What is organic church?
Here is a pdf booklet from www.HouseChurchResource.org.
Explains a little what it is about.
ORGANIC CHURCH Something new in case you might be interested
I believe this is happening all over Scandinavia. We hope to see this spread like a wild fire in Gothenburg!
More coming soon!
more about "Eddie Gibbs – churchmorph", posted with vodpod
20 years through Europe
It was exactly 20 years ago that I bought a one way ticket to Europe to begin my missionary journey. So much has happened in those 20 years. The world has change dramatically but the gospel is the same; the good news that Jesus came to fix a broken world.
I came to Europe with the desire to plant churches that would change lives. I worked in Eastern Europe via Germany and over 14 years in Sweden working with and facilitating church planting initiatives.
4 years back in Sweden
After a short time in the States, we returned to Sweden as CGGC (Churches of God General Conference) missionaries in 2005 with a continued longing to plant churches that can reach an ever changing culture. We came by an invitation to partner with Interact, a Swedish denomination that has a desire to plant more churches in Sweden.
Four years ago we moved back to Gothenburg, Sweden where we initiated and began a process of planting a multi-cultural Church. We asked New Life Church, a multi-cultural Church in Stockholm if they would want to mentor a church plant in Gothenburg. New Life Stockholm became our mother church and committed a partnership with us.
A lot has happened in those four years.
We were permitted to use a building to use to start some ministries. Later the building was donated to New Life Stockholm for our church planting initiative.
Three of those years we had a successful children’s ministry called Faith Factory that reached many children between the ages of 9-14. We have seen these children grow in their faith and love for God. But because of many changes with the ministries, the renovation of our building and ages of the children, Faith Factory came to an end.
Much of the early years were about building relationships and creating a working team that would facilitate a church plant. It took a lot of time and many changes but in the beginning of 2008, a team was in place and growing with people excited about working with this new church.
One year ago renovation began on the building. We saw God do so many amazing things during this time in supplying for our needs and providing workers.
On October 19th 2008, we had our opening service and officially became a Church, New Life Göteborg. CCM Director Don Dennison was our guest speaker.
Since that time the Church has continued to grow. We literally have had new faces in our morning worship every Sunday since our opening. We have people from all over the world attending and getting involved in our Church including a Muslim from Bangladesh, a Buddhist from Japan and atheist from Sweden.
In the spring time we came together as a church with the 40 days of purpose studying the book, Purpose Driven Life. This was led by a couple in our Church who are here in Sweden from the USA as expatriates.
Today we are about 80 people who are in some way involved in this community of faith, and we average about 50-70 in our Sunday morning worship.
October 18th 2009, One year celebration
This month we are celebrating one year as a Church. We have a committed core group and a leadership team that has been established by our mother church in Stockholm.
We are also excited to have Jim and Kasie Brinson and their Children from Tulip Church of God in Indiana preparing to come and work with New Life Göteborg. They are expected to be here in January 2010.
New Church Planting Initiatives
As a missionary and a big heart for seeing more churches planted, we are considering starting another project. I have stepped down from a leadership role in New Life. Up through the end of this year, we will be researching where the needs are. We will be exploring how culture or sub-cultures has changed in the past few years and how we can best start new faith communities or missional churches that can reach these cultures. We will also be networking with others that are working in this area so that we can be most effective in these initiatives.
I am finding that the institution of the church is often more of a hindrance to the community of faith then God intended the church to be. This is not a new argument but is a realistic turning point in relation to my personal journey. I see clearly the church turning to program and away from passion of the missio Dei. The church begins to decline at that point. The power for posture and position poisons the authenticity of the community. The Church outside the institution concerns itself with equality and eliminates posture and position. It has it’s focus on Jesus as Lord and service in His mission. It values Kingdom principles over modern statutes creating a paradox the institution can not support. It changes from self possession to shared expression and creates dynamic in the community. The church must brake out of this cage and be free. What a great day that would be!
Technically it is not a word but while I am trying to come up with a word for my occupation I realize that words that define my occupation as a Missionary or a Pastor are some what out dated or carry with it meaning that don’t properly define what I do. Missionary, as one sent out from one country to another to share the Gospel and make disciples, would be the correct word for my occupation but it carries with it the idea of colonialism and dominance which is quit negative in today’s society. I am licensed as a Pastor and work in a traditional roll as a Pastor in the since of leading a Church or in my case co-leading a Church plant but I am not really a shepherd as that word implies biblically. Perhaps a more biblical term for what I do would be an Apostle as one who is sent out. But often that word is left to the first twelve Apostles and doesn’t really fit in today’s list of occupations. I think a word that is more contemporary would be fitting so I came up with this word, Missionalist, one who is sent to take part in the Missio Dei.
I know, someone else came up with this word first, I just found this blog while googling the word.
Could this work as a word for an occupation?
Oh January 10th I co-hosted together with Fredrik Hellström and Mattias Neve a long awaited Missional Roundtable.
12 people from different parts of Sweden gathered in Stockholm at Betel Folkhögskola for a conversation that for me was very inspirational and encouraging. I believe it sparked something, in all of us who attended. It brought some hope for the future of the community of faith in Sweden and inspiration for a missional thrust of the Church. If we came to any kind of conclusion it was that we need more of these conversations in Sweden that can encourage more missional lifestyles in our communities. Added: Check out blog Mattias Neve’s blog for more information about our conversation.
I am looking forward to the next one!
This is good - from the book Transforming Mission, David Bosch p.390:
“In attempting to flesh out the missio Dei concept, the following could be said: In the new image mission is not primarliy an activity of the church, but an attribute of God. God is a missionary God. “It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfil in the world; it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church”. Mission is there by seen as a movement from God to the world; the church is viewed as an instrument for that mission. There is church because there is mission, not vise versa. To participate in mission is to participate in the movement of God’s love toward people, since God is a fountain of sending love.”
Much can be said but this is enough to meditate on! Think about it!!
Lately I have been deep in thought and spirit. Writing my thoughts on the tablet of my heart instead of my blog. I have a lot of books to read which fuels the fire of my thoughts.
Yesterday evening I went to a seminar with Peter Halldorf who just published a new book called “Doften av helgon” or “The Scent of a Saint”. Ironically he speaks and writes about the topic I have been interested in maybe for a longer time but has now become more actual, learning from the early church and the Church Fathers. Perhaps one could say a ancient-future approach. I think this is a result of my existential hunger for passionate truth on which I have been on a pilgrimage for a long time. My existential hunger for passionate truth is also a reason why I find interest in the emerging missional church which has called me to look back at the roots of the early church.
My blog may be silent for a while as I continue on my inner journey. I hope I can publish some of my thoughts and experiences. I will also try to publish what is happening on my outer journey with our church plant which has now been officially called New Life Church Gothenburg.
“What are these cultural changes that have contributed to the marginalization of the church?
First, we are in the midst of a shift from modernity to postmodernity…
Second, we are embroiled in a shift from Westernization to globalization.
Third, we are engaged in a communication revolution, as we shift from print culture to an electronic-based culture.
Fourth, we are in the midst of a dramatic shift in our economic mode of production, as we transition from national and industrial -based economies to economies that are international, information based and consumer driven.
Fifth, we are on the verge of significant breakthrough in understanding the human at a biological level.
Sixth, we are seeing a convergence of science and religion that has not been seen in centuries.
Any one of these shifts requires significant theological reflection. Pastor leaders must listen carefully to culture and be prepared to abandon cherished church forms if necessary. To pastor missionally, church leaders must understand the cultural changes that have occurred outside its doors. For the church to be able to situate itself in culture, an understanding of these social processes must be pursued.”
Emerging Churches p.18-19, Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger
The church must recognize that we are in the midst of a cultural revolution and that nineteenth-century (or older) forms of church do not communicate clearly to twenty-first century cultures.
…the church as an institution has lost it privileged position and increasingly occupies a place on the margins of society alongside other recreational and non-profit organizations.
Emerging Churches p.17, Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger
Here are some questions thrown out by
Charles wrote:
To all of you in the group, whether you are in EC or House Church or even “Frikyrka” or established church with a mission focus…
I sometimes meet people who cannot distinguish between outward forms (expression of church and ways of being or doing church) and absoute core beliefs. In their attempt to reach their cultures and sub-cultures they have both changed the form (I have no problem here) and changed the message (and here I don’t mean presentation) or accomodated it so that the gospel is no longer the gospel but syncretism. I don’t want to get into massive discussions (I am not that type – I’m a practitioner) but I would like those of you who can to list in point form (maximum 7)
a.) the absolute minimum of what the gospel is
b.) the absolute minimum for someone to be a christian
c.) the absolute minimum for what it means to be “ekklesia” (church)
I would really appreciate this,
Charles
Yesterday I was in Örebro to listen to Doug Pagitt pastor of Solomon’s Porch in Minneapolis Minnesota . He is one of the leaders in the Emerging Church movement in the USA. Doug spoke in the morning session to the students about the Emerging Church or about his Church which is quit unique, it looks like a living room with sofas and tables in a round with the speaker in the center. I wasn’t there for the first meeting so I am not sure what they talked about. In the afternoon meeting he talked about “preaching” from his book; Preaching Re-imagined. He spoke about how preaching should be relational in a dialog and not just a monolog speech, he calls this preaching technique; Progressional Implicatory Dialog. This is about not how the story or the Gospel is applied to our lives but how our lives become a part of the story. It takes a more narrative approach to the understanding the Gospels instead of systematically braking the Bible down to a “how to” book. I guess you will need to buy his book to understand this better.
After the session Doug had to rush off to Oslo but some of us stayed around for a short discussion time which was quite interesting. It seemed that this seminar stirred up a lot of questions which is good. What I heard in this conversation was leaders trying to understand all this but with a modern epistemology. One needs to understand post-modernism and the cultural shift to understand this new kind of Church in a postmodern context. If we continue to think of church in its institutional forms and functions we will continue to miss the point and only become critical of this new approach. Before one criticizes the emerging Church movement one should first study the culture it is trying to reach.
Well now I have a lot to say so I think I will break it down into smaller blog post. I met a blog friend Joachim Elsander at the seminar. Always fun to meet a fellow blogger in person. I told him I like to keep blog posts short and simple and to the point. So there will be more to come later.
Hur predikar man i en tid när många i stort sett hela tiden är uppkopplade i olika samtal med andra genom SMS, Facebook, MySpace, Chat. När pedagogisk forskning har lärt oss att vi lär på många fler sätt än genom envägskommunikation. När kyrkans betydelse i vardagen och förkunnarerns egen historia är viktigare än den stora berättelsen…?
Föreläsare: Doug Pagitt, pastor i Solomons Porch, Minneapolis.
Tid: måndagen 19 november kl 13.45-15.20, därefter bearbetning på svenska kl 15.30-16.15 med lärare från Örebro Missionskola
Plats: Örebro Missionsskola. Det finns även möjlighet att följa föreläsningen via nätet, kontakta fredrik.wenell@hylliepark.se
Here is a cool site recommended by a friend of mine.
“MethodX (the way of Christ) is an online Christian community where young adults (college to 30s) can identify and explore their relationships with God and with others.
We hope that MethodX will help you experience God in ways that will change your life. We have tried to create a hospitable place where you can gather and talk about things that matter. We invite you to listen, to laugh, to learn, and to share your experiences with us and with others.
MethodX is sponsored by Upper Room Ministries®, an interdenominational, global Christian ministry. The Upper Room is dedicated to supporting all who want to know and experience God more fully, helping them move to a deeper level of faith and service.”
Ok I am not a young adult anymore but I do this anyway, don’t tell anyone.
I like to practice Lectio Divina, here they give you a little help. I also like that you can journal your thoughts. Cool Place!! You can also do a Spiritual type test. What type are you?
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. Søren Kierkegaard
