Reality Church

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Reality Church
The Sheffield Centre Church Armys Research unit
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Sorry we mean well..
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The Backdrop Reality is
the depth of crisis in the wider church
Attenders down Attendance less
frequent Absence of youth and twenties Money
shortages Clergy shortages
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Is anorexic leaner but fitter ?
Denial ?
Ignore it ?
Misguided ?
Suppress it !
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Its incredible
Mission in the context of survival
Mission or Maintenance ?
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The English patient ?
The Christian Church is dying in the West. This
painful fact is the cause of a great deal of
avoidance by the Christian community.
To use terminology drawn from pastoral care, the
terminally sick patient is somewhere between
denial and bargaining. Mike Riddell Threshold
of the future p 1
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The new night sky ?
A chance to reimagine
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What variety !
New Missionary orders
Youth Congregations
Post modern search for spirituality
Alternative Worship
Café Church
Post institutional communities
Seeker services
Building Missionary congregations
Cross boundary Plants
What IS ? Church
Catachumenate
Plants for Networks
Base Communities
Cross cultural Plants - ethnic - age - social
Community development churches
Cyber Church ?
Cell Church G12
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Transforming church is becoming Counter Cultural
Christendom has become so at home in European
culture that it has become the folk religion, and
Western Church doctrine has developed in this
insular context. It was non-missionary and
focused on conflicts between various Christian
groups. Wilbert Shenk from 1998 Transmission
in tribute to Lesslie Newbigin p5
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Transforming church is becoming Counter Cultural
We must be realistic contemporary society is, in
significant ways, hostile to traditional
Christian belief and Christian values, however
frequently we see Gods grace at work in those
who do not acknowledge Him. George Carey The Ashe
Lecture 1997, The Way Ahead Preparing the C of E
for the New Millennium
Before Constantine, the church was a subversive
counter- culture operation. Since then it has
had an authenticating role. The time has come
for the church to become counter-culture,
prophetic, developing a theology of resistance/
insistence. Robert Warren 1997 paper Towards an
Anglican theology of change p.3
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Transforming church awaits the renaissance of
Community
Creating community is at the heart of the
Christian theological tradition in the doctrine
of the Trinity. Individualism, separateness and
fragmentation give way to individuality,
mutuality and belonging. Mike Lowe, A Church
without walls Grove Pastoral 63
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Transforming church awaits the renaissance of
Community
Eat your head out Descartes
because I love and I belong .. I am
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Transforming church awaits the renaissance of
Community
When Jesus sent his disciples out on mission he
told them to be poor to take nothing with them.
And he told them to do things that were
impossible to do all by themselves. so it is for
all missions. Communities and members are called
to be poor and to do impossible things such as to
build community and to bring healing
reconciliation forgiveness and wholeness to
people. Jean Vanier Community and Growth
pp87-88
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Transforming church awaits the renaissance of
Community
Monastic life may seem utterly out of tune with
the spirit of our times, yet if we are entering
another Dark Age, it may be to the wisdom of such
a way the Church of today needs to turn
I sense that the renewal of both the Church and
Society will come through the re-emerging of
forms of Christian community that are homes of
generous hospitality, places of challenging
reconciliation and centres of attentiveness to
the living God. Brother Samuel SSF
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Transforming church welcomes the rebirth of the
Apostolic
Lets re-work Ephesians 4 Through the lens of the
History of Mission
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Apostle Prophet Evangelist Pastor / Teacher
BUT.
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If UK is becoming a mission field, not an
evangelism field there is a change of direction
and mindset
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Sheffield Centretainment brings you .
Wallace Gromit in The Mission Train
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Cast in order of appearance
Reluctant evangelist Gromit the dog Escaping
world Penguin Watching Church Wallace Crea
tive Apostle Gromit - again Surprising
Spirit Robot Legs Emerging Church Bottle
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(No Transcript)
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If you have ears to hear .
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Transforming Church needs to handle diversity well
Family wont do extended family is better
Congregation is Church Church is Minister,
Building and Worship
Congregate as Church
Cell as Church
Celebrate as Church
Down with congregational imperialism Because all
levels are church
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Keeping the balance ...
UP
OUT
IN
.of Worship, Community Mission
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Suppose there was ...
another dimension to church Not just UP IN
OUT but also.
OF
The Sheffield Centre Church Armys Research Unit
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Adding OF - across wider Church
OF Is belonging to more than ourselves
Your DNA includes being a sent church from HTB
so what will you learn from what will you send
to the wider body - the church catholic ? The
one body of Christ
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Adding OF within diverse Church
OF Is belonging to more than ourselves
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Toblerone Church a danger only for Chocoholics
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Guess which web site ?
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A bit more like this ?
Toblerone is rather too tidy
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Dare to live at the boundaries
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Explore the boundaries
"Come to the edge" he said "We are afraid" they
said "Come to the edge" he said They came. He
pushed and they flew Guillaime Appolinaire
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To serve you better
The text of this talk and others is on this web
site
www.encountersontheedge.org.uk Launched July 2002