Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Church in Transition...

Just picked up a book at the recommendation of Bruce at Manna Books in Christchurch The Church In Transition - by Tim Conder, Tim is pastor Emmaus Way Church in North Caroline. It's a great book - dealing with some of the issues surrounding transitions and the fears that need to be addressed in the process.
One section that particualry appealed to me was in regards to a rule of life as opposed to doctrinal affirmations. Rule of life being far more fluid as opposed to the your in your out hokey cokey that can be an aspect of Dcotrinal affiramtions,
The rules he considers are :
  • The pursuit of the gospel expressed and explained in community.
  • A passion for living out the values of Jesus' kingdom in the present
  • Comfort with mystery and uncertainty
  • A spiritual holism that calls forth a radical and comprehensive discipleship
  • A reading of scripture that intersects with local stories and context
  • An experiential appraoch to both worship and pursuit of truth
  • A ministry that honours the beauty of God's Creationand the creative spirit found in humanity.

    Probably what appeals most is the similarity though expressed differently of my values as I approach youth ministry.
  • 2 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    Michael,
    Excellent blog. As a former youth minister, I appreciate your insight into youth and religion. www.religionandyouth.org has similar data about youth in the U.S. Thanks for the shout out on my book! I'm excited that people are reading it and willing to dialogue about it. Tim

    Mich said...

    Wow, I am honoured that you visited my blog and i loved the book - my wife is readin it now