Every Sunday morning, we’ll be posting articles and links that are saying something important about church, culture, and mission. Here’s what resonated with us this week on the web:
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Church & Theology
Chris Morton is on the Fresh Expressions US blog with a glimpse at a creative approach to church:
I recently spent a morning with two of the most creative Jesus-followers I know—Jay and Lisa Smith. Lisa is Pastor, and Jay is Cultural Architect, of Convergence, a unique community of faith. “Convergence” is an apt name, for in this place and among these people there is a convergence of multiple expressions of art and a fresh expression of church. I’ve never witnessed anything like it, and to see this union of life, faith, art and spiritual pilgrims was nothing less than inspiring.
Scot McKnight responds to the biggest mistake Christians make when talking about the kingdom:
At this point we need to make an observation: because so much of “church” thinking focuses on the Church Now without examining the Church Not Yet, any comparison of church with kingdom, which tends (as I have said already) to focus on the church now over against the Kingdom Not Yet, tends to conclude that they cannot be the same. Yet, if we compare Kingdom Now and Church Now we arrive at the same place, and as we are about to see, if we compare Kingdom Not Yet with Church Not Yet, we will discover once again a full overlap.
David Fitch draws attention to the Doctor of Missional Leadership at Northern Seminary:
The program is theologically challenging, intensely practical, aimed at not only shaping pastors/leaders to lead missional engagement, but shaping pastors/leaders for shaping other leaders and denominations for the cultural challenges we face for mission in N America. It trains you into ethnography as a theological/pastoral discipline. It gives you a theological foundation for ministry in mission.
News & Views
Efrem Smith blogs about dealing with the crisis of mass incarceration:
Our nation has a serious crisis when it comes to mass incarceration and we are in need of major reforms within the broader criminal justice system. The deep divide and demonization surrounding Michael Brown, Officer Darren Wilson, and the protests in Ferguson, Missouri show us the need for reforms in the criminal justice system and the need for a deeper commitment to racial righteousness and reconciliation.
Lore Ferguson is at The Gospel Coalition interviewing Hannah Johnston about her graphic design advocacy:
How do you describe your work, what you do every day?
My job is to create beautiful, tangible pieces that share the stories of millions of humans who are hurting, both physically and spiritually. The goal is to move others to step in by exposing the evil our friends in India face daily.
Tamara Hill Murphy writes at Think Christian about the recent Jaden and Willow Smith interview:
So what if we looked at the interview, which appeared Monday and has been dissected throughout the week, in this way instead? Jaden and Willow Smith are two teenagers speaking the native language of most teenagers: an angsty mix of idealism and legalism. Yes, they’re privileged and that adds a somewhat unpalatable flavor to many of their responses. Yes, their family values include some unorthodox views about basic assumptions of reality. Still, I would prefer to read a kid who can throw in a few multi-syllabic concepts to spice up the typical 140-character fare (although my daughter assures me that Willow and Jaden are also quite fluent in tweet speak). I see the irony in their angsty criticism of angst, but if my high school self got the attention of major media, I’d be hunting down and burning those transcripts.
On The Missio Blog
On the blog today, we continued our two month #ChurchTrending series:+
Meals As Mission: Unity As Our Identity In Christ, by Ruthie Johnson
#ChurchTrending: From Corporation To Locally Owned, Part One, by Scott Bessenecker
#ChurchTrending: Candy Land Christianity, by Ty Grigg
Theology And Mission: Grab A Cup Of Coffee, by Missio Alliance
#ChurchTrending: From Corporation To Locally Owned, Part Two, by Scott Bessenecker
Social Media, Sabbath And Silence: Three Ways To Counter Misshaping Cultural Currents, by William Walker
A Kingdom Response To President Obama’s Speech On Immigration, by Lisa Rodriguez-Watson
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:
1. Seek to understand the author’s intent.
If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.
2. Seek to make your own voice heard.
We deeply desire and value the voice and perspective of our readers. However you may react to an article we publish or a fellow commenter, we encourage you to set forth that reaction is the most constructive way possible. Use your voice and perspective to move conversation forward rather than shut it down.
3. Share your story.
One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.
In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.