The Jerusalem trap

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The Jerusalem trap
Trinity Streetsville Ontario Canada March 2008
The Sheffield Centre Church Armys Research unit
For a full text go to www.encoountersontheedge.org
.uk
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In captivity?

• To Jerusalem centred thinking, seen by
• Deployment of Resources
• Mission, done in Attractional mode

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Jerusalem
Jerusalem
The inward facing shape controls both the
mindset and the process
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Blind and artful?

• It cant see that Jerusalem is but one expression
  of church
• Jerusalem mindset cant see the call to non
  identical reproduction

Rome Canterbury Parochialism
Jerusalem
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Evidence to think differently
The Word of Christ to the Church Acts 1.8 When
the Spirit comes upon you.. You will be my
witnesses In Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to
the end of the earth
Acts The difficulties for the Spirit
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A call to liberation today

• Stories led the way

• Working with new labels for groups beyond church
  helped wake us up

• The De-churched
• The Non churched

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Different Mission Fields
Regular attenders at least monthly(10)
Fringe- less than monthly(10)
Non Churched(40)
Open de-churched(20)
Closed dis-churched(20)
MSC p 37-40
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Later intelligence its worse than
Mission-shaped Church thought
NON CHURCHED
DE CHURCHED
Tear Fund 2006 statistics from 7 thousand home
interviews
1
5
Open To attend church as they know it
32
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Closed to attend church as they know it
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Could we say
Percentage now in England
Today
Acts address
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Half the picture
Jerusalem
A distorted image shaped in Christendom
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The 2nd view
Jerusalem
Is the Holy Spirit is eccentric?
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Circles and cams

• Rotation but no lift

• Lift and leverage

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The eccentric effects
Judea
The centre and the Acts story shift Samaria is
not a return ticket from focus on Peter to
Paul the Church goes west church is done
differently among Gentiles not to mention AD 70
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Which should we go for?
Disturbance Response Diversity
Power Control Uniformity
Which is more biblical and so normal ?
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What does our recent history show

• Planting Fresh Expressions of Church since the
  1970s
• Beyond church buildings
• Wider than boundary thinking
• Shaped by context and the living tradition
• Different starting points
• Creating community, not inviting to worship
• Lives changed by Jesus, before words about Jesus
• So what is normal?

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Directions out

• 1 Hold onto Jesus words
• What might they mean for us?
• Judea safe familiarity our people
• Samaria mixing with the disagreeable and
  disreputable no longer our people
• Ends of the Earth beyond our imaginations -
  never our people

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Temptation

• 2 Dont be deluded by Judean success
• Acts 5.16 crowds from the towns, healing of all
  !!
• Yes God loves Judeans too but its only part of
  the story
• Yes Peter was apostle to the Jews Gal 2.7
• But the Judean journey is not enough
• It doesnt equip you for Samaria or beyond
• Its different in Samaria, Athens, Rome, or where
  you live
• Be honest whose coming
• Jerusalem Judea Samaria Ends of the
  earth
• Re cycling Judeans hasnt a future

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Welcome the 3 eccentrics

• Who are the Philips?
• Deacon? Huh! Dangerous? yep!
• Allow space for the unknowns
• Discover Cornelius
• who evangelizes who
• A paradigm for our times?
• Pray for Pauls
• Eccentrics will do it differently

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Dont try to make it happen

• Its not about our power

• Its not about rebadging

• Its not about complusion

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Let the Spirit disturb the church by his
eccentric behaviour
Follow what God is doing
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Have a nice day !
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Getting beyond Jerusalem
The story of Christ Church Central Sheffield
The Sheffield Centre Church Armys Research unit
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Sheffield

• Famous for cutlery since Chaucer

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Weather dependent

• Its an ill wind ?

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Fulwood but beyond?
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A new opportunity

• City centre re-populating
• 10,000 come in
• What about a church for those who dont go to
  church?
• Calling and Resource? hhmm?

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Preparation time
1000 members Export 50 Better worry?
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Christ Church Central values

• We think that
• church is not a building but people
• people who aim to live their lives with Jesus
  Christ as their God and Saviour.
• We are people who aim to make the message of
  Jesus, and the teaching of the Bible, accessible,
  understandable, relevant and available to
  everyone.
• We hope to start more churches in Sheffield that
  are for people who don't go to church.

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Really listening
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Ways in

• Walking
• Football
• Mums and Toddlers
• Christianity Explored
• Small Groups

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Surprises

• Finding the City Dwellers
• We found internationals
• Students found us
• The homeless
• We grew, in numbers
• We grew leaders
• We inspired our parent church