Transcript Revolution or evolution?

Outcomes:
By the end of this session you should be able to:
a. Share a basic understanding of the doctrine of the Church
b. Explain the mission of the Church.
c. Identify and understand some of the deficiencies in
contemporary Church structure and practice that detract
from God’s mission for the Church.
d. Engage critically with a variety of perspectives on Church to
bring renewed effectiveness and faithfulness to your ministry
in the Church.
1. Prolegomenon – the
Church
Questions for group discussion (6 mins + 4 mins
feedback).
a. What is the Church? (Theology!)
b. What is God’s mission for the Church?
c. Can you please list some practical examples of things
that Churches should do to fulfill God’s mission in the
world?
1.a. What is the Church?
 ekklesia – c.f. Matt 16:18 – literally an ‘assembly, group of people’
>> Denotes ‘a people’, a ‘set aside’ group of people.
 The early Church Acts 2:42-47.
 Met in homes / the marketplace
 Gathered around ‘discipleship’, not ‘discipline’
 The word Church refers to two entities:
 The Church (capital ‘C’) – the Church Universal
 The churches (small ‘c’) – denominations, congregations, cell
groups…
 Which Church do you think God sees as God looks at a city?
1.a. What is the Church?
Cont…
 How can you identify ‘the Church’? The marks of the
Church are:
 One / Holy / Catholic / Apostolic
 The word ‘Church’ is an English form of the Greek kuriakē,
meaning "of the Lord” (The Church is most likely a
shortening of kuriakē oikia ‘house of the Lord’) >> denotes
‘a place’ (no longer ‘a people’)
 The Church as a ‘place’ and ‘institution’ only came into
being after the conversion of the Roman emperor
Constantine in the 4th century.
1.b. What is God’s mission
and purpose for the Church?
 The missio dei ‘God’s mission’ (please refer to Forster
2008a:71ff. ‘What is Christian Mission?’)
 ‘He sent his Son for this purpose and He sends the Church into
the world… for the same purpose’ (van Sanders in Forster
2008:71)
 What was Jesus’ mission?
 cf. Lk 4:43, 4:18-19 - The Kingdom of God!
 Is 11:6-9, Rev 21:3-5a. God’s eternal shalom a ‘peace
that passes all understanding’
1.b. What is God’s mission and
purpose for the Church?
Cont…
 The Church’s mission is to fulfill Jesus’ mission!
 ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you’
Jn 20:21
 …to “proclaim the Gospel of Christ for healing and
transformation”, and to work towards a “Christ healed Africa
for the healing of the nations”.
 Where we miss the boat…
 Saviour AND Lord (salvation AND discipleship) cf. Matt
28:19-20
1.b. What is God’s mission and
purpose for the Church?
Cont…
 Ask yourself a few questions:
 What constitutes most of the activity and preaching in your
Church?
 Does your Church do the same kind of things that Jesus did?
 Do you find the kind of people that Jesus welcomed in your
Church (i.e., people on the margins of society)?
 When you listen to the people in your Church, or your
minister’s sermons, do they sound like the kind of things that
Jesus would say?
 Is your Church actively establishing God’s Kingdom in your
community?
 Are we ‘One’, ‘Holy’, ‘Catholic’, and ‘Apostolic’?
1.b. What is God’s mission and
purpose for the Church?
Cont…
 Brian McLaren… What are the ‘big issues’ in
Our church…
Our world…
Music
Poverty
Dress
Hunger
Buildings
AIDS
Status
Global Warming
Etc…
 No wonder the world is giving up on the Church…
1.b. What is God’s mission and
purpose for the Church?
Cont…
I believe that Jesus Christ started the New Testament Church… He
started it as a community of men and women with a mission, a
new purpose for their lives. He gathered them, invested in them,
and then commissioned them to go and live what he had lived
among them.
If we think of the Church as a celebration service that only happens in a
building on Sundays, then Jesus doesn’t fit the model. We certainly
won’t be able to call him ‘Pastor Jesus’…. If the Church is more
dynamic than that; if indeed living like Jesus is how we should be
and do Church, then thinking of Jesus and his band of followers as
a Church community helps us have a more dynamic concept of
what Church is all about.
Floyd McClung in reference to his book ‘You see bones, I see an army: Changing the
way we do Church’ (2008, Struik Christian publishers: Cape Town).
Recap on the Church…
 The Church is not just an institution – rather, it is a gathering of faithful disciples.

The Church refers to:


The Church Universal
The churches / denominations / congregations
 The character, or marks of the Church are:

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One
Holy
Catholic
Apostolic
The Church has a mission:

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God’s mission – missio dei
Jesus mission – to establish God’s Kingdom
We need to relate to Jesus as Saviour AND Lord
The question is….
‘A Christ healed Africa for the healing of the nations…’
 How well is the Methodist Church of Southern Africa doing in achieving
God’s mission?
 What are some of the struggles / difficulties / problems that we face as a
Church?
 How could your discipleship help to change this situation?
 What can you learn and gain from your time here at SMMS in order to
renew the mission of our denomination?
2. A few facts about Church
membership and attendance.
a.
The two most common narratives for the modern Church are decline
or split… (blog post on the mainline Church).
b.
I don’t mind Jesus, but I don’t trust his wife [bride]… (comment by a
skeptical friend).
c.
I no longer go to Church… It just doesn’t seem to meet my needs
anymore. The pastor knows nothing about my life and work, and the
Church seems to do so little to actually change society. I’m tired of
programs and courses. I need something different! I still serve the
Lord, but I now belong to a Christian group at work (a Christian who
no longer attends Church).
d.
60% of all Churches in America will die out by 2050 (Peter Brierley
in Gibbs & Coffey 2005:20)
2. How secular people feel
about ‘the Church’
A decline in Church attendance
Church attendance in Britain is
declining so fast that the
number of regular churchgoers
will be fewer than those
attending mosques within a
generation….
Ruth Gledhill’s report on
Church attendance in the
UK (2008).
What are some of the effects of
Church decline?
a. A diminished capacity to transform society and influence
change (we’re loosing our saltiness, and dimming our light)
b. A loss of credibility (we’re loosing our ‘voice’ – in England,
Australia and most of Europe the Church’s narrative has
almost no place in mainstream society)
c. Diminishing financial resources to fund mission
d. The declining Church adopts a ‘lager’ mentality (defensive
of it’s position, combative of other positive contributions
from secular or other religious institutions etc.)
Enough about the rest of the
world… What about South
Africa?
The church is in a general decline (BUT, the same can
NOT be said of the Christian Faith!)
(Graphs from Prof. Jurgens Hendricks,) Stellenbosch
% Christians in SA: 1911-2001
YET, the reality in South
Africa does NOT reflect the
Kingdom of God!
 Only12% - committed… attendance is only about 3% 5%... Let’s be honest, most of us plan to fail.
Something is wrong with
this picture!
 79% say they’re Christian, but somehow the churches are
not helping them to BE Church…
 All is NOT lost! If they SAY that they are Christian, we
should help them to become what they say they are!
 The Gospel, and the Christ of the Gospel, have NOT lost
their power!
 BUT, we need a ‘new kind’ of Church to do this… Our
current models are not working… Here’s some data on our
decline.
Christian Marketshare Mainline
Denominations 1911-2001
Church membership in population
groups 1911-2001
Whites
Coloureds
Christian Marketshare AIC, Pentecostal, Other
1911-2001
Pent/Charismatic
What makes the AIC and American style
‘Pentecostal / Charismatic’ Churches so
popular?
 They are evangelical (even if their gospel is not entirely good
news).
 They offer hope (particularly in addressing the most serious FELT
needs of people):
 Prosperity doctrine offers hope in poverty
 Healing miracles and ministry offer hope in sickness
 They have a strong entrepreneurial leadership… (see the sigmoid
curve) whereas we face significant pressure to maintain our
‘culture’ (e.g., uniforms, orders of service, hierarchies)
 They are ‘market oriented’ (changing in accordance with needs
and pressures from outside), we are internally regulated (not
responding to outside pressures and needs).
What’s wrong?
 We can be sure that it is NOT the Gospel that has lost its
effectiveness (the MESSAGE, and PERSON of Christ remain
valid and effective)
 However, we can be sure that the delivery, engagement, and
support mechanisms have lost their impact.
 So what we need is to find a way of engaging the world in an
‘incarnational’ manner (addressing the needs of the world, from
the perspective of the world), not in a transcendent manner
(pressing the concerns and needs of the Church onto the world).
 We need a new ‘narrative’ for the Gospel. The existing still has
value, but only for those ‘in the system’ (it would seem), we need a
narrative that engages those outside of the system..
The life cycle of an institution (sigmoid
curve).
The life cycle of an institution (sigmoid
curve).
3. So, how do we turn this
around?
 Face the facts! Denial will not serve the cause of
God’s mission.
 Do our best to understand God’s mission for OUR
context.
 Gain insights and expertise to help us in retooling the
DNA of the Church for the churches.
 Have the COURAGE to make some changes (for the
sake of the Gospel!)
 Make the most of your time here…
The SAME mission in an
ever CHANGING world
"The gospel must be constantly forwarded
to a new address because the recipient is
always changing his place of residence.”
Graham Gray, Bishop of York
The emergent conversation
[The emergent movement is working towards] …rediscovering contextual and
experimental mission in the western church. Forms of church that are not
restrained by institutional expectations. Open to change and God wanting to do
a new thing. Use of the key word ..."and". Whereas the heady polarities of our day
seek to divide us into an either-or camp, the mark of the emerging Church will be
its emphasis on both-and. For generations we have divided ourselves into camps:
Protestants and Catholics, high church and low, clergy and laity, social activists and
personal piety, liberals and conservatives, sacred and secular, instructional and
underground. It will bring together the most helpful of the old and best of the
new, blending the dynamic of a personal Gospel with the compassion of social
concern. It will find its ministry being expressed by a whole people, wherein the
distinction between clergy and laity will be that of function, not of status or
hierarchical division. In the emerging Church, due emphasis will be placed on both
theological rootage and contemporary experience, on celebration in worship and
involvement in social concerns, on faith and feeling, reason and prayer, conversion
and continuity, the personal and the conceptual. (Ian Mobsby)
The emergent conversation
 Defining the emerging Church / emerging
conversation
 Most [emergent communities] are too new and too fluid to
clarify... There is no consensus yet about what language to
use: 'new ways of being church'; 'emerging church'; 'fresh
expressions of church'; 'future church'; 'church next'; or 'the
coming church'. The terminology used here contrasts
'inherited' and 'emerging' churches… (Dr Stuart Murray)
The emergent conversation
 Characteristics of the emergent conversation (movement).
 Question the assumptions (Barna ‘Pagan Christianity’,
Mclaren ‘A generous orthodoxy’)
 Longs for fresh expressions of community
 Wants to restore a strong balance on a realised eschatology
 Emphasis on ‘works of mercy’ (What Wesley called ‘social
holiness)
 Holds evangelical zeal and social concern in balance
(sometimes referred to as ‘liberal evangelicals), thus
theologically pragmatic
The emergent conversation
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Strengths
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Weaknesses
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Radically incarnational
Fresh expressions
Recaptured a balance between creative non-propositional evangelism and tangible social action
Diverse (not a ‘Mediclinic’ (lots of niche specialities), but rather a ‘home visit’ (bring the gospel to you,
to meet your needs)).
Pragmatism can come at the cost of both orthodoxy and orthopraxy e.g., Loss of our roots (theology,
liturgy, success stories and models)
Loss of Christian identity
Imprisoned in a ‘Cell’ and ‘emerging’ into the status quo (stagnation and stuck of success…)
A Church without a Mission / a Mission without a Church
The sympton masquerading as ‘the cause’ (conferences, constant change, schism, contentious issues
etc.)
Examples of emergent Christian movements
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Marketplace ministries
Special interest groups (prayer, outreach, age groups, social needs, sports etc.)
Home Church
The hermeneutic circle – theological
reflection (an affirmative action…)
3. So, how do we turn this
around?
We must change from:

Living in the past to engaging with the present
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Market driven to mission-oriented
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Bureaucratic hierarchies to apostolic networks
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Schooling ‘professionals’ to mentoring servant leaders
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Following celebrities to encountering saints
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Dead orthodoxy to living faith (orthopraxy)
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Attracting the crowd to seeking the lost
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Belonging to believing
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Generic congregations to incarnational communities.
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NB! NB! NB! Please read Church Next by Eddie Gibbs, and Reimagining
Church by Frank Viola
Some differences between established
and emergent Church movements
Mainline / Established Church
Emergent
Centralised leadership / Professional clergy
(separation between clergy and laity)
Organic, egalitarian governance. No
separation between laity and clergy
Limits certain functions to ordained / sadly
renders laity largely passive (pew warmers)
Makes all members functioning Priests
Has a ‘go to Church’ perspective
Has a ‘be Church’ perspective
Prioritizes programs (frequently to educate
members on efficiently and effectively
maintaining the status quo)
Prioritizes relationships within the
community (both within the Christian
community and incarnating those values into
the broader community)
Depends on tithing and planned giving /
requires large budgets (mostly spend on
buildings and pastoral staff)
Requires less funding, is frequently self
supporting (either bi-vocational or
marketplace ministry driven)
Separates Church (ecclesiology), mission
(missiology) and social transformation
(corporate Soteriology)
Intertwines ‘belonging’ and mission.
Balances personal and corporate Soteriology
What can we do in the MCSA?
 Revolution OR Evolution!?
 Revolution:
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Develop radically new models of being Church.
Encourage fresh expressions of full time ministry.
Challenge oppressive and non-missional forms of leadership (for SAKE OF THE
GOSPEL!)
Change our focus from the institution of the Church to the needs of the world!
Move from ‘models of Church’ to ‘principles of mission’
 Evolution:
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Renew the structure and life of the local Church
Give new impetus and missional energy to thriving organizations
Capitalize on our ‘brand’ in Southern Africa
Rediscover and inculturate our rich Wesleyan heritage (see Forster in Forster & Bentley
2008a:70-99)
Recapture our evangelical zeal (Wesleyan Evangelicalism – the WHOLE Gospel!
Questions, input and discussion
1. Please share one thing that has challenged you,
perhaps something you’ve learned today, a new insight,
or something you’ve resolved to do.
2. Please affirm one thing that our Church is doing well!
3. Please highlight one thing that you would like to help
change in our Church during your ministry.
4. Any other inputs?
Some suggested reading

Forster, DA, 2007 An uncommon spiritual path. The quest to find Jesus beyond conventional Christianity.
AcadSA publishers. Kempton Park.

Forster, DA & Bentley, W (eds) 2008a Methodism in Southern Africa. A celebration of Welsyan mission.
AcadSA publishers. Kempton Park.

Forster, DA & Bentley, W (eds) 2008b What are we thinking? Reflections on Church and Society by
Southern African Methodists.

Gibbs, E & Coffey, I 2005. Church next: Quantum changes in Christian ministry. Inter Varsity Press.
Leicester, UK.

Barna, G & Viola, F. 20** Pagan Christianity. ****. ***

Viola, F 2008 Reimagining Church: Pursuing the dream of organic Christianity. David Cook Publishers.
Colorado

Brian McLaren ‘Everything must change’,
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Rob Bell ‘Velvet Elvis’, ‘Sex God’,