters
Drank a lot of coffee in RWC coffee shops
Covenanted to work for a year with a new church development coach
Extended my first invitation to participate in the new community's visioning team

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 60

2011-06-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

June 29, 2011

This afternoon I walked several blocks of Redwood City with a friend who has lived there for several years. We started on El Camino and walked westward. I was struck by the high number of residences for renters--apartment complexes (from the 1950s or 1960s, we guessed) and houses that had been divided into rental units. There were a number of people, mostly young and Latino, out and about in this neighborhood; we were the only Anglos.

The neighborhood changed abruptly. On one side of a major cross-street, there were apartments and other rental properties with overgrown yards; on the other side of the street, there were houses with immaculate yards. And almost no people--the more suburban the neighborhood became, the sleepier it became.

We also came across two church buildings that I had not known existed--one belonging to a Southern Baptist Convention congregation and the other belonging to a Latino congregation. The second building was for sale. It wasn't clear to us that the church still gathers there.

Canadians Talk Church Planting (BOOK REVIEW: FRESH AND RE:FRESH: CHURCH PLANTING AND URBAN MISSION IN CANADA POST-CHRISTENDOM)

2011-06-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

Fresh and Re:Fresh is largely a collection of essays written by Canadian pastors who have either planted or revitalized churches in the last decade or so. The book opens with an introduction by Leonard Hjalmarson that serves well as a primer on missional church. He writes: "If we organize ourselves around mission rather than around church, we will have to find new measures of success. When we enter our neighborhoods in small and ordinary ways, we lose the drama of theatre that plays out at carefully orchestrated meetings on Sunday mornings. Life becomes ordinary and simpler" (p. 13). Hjalmarson sees missional leaders not as entrepreneurs (the type of leadership that grows megachurches), but as poets--people who "bring questions that invite dialogue" (p. 21).

The contributions that follow are a mixed bag, unevenly written pieces about communities that are only sometimes clearly missional (one community, for example, seems to be little more than a worship service). David Fitch's chapter (pp. 24-34) is perhaps the most interesting. Fitch, who started a church in suburban Chicago, argues that the way church planting was done through the 1980s relied heavily on the presence of large numbers of dechurched people (especially boomers) who were attracted back to church by new churches that marketed themselves with them in mind. With the number of these people dwindling, church planting will have to change, becoming more creative in order to start relationships with people who are truly unchurched. Today's church planters will need to be survivors (probably bi-vocational), communal shepherds, interpretive leaders, and spiritual directors--and they will not be top-down leaders. They will need at least five years to establish anything like a self-sufficient community.

This book is useful as a source of ideas. Faith communities described include one that gathers in a coffeehouse, two that meet in homes, and one that nests in the building of an established church. The stories here reveal a God who works through a variety of communities in a variety of ways.

Conversations with Church Planters

2011-06-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

I've had conversations with three more church planters since late May, all men, ranging in age from thirty-something to fifty-something. Two are Presbyterian, one is Nazarene. One has been at it for about eight years, another about six years, and the third just a few months.

Two of the three church starts did not have a seed congregation. All three started with groups of about a dozen people, and they now have from fourteen to more than a hundred people involved. Only one of the three church starts has received a substantial amount of outside funding.

These faith communities all first gathered in homes. One is still gathering in a home; it hopes to relocate to a restaurant soon. (The planter, who is a wonderful cook, plans to be bi-vocational, running the restaurant for profit.) The other two communities rent space for their worship gatherings. None of them currently owns property.

Target groups named by the church starters have included young families, young adults, and the dechurched. These church planters have used missional language (service, neighborliness, community, "the priesthood of all believers," etc.) pervasively. One church plant is already making plans to multiply by planting a church itself.

Redwood City Demographics 2

2011-06-29T00:11:00.000-07:00

At the new church development conference I attended earlier this month, I was introduced to Mission Insite, which does "mission context analysis" (demographics for churches). This organization has provided me with two reports on Redwood City's current and projected population. I requested one that included a two-mile radius with Sequoia High School at the center and another that was customized to include a smaller portion of Redwood City (I excluded the hills west of the city).

The first survey included a slice of San Carlos. The second survey included no San Carlos residents (about 15,000 fewer people). Not surprisingly, this change caused the average age and the average household income to drop from the first report to the second report. Also, the percentage of Anglos dropped--from a majority to a plurality.

The second report (which covered the area south of Whipple, north of Stockbridge, east of Alameda de las Pulgas, and west of 101) found close to 65,000 people, with little growth projected between now and 2015. The average age of these people is 37, with 79% under 55. The racial/ethnic breakdown of Redwood City is 46% Anglo, 41% Latino, 7% Asian, 3% Pacific Islander, and 2% African American. The fastest-growing racial-ethnic group is Asian.

The information that I found most interesting (perhaps because it was new to me) had to do with "mosaic types" (kinds of people). According to Mission Insite, there are at least ten mosaic types in Redwood City.

Mosaic 2010 Study Area

UPSCALE SUBURBANITES 5,839 26.3%

AFFLUENT URBAN PROFESSIONALS 4,565 20.6%

STABLE CAREERS 3,608 16.3%

ASPIRING HISPANIA 2,564 11.6%

NUEVO HISPANIC FAMILIES 2,347 10.6%

AMERICA’S WEALTHIEST 736 3.3%

SECOND CITY HOMEBODIES 616 2.8%

GRAY PERSPECTIVES 577 2.6%

SOLID SUBURBAN LIFE 438 2.0%

YOUNG COSMOPOLITANS 317 1.4%

Taking one group as an example, Young Cosmopolitans make up just 1.4% of the target area's population--a total of 317 people. It probably wouldn't be wise for a new faith community in Redwood City to make this group its primary focus. The largest mosaic types in Redwood City are Upscale Suburbanites (26%), Affluent Urban Professionals (21%), Stable Careers (16%), Aspiring Hispania (12%), and Nuevo Hispanic Families (11%). Who are these people? Upscale Suburbanites are predominately Anglo and Asian with college degrees, high incomes, and cosmopolitan tastes; this group's median age is 43. Affluent Urban Professionals are late Boomers and Gen Xers (median age 38), again predominately Anglo and Asian, but middle income; they like Apple products, VH-1, exercise, wine, and coffee. Stable Careers are multiethnic and middle income, median age 33. Aspiring Hispania are multiethnic (more than half are Hispanic) and middle income, median age 30; they tend to live in dual-income households. Nuevo Hispanic Families are 80% Hispanic, median age 29; fifty percent are bilingual, with many having young children.

To learn more about these and other mosaic types, see Missional Cyclopedia.

Preaching John (Part Forty-Nine)

2011-06-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

John 18:28-19:16a (Summary)

The climax of the Jesus-story continues with the taking of Jesus from the high priest Caiaphas to the Roman governor Pilate. Pilate is at least nervous about (if not yet afraid of) Jesus, whom he has heard called "King of the Jews." The governor's first instinct is to stay out of a potentially messy situation, and he tells the Jews to take care of their own business. Having been given permission to do with Jesus whatever they want, "the chief priests and the [Jewish] police (19:6)" decline, protesting--they want Jesus dead, but they want the Romans to do the dirty work. So great is their hatred for Jesus and his way that they want their fellow Jew crucified, an especially humiliating and gruesome way to die that would have the added benefit of suggesting that following Jesus leads to accursedness.

Pilate's conversation with Jesus betrays a wariness on the part of the former. Jesus speaks of having a kingdom that is neither from (in terms of origin) nor of (in terms of characteristics) this world--it is, for example, nonviolent. Yet Jesus is not trying to convince Pilate that he poses no threat; had Jesus wanted to evade death, he would have mentioned neither a kingdom nor followers--Pilate and Rome want no competition. Instead, Jesus resists the temptation here and until his death (as earlier when he stopped Peter from defending him) to preserve his life. His faith in God is seen in his willingness to die.

Pilate shrewdly has Jesus tortured, hoping to satisfy the chief priests and Jewish police without creating a martyr who inspires his followers to take up arms against their oppressors. Pilate gives the accusers another chance to show their fellow Jew mercy. Instead, they demand his crucifixion, claiming that he is guilty of blasphemy. Then Pilate is described as "more afraid than ever" (19:8).

Questioned again, the bloodied and suffering Jesus insists that--appearances to the contrary--God is sovereign, and Pilate is God's subject. Jesus' claim must have seemed ludicrous under the circumstances: God has more power than Pilate! Jesus remains obedient unto death, trusting that he and his way will ultimately be vindicated by the power of God. Pilate has no such faith; he chooses to exercise his power by having Jesus crucified--the Roman method of execution.

Preaching John (Part Forty-Eight)

2011-06-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

John 18:28-19:16a (History of Interpretation)

Calvin thinks that some Jews want Jesus dead "not from passion or hatred," but simply because they believe Jesus has broken the Mosaic law. (This interpretation strikes me as naive.) This reason Calvin finds legitimate--claiming to be God makes one "worthy of death" (Calvin: Commentaries, p. 89). But Calvin thinks these Jews are wrong in their application of the law, in that Christ made this claim truthfully.

McClymont notes that Jews did execute people by stoning; but when they did so, it was "illegal" (Saint John, p. 264). He also comments on Jesus' words about his kingdom. According to McClymont, Jesus wanted "to shew how different his kingdom is from the kingdoms of this world" (p. 265). McClymont observes that the pronoun in "my kingdom" is emphatic, and that the pronoun sometimes translated "from" ("not from this world") can also be rendered "of" ("not of this world"). McClymont interprets Jesus' comments on power (or "authority") through the lens of Romans 13--Jesus is simply telling Pilate that he is subject to a greater authority.

Whitacre, who reads a great deal into this passage, asserts that Jesus' opponents want Pilate to do the deed so that they can "remain ritually pure" (John, p. 438). Whitacre suspects that Jews could have received permission to kill Jesus themselves, but that they wanted Jesus crucified (only Romans crucified) because it was an especially terrible way to die, and because it suggested that its victim was "accursed by God" (p. 439). (Deuteronomy 21:23 says that "anyone hung on a tree is under God's curse.") The opponents of Jesus not only want him dead, they also want everything he has taught and done discredited--his way of life will bring accursedness rather than blessedness.

Kysar offers opinions on both the term "the Jews" and the deterministic tone of parts of John (6:65, 18:37, and 19:11, for example). About the first, he speculates that this language came into use "after the Christians had developed their own identity separate from Judaism...which does not ultimately defuse the dangerously anti-Semitic quality of the Gospel" (John, the Maverick Gospel, p. 84). About the second, Kysar notes that John uses both deterministic and decisional language throughout, holding the two in tension without attempting to explain away the apparent contradiction (pp. 85-88).

Preaching John (Part Forty-Seven)

2011-06-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

John 18:28-19:16a (Context)

The first part of John 18 tells of the betrayal of Jesus first by Judas and then by Peter. The accusers of Jesus seem to be Judas, Roman soldiers, Jewish police, and religious leaders, including Caiaphas, the high priest. Immediately following John 18:28-19a, the story moves to the crucifixion of Jesus (John 19:18).

Throughout the Gospel of John, "the Jews" tends to be a derogatory term that usually if not always refers to some Jews--specifically, the religious leaders. By the time the fourth Gospel was written late in the first century, Jewish followers of Jesus had been kicked out of the synagogues, thus creating animosity between "Christians" and Jews. Also, persecution of Christians by the Romans had escalated under Nero, which may explain John's somewhat sympathetic portrayal of Pilate (had this writing fallen into Roman hands, its destruction would have been less likely than it would have been had it criticized the Roman governing authority).

There are two other uses of the perfect passive participle dedomenon in John. In John 3:27, humankind receives what God has given it. In John 6:65, a person is said to be unable to come to God unless God allows it.

Preaching John (Part Forty-Six)

2011-06-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

John 18:28-19:16a (Disposition)

"Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters" (18:28). Who are "they"? Who are "the Jews" who gather outside Pilate's headquarters and demand that Jesus be crucified?

Pilate is said to be "more afraid [of Jesus] than ever" (suggesting he has had concerns about Jesus from the start) in 19:8. Is he afraid (ejobhqh) of Jesus from the start? Why would he fear Jesus? What does he hope to learn from the questions he asks Jesus? How would he benefit from letting Jesus go? How would he benefit from having Jesus crucified?

Are the accusers of Jesus telling the truth when they claim that they "are not permitted to put anyone to death"? Have there not been multiple attempts to stone Jesus (not to mention a woman caught in adultery) earlier in John? Why would they prefer that the Romans kill Jesus for them?

What does the post-torture conversation between Pilate and Jesus (19:10-11) say about power? Who has power in this story? What does Jesus believe about God's power? In 19:11, Jesus tells Pilate that the latter's power has "been given [him] from above" (dedomenon [perfect passive participle] soi anwqen).

Preaching John (Part Forty-Five)

2011-06-28T00:51:00.000-07:00

John 18:28-19:16a (Initial Acquaintance)

My faith community has been working its way through the Gospel of John lectio continua (verse by verse, week to week). Last week, we reached the start of the climax of the Jesus-story, with Jesus getting betrayed and arrested. With John 18:28, the setting moves "to Pilate's headquarters." We are also told the time of day--"early in the morning." Apparently, however, it's not too early for a trial, as Pilate comes out of his headquarters to see who has been dragged before him.

The conversation between Pilate and the accusers of Jesus starts with a simple question from the former followed by an evasive answer from the latter. Pilate appears to be disinterested in Jesus and unconcerned about the Jew's fate. But the accusers insist that the Roman governing authority find Jesus guilty and put him to death; they claim that they "are not permitted to put anyone to death" (18:31).

Interestingly, Pilate then has Jesus go inside with him--perhaps for a private conversation. Pilate is now curious about this Jewish rabbi, not sure what to think. Apparently, Pilate has heard something about Jesus--namely, rumors that he is "King of the Jews" (18:33). Then it's Jesus' turn to be evasive, before a second question from Pilate prompts a more pointed response: "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here" (18:36). With this statement, Jesus distances himself from both the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Rome; he is neither an Israelite patriot nor a Roman patriot. But this statement also raises the suspicion of Pilate, who shrewdly decides to put the decision regarding Jesus on the Jews outside. After this mob decides not to show mercy to Jesus, Pilate has Jesus tortured. Perhaps thinking that this brutality will be enough to keep Jesus in line, Pilate gives the crowd another chance to show their fellow Jew mercy. Instead, they demand his crucifixion, claiming that he is guilty of blasphemy.

Then Pilate is described as "afraid" (19:8). Apparently indecisive, he questions the bloodied and suffering Jesus more. Jesus responds by making a claim that must have seemed ludicrous under the circumstances: Jesus claims that his God has more power than Pilate. Then, in a remarkable twist, the Jewish nationalists who want the unpatriotic Jesus dead appeal to Pilate's Roman patriotism! "If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor" (19:12). Ultimately, Pilate chooses to have Jesus executed by crucifixion--the Roman method of execution.

Redwood City Church Visit #6

2011-06-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

Redwood City Church Visit #5

2011-06-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

Redwood City Church Visit #4

2011-06-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

Evangelical vs. Liberal (BOOK REVIEW: EVANGELICAL VS. LIBERAL: THE CLASH OF CHRISTIAN CULTURES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST)

2011-06-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

James K. Wellman, Jr., Evangelical vs. Liberal: The Clash of Christian Cultures in the Pacific Northwest (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), pp. 306.

James K. Wellman, Jr.'s Evangelical vs. Liberal: The Clash of Christian Cultures in the Pacific Northwest is a fascinating read that should be of interest to evangelical Protestants, liberal Protestants, and everyone in between. Wellman is "a liberal Christian" (p. 284) and a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor who teaches comparative religion at the University of Washington. The study he narrates in this book compared twenty-four growing evangelical Protestant churches with ten growing liberal Protestant churches, all of them located in the largely unchurched states of Washington and Oregon. (The churches were studied between 2000 and 2005 [p. 45], making the book's findings a little bit dated.) Because of this region's progressive leanings, Wellman went into the study guessing that the liberal congregations would have an advantage; instead, he found that the evangelical congregations were growing more dramatically (numerically, at least) and that growing liberal churches were hard to find (p. xiii).

One possible reason for Wellman's difficulty is his narrow definition of liberal. To qualify as liberal for this study, a church had to see "Jesus [as] a model of radical inclusiveness," had to believe reason to be as authoritative as Scripture, had to leave "personal morality" up to "the individual," and had to support a range of positions that included a public pro-gay stand (pp. 5-6). Thus, a mainline Protestant church that saw Jesus as more than "a model of radical inclusiveness," that valued reason but that believed Scripture to have greater authority, that occasionally addressed "personal morality," that was pro-peace, anti-poverty, and concerned about the environment, and that practiced gender equality but had taken no stand on the subject of homosexuality would not be considered progressive enough to be called "liberal" in this book. The evangelical churches studied seemed to include greater variety, with everything from Pentecostal churches (6) to Presbyterian Church (USA) congregations (2) (p. 48).

After noting that even evangelical Protestantism is declining overall (p. 3), Wellman sprinkles many possible reasons for the evangelical advantage over liberal Protestantism--particularly in the Northwest--throughout his book.

Evangelicals have more children and retain a higher percentage of these children than do non-evangelicals (pp. 6-8). As one evangelical pastor interviewed by Wellman put it, "We believe in out-reproducing the liberals" (p. 278).
In a reversal since the 1970s, evangelicals are now more public with their faith, and "[t]he public voice of liberals is now relatively mute" (p. 19). Interestingly, evangelical activity in the public square seems not to have impacted the Northwest's politics; in fact, Washington and Oregon became even bluer in the 2008 presidential election than they had been in 2004. ("Of the 298 evangelicals [interviewed] in the study, only 7 claimed to be Democrats" [p. 238].)
Evangelicals nurture one another in "smaller religious enclaves" (p. 32). "Forty-three percent of evangelicals talked about participation in a small group whereas less than one percent of liberals were active in a small group" (p. 155).
Consistent with their belief in hell, evangelicals emphasize evangelism; consistent with their belief in tolerance, liberals do not try to convert others--they "prefer everyone to be accepting as they are" (p. 37). Interestingly, Wellman found that the evangelical churches in his study did no better than the liberal churches in true evangelism; rather, the evangelical edge was in recruiting churched people to their churches, taking advantage of the large number of newcomers to the Northwest in recent years (pp. 53-54). Evangelicals wanted larger churches; liberals did not (p. 134).
Although the Northwest leans left in many ways, "the region is not liberal in the sense of being communitarian or devoted to larger public projects for the common good. It is fundamentally entrepreneurial and libertarian." The evangelical pastors interviewed by Wellman were the more entrepreneurial (p. 43).
Because of the Northwest's progressivism, people living there can find most of what liberal churches offer outside of these churches: "What do liberals add to the regional ethos? My conclusion is that...liberal theology mostly mirrors the egalitarian and inclusive nature of the regional moral landscape" (p. 43). Offering little that is distinctive, liberal churches may seem unnecessary.
Twenty of the twenty-four evangelical churches were suburban; seven of the ten liberal churches were urban (p. 45).
Evangelicals target young people, both families with children in the home and young adults, contextualizing their ministry with these groups in mind; most of the liberal churches studied by Wellman were making little if any effort to engage these groups (pp. 110, 158-159). The fastest-growing liberal church was an exception (p. 131). All of "the [evangelical] worship services include[d] contemporary rock music" (p. 15) and were informal (pp. 132-136); "worship in liberal churches...was relatively formal and traditional" (p. 128). Tellingly, when Wellman sent students to observe churches, many of them returned describing the evangelical churches as "liberal" and the liberal churches as "conservative" (p. 83).
The evangelical churches in this study made more effective use of technology than did their liberal counterparts; for example, their Web sites tended (1) to have a more local focus, (2) to be more interactive, and (3) to be updated more frequently (pp. 148-151).
The study's evangelical churches saw their service to their communities as a means to an end--a way to bring new sheep into the fold; the study's liberal churches saw service as an end in itself (p. 212).

Wellman concludes:

Evangelical theology and organizational structures appeal to people in need of human connection. The PNW [Pacific Northwest] is a region that is entrepreneurial and respectful of a market mentality; evangelical leaders in particular resonate with this mentality of growth, expansion, and reward.... Liberals, on the other hand, appeal to the individualism of northwesterners, who value the freedom to think for themselves. Liberals, however, are less entrepreneurial, less interested in growth and expansion, and less organizationally dynamic, though they offer a religious ideology that is open and expansive, which northwesterners treasure and mirror. And yet, in this way, liberal religionists may be too much like the region. (p. 282)

Can I have a third option?

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 46

2011-06-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

June 15

This afternoon I walked for more than three hours in Redwood City's 89 degrees. I covered about eight miles. My walk started at the intersection of Alameda de las Pulgas and Woodside, zigzagged through mostly residential neighborhoods to the downtown, and then returned up Brewster before zigzagging again. The folks who were out and about in this part of town were a multiethnic (mostly Anglo and Latino) and an intergenerational (mostly young adults and children) mix. I had one conversation of length, with an Anglo man about my age who appeared far too warm yet wanted a cigarette.

Interestingly, my circuitous route took me past no fewer than seventeen houses of worship, twelve belonging to orthodox Protestant churches (one of which is closed). (By my count, there are thirteen English-speaking, orthodox Protestant churches in RWC.) Judging from the size and condition of their buildings (which, admittedly, is not much to go on), these faith communities are smallish and aging--with the exception of the two Roman Catholic churches, whose buildings were massive. Below is a photo tour.

Woodside UMC

Messiah ELCA

St. Pius

Redwood Baptist

Grace Bible

Redwood Church

Kingdom Hall (Jehovah's Witnesses)

Happy Science

Peninsula Free Methodist Church

First UMC

St. Peter's Episcopal Church

Seventh-day Adventist Church

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Redeemer Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod)

First Baptist (closed)

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Sequoia Christian Church

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 44

2011-06-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

June 13

This morning at a Redwood City coffeehouse I extended an invitation to a RWC resident to be part of the visioning team I hope to begin gathering in September. He expressed strong interest in taking part, and I asked him to think and pray about the invitation. I'd like to find at least eight adults who are excited about participating in this team's work; I'm looking for at least five more.

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 36

2011-06-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

June 5, 2011

Today I visited two more churches who gather for worship on Hollywood Boulevard--ecclesia and Mosaic (Hollywood). I was joined for the first experience by a friend who started a church in the area about six years ago. We met outside the Pacific Theater, which now appears to be used exclusively by ecclesia. This faith community's Web site (http://www.churchinhollywood.com/#/home) includes information about the church's founding:

In the Spring of 2005, ten people decided to take a risk.... Desiring to preserve a small ministry in Hollywood, the “founding families” pooled their resources to host a service at the American Legion Hall on Highland Avenue. It was clunky and unprofessional. The room was hot, the sound system was a relic, and they weren’t sure anyone would show up. But there was a need. And people showed up.... After worshiping in seven locations in our first 3 years, in May of 2007 God led us to the Hollywood Pacific Theater. Uniquely positioned in an iconic building, on an iconic street, in an iconic city, we are striving to bring the love and life of Jesus to those on the Boulevard and beyond.

Along with many other people, we entered the building. We were dressed appropriately, which is to say informally. Little had been done to change the lobby--it retained the look of an old theater. We grabbed some coffee (self-serve) and entered the auditorium, greeted by a smiling person and handed bulletins along the way. The bulletin contained no order of worship, just announcements about the church's life.

By the time we had sat down in the middle of the cavernous space, the band on the stage had begun to play, lyrics to the songs they sang projected on a large screen behind them. The music was little different from what I had heard the day before when I worshipped down the street with Seventh-day Adventists--maybe a little more alt rock than anthem rock. The front man here, however, was more Hollywood.

Scanning the congregation of about 200 people, I counted dozens of hipsters--white twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings dressed casually but sharply, many with facial hair. I guessed myself to be, at forty, above the median age. We fill only about half the seats, some of us singing and others just spectating.

After a number of songs, an infant was dedicated with a few words and a brief prayer. Then a guest preacher was introduced. He spoke on a passage from the Gospel of John, with about half his thirty-minute message devoted to showing connections between passages from the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls, on the one hand, and the teaching of Jesus, on the other hand. The preacher proclaimed that Jesus is king, and we owe him our allegiance. Provocatively, he reminded us that our allegiance is to Jesus rather than to America. But he stopped short of imagining what this might look like in practice. Instead of a call to discipleship, the sermon ended with an invitation to make an undefined commitment to an abstract Christ in a silent prayer for which approximately twenty seconds were given. This time was followed by communion (by intinction), another song (or two) and a benediction.

After the worship service, my friend and I wandered up Hollywood Boulevard until we found a coffeehouse. I ordered an iced coffee, and it turned out to be so large that I was soon sweating the smell of java. As self-declared experts on all things missional, we decided that the church we had just spent time with was shrewd at contextualization, but that it was more attractional than missional. Then I peppered my friend with questions about his experience as a church planter...until his wife called and told him to come home.

I spent the next few hours walking Hollywood neighborhoods, arriving at another church-building-formerly-known-as-a-theater a few minutes before the start of its five o'clock worship gathering. (Mosaic Hollywood is one of several Mosaic communities in the Los Angeles area; the large church chose to be multiple faith communities in many neighborhoods rather than one megachurch in one neighborhood--to its credit, it seems to me.) Inside the building, I waded through a buzzing mob of young people, a meat market of flirting singles dressed like they were going out on the town (designer casual)--or on their way to a shoot. It was a meat market. And when else do Christian singles meet other Christian singles but church?

The worship gathering, held in a darkened auditorium, was so slick from start to finish that I doubt I would have been deemed suitable for even the closing announcements. Everything from the music (rock again, more on the pop side) to the spoken word Scripture reading to the message was so smoothly performed that when one of the spoken worders (is that a word?) got tongue-tied she looked as if she thought she had committed a mortal sin. It was a well-produced hour or so that challenged me only in the sense that I left wondering whether I needed to be better looking and more rehearsed to lead worship.

As advertised, Mosaic was a multiethnic community--but it wasn't as diverse as the Seventh-day Adventist community had been the day prior. My trip to Hollywood (Boulevard) was a tale of three churches. I think were I a local I would frequent the Seventh-day Adventist church--the quirkiest, least cool of the three, and the one that most reflected the diverse people of its neighborhood.

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 35

2011-06-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

June 4, 2011

This morning I worshipped with Hollywood Adventist Church, a Seventh-day Adventist community that gathers in a purple building on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and North Van Ness Avenue. (The aging building looks like it either was a theater or was modeled after a theater.) I became aware of this church a few years ago when it was mentioned by one of my Fuller Seminary professors as an example of a missional community (I was studying Missional Leadership in Fuller's doctoral program).

Typical of California crowds, worshippers were casual both in dress and in punctuality--they continued to arrive at least fifteen minutes after the service started. The gathering songs were anthem rock, well performed (but singalongable) and loud, lyrics on two screens. Looking around the sanctuary, I was impressed to see a large number of young adults, with more than half of the 100+ worshippers in their twenties, thirties, or forties. Equally impressive was the great ethnic diversity--the largest number of persons present appeared to be Anglo, but there were also many Latinos, Asians, and African-Americans. When one of the song leaders invited us to greet one another, I was welcomed by an African-American woman who was sitting beside me, a Latino couple who was sitting in front of me, and an Asian man who was sitting behind me. The people assembled looked like the people I had seen earlier while walking the neighborhood around the church building. They greeted me with the words, "Happy Sabbath."

The pastor's first appearance was made well into the service when he baptized his ten-year-old daughter. Later, he preached on John 17, challenging us to think of eternal life less as something to be enjoyed in the future and more as something to be lived in the present. Eternal life is experienced in this lifetime, he explained, when we follow Jesus obediently. The preacher's delivery was unpretentious; he spoke in a conversational tone, making use of notes on a music stand.

The bulletin had only a barebones order of worship, with most of the space used for content describing the church's mission. Among the information here was news about "community organizing and service initiatives." The church's staff includes a Peace and Justice Coordinator.

Preaching John (Part Forty-Four)

2011-06-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

John 17:1-26 (Summary)

John 17:1-26 is the farewell prayer of Jesus. Facing betrayal, torture, and death, Jesus takes time to speak to God, making requests for both himself and his followers (both the eleven with him and persons to come). The prayer culminates with Jesus asking God to help both present and future disciples "be one." This Christian unity will reflect the unity of the Father and the Son and will be a faith-provoking witness, helping the watching world believe.

Jesus makes no mention of agreement among the disciples. His followers are not in agreement on all matters, as John and the other Gospels make clear. Their unity is in "the truth" (17:17, 19)--which is Jesus (14:6). Paul echoes this didactic prayer in his own teaching, most famously Galatians 3:28.

If Christian unity is not seen in agreement, then in what is it seen? Jesus connects the theme of unity to his relationship with God--paraphrased, "As we are in relationship, let them be in relationship." The relational language used by Jesus suggests that oneness or unity is seen in the decision to remain in relationship. This decision will be despite differences (especially clear in Paul's teaching) rather than because of agreement. As he prays, Jesus knows that terrible times await; he wants his followers to tough them out, remaining together in order to continue his witness in and for the world.

Preaching John (Part Forty-Three)

2011-06-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

John 17:1-26 (History of Interpretation)

Commenting on John 17:3, Calvin speaks of "eternal life" as something that is not only future, but also present. We "enter into the possession of life" when God gives us faith. Our transformation "into the image of God" begins with knowledge of God in this lifetime (Calvin: Commentaries, p. 137).

About the same time (1561) that Calvin wrote, Bullinger opined about "dissensions and strife in the church": "We are reproached because there have been manifold dissensions and strife in our churches since they separated themselves from the Church of Rome.... There have at all times been great contentions in the Church, and the most excellent teachers of the Church have differed among themselves about important matters without meanwhile the Church ceasing to be the Church because of these contentions" (The Second Helvetic Confession).

Shepherd credits the self-referencing use of the third person by Jesus to "the constructive skill of the evangelist" (the writer of John). Shepherd hears the prayer connecting unity, truth (which Jesus has earlier identified as himself [14:6]), and love. "[T]he last and the eternally continuing prayer of Jesus is that the unity of love and purpose he has with his Father will be reflected in the unity of the church in himself" (The New Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary on the Bible, p. 724).

Whitacre comments that the "oneness" desired by Jesus "is not merely a unity of thought among those who receive the teaching of Jesus. It is a matter of shared life" (John, pp. 411-412).

Carter also notes that the language of 17:21 is relational. When Jesus speaks of oneness here, he suggests an "intimate relationship with God" (John, p. 53).

Preaching John (Part Forty-Two)

2011-06-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

John 17:1-26 (Context)

Looking at the literary context of John, one finds the theme of love emphasized early and often by Jesus, with joy and peace making appearances in chapter 16. John 18 tells of the arrest and trial of Jesus. The prayer of Jesus in John 17 is offered at a tense moment. Perhaps Jesus' mind gravitates to unity because he realizes that the stress that will follow will tempt his disciples to break fellowship and go their separate ways.

Paul, probably aware of the teaching of Jesus on unity, picks up this theme in a number of places, most famously Galatians 3:28: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." According to Paul, the unity of Christians is found in Jesus--not in agreement (much less agreement about one or more of the most debated topics of the day). The agreement suggested by the prayer of Jesus and the teaching of Paul (especially elsewhere in 1 Corinthians 1:10) is agreement to "have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16; see also Philippians 2:2-5); and one of the things on Christ's mind is unity. Followers of Jesus have a common desire to follow him, and following him includes sharing his mindset; but along the way, they will disagree. Neither Jesus nor Paul was naive enough to think otherwise.

Also noteworthy is the fact that Paul establishes that people with differences "are one in Christ Jesus." Jews and Greeks have differences; slaves and free folks have differences; men and women have differences. Despite these differences, they are united in Jesus Christ. Jesus--not their likeness, whether like-mindedness or any other variety of homogeneity--unites them. If agreement is necessary for their unity, then it is agreement that they will follow Jesus together--that they will "be of the same mind in the Lord" (Philippians 4:2).

Preaching John (Part Forty-One)

2011-06-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

John 17:1-26 (Disposition)

This passage is interesting not just for what Jesus prays, but also for the fact that he prays at all. Knowing his time is short, Jesus nonetheless takes time to pray at length. According to the example of Jesus, prayer is faithful action in the face of betrayal and violence.

The contents of the prayer are also thought provoking. Jesus prays first for himself--that he would be glorified by God. Then he prays for his disciples, both the eleven who are present with him and those persons who "will believe"--who will follow him--in the future. Jesus does not, however, pray for the world--he mentions it with hope (17:21, 23), but he does not pray for it.

For his present and future followers, Jesus prays for unity--"that they may all be one" (17:21). What does this language suggest? What does the unity in view look like? What is its basis? What role (if any) does agreement play in the unity for which Jesus prays? What purpose does this oneness serve? How has the church done with unity?

Other questions include What is "eternal life" (17:2-3)? and Why does Jesus refer to himself in the third person in verses 1-3?

Preaching John (Part Forty)

2011-06-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

John 17:1-26 (Initial Acquaintance)

After emphasizing the theme of love in a number of ways from its beginning, the Gospel of John touches on joy and peace in its sixteenth chapter. Now in John 17, Jesus adds the theme of unity to his teaching. This teaching comes in the form of a didactic prayer: "After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, 'Father...'" (17:1); "[a]fter Jesus had spoken these words..." (18:1).

The first part of the prayer (17:1-5) focuses on the relationship between the Father and Jesus ("the Son"). Jesus describes "eternal life" (aiwnioV zwh) as knowledge of God and Jesus the "sent" one. Here Jesus also speaks of his pre-incarnate existence.

The second section (17:6-10) focuses on the disciples of Jesus. Jesus affirms them for their obedience to God, their belief in Jesus' "sent"-ness, and their giving glory to Jesus. These words are perhaps the kindest description of the first Jesus-students anywhere in the Gospels.

Jesus then begins to use "in the world but not of the world" language (17:11-19). Shortly, Jesus will no longer be "in the world," but his disciples will remain there. Still, neither Jesus nor his followers "belong to the world." (The word translated "world" is kosmos.) Jesus prays that his disciples will be protected. Also, he speaks of them not being isolated from the world; instead, they have been "sent" into the world.

Finally, Jesus expands the number of persons for whom he prays to include his future followers--the church universal (17:20-26). Jesus prays that his disciples "may all be one." This unity has as its basis the unity of the Father and the Son; and the unity of the disciples with one another witnesses to their unity with God and Jesus.

What You Can Get for 2.6 Million in Redwood City

2011-06-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

A closed church's building in Redwood City, selling for just 2.6 million. See: http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/17154193/401-James-Street-Redwood-City-CA/.

Start New Churches or Die (BOOK REVIEW: THE AMERICAN CHURCH IN CRISIS)

2011-06-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

David T. Olson, The American Church in Crisis (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), pp. 237.

David T. Olson's well-written The American Church in Crisis contains a wealth of statistical information based on data from hundreds of thousands of churches in America. Here are some of Olson's most interesting findings.

Self-reporting of worship attendance is compromised by the "halo effect," and the actual percentage of Americans who attend a worship service "on any given weekend" is only 17 or 18 (p. 29).
"Seventy-seven percent of Americans do not have a consistent, life-giving connection with a local church" (p. 30).
All of the three largest varieties of churches in America (evangelical, mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic) are declining in worship attendance, with evangelical churches declining the least and Roman Catholic churches declining the most (p. 36). (In California, this pattern holds, except that Roman Catholic churches are faring better than mainline Protestant churches.)
Mainline Protestant church attendance declined by about 10% from 1990 to 2005 (p. 54).
"Mainline churches...have older members and older clergy than evangelical churches. In a 2001 survey, they had twice as many self-identified members over 65 years old as did evangelical and Roman Catholic churches, half as many 18- to 29-year olds, and one-third fewer singles" (p. 55). It's a double whammy for mainliners--lower birthrate and higher deathrate.
"The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)...needs to plant 10 times as many churches as they currently do. Their established churches are declining by 30,000 attendees per year, and their new churches add fewer than 2,500 each year" (p. 56).
"[N]ew churches are the leading growth factor" (p. 58). From 2000 to 2005, the "decline in the number of Protestant mainline and Roman Catholic churches was almost 2,500, [but] the number of evangelical churches increased by 4,500" (p. 57). The main reason evangelicals are faring better (numerically, at least) than other Christians is that they start more new churches.
"Of all four regions, mainline churches are declining the fastest [in the West]" (p. 77).
Churches have life cycles. "On average, churches begin to decline in size when they reach 40 years of age." Seventy percent of PCUSA churches "over 40 years of age" are declining! (p. 84).
The Reformed family of churches is declining in every state but New Hampshire and Hawaii (p. 104). Only 0.4% of Californians attend a Reformed church (p. 103).
Only 12 denominations--"a bewildering variety" but all smallish--are growing significantly, with much of their growth in the Upper Midwest. They are the Church of God, Church of the Nazarene, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Christian Reformed Church, Evangelical Covenant Church, Evangelical Free Church, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Free Methodist Church, Missionary Church, North American Baptist Conference, Presbyterian Church in America, and Wesleyan Church (p. 102).
"[M]ainline churches have the lowest closure rates, and evangelical churches have the highest closure rates." Evangelicals are greater in number largely because "evangelical churches plant nine times as many new churches as mainline denominations" (p. 123).
Only 31% of established churches are growing (p. 132).
The only external factor that contributes to the growth of churches is population growth (pp. 133-134).
The average first-year attendance of new PCUSA churches is 76 (p. 149).
The average growth rate of new PCUSA churches in years 2-7 is 3.7%--meaning that a typical PCUSA church will average about 100 worshippers in its seventh year (p. 150).
In 2005, the PCUSA was "97 percent white" (p. 160).
The Hispanic birthrate is almost twice the Anglo birthrate (p. 171).
At the present rate of decline, only 2.1% of the population will attend a mainline Protestant worship service in 2020 (p. 178).

Olson concludes with four chapters that feel tacked on, but that provide his book with some theological heft. In these chapters, he makes a number of recommendations for action, including that churches give special attention to the Gospels (pp. 188-189). But his chief recommendation--one that is heard repeatedly throughout the book--is that more churches be birthed.

Summary of My First Month Trying to Start a Missional Community

2011-06-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

· Visited the worship services of three Redwood City churches

· Worked with at-risk Latino boys at Garfield School twice a week

· Played basketball in the RWC rec league once a week

· Attended three RWC soccer games

· Walked several miles of RWC

· Read three books on starting faith communities

· Visited a Presbyterian new church development in Paso Robles

· Had conversations with five church planters

· Drank a lot of coffee in RWC coffee shops

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 34

2011-06-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

June 3, 2011

The three-day NCD conference I've been attending ended today with the questions "What is God saying to you?" and "What are your next steps?" The word that came to mind when I reflected on the first question was proceed. Most of what I had learned during the conference affirmed what I had started doing before the conference--in particular the importance of going into the mission field and doing ethnographic research (things like exegeting neighborhoods by walking them with theological intentionality). My plan to continue this research through the summer before starting to gather a team of eight or so people in early fall was also affirmed. To these next steps I added working with a coach whom I connected with at the conference--someone who is eight years into starting a church.

The largest part of the conference focused on learning how to use a Presbyterian Church (USA) resource titled Starting New Churches. This handbook emphasizes the importance of a team's "foundational statement" (which names beliefs about Jesus, the church, salvation, and service that team members agree are non-negotiable), a team's "vision statement" (which names the people in your mission field "for whom your heart breaks"), a team's "mission plan" (which identifies a starting point and subsequent steps toward a missional community), and a team's "missionary plan" (which establishes what kind of leadership is needed to implement the mission plan, as well as how this leadership will be procured). The conference leaders shared that a failure to develop one or more of these four things is the most common reason new faith communities disband.

I came away from the three days convinced that (1) my exegesis of Redwood City needs to include more conversations with its residents, and (2) my team will need to name a particular people-group whom we are hoping to engage with the gospel and in God's mission so that we can contextualize our ministry accordingly. About the second, I have reservations, as I don't want to start yet another homogeneous church (the church is called to be a preview of God's kingdom, which will not be homogeneous). One way to avoid homogeneity may be to target a particular neighborhood rather than a "mosaic" (a type of people); the focus people-group would be the people of this neighborhood, with the new church striving to reflect this group's ethnic diversity (the church would be as diverse as its neighborhood).

A comment made by one conference leader will stick with me: "For the PC(USA) to reverse its decline, it would need to start about 300 new churches per year; last year, it started about nine."

How Not to Start a Church (BOOK REVIEW: TEN MOST COMMON MISTAKES MADE BY NEW CHURCH STARTS)

2011-05-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

Jim Griffith and Bill Easum, Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2008), pp. 122.

Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts starts with a very brief introduction and continues with ten short chapters that, as the book's title suggests, each focus on a different mistake commonly made by new churches. The authors, Jim Griffith and Bill Easum, are veteran church planters and consultants. The book can be read in one or two sittings.

Chapter 1--"Neglecting the Great Commandment in Pursuit of the Great Commission"--names the common mistake of putting the new church before God. Church planters often become so obsessed with building a successful church that they lose their focus on God. Faithfulness is compromised for effectiveness.

The second chapter, titled "Failing to Take Opposition Seriously," is a word of warning to church starts that think they will meet no resistance. Some resistance is inevitable, and this resistance can take any or all of three forms--institutional (people will bring an existing imagination of what a church should be and do with them to the new community), cultural (not every authority in a given community will be receptive to a new church), and spiritual (the powers and principalities continue to resist God's kingdom). The authors prescribe prayer (including a designated intercessory team) and resistance to the resistance (which is simply expecting it and developing a thick skin).

"A Love Affair with One's Fantasy Statement Blinds the Planter to the Mission Field" (Chapter 3) addresses the mistake of imposing an idealistic vision for a fantasy church on a target community. Instead of starting with an inflexible vision, the authors recommend that the church's vision emerge from engagement with its mission field--from "exegeting the mission field" (p. 28). "Planting a church is a process of experimentation, innovation, and replication, but always within the realities of the mission field and how it's responding" (p. 23). In this chapter, Griffith and Easum discuss the controversial "homogeneous principle"; they recommend first targeting a group of people with whom there is an affinity, reaching out to additional groups "after you've reached [the first group]" (p. 28).

The fourth chapter covers a fourth common mistake--"Premature Launch." "[L]aunching prematurely," write the authors, "virtually guarantees failure" (p. 36). To avoid launching without "critical mass," three seasons are recommended: a six- to nine-month "preview" season of monthly services; an "exhibition season" of weekly services; and a "public launch."

Chapter 5 is titled "Evangelism Ceases after the Launch." Griffith and Easum have found that even churches that evangelize pre-launch are prone to ceasing this work post-launch. They implore new churches to continue to invite (a word they prefer to evangelize).

The second half of the book begins with a chapter titled "No Plan for the Other Six Days of the Week." The church that focuses primarily on corporate worship is guilty of "shallow thinking" (p. 62). This church is likely to become codependent on the pastor who is the primary leader of the worship gathering. The result? "When the pastor leaves for another church, a giant sucking sound takes place.... That's one of the main reasons the average church plant begins to decline the fourth or fifth year" (p. 65).

Chapter 7 addresses money. The mistake it names is failing to talk about money until it's too late. The money quote: "Stewardship of money must be taught from the moment you begin to gather people" (p. 79). The authors advocate taking an offering every service, and they discourage "baskets in the back of the room" (p. 86).

"Failure of the Church to Act Its Age and Size" is the mistake unpacked in the eighth chapter. This chapter argues for a focused ministry: "Decide on the essential ministries for your particular mission field, and delay all others until they are necessary" (p. 97). New churches often try to grow up too fast.

Chapter 9 cautions against "Formalizing Leadership Too Soon." "Discovering leadership takes time" (p. 103). Like Chapter 4, this chapter urges patience. Interestingly, it also recommends a small "board" (p. 108).

The book concludes with a critique of "Using the 'Superstar' Model as the Paradigm for All Church Plants." There is no one-size-fits-all model for a new church. What has worked well in one context may not work well in another context.

Although this pragmatic book is light on theology and not especially missional, it's a helpful and easy read that will steer church planters away from some rough roads.

What's a Missional Community? (BOOK REVIEW: LAUNCHING MISSIONAL COMMUNITIES: A FIELD GUIDE)

2011-05-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

Mike Breen and Alex Absalom, Launching Missional Communities: A Field Guide (Pawleys Island, SC: 3DM, 2010), pp. 228).

Launching Missional Communities is, as its subtitle promises, "a field guide." It's a practical resource for both leaders of established churches and church planters who desire to take part in the creation of faith communities that move beyond the attractional model. Throughout, Mike Breen and Alex Absalom make concrete suggestions that are based largely on their experience starting missional communities in England.

Aware that missional is now a "buzzword" (p. 24), Breen and Absalom helpfully define "missional communities" as "[a] group of anything from twenty to more than fifty people who are united, through Christian community, around a common service and witness to a particular neighborhood or network of relationships" (p. 18). In the pages following, they expand on this definition, writing that a missional community should (among other things) have no more than seventy people, be Jesus-centered, be focused on "a particular neighborhood" or people-group, "not require that members be professing Christians to belong," mix "service and verbal witness," and have flat or shared leadership (p. 20). The bulk of the book's explicit theology follows this definition (pp. 24-29), and the bulk of this theology is based on the New Testament's story of Jesus and the earliest churches. Because "Jesus...was attractional and missional," argue the authors, so too should communities of Jesus-followers be attractional and missional. They add that the Western church already knows how to do attractional and now needs a "missional emphasis" (p. 24).

Similarly, they "love Sunday celebrations" (p. 33); yet the book makes clear repeatedly that these celebrations should not be the primary focus of the church. Breen and Absalom discuss at length the house-churches of the New Testament, small communities that did not have large worship services; later, they suggest a monthly calendar for missional communities that has one free Sunday (no worship gathering) each month, and they affirm the example of a church that has multiple missional communities meeting frequently but only a monthly all-church worship gathering (p. 199). The purpose served by attractional worship gatherings is celebration, not making disciples. "What we see in the United States today is churches, by and large, trying to make a contemporary cathedral experience every Sunday morning. When at least 85% of our dollars, energy, and human resources go to that one day a week, how can churches really expect to also engage in meaningful mission and discipleship? There's simply nothing left in the tank" (p. 52).

After introducing a number of "key concepts," Breen and Absalom move to sharing a "launch guide." They recommend that persons interested in starting a missional community visit missional communities, observe what kingdom work is already being done in their context, and participate in this community (here they name everything from hanging out in coffee shops to playing sports to walking neighborhoods at different times of day) (pp. 83-84). The guide first addresses established churches that want to start missional communities and then addresses church planters. To the latter, the authors recommend beginning with a "huddle" of eight people and gathering with these people for meals, prayer, mission, Bible study, and conversations over a six- to nine-month period; six to eight months into this experiment, the group should begin to discuss expanding, targeting "a certain group of people or geographical place" and hoping to become (eventually) multiple missional communities of twenty to no more than seventy people (pp. 116-121). A monthly rhythm might have people gathering in their missional communities three times per month and missional communities coming together for worship celebrations one to three times per month (p. 126, 145). A typical gathering of a missional community "might include" meal-sharing, fellowship, sharing, singing, prayer, the communal study of Scripture, and planning of "mission activities"--in short, they are little churches (p. 141).

The book concludes with practical advice on how to engage different people groups (including children--the authors think there are more positives than negatives to having children and adults together [p. 158]) and with examples of missional communities. Refreshingly, the authors are not preoccupied with numerical growth; about it, they simply write: "There is no secret formula for growth in ministry. If your MC/church is healthy, it will grow" (p. 128). A strength of the book is its readability (I finished it in two sittings). A weakness is its heavy reliance on right-of-center writers; the center-left voice of the missional conversation is limited to single references to David Bosch, N. T. Wright, James Dunn, and Lesslie Newbigin, respectively.

Redwood City Demographics

2011-05-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

Redwood City	% in Redwood City	San Mateo County	California
Total:	76,815	100	718,451	37,253,956
Population of one race:	72,625	94.5	680,241	35,438,572
White	46,255	60.2	383,535	21,453,934
Some Other Race	14,967	19.5	84,529	6,317,372
Asian	8.216	10.7	178,118	4,861,007
Black or African American	1,881	2.4	20,436	2,299,072
American Indian and Alaska Native	511	1.0	3,306	362,801
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	795	1.0	10,317	144,386
Two or More Races:	4,190	5.5	38,210	1,815,384
Hispanic or Latino	29,810	38.8	182,502	14,013,719
Age 18 or older	58,622	76.3	558,679	27,958,916

Since 2000, the total population of Redwood City has remained almost flat. However, the population's breakdown has changed, with the white population declining in number and the Hispanic/Latino and Asian populations growing in number. Note that Hispanic/Latino is considered a cultural designation rather than a racial designation, meaning (among other things) that some of the white population is also Hispanic/Latino.

The city is slightly younger than it was a decade ago. Remarkably, 79% of the total population is under 45 years of age. The median age is 28.

Source: http://redwoodcity.patch.com/articles/census-redwood-city-becoming-more-diverse.

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 17

2011-05-23T17:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, May 17

I spent some time this morning drinking coffee and talking shop with another local church planter--very generative. He was the fourth California church planter with whom I have conversed (either in person or, in one case, by email) recently. The four men have all been in their late 30s or 40s. Two have been mainline Protestants, one has been Vineyard, and one has been non-denominational. The statuses of their church starts has been across the board--one is flying high, one is in "a make or break year," one is just getting off the ground, and one has disbanded (after about a year and a half).

Three of the four church starts did not have a seed congregation. They started with 2, 7, 8, and about 50 people (the seeded church), respectively. (Interestingly, the church that started with just 2 people now has the most people.) All of them received (and in some cases are still receiving) outside funding, as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars. The church described above as "flying high" has received the most funding; the church described above as "disbanded" lost its funding. Sources of funding have included denominations, synods, presbyteries, established churches, parachurch organizations, and private donors.

Three of the faith communities first gathered in homes, one in a theater. One is still gathering in a home, while the other two are in church buildings (one owned and one rented). The "incubation" period pre-launch (that is, before the first public worship gathering) ranged from a few months to nine months.

Target groups named by the church starters have included young families, young adults, the unchurched, the dechurched, and progressives (with no church targeting all of these groups, and one church focusing on just one of these groups). The church planters have used missional language (service, neighborliness, community, "the priesthood of all believers," etc.). Heavy contextualization has been practiced by all, seen most obviously in their informality.

Preaching John (Part Thirty-Nine)

2011-05-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

John 13:1-38 (Summary)

Nearing the end of his ministry (on earth, at least), Lord and Teacher Jesus shares a meal with his follower-students. While doing so, he dons the garb of a slave and gets his hands dirty washing the feet of his disciples. With this humble (even humiliating) act, he reveals what characterizes God's love: God's love shows solidarity with others (especially the oppressed or marginalized) and dirties itself in service.

This kind of love is in short supply among the Jews and Gentiles of first-century Palestine. So Jesus reissues an ancient commandment, calling it "new"--"love one another." Facing betrayal by fellow Jews and execution at the hands of the Romans, Jesus is painfully aware that the commandment to "love one another" has fallen into neglect. Jews and Romans hate one another, and Jews fight amongst themselves about how best to respond to the Roman occupation.

Before commanding love for the other, Jesus shows what it looks like. It's love that reaches out in solidarity--even to an enemy who is plotting to betray him. It's love that stretches out on a cross--getting its hands dirty for the sake of a messy (and messed up) world.

Preaching John (Part Thirty-Eight)

2011-05-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

John 13:1-38 (History of Interpretation)

After noting that this story is peculiar to John, J. A. McClymont comments on the actions of Jesus. About foot-washing, he writes: "[I]n accordance with a common practice in the East,...the bare and sandalled feet, soiled and heated by the dust of the way, are usually washed before the food is partaken of.... It was the office of a slave to wash the feet of his master's guests" (Saint John, p. 213). According to Joachim Jeremias, slaves were "among the socially oppressed" in first-century Palestine; "the period of service for a Jewish slave was only six years, while for a Gentile it was for life" (Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus, p. 312).

Massey Shepherd notes that some Christians have interpreted the foot-washing as having to do with baptism, and that some Christians have seen foot-washing as a sacrament itself. "Jesus' act is certainly an example of that humble,selfless service, even to the most menial deeds of kindness, that characterizes the true disciple-servant who shares with him his master-servant role in his kingdom.... His kingdom is not a realm where some are slavish in lowly service. In his kingdom the greatest is the least--the servant of all" (The New Interpreter's One-Volume Commenatry on the Bible, p. 722).

Warren Carter adds: "Assuming the slave's role, Jesus washes their feet to exemplify his service of giving his life and the love that they should have for one another" (John, p. 76). About Jesus' preferred titles in this passage, Carter writes: "[Jesus] teaches God's ways: As a teacher/rabbi (...13:12-14...), Jesus teaches or reveals God's just, loving (13:34...), and life-giving ways" (p. 139). And about the "new" commandment, Carter connects it to the act of foot-washing, calling it "countercultural in that it is marked by love and service, not domination as in Roman imperial society" (p. 53).

Preaching John (Part Thirty-Seven)

2011-05-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

John 13:1-38 (Context)

John 13 is the fourth Gospel's version of the final meal Jesus shared with his followers. It is preceded immediately by a passage in which Jesus looks ahead unhappily to his death, and by a passage in which Jesus recounts his teaching. In the second, Jesus highlights that faith in him is faith in God, that God can be seen by looking at the Son, that the Son's goal is to bring light into the darkness of the world as its savior rather than judge, that there will be a judgment in the future, and that the Son has been obedient to the Father.

John 13 is followed by words that are commonly heard at funerals and memorial services: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places" (John 14:1-2a). John 14 does not have in view the deliverance of souls to heaven upon the death of individuals. Instead, Jesus refers first to his ascension and then to his future return. The passage conveys his desire to be in solidarity again with his followers in the future--a desire that shows his love for them. The act of washing another's feet is a more concrete example of the Rabbinical teaching that "[t]o exercise love is to do beneficent works" (Kittel, vol. I, p. 42).

The practice of foot-washing is in the background of a story in Luke 7:36-50. A Pharisee hosts Jesus for a meal, but the host does not provide for the washing of his guest's feet. Instead, a woman ("a sinner," perhaps a prostitute) wanders in and washes Jesus' feet. That it was customary for hosts to provide for the washing of their guests' feet is implied by Jesus in Luke 7:44.

What Jesus calls "a new commandment" echoes Leviticus 19:18, which was written several centuries earlier. Whatever Jesus means by "new," it cannot be that he thinks his teaching is original. (In the synoptic Gospels, he seems to be consciously quoting the Hebrew scriptures when he commands love of God and neighbor.) The Greek word that is translated "new" (kainhn) can have the sense of "unused" (Bauer/Arndt/Gingrich, p. 394). John uses it in this sense in 19:41: "Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid." The commandment to "love one another" was not "new" in the sense of "original" when Jesus spoke it; but it had fallen into disuse--it was neglected.

Preaching John (Part Thirty-Six)

2011-05-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

John 13:1-38 (Disposition)

The questions provoked by this passage that most interest me can be clustered into three groups: (1) What characterizes the love of Jesus? (2) What does the washing of the disciples' feet by Jesus signify? and (3) In what sense is the commandment given by Jesus "new"?

Jesus is said to have "loved" his students early in this passage (13:1), and he himself makes the same claim near its end (13:34-35). To this point, Jesus has loved the disciples simply by showing solidarity with them--by putting up with them despite their misunderstandings. In a larger sense, the incarnation shows God's love for the whole of humankind--in becoming flesh and blood in Jesus, God shows solidarity with humans, creator entering into relationship with creatures.

The washing of the disciples' feet is an act of love by Jesus. What does this act show about the love Jesus reveals? What characterizes this love? To answer, something about the ancient practice of foot-washing needs to be known. Who typically performed this service? What did it involve?

Jesus moves from actions to words--from living love to commanding it. (Is this order significant?) Having washed his disciples' feet and instructed them to follow his example and do the same, he adds: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another." Why does Jesus describe this commandment as "new"? Has it not been taught previously by the Hebrew scriptures--his own Bible? Hasn't he himself already taught something very similar (cf. Mark 12:28-34)?

Preaching John (Part Thirty-Five)

2011-05-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

John 13:1-38 (Initial Acquaintance)

John 13:1-38 begins with mention of "the festival of the Passover" (the third Passover mentioned in the Gospel). Ominous language follows: Jesus knows that "his hour" has come; he has "loved [his followers] to the end"; the devil has corrupted one of these followers, tempting Judas to betray Jesus. The kind of love Jesus has shown to his followers (including Judas) is agaph.

The setting is an evening meal. As Jesus eats with the Twelve, the confident rabbi gets up from the table, dons the garb of a slave, and begins to wash the feet of his students. Apparently, he has washed the feet of a number of them (v. 5) before coming to Peter. Peter at first refuses to receive this gift. When Jesus persists with what amounts to a threat of exclusion, Peter abruptly becomes receptive.

John has assigned many titles to Jesus. Interestingly, Jesus himself here chooses to highlight two--"Teacher and Lord" (vv. 13-14). The Teacher has humbly served his students; the Lord has lowered himself to serve his subjects. The service rendered might even be called humiliating--it has required Jesus to get his hands dirty (literally). This section of the passage ends with an emphatic word about the need to be receptive--Jesus invites every person to be a receiving-one (lambanwn).

In 13:21-30, John (which has been more explicit than the other three Gospels in speaking of the divinity of Jesus) describes a very human Jesus--one who is "troubled in spirit" by the knowledge of impending betrayal. Judas, one of Jesus' apprentices, will soon betray his master. Yet Jesus feeds Judas--gives him a "piece of bread" (13:30)--before the latter leaves and disappears into the night.

Finally, Jesus says, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another" (13:34). The word translated "new" is kainhn. Forms of agaph are again used here and in the verses immediately following.

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 12

2011-05-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 12

I spent part of my Thursday afternoon at Garfield School (in south Redwood City just a stone's throw away from Atherton) working with 8th-grade boys. I noticed a mural there that included the words (painted on a painted book) "Learn from Yesterday," "Live for Today," and "Hope for Tomorrow." The echo of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" made me feel strangely warmed.

In the evening (actually, it was night--9:30!), I played basketball (poorly) in the Redwood City city league. At 40, I'm the oldest player on my team. In fact, I was clearly the oldest player on either team--by more than a decade.

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 11

2011-05-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, May 11

Walking the downtown earlier on a weekday than previously, I found many more people, most of them dining. Between 11:30 and 1:30, there was a rush of working-age adults, some of them solo and some of them in small groups (interestingly, almost all of the groups were gender-segregated). A slight majority of the people were Anglo, with the number of Latinos not far behind. I found a table in a crowded restaurant, ate and people-watched, read and wrote. By the time I started packing up to leave around 2:00, I was the only patron remaining.

A number of banners and A-frame signs publicized the city's numerous efforts to gather the community downtown, "Immigrants Day Festival" and "Movies on the Square" (Thursday nights) among them. Friday nights feature live music. Values expressed by these offerings include an appreciation for community, for diversity, and for the arts--all things that will be affirmed by persons whose imaginations have been formed by the biblical story.

The downtown's ongoing revitalization presents an opportunity for churches. A church in another city whose downtown is changing puts it like this: "As the city center revitalizes, we are praying and working and forming partnerships towards the goal of making [it] a place where God is honored and all people live in peace and prosperity." When I came across a small church building that I previously had been unaware of, I wondered whether the people who used it were pursuing this opportunity.

Redwood City Church Visit #3

2011-05-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

I am worshiping with established Redwood City churches in order to learn what they are already doing. My hope is to imagine a faith community that is different from these churches in order to engage people in God's mission who are not already so engaged (the unchurched or dechurched); I don't want to cannibalize existing churches. My posts on my local church visits will be descriptions, not evaluations.

Redwood City Church #3

Denomination: Evangelical Covenant Church
Facility: Contemporary church building
Location: West Redwood City
Pew Bible: New International Version
Theological House: Conservative Evangelical
Worship Services: 2 on Sunday mornings, 1 on Sunday evening
Worship Styles: Traditional (early morning) and contemporary (late morning and evening)

Notes: I worshiped with the evening congregation (5:30), guessing that this gathering would be the youngest. There were about 150 people--about two dozen children, about a dozen teens, a few dozen young adults, a few dozen middle-agers, and about a half dozen seniors. The majority of the worshipers were Anglo (about 10% were non-Anglo of various races and ethnicities). All of us were informally dressed (including the preacher, who wore cargo pants). We gathered in a stunning worship space--beautiful but not ostentatious. A four boy, one girl band led us in about 30 minutes of praise music (pop rock); about half of us sang, and several people raised hands in the air. After this set, a white woman (about 40) offered a prayer and made some announcements. She was followed by a white man (also about 40), who introduced a non-Anglo (Pacific Islander?) man who made an announcement (with the help of a video) about the children's ministry program. The first man then preached for 35-40 minutes. Romans 12:2 (which we were encouraged to memorize) served as a springboard text for a topical sermon that tried to refute the claims of the new atheism movement; other prooftexts (short passages, usually single verses) were sprinkled throughout the message. Using notes and slides, the preacher offered an example of apologetics--the sermon argued, contra the new atheists, that Christians have done far more good than evil in the world. Christians were credited for abolishing the Western slave-trade, but they were not blamed for first starting and practicing it (which they did). (Similarly, a passage from Philemon was quoted as evidence that Christianity rejected slavery, with no mention made that Philemon was used by slave-owners to defend their practice.) After the message, the band returned and played some more, during which time we were invited to bring our offerings forward as we felt led. The benediction included an invitation to roast marshmallows outside and a closing prayer, with the service ending an hour and 45 minutes after it had begun.

Video Intro to a Missional Community

2011-05-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

Soma Communities - Tacoma, WA from Verge Network on Vimeo.

This video (from Soma in Tacoma) provides a helpful glimpse of what a missional community might look like. Here's what I saw and heard.

Soma was started by two people, a husband and a wife.
Soma is a number of missional communities--little churches--rather than one large church in one location.
These missional communities are focused on a particular people-group, a particular place, or both.
As one of Soma's missional communities grows, new leaders are identified and equipped to start new missional communities--their focus is on church multiplication, not church growth.
Soma's missional communities come together for a worship gathering once a week, but most of their kingdom work is done throughout the rest of the week.
The work of Soma's missional communities includes appreciating the uniqueness and beauty of their city, fellowship, Bible study, conversations, meal-sharing, prayer, being present and visible in their neighborhoods, living sustainable lives, and inviting others to join them in these things.

h/t to Brad Brisco (http://missionalchurchnetwork.com/)

$ "

2011-05-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

"A way forward for new-church development in denominations that value the connecting tissue of their congregations and judicatory structures might be to aid existing churches to start new churches, including the sending of 'home-grown' leadership to be NCD pastors" (H. Stanley Wood, Extraordinary Leaders in Extraordinary Times, p. 152-153).

There Are Mainline Protestant Church Planters?! (BOOK REVIEW: EXTRAORDINARY LEADERS IN EXTRAORDINARY TIMES)

2011-05-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

H. Stanley Wood (editor), Extraordinary Leaders in Extraordinary Times: Unadorned Clay Pot Messengers (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), pp. 188.

H. Stanley Wood, part of a writing team of four, opens Extraordinary Leaders in Extraordinary Times with the observation that "the trend of decline [in mainline Protestant denominations]...throughout the second half of the twentieth century...closely followed the decline in new-church developments" (p. xvii). (Denominations that start lots of new churches tend to be growing; denominations that don't start lots of new churches are not growing.) The chapters that follow look at more than 700 "mainline" (it includes the Christian Reformed Church and the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, which are not typically included in lists of mainline denominations) Protestant church planters in an effort to discern what is needed to start new churches (besides money--"[e]very NCD start-up received denominational funding" [p. 137]). Research included a survey and focus groups.

In the book's first chapter, Darrell Guder (editor of the pioneering Missional Church) attempts first to define the ubiquitous and elusive missional and then to connect this term to new church developments. Guder understands the missional conversation as a prophetic critique of Christendom (or Constantinianism): "In...Christendom, the mission of the church was replaced, largely, by the maintenance of the church as an institution providing religious services to the citizenry.... Whereas the biblical emphasis is on the people of God, on the community with its shared life and public witness, the preoccupation of Christendom had become the institution--with its structures, traditions, prerogatives, and wealth--and its own preservation" (p. 3). In order to avoid starting a Christendom-type church, new faith communities, argues Guder, should wrestle with the following questions: (1) "How...can a new congregation's DNA be missional from the very outset, centered on God's calling and sending?"; (2) How can a new faith community become aware of Christendom assumptions and leave them behind toward faithfulness and effectiveness in the twenty-first century?; (3) How can the "envisioned congregation" make and keep "missional [its] focus and priority?"; (4) How can the new church speak and embody a prophetic word that names "pretenders to lordship"?; (5) How can missional thinking be translated into practices? (p. 6). Near the end of this chapter, Guder notes that for church planters in this study's focus groups, "[c]ultural translation and appeal [were] frequently seen as a greater priority than the maintenance of denominational names and signs" (p. 20).

Wood gets at the purpose of the second and third chapters early in the former: "If measurable, identifiable, and perhaps educable traits exist in effective NCD pastors across all denominational lines, then an analysis of their styles and traits would provide those committed to the mission of the church a valuable touchstone for identifying and nurturing these pastors and others who wish to enter this challenging field" (pp. 31-32). As named by the pastors in the aforementioned focus groups, the three most important characteristics of a church planter in the first seven years of a church start are the ability to be a "catalytic innovator" (which combines charisma, perseverance, risk-taking, adaptability, and initiative), a "vibrant faith in God," and the ability to cast a vision (p. 34). After year seven, the most important traits become the "ability to change leadership styles," a leadership style that empowers, and an "understanding [of] change" (p. 35). As a faith community develops, so too must its leaders.

Chapter Four, written by Carl Dudley, exegetes a survey (FACT) of 14,301 faith communities (a huge sample), including not only Christian churches but also Mormon, Muslim, and Jewish communities. FACT found 51% of congregations self-reporting that they were growing; Dudley suspects a "halo effect" (p. 101). Of growing faith communities, 67% (by far the largest number) were located in new suburbs--indicating that church growth often parallels population growth. Churches in new suburbs were also less likely to strive for racial/ethnic diversity, with urban churches more likely to do so. Dudley's reading of the FACT data leads him to conclude that a clear and compelling vision was the most important feature of vital churches; moreover, the survey found that older faith communities tended to have less clarity of purpose (p. 113). Also interesting in this chapter are the findings that faith communities that (1) expected members to serve, that (2) offered a "breadth of social ministries," and that (3) worked for "social justice" were more likely to grow than ones that did not (pp. 115-117). Sadly, the survey suggests that the use of an electronic keyboard in worship was more important to a faith community's numerical growth than was the substance of the community's teaching (p. 124).

This book is filled with interesting findings. But its glaring weakness is its repeated (and unexamined) assumption that "bigger is better"--it is biased toward large churches. This bias is especially evident in Wood's summary chapter (Chapter Five); for example, Wood writes: "It is safe to say that virtually all NCD pastors begin by working with people on a one-to-one basis or with a very small, tight-knit group. But over time, the pastors who continue in this style tend to create smaller churches" (p. 149). Does the fact that Jesus left behind a faith community of only 120 persons mean that he was a failure? The "extraordinary" in Extraordinary Leaders is a synonym for "effective." But what about faithfulness? Should "Whatever works!" be the motto of church planters? It's not hard to find churches that are growing because of a charismatic leader, entertaining worship, and the teaching of a watered-down gospel that doesn't challenge listeners to think or live differently. Which is more faithful--a thousand people gathered for entertainment for about an hour a week, or a hundred people engaging their neighborhood in Jesuslike ways day after day? Wood and Guder themselves seem to know something is amiss here when they conclude, "[F]rom the perspective of missional theology, there are questions to be raised about the governing assumptions of the study design" (p. 156).

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 8

2011-05-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

One of God's more curious creations
(the seagull, not my wife)
in Morro Bay.

Sunday, May 8

On the Lord's Day also known as Mother's Day, Amy and I journeyed a few hours down the coast to worship with Highlands Church, a Presbyterian Church (USA) NCD in the fast-growing community of Paso Robles (about 20% growth in the last decade or so). The church was born in 2006; 57 adults and 3 children attended its first regular worship gathering, which was held in a theater. Today, Highlands has its own building, new and attractive, and offers three worship services. We attended the mid-morning service (9:45), in part because we guessed it would have the best attendance.

We worshiped with close to 200 others (majority white, intergenerational) in a dark, cozy sanctuary (the theater atmosphere had been retained), receiving a small, simple bulletin that had only a bare-bones outline of the order of worship. The service opened with a number of lively songs (rock) that were led by an impressive six-member band, complete with a high-charisma lead singer--he could have been a contestant on American Idol (Amy had a bit too much to say about him on the drive home). Announcements followed, then an offering (with a secular song sung during), and then a prayer. Although the church at first blush seems to be following an attractional model (and it is evidence that this model still works in some places when done well), it is missional in at least one respect--a commitment to the priesthood of all believers was seen in the use of several worship leaders, male and female, young and seasoned. To his credit, the capable pastor (late 30s? early 40s?) shared leadership, limiting himself to preaching.

The message (about 25 minutes) was simple: "Do not be afraid." Without notes, the jeans-clad preacher (everyone was dressed informally) delivered this message clearly. He made liberal use of slides, and he also used a flip chart. I would describe the theological content as evangelical in the generic sense--positive, addressed to the individual, more pastoral than prophetic. I did not hear anything distinctively Reformed (strategically, the church's denominational affiliation is almost invisible).

The fast-paced service (one hour) concluded the way it began--rocking and rolling. Some people sang, some people just listened--about half and half. The lead singer benedicted us with a brief, informal word.

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 6

2011-05-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

Friday, May 6

Today, I employed a semi-homeless Redwood City man to help me do some exterior house painting. He lives in a garage with a woman and his two children (a toddler and a two-month-old baby). Redwood City is located between San Carlos and Atherton; Redwood City's median household income is under $70,000; San Carlos has a median household income of over $100,000, and Atherton has a median household income of over $200,000.

Redwood City Church Visit #2

2011-05-06T16:03:00.000-07:00

I am worshiping with established Redwood City churches in order to learn what they are already doing. My hope is to imagine a faith community that is different from these churches in order to engage people in God's mission who are not already so engaged (the unchurched or dechurched); I don't want to cannibalize existing churches. My posts on my local church visits will be descriptions, not evaluations.

Redwood City Church #2

Denomination: Assemblies of God
Facility: Contemporary church building
Location: Downtown Redwood City
Pew Bible: New King James Version
Theological House: Conservative Pentecostal
Worship Services: 2 on Sunday mornings
Worship Styles: Blended (early morning) and contemporary (late morning)

Notes: I worshiped with the late congregation, a group of about 100 people--about a dozen children, a few dozen members of Gen Y and Gen X, a few dozen Boomers, and about a dozen seniors. The majority of the worshipers were Anglo, with about a dozen African-Americans and several Asians; less than a dozen people appeared to be Hispanic. We gathered in a dark room with chairs facing a stage; an all-boy band (five musicians in their late teens or twenties) led us in thirty minutes of rock (the floor pulsed), interrupted only by a fiftysomething woman in a skirt who offered prayer for, among other things, protection from the demonic. I did not hear any speaking in tongues, but the singing was semi-charismatic--hands were raised high and bodies moved to the music. The rocking was followed first by a lengthy time for greeting neighbors (there was much friendliness), then by a video and special offering for the Christian Motorcyclists Association (there was no regular offering, just boxes in which people could put donations coming or going). The message was preached by a white man in his fifties who wore a sport shirt (untucked) and jeans. He preached for about thirty-five minutes, making use of PowerPoint slides and iPad notes, and touching on multiple passages of Scripture that included texts from Revelation. The holiness of God was his focus, and he quoted conservative Reformed theologian R. C. Sproul approvingly (albeit while dismissing Sproul's hyper-Calvinism). Following his message, he administered the Lord's Supper with a brief invitation that asked us to find in the sacrament "a revelation of [God's] holiness"; we were served in our seats. The pastor sent us out with a reading from Jude about one hour and twenty minutes after we started.

the post-yesterday church

Street Church Redwood City

Summary of 14 Redwood City Church Visits

Redwood City Church Visit #14

Redwood City Church Visit #13

Redwood City in Pictures

Wrestling with Revelation 4:1-5:14

Wrestling with Revelation 3:1-22

Wrestling with Revelation 2:1-29

Wrestling with Revelation 1:1-20

Introduction to Revelation

Revelation Is for Mainstream Christians (BOOK REVIEW: APOCALYPSE RECALLED: THE BOOK OF REVELATION AFTER CHRISTENDOM)

Wrestling with Revelation

Missional Community Infomeal

Interpreting the Book of Revelation for Today (BOOK REVIEW: CAN I GET A WITNESS?)

David T. Olson's "Top Ten Reasons to Plant Churches"

What Young Adults Are Thinking

A Primer on Church Planting 6 (BOOK REVIEW: PLANTING CHURCHES IN THE 21ST CENTURY)

A Primer on Church Planting 5 (BOOK REVIEW: PLANTING CHURCHES IN THE 21ST CENTURY)

A Primer on Church Planting 4 (BOOK REVIEW: PLANTING CHURCHES IN THE 21ST CENTURY)

A Primer on Church Planting 3 (BOOK REVIEW: PLANTING CHURCHES IN THE 21ST CENTURY)

Redwood City Church Visit #12

Redwood City Church Visit #11

RWC NCD Update

A Primer on Church Planting 2 (BOOK REVIEW: PLANTING CHURCHES IN THE 21ST CENTURY)

Practicing the Way of Jesus

A Primer on Church Planting 1 (BOOK REVIEW: PLANTING CHURCHES IN THE 21ST CENTURY)

Redwood City Church Visit #10

Church in a Changing Culture (BOOK REVIEW: CHURCH IN THE INVENTIVE AGE)

Redwood City Church Visit #9

Redwood City Church Visit #8

Redwood City Church Visit #7

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 85

What "Missional" Meant (BOOK REVIEW: CONFIDENT WITNESS--CHANGING WORLD: REDISCOVERING THE GOSPEL IN NORTH AMERICA)

Preaching John (Part Fifty-Four)

Preaching John (Part Fifty-Three)

Preaching John (Part Fifty-Two)

Preaching John (Part Fifty-One)

Preaching John (Part Fifty)

Summary of My Second Month Trying to Start a Missional Community

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 60

Canadians Talk Church Planting (BOOK REVIEW: FRESH AND RE:FRESH: CHURCH PLANTING AND URBAN MISSION IN CANADA POST-CHRISTENDOM)

Conversations with Church Planters

Redwood City Demographics 2

Preaching John (Part Forty-Nine)

Preaching John (Part Forty-Eight)

Preaching John (Part Forty-Seven)

Preaching John (Part Forty-Six)

Preaching John (Part Forty-Five)

Redwood City Church Visit #6

Redwood City Church Visit #5

Redwood City Church Visit #4

Evangelical vs. Liberal (BOOK REVIEW: EVANGELICAL VS. LIBERAL: THE CLASH OF CHRISTIAN CULTURES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST)

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 46

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 44

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 36

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 35

Preaching John (Part Forty-Four)

Preaching John (Part Forty-Three)

Preaching John (Part Forty-Two)

Preaching John (Part Forty-One)

Preaching John (Part Forty)

What You Can Get for 2.6 Million in Redwood City

Start New Churches or Die (BOOK REVIEW: THE AMERICAN CHURCH IN CRISIS)

Summary of My First Month Trying to Start a Missional Community

More from a New Church Development Training Conference

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 34

How Not to Start a Church (BOOK REVIEW: TEN MOST COMMON MISTAKES MADE BY NEW CHURCH STARTS)

What's a Missional Community? (BOOK REVIEW: LAUNCHING MISSIONAL COMMUNITIES: A FIELD GUIDE)

Redwood City Demographics

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 17

Preaching John (Part Thirty-Nine)

Preaching John (Part Thirty-Eight)

Preaching John (Part Thirty-Seven)

Preaching John (Part Thirty-Six)

Preaching John (Part Thirty-Five)

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 12

Starting a New Missional Community: Day 11

Redwood City Church Visit #3

Video Intro to a Missional Community