Building a mission shaped Church

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Building a mission shaped Church

• Alpha Cape Town - 2010
• Dr Dion Forster
• http//www.dionforster.com
• Twitter _at_digitaldion

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My passion for Alpha

• Alpha Classic (6 courses a year Peters
  speedboat!)
• Cheeses for Jesus and braai Church
• Youth Alpha (calves and cows)
• Prison Alpha
• Workplace Alpha

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A quick recap

• Prof Jurgens The Western world no longer trusts
  the good news to be good news
• A shift in certainties
• Do Christians hold the truth? No, the truth
  holds us.

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Overview shifting our paradigms

• Section 1 Shifts in global Christianity.
• Section 2 Shifting paradigms for a mission
  shaped Church.

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A map of the world (land area)
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Christians in the world (a representational map)
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Muslims in the world (a representational map)
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Population of the world (a representational map)
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What do these maps tell us about the Christian
faith?

• The landscape of Christianity is changing!
• Christianity is moving South and East!
• As I travel, I have observed a pattern, a
  strange historical phenomenon of God moving
  geographically from the Middle East, to Europe to
  North America to the developing world. My theory
  is this God goes where hes wanted. Philip
  Yancey

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What do these maps tell us about the Christian
faith?

• .God goes where God is wanted

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The next Christendom Philip Jenkins
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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 Cray, Bishop of
  York

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The world is changing!
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A few facts about Church membership and
attendance.

1. The two most common narratives for the modern
   Church are decline or split (blog post on the
   mainline Church from the Archbishop of
   Canterbury).
2. I dont mind Jesus, but I dont trust his wife
   bride (comment by a skeptical friend).
3. 60 of all Churches in America will die out by
   2050 (Peter Brierley in Gibbs Coffey 200520)
4. The long and the short of it is Jesus needs new
   PR!

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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 Gledhills report on Church
attendance in the UK (2008).
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• Jesus needs new PR
• (public relations)

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THE CHURCH IS IN A GENERAL DECLINE (BUT, THE
SAME CAN NOT BE SAID OF THE CHRISTIAN
FAITH!)(GRAPHS COURTESY OF PROF. JURGENS
HENDRICKS,) FACULTY OF THEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF
STELLENBOSCH

• Enough about the rest of the world What about
  South Africa?

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Christians in SA 1911-2001
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YET, the reality in South Africa does NOT reflect
the Kingdom of God!

• Only12 - committed attendance is only about 3
  - 5... This was where Alpha Worked wonderfully
  for us!!

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What can we do about this disconnect?

• 79 say theyre 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! (Alpha is EVEN for those who
  think that they are Churched who need Christ!)
• 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 Heres some
  data on our decline.

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Christian Marketshare Mainline Denominations
1911-2001
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Church membership in population groups 1911-2001
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Christian Marketshare AIC, Pentecostal, Other
1911-2001
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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
• Contextually African (in AICs)
• 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).

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Church and choice

• I would contend that there is
• NOTHING wrong with the MESSAGE
• But, there are some
• problems with our
• METHOD
• (the problem of propositions)

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Whats wrong with our method?

• 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 for
  transforming the world)
• However, we can be sure that the delivery,
  engagement, and support mechanisms are losing
  their intended impact. (the problem of
  propositional evangelism in a postmodern world)
• 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 one still has value, but only for those
  in the system (it would seem), we need a
  narrative that engages those outside of the
  system..

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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

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Christians in the world (a representational map)
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AIDS deaths in the world (a representational map)
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The spread of wealth (a representational map)
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The most impoverished places in the world (a
representational map)
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Christians in the world (a representational map)
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• Preaching the truth without love is like giving
  someone a good kiss when you have bad breath. No
  matter how good your kiss is, all the recipient
  will remember is your bad breath!
• - Ed Silvoso

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Overview shifting our paradigms

• Section 1 Shifts in global Christianity.
• Section 2 Shifting our paradigms for a mission
  shaped Church.

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Transform your work life! Turn your ordinary day
into an extraordinary calling!In stores 10 May
2010
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Lets get honest

• What if they all turned up!?

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Your work and life for Gods purposes and
blessing!

• Paradigm 1 - Gods discipleship plan is for more
  than just individuals. (Matthew 2818-20)
• Go therefore and make disciples of all
  nations (Matt. 2818-20)

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Doing your work for Gods purposes and blessing!

• Paradigm 2 Everything has been redeemed, and
  so it needs to be reclaimed (Luke 1910)
• For the son of man came to seek and save that
  which was lost (Luke 1910)
• For it was the Father's good pleasure to
  reconcile all things to Himselfwhether things on
  earth or things in heaven. (Col 119-20)

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Doing your work for Gods purposes and blessing!

• Paradigm 3 - God views every Christian as a
  minister, and so work can be worship! (Col
  323-24)
• Whatever your task, put yourselves into it,
  working for the Lord and not for your masters,?
  since you know that you will receive your reward
  from the Lord you serve? the Lord Christ. (Col
  323)
• The worship switch ON or OFF?

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Doing your work for Gods purposes and blessing!

• Paradigm 4 - God wants us to take light into dark
  places, and get salt out of the salt shaker.
  (Matthew 1618-19)
• Upon this rock will I build my Church, and the
  gates of hell will not overpower it (Matthew
  1618-19).
• Building the Church is what Jesus does Taking
  his Kingdom and gospel all over the earth is what
  were commanded to do - Ed Silvoso

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• Paradigm 4 - God wants us to take light into dark
  places. (Matthew 1618-19) cont.
• Weve got the WRONG methodology!

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• Jesus methodology (Luke 102-9).
• When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to
  this house.
• .Stay in that house, eating and drinking
  whatever they give you,
• Heal the sick who are there and
• tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.

I will pay you a salary NOT to preach
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Doing your work for Gods purposes and blessing!

• Paradigm 5 - True transformation must be tangible
  and visible.
• The Gospels recall two incidents when Jesus wept,
  once for a friend, and another time for a city.
  His tears show how deeply he loves individuals
  and cities (groups, structures etc.).
• What would the most tangible and visible
  expression of Gods love be in your context?
• What is REALLY good news to the poor?
• Remember the methodology of Jesus Bless,
  Fellowship, Minister, Preach

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Doing your work for Gods purposes and blessing!

• Gods discipleship plan is for more than just
  individuals. (Matthew 2818-20)
• The marketplace has been redeemed, and so it
  needs to be reclaimed (Luke 1910)
• God views every Christian as a minister, and so
  work can be worship! (Col 323-24)
• God wants us to take light into dark places.
  (Matthew 1618-19)
• True transformation must be tangible and visible

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Alpha and the mission shaped Church

• Alpha has a high value on heuristic learning.
• It facilitates and experience of the good news
  before it requires the acceptance of a
  proposition.
• If done properly Alpha should have a low
  barrier to entry (friendship as a key to entry
  into the community of faith).
• Remember Bless ? Fellowship ? Minister ? Preach!

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Building a mission shaped Church

• Alpha Cape Town - 2010
• Dr Dion Forster
• http//www.dionforster.com
• Twitter _at_digitaldion

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The Middleburg model